{"id":38744,"date":"2019-12-04T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?p=38744&preview=true&preview_id=38744"},"modified":"2024-09-18T16:19:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T06:19:11","slug":"forget-me-not-end-orphanage-tourism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/forget-me-not-end-orphanage-tourism\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Forget Me Not, the organisation working to end orphanage tourism"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was originally published by The Intrepid Foundation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a trend that doesn\u2019t get talked about much in travel brochures: as tourist numbers increase, particularly in developing countries,\u00a0so do the number of orphanages<\/a>. Not orphans, but orphanages. You can trace the two graphs side by side. They mirror each other, like matching mountains.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Cambodia, the number of orphanages has grown 75 per cent over the last 10 years, despite the number of actual orphans decreasing. There are about eight million kids living in orphanages around the world, and according to the best data currently available, about 80 per cent of them aren\u2019t orphans at all. They have families back home: mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, cousins and aunties.<\/p>\n

Why is this happening? There\u2019s a complicated web of politics and vested interests, but it really boils down to the fact that \u2018orphanage tourism\u2019 is worth money. Big money. About\u00a0$2.6 billion a year<\/a>, according to Save The Children Australia. Traffickers or \u2018child collectors\u2019 head into rural communities in\u00a0Nepal<\/a>,\u00a0Kenya<\/a>,\u00a0Sri Lanka<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Indonesia<\/a>, approach vulnerable families, and offer an alluring opportunity (usually the false promise of education and future employment) and payment in exchange for children, who are then brought back to \u2018orphanages\u2019 and essentially trafficked for profit \u2013 with\u00a0volunteer travellers unwittingly providing the cashflow.<\/p>\n

READ MORE ABOUT THE INTREPID FOUNDATION HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The practise has become so widespread that UNICEF doesn\u2019t even like to use the word \u2018orphanage\u2019 anymore \u2013 they prefer \u2018residential care<\/a>\u2019. Governments are also starting to wake up: in 2018, Australia included orphanage trafficking in its official\u00a0definition of slavery<\/a>\u00a0(the first country to do so).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As part of the travel industry \u2013 and as a company that\u00a0used to promote orphanage tourism<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Intrepid Travel is doing its bit to get the word out there. The Intrepid Foundation partnered with not-for-profit Forget Me Not, co-founded by Dr. Kate van Doore, an international children\u2019s rights lawyer and academic at Griffith Law School.\u00a0Forget Me Not<\/a>\u00a0is currently working in Nepal, India and Uganda to stamp out child trafficking through grassroots programs, reuniting children with their families and educating travellers on the dangers of orphanage tourism.<\/p>\n

\u201cChildren are often trafficked from rural and remote communities into orphanages, mostly in popular tourist hubs,\u201d Forget Me Not says. \u201cThe orphan trade is fuelled by \u2018voluntourists\u2019 (including schools, churches, businesses and sporting groups) who unwittingly cause significant harm to children through a mix of money, good intentions and lack of cultural knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forget Me Not tackles orphanage tourism in a few different ways. Prevention is a big one \u2013 cutting traffickers off at the source. Through education programs like\u00a0projectHELP<\/a>, they\u2019ve helped families in Delhi\u2019s Kalyanpuri Slum to become more self-sustainable. Their\u00a0Nanna Project<\/a>\u00a0in Uganda helps ease the burden on grandparents and guardians, providing school fees, meals, stationery supplies and uniforms. They offer shelter too, through projects like\u00a0Home For Life<\/a>, which keeps Ugandan families together, delivering homes, sanitation and basic household items like mattresses and cooking utensils.<\/p>\n

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT FORGET ME NOT HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Forget Me Not\u2019s current project (which is still in development) is the\u00a0Ethical Tourism Collective<\/a>. We\u2019re hoping it\u2019ll be an exciting turning point for the travel industry. Backed up by\u00a0The Intrepid Foundation<\/a>, the Ethical Tourism Collective will design and deliver five sustainable alternatives to voluntourism \u2013 projects that actually make a positive impact on local communities. It\u2019ll become the blueprint for a whole new kind of travel experience.<\/p>\n

The Ethical Tourism Collective will be rolled out first in Kathmandu, Nepal, thanks to Forget Me Not\u2019s \u2018Fab 5<\/a>\u2019: Dinesh, Alisha, Ruma, Toya (the Team Leader), Anisha and Barma. Each member of the team has actually experienced orphanage tourism, having been institutionalised from an early age \u2013 now they\u2019ll be the ones to design and deliver an ethical alternative. Something that rewards the generosity of travellers, rather than exploiting it.<\/p>\n

RELATED: HOW WE’RE STEPPING UP THE FIGHT AGAINST ORPHANAGE TOURISM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Intrepid Foundation will be tracking the progress of the Ethical Tourism Collective, the the plan to integrate these experiences into Intrepid\u2019s existing Nepal trips<\/a>, and (with the help of Forget Me Not) eventually unleash the Collective around the world, designing a new wave of sustainable tourism.<\/p>\n

The Intrepid Foundation<\/a>\u00a0is the not-for-profit arm of Intrepid Group, helping travellers give back to the places they visit. Since 2002, the Foundation has raised more than $7.5 million dollars for over 125 organisations around the world. From empowering vulnerable youth to helping refugees get back on their feet, The Intrepid Foundation supports life-changing projects that make places better to travel to and live in.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a trend that doesn\u2019t get talked about much in travel brochures: as tourist numbers increase, particularly in developing countries,\u00a0so do the number of orphanages. Not orphans, but orphanages. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16184,"featured_media":38750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[47],"tags":[306],"class_list":["post-38744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-responsible-travel","tag-the-intrepid-foundation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet The Team Working To End Orphanage Tourism | Intrepid Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Forget Me Not tackles orphanage tourism in a few different ways; prevention, education and shelter. 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