Stand against orphanage trafficking! (Today Sep 27) is World Tourism Day

Vulnerable children are being commodified in orphanages.

Traffickers know that volunteer placements paid for by tourists financially support orphanages. This provides a monetary incentive for supplying a constant stream of children to the orphanage through trafficking, to generate donations from well-intentioned tourists.

Unscrupulous tourism operators promote orphanage volunteering despite these risks. Love Volunteers is one operator that has previously organized such volunteering programs. Despite repeated requests, Love Volunteers has not provided a clear commitment to stop orphanage placements.

Take action

In fact, Love Volunteers continues to promote past reviews of orphanage placements on their website, which suggests they’re not familiar with the importance of stopping people seeking out these placements to help end orphanage trafficking.[1][2] We’ve made our requests clear: Remove all advertisements and mention of orphanage placements from their website.
Publish a statement clarifying their position against voluntary orphanage placements, which can perpetuate trafficking and exploitation.

Establish a divestment program from orphanages, investing in sustainable alternatives that reintegrate children with families and communities, supported by experienced child protection organizations. Your activism has the power to be revolutionary. I’ve seen it first-hand. Your activism has the power to be revolutionary. I’ve seen it first-hand. Sustained pressure from our community led Go Overseas, a global travel company, to flag the risks of orphanage voluntourism and promote our message.[3] We can achieve the same with Love Volunteers—but only if we keep up the momentum.

Join the movement

By keeping up the pressure against volunteer tour operators like Love Volunteers, we can turn the tide against orphanage volunteering and trafficking for good.

In solidarity,

Ellie and the team supporting the Freedom United community