

c) Paying a third party organization to place you in an orphanage to volunteer means that you are once again allowing adults to benefit from the 'poor situation' of a child. Pay a third party volunteer program to send you to volunteer with turtles, with research projects, with programs where your skills match the needs…. but not to play with children in an orphanage. Unless you are a qualified and certified teacher or social worker hired into an educational facility for a long-term commitment where they have requested your presence, have the means to communicate with you, and have vetted you thoroughly (including police check etc), then you should not be volunteering at an orphanage.
d) Volunteer to help raise funds for a drop in center, a foster care program, a family skills training organization, an education program, a scholarship fund, or a transition program. Support and promote organizations that are helping to reintegrate kids who have been institutionalized, or that are focused on the development and training of social workers (which are in short supply in countries such as Cambodia). Find programs or projects that PREVENT the need for more orphanages. Invest in organizations and activities that do not exploit children, do not allow short-term volunteers putting the children in their care at risk, and which are instead finding long-term solutions rather than easy-to-fund band-aids.
e) Volunteer to support the spread of this information. Start by posting the link to this website on Facebook and Twitter right now!
