From Orphanage Manager to Family-Based Care Advocate: The Cambodian Context [ES]

Working and volunteering in orphanages is a common story that you may have heard from people in your community or you may have even spent some time working in an orphanage. Over 1.5 million people every year around the globe volunteer in orphanages, pouring $2.6million into orphanages every year. While people may have a very positive experience of volunteering, unfortunately the reality of children’s lives can be very different. In this course we learn about personal journey of Caleb and Courtney, from orphanage managers to family-based care advocates.

Caleb and Courtney felt they were pursuing a noble and holy cause by moving to Cambodia to take over the management of an orphanage, but things didn’t go as planned. What they discovered at the orphanage taught them personally about the harms that growing up in orphanages can have on children.  It took them on a new pathway of understanding more about orphanages in Cambodia and what is being done to support families to raise their own children. 

Journey with Caleb as he shares their story, what they have learnt about orphanages, and particularly orphanages in Cambodia along the way. 

This lesson is designed to explore a specific case study of an orphanage in Cambodia.

Caleb and Courtney’s insights into the complexities of orphanage tourism prompts personal reflections of responding to poverty well.