An orphanage isn’t the place for a vacation
A postcard with your name on it!
By Miriam Karmali, From Freedom United
An orphanage isn’t the place for a vacation. We know that – but does the tourism industry?
We’re planning on sending Plan My Gap Year a postcard with messages from the Freedom United community asking them to do better. Make sure your message is included by posting in the comments!
Post your message
| Though a known driver of child trafficking, orphanage volunteering is still being marketed as a tourism option to prospective volunteers. Like ‘childcare home’ placements in Sri Lanka[1] and Ghana.[2] We’ve been asking Plan My Gap Year to stop offering these placements in orphanages for years and to respond to the tens of thousands of us who are calling on the tourism industry to do better. Peter says: |
| “This practice must stop. These children are not a commodity they should be afforded the dignity of recognising them as human beings and their rights respected.”[3] |
| Some volunteer tour operators would prefer to stick their heads in the sand and pretend that there’s nothing wrong with orphanage volunteering but they can’t keep this up forever. In 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution on the Rights of the Child calling on member states to address the harms of orphanage tourism.[4] And in 2021, the World Travel and Tourism Council published advice against voluntourism placements in orphanages and institutions.[5] Slowly but surely, the world is waking up to the harms of orphanage volunteering – so why is Plan My Gap Year insisting on lagging behind? Mary says: |
| “Please stop offering placements in orphanages where there are risks of child trafficking […] No child should be used in such a cruel way.”[6] |
| We’re collecting messages from the Freedom United community to send to Plan My Gap Year so they hear loud and clear why they need to stop offering these placements NOW! Ask Plan My Gap Year to take action – leave your message in the comments at the bottom of the campaign page and we’ll make sure they receive it. |
Post your message
In solidarity,
Miriam and the team supporting the Freedom United community
