By Miriam Karmali from Freedom United

The world is starting to pay attention to orphanage trafficking.In the last month the Dutch parliament discussed orphanage trafficking and calls have been made in the UK for it to be recognized as a slavery offence.[1] Volunteer tour operators must act. We need you to persuade the tourism sector that a simple change can help put an end to it.

Tour operators placing thousands of volunteers across the world have the power to break the cycle of trafficking and exploitation. They can remove the financial incentive by ending volunteer placements in orphanages.

Attracted by the funding that volunteers bring to orphanages,traffickers dupe families into giving up their children to unscrupulous institutions. They are then exploited to elicit donations and even retrafficked to other institutions to repeat the cycle.

Legitimate orphanages and placements are not involved in child trafficking. But by committing to stop offering volunteer placements in orphanages, tour operators have the power to remove the incentive to traffickers.

We’re asking tour operators to take a stand whilst working with legitimate institutions. This is important to ensure careful and sustainable ways of transitioning children into family or community-based care are established.

Tour operators care what potential customers like you think. Can you ask them to take a stand to #EndOrphanageTrafficking?

We know this works because after 26,554 Freedom United community members joined our campaign, two big operatorsGlobal Vision International and African Impact listened! They have both stopped offering volunteer placements in orphanages and have committed to work with orphanages to ensure that the children are transitioned into family or community-based care where they belong.

We’re proud of them for leading the way in protecting children in institutions from trafficking, but there are many more tour operators offering placements in orphanages.

No child should be turned into a commodity for profit. Join the campaign today to see volunteer tour operators unite against orphanage trafficking.

In solidarity,

Miriam, Joanna and the Freedom United team

To add your name to the cause go to: https://www.freedomunited.org/advocate/orphanages/?trk_msg=SFOBAI6E6UQ45CGVGF084HOUQG&trk_contact=037FSGUJ91I19DOFIHRSCHO86K&trk_sid=VISBANM8ULUVBVUCQS898L3NC4&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=We+need+you+to+persuade+the+tourism+sector+that+a+simple+change+can+help+put+an+end+to+it&utm_campaign=FU-EN-11APRIL-2019-ORPHANAGES-NAT-ACTIVE&utm_content=FU-EN-11APRIL-2019-ORPHANAGES-NAT-ACTIVE