Many years back, I have always wanted to volunteer in an orphanage, to teach English to kids abroad and to give them the care and concern that they never had. While doing my research, I found out something interesting that you should know before deciding to volunteer in Cambodia.
Are you looking to volunteer in Cambodia? Cambodia has been badly hit by the Khmer Rouge while they rule Cambodia from 1975 to 1978.
Every year thousands of foreigners head to Cambodia to volunteer in the various orphanage, leading to Orphanage Tourism or VolunTourism. Where foreigners would spend a few days touring the country and spent a few days volunteering in the orphanage.
Do you know that your good intention has an adverse effect on the ‘orphans‘?
1. Orphans Or ‘Orphans’?
If you realised the word ‘orphans‘ has an apostrophe, as many are not real orphans, they are ‘purchased’ from fully functional families to set up and to be placed in orphanages.
It is mentioned by UNICEF that most children (at least 75% or more) in Cambodian orphanages are not strictly orphans, they may have one or both parent – but these families are simply unable to provide the food and care that the children need. Without any government safety net, the community itself has to come up with its own solutions to assist these children.
2. 75% Increase In Residential Care Facilities
In 2005, Cambodia has 154 residential care facilities housing 6,254 children. By 2010, the number has increased to 269 residential care facilities and housed 11,945 children.
Children should be kept in their family homes if possible, but it’s a struggle to enforce this message to a poor single mother living in a village trying to support eight children. This is how these facilities exploit victims of poverty in this country – convincing parents to hand over their children, with the promise of an education and a better life. During the recruitment process families will often get paid a fee for their child, and in the worst cases, children are trafficked into the facilities. Many orphanages here are set up to run like a business, a business which uses children as the product – even sending them to dance for donations in popular tourist areas.
3. Short-Term Volunteer
As volunteers provide love, care, concern and building strong emotional bonds with the children. But, as the volunteers leave, their bonds are broken and the children are once again left alone. This vicious cycle has shown to have negatively impacted the children in care, who would need to repeatedly try to form emotional connections with different adults.
Short-Term Volunteer who have not undergone background checks are frequently given access to children, which poses a child protection risk.
There are many reports that children were abused by ‘NGO’ Volunteers (Click here for Cambodia’s Orphanage Scandal)
4. No, or Little Education / Poor Living Conditions
Many of the parents were promised that their children would be provided with proper education, and would be properly taken care off. Education is an important key to the children’s development and future.
Teaching in an orphanage for a short-period does not help in the education for the children, and most of us are not trained to be teachers to educate children and to impart knowledge. Without proper structure teaching or education, the standard of education provided by the volunteers is substandard.
Orphanage tends to have super poor living conditions to manipulate on the sympathy of the foreign volunteers.
Watch the impact of Cambodia’s Orphan Business and the discovery when they are undercover wearing hidden cameras volunteering at an orphanage by Al Jazeera English
What should I do instead?
Click here to understand CHILDSAFE 7 TIPS FOR TRAVELERS
I’ve always intended to volunteer my way around the world. Thanks so much for your post on Cambodia – it’s really made me realise that I need to be aware of things like this!
Yes! Hope this blog serves its purpose!
Thanks for the encouragement
Great article man. It’s always important to check and make sure that you areactually assisting and not being part of the problem. A lot of people have the best intentions and think they are helping so education like this article is great to see. Well done.
Yes! Totally agree!
Thanks for the tips. And that is why I am not ready for volunteering yet. We all have to learn and understand those overlooked “little details” before we proceed.
Yes! Totally Agree!
The blog is an eye opener. I knew things like this are probably happening in India right now but I never imagined Cambodia has a ring as well. Disheartening.
Yes! this is totally crazy!
Great topic to write about! I was once offered to volunteer at an orphange. I think it was legit, but I declined because I was afraid of the impact it would have on the children. I don’t think that travellers/volunteers know how it can harm the children, so good job bringing it up! I hope more will learn from this post
Thanks Tina!
I ensure even if I’m not volunteering, I donate. However, coming from India – I always do keep in mind to check, what the money is being used for. Although it’s sad, incidents like the one you’ve put up do happen!
Yes! you should read my blog post on the milk powder scam, this is crazy and change my mind on helping someone.
http://bernardthetraveller.com/milk-powder-scam/
Haha I have heard of that!
It was however just another scam in the huge list India can boast of!
Does make you think thrice of whatever you do – even eat!
A very important post – everybody should read it before even they consider volunteering!
Thanks for the encouragement!
Thanks for this really informative post. I completely agree that volunteering short term is bad for the orphans. I feel that the cycle of people coming and going can sometimes be more destructive than it can good.
Thanks for the encouragement! I hope that more people would think carefully before they decides to volunteer.
Thanks for exposing this scam!
wow, I found this article very exposing and thus very interesting. I have never participated in orphan voluntourism but I can imagine what you say about damaging emotional bonds with the kids is a very real thing. Also, I did not know that they bought children from families to put them in orphanages…but even so, those kids are orphans bought or sold and it is a very sad situation
This is truly heart breaking and it hasn’t changed that much since I visited Cambodia over 15 years ago, but I’m sure there are some wonderful alternatives that are making some headway.
Thanks for the reminder to give back while we are traveling the world, Bernard! Your words should also help us distinguish between legitimate tourist attractions and unfortunate situations. Peace!
Wow! That was quite an eye opener! It is amazing you were doing such wonderful things all those years ago. Now sharing the real truths behind them is hard I”m sure just as it was for me to read. That is a real shame and very sad situation.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Wow, thanks for shedding a light on what’s really going on in Cambodia when you volunteer at orphans. Shocking that there are no background checks for volunteers. Hopefully someone can step up and make some real changes.
I hope the word gets out, and people stop supporting this kinda tourism.
Thank you for this, I went to Cambodia but this is eye opening. I would love to try to volunteer and help out too.
Thanks for the encouragement! Just ensure that you are volunteering at the right place.
It’s sad that the most vulnerable are being exploited for profit. As with any charity or volunteer opportunity we need to do or research.
Yes! Those volunteering have good intentioned, but others are just exploiting the children.
Crazy. Thanks for sharing all of this information. It’s clear that you need to do some serious research before volunteering abroad.
I believe that most tourists and volunteers have good intention, but it seems like others are just milking the cow.
I volunteered for a year all around Asia and South America for 3 years and totally loved it. I guess it’s about finding the right volunteering program for you but I definitely agree with all your thoughts.
Yes! I totally agree, you need to find the right volunteering program!
I had read quite a lot about orphanage scams in Vietnam and Cambodia before our trip through SE Asia a few years back. It breaks my heart that this kind of exploitation exists – and worse still that families either feel so poor or are manipulated to ‘sell’ their children to these places. And with the tide of Voluntourism people need to be so careful where they dedicate their time and money to ensure they are actually benefiting the community and not just making themselves feel better!
Great blog! Couldn’t agree with you more. People forget that short term volunteering can be so harmful to these children.
Thanks so much for this! I get so annoyed when people just declare they want to help and start on a missionary trip to rescue the world without thinking or asking questions. It is so important to realize that with all volunteer programs you may actually not be qualified to do the job AND in fact take jobs from locals. You’d be off donating some money to a legit organization and spending the rest on a holiday. Volunteering shouldn’t be about you and your experience if you have truly altruistic motives.
Very helpful information. Thank you for educating us. I was considering volunteering in Cambodia. Making this as business is awful.
Americans can volunteer in Cambodia with the Peace Corps! https://www.peacecorps.gov/cambodia/
I volunteered in Kyrgyzstan, but know many who were in Cambodia for their service.. is seems like an amazing place to be a volunteer!