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Stop orphanage volunteering – blogging blitz ahead
photo – Save the Children
Month long blogging campaign started to raise awareness of the harm caused by volunteering and visiting orphanages.
The "Stop Orphanage Volunteering" blogging blitz is set to provide an opportunity responsible tourism people and organisations to work together to highlight a serious child protection issue.
Those blogging will be able to align themselves with the growing movement against orphanage volunteering and tourism, and demonstrate their commitment to best practice principles in responsible tourism.
The organizers say that the Better Volunteering Better Care Blogging blitz will harness the creativity, passion, and influence of 30 bloggers from the travel, missions, development, and academic fields.
They say that the purpose of the blitz is to not only lobby the volunteer travel industry, but also to raise awareness in multiple sectors, by working with advocates and champions in those sectors.
This is an issue that a number of organisations have been campaigning on for some years, and while there has been an increase in awareness and attention, the issue isn’t gaining enough traction to actually create change.
Volunteering and visiting orphanages can be harmful for vulnerable children, and is also contributing to the "orphanage industry" and the separation of children from their families.
Child protection specialists have expressed concern about this phenomenon in over 20 countries worldwide. For further details and explanation of why orphanage volunteering is a problem – see "Orphanage Volunteering – Why to Say No".
The goal of the campaign? Simply to persuade travel organisations to stop offering volunteer placements in residential care centres.
The campaign will run for 30 days from May 3rd until June 1st (International Day for Protection of Children),
Blogs will ask readers to share with friends, use the hashtag #stoporphantrips and sign the Avaaz petition calling for travel operators to remove orphanage volunteering placements from their websites by the next Responsible Tourism day at WTM in London in November 2016.
Further information HERE
Contact email: [email protected]
Valere Tjolle
@ValereTjolle [email protected]
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