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A few weeks ago, we received an email from World Childhood Foundation, a Swedish organization that supports projects that give children around the world better lives. They were concerned about the inclusion of visiting orphanages in our story about how to do good while traveling. We were interested in learning more, so we asked Britta Holmberg, Childhood’s project director, to write an op-ed on why travelers should think twice about volunteering at an orphanage. Here’s what she had to say. It might seem like a good idea to visit an orphanage: there are so many children at those facilities around the world. You have probably heard testimonials from people who have described it as one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences of their lives, or something that reminded them about what’s really important in life—family. But visiting an orphanage when you’re abroad is not a good idea. Some of these children are placed in care because of abuse or abandonment. What they need are secure, long-term relationships with staff who speak their language and hopefully reintegrate them in their communities.

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But let’s stop for a second and think about what happens when travelers visit. Children learn that if they smile and hug a visitor as one comes through the door, they are likely to receive gifts or a short moment of attention. These visits are invariably short, proving to these kids that people will abandon you after a while, no matter how much they say they love you. It shows them that their worth lies in smiling to the cameras when tourists come and take a selfie with them. These visits can cause long-term damage for the children’s ability to develop trusting and loving relationships with others, and it puts children at risk of being harmed by visitors and volunteers who do not have good intentions. Most children are at orphanages because of poverty—poor parents who want to give their children a better future and see no other way than to give them up to orphanages where they are promised food, clothes, and an education. If more funding is channeled to organizations that support children and families instead of orphanages, poor parents might not be in a situation where they have to abandon their child in order to get help. The cost of raising a child in an orphanage is at least six times more expensive than supporting families directly, an option that gives the children a better future.

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