From “Miriam Karmali, Freedom United”

Dear ieyenews Readers

Not on social media? Share a message for Love Volunteers in the comments section of the campaign – we’ll make sure they receive it! 

With over 100,000 in the global Freedom United community calling for change, a United Nations General Assembly resolution against orphanage volunteering,[1] official government travel advice,[2] and decades of research and expertise calling for an end to orphanage volunteering it’s clear that volunteer tour operators need to act now to end this business.  

But some, like Love Volunteers, still offer placements in orphanages,[3] widely acknowledged to be a driver of trafficking.Ask them if they can commit to stop offering placements in orphanages ahead of World Tourism Day next month. 

We know that volunteer tour operators organize mutually beneficial and enriching experiences for the communities they operate in, as well as for the volunteer tourists who sign up.  

But the fact is that vulnerable children are being commodified in orphanages. Traffickers know that volunteer placements are paid for by tourists who may also make donations to the orphanage once there. This provides a monetary incentive for ensuring there is a constant supply of children in the orphanage generating donations from well-intentioned tourists.  

Your activism is so important. Just this year, Go Overseas, a company helping thousands of volunteers around the world travel abroad, implemented a new system on their site to flag the harms of volunteering in orphanages and the risks of orphanage trafficking. This happened as a direct result of sustained action from the Freedom United community. 

By keeping up the pressure to see similar commitments from other volunteer tour operators, we can turn the tide against orphanage volunteering and trafficking for good.  

Post a message for Love Volunteers today! 

In solidarity,  

Miriam and the team supporting the Freedom United community