In Nepal, there are currently 14,864 children residing in 533 orphanages and up to 80% could be raised by at least one of their parents. Children are most often trafficked from rural and remote villages into orphanages mostly in popular tourist hubs. Most of these orphanages are reliant on international charities and non-government organisations for funding.
The orphan trade is fuelled by ‘voluntourists’ (including schools, churches, sporting groups and other organisations) who unwittingly cause significant harm to children through a mix of money, good intentions, lack of cultural knowledge and a desire to do good for others.
The problem of orphanage tourism intersecting with the trafficking of children into orphanages is well documented in Nepal and included as trafficking in the ‘US Trafficking In Persons Report 2018’.
As founding partners of Rethink Orphanages we are charged with raising international awareness of the problem and proud to take leadership on this issue with Intrepid.
The Ethical Tourism Collective will design and deliver five sustainable experience-rich travel alternatives to orphanage volun/tourism in the form of tours, events, site visits and workshops funded by The Intrepid Foundation.
A joint initiative of Forget Me Not and The Intrepid Foundation
~ improving livelihoods with travel and tourism connection for young people with lived experience of orphanage institutionalisation.
