Cambodia – Children as Tourist Attractions

When is an orphan not an orphan? Some would argue that an orphan becomes an orphan the moment orphanages become a tourist attraction and in Cambodia, the growing popularity of short term International Volunteering has led to a disturbing trend of what is referred to as ‘hug-an-orphan vacations’. The Feel Good business is booming with Westerners paying up to USD$900 for a two week ‘volunteer placement’ in Cambodia. While the ‘fee’ is used to cover the administration fees of such agencies, rarely does any of that money reach the village or the project. Agencies will argue that they have provided a living breathing ‘Voluntourist’ while others will hand over a small donation, often less than USD$50.00. Meanwhile it is up to the village or project to also cope with the well meaning but often unprepared, under qualified and often out of their depth ‘Voluntourist’.

Friends International, with the backing of UNICEF has launched a hard hitting campaign called “Children are Not Tourist Attractions” urging tourists to ‘Think” about the reality of child poverty in Cambodia. “Travelers are often disturbed by the perceived situation of children. It is essential for them to understand the real situation and what positive actions they can take to effectively protect and support these children,” said Sebastien Marot, Executive Director of Friends-International, whose headquarters are in Cambodia. “Orphanages must be a safe place for children and not a tourist destination. We cannot just go and visit orphanages in other countries, so why in Cambodia?”

While the number of orphans in Cambodia has reduced considerably over the years, orphanages keep on increasing. Currently there are more than 260 registered orphanages in Cambodia. A recent audit discovered that 73% of the children had at least one living parent, while only 28% of the children in orphanages had no living parent. In fact orphanages are fast becoming a way for the Government to outsource responsibility for social welfare. In fact any orphanage with a steady stream of strangers interacting with their children are not looking out for the best interests of the child. While Westerners may feel they are making a positive impact, one of the key principles laid out by the United Nations Draft for the Guidelines for alternative care of children is the need for long term relationships.

Generally volunteers will only stay at the orphanage for a few days, weeks, or at best months. While at the orphanage most volunteers seek to build emotional bonds with the children so they can feel they made a difference. Unfortunately, although well intended, this leads to a never ending round of abandonment for the orphans. For while some volunteers may continue to correspond with the orphanage after they leave, few are willing or able to maintain a stable emotional bond with the children throughout their childhoods.

Major findings show that visiting orphanages impacts negatively on children’s development and supports a system that is contributing to the separation of families. “It is essential for the child to live in a family setting and in our experience it is extremely rare that the families, with the right support, are unable to care for their children,” Mr Marot said. “Not only is it the best interest of the child to live with his or her family, but it is also much cheaper.”

Friends-International works with marginalized urban children and youth, their families and communities to become productive, independent citizens of Cambodia. Mr Marot says,“Visiting so-called orphanages can only lead to situation of further marginalization or even abuse for Cambodian children. Children are not tourist attractions.”

“Tourists can support children in need by buying products made by youth in vocational training programs, eating in restaurants that are run as vocational training programs or by buying products made by families in community-based projects,” Mr Marot said. “Providing support to institutions that should not exist are only exacerbating the situation,” says Richard Bridle of UNICEF. “Recent research shows that only 28% of children in orphanages had lost both parents. UNICEF believes a child’s first line of defense is her or her family. If parental care is not an option or in the best interests of the child, UNICEF believes that institutionalization should be a last resort.”

Each year, thousands of tourists visit orphanages in Cambodia little realising the damage they are doing to the very children they think they are helping on their two week “feel good” vacation. Says Michael Horton of ConCERT, a non profit social service agency aimed at reducing poverty in Cambodia by ‘maximising’ the benefits of tourism to some of the countries most vulnerable people, “While I appreciate that people want to give of themselves to this country, if you really thought about it, wouldn’t it be better for teachers to come here and teach the teachers? Any help that is given should not add to the problems.”

ConCERT offers a variety of ways in which tourists to Cambodia can make a difference to the poverty of Cambodia whilst contributing in a positive way to the future of the country. For instance if you wanted to give a wheelchair to a land mine survivor, the cost would be ten percent of a two week ‘Voluntourism’ holiday. To donate towards sustainability in the form of livestock – a duck starts as low as USD$5 or you could provide an orchard of  fruit trees for USD$75.00 and to treat a malaria patient a mere USD$45.00.

7 ChildSafe Traveler Tips and what you can do to help protect children around the world. If you’d like to learn more about the ChildSafe Network click here.

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Category: Asia, Cautionary tales, Travel Blog