Across the world, millions of children are unnecessarily separated from their families.  Many who support orphanages or residential care centers often believe they are providing for children who have no parents or family, however research indicates that this separation is actually driven by poverty .  As we have been privileged to work with amazing partners throughout many nations, we are seeing family reintegration and family strengthening every day to the benefit of many children, families and communities. 

But what does this have to do with the World Day Against Trafficking? 

This year’s theme is “Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind.”  In the spirit of that theme, we’d like to draw your attention to some victims of trafficking that may be hiding in plain sight: children currently living in orphanages or residential care centers throughout the world. 

While many orphanages or children’s homes operate in good faith, the existence of the orphanage system has allowed a new form of trafficking to emerge.  According to our colleagues at Better Care Network, Orphanage Trafficking is defined as “the recruitment and/or transfer of children to residential childcare facilities for a purpose of exploitation and profit¹.”

This kind of trafficking can be challenging to identify.  As with many forms of trafficking, a corrupt goal is often hidden behind a seemingly sincere offer of help.  Vulnerable families can often be led to believe they are sending their child to an orphanage to receive a superior education or access to a brighter future with better prospects.  Where orphanages are actively recruiting children out of families using deception and even coercion, orphanage trafficking is likely present.

Here are some fast facts on Orphanage Trafficking:

Orphanage Trafficking occurs more often in unregistered children’s homes or residential care centers². This happens when individuals or organisations have opened a home but have not gone through proper licensing procedures with their local and national government.  This presents an enormous risk to children as there is likely far less visibility on the care provided to children in an unregistered home.  New research on orphanage trafficking quotes a social worker in Cambodia on their observations of children in unregistered homes:

“In unregistered orphanages, children are more likely to have been exploited or threatened and are unwilling to talk out of fear. We can see it via the staff’s actions and the children’s reactions. The way the staff speak to the children indicates threats and use of power to make the children afraid. When this is happening, it’s not possible to reintegrate children. It’s important to distinguish when these risks exist. There was one case where the staff were physically abusing the children³.”

Orphanage Trafficking preys upon vulnerable families.  Where poverty, conflict, famine, displacement, or unrest occurs, families are more likely to be susceptible to offers of help that may harm their children in the end.

Orphanage Trafficking has exploitation or financial gain as its intention.  Trafficking Survivor Leader Barma Budha Magar, from Nepal, was placed into an orphanage with her sisters when she was five years old⁴.  Her mother had placed her children into the home on the promise of them receiving food, housing, and education that seemed superior to what she could provide them on her own.  She and her sisters were then sent to another orphanage that seemed better initially.  At this new orphanage, they were not permitted to speak about their biological family and endured repeated physical and mental abuse.  Barma remembers one day that she knew her mother and brother had come to visit her and her sisters, but the staff did not permit them to come inside.  After this, Barma and her sisters were reunified with her mother and brother, and she had a chance to ask her mother what had happened.  It was then she learned her mother had paid the owner of the orphanage 30,000 rupees to admit she and her sisters into the first orphanage, and another 45,000 rupees to send her brother to a children’s home for better education.  Additionally, when Barma and her sisters were sent to the second orphanage, she later learned that the second orphanage had paid for the sisters to come to their home.  She realised she had been trafficked without even knowing it.

Orphanage Trafficking hides behind the facade of the idea of “good” orphanages.  Another Trafficking Survivor Leader, Sinet Chan has shared her story of being trafficked in Cambodia⁵.  Her family was living in significant poverty when her parents both died from HIV/AIDS.  After this, she and her siblings were sent to an unregistered orphanage funded by foreign donations.  Initially, Sinet wondered if this orphanage might present her with a brighter future, but she quickly felt unsafe.  She remembers that she and the other children rarely had enough to eat, despite frequent visits from foreigners who often left large donations behind.  The children were forced to do hard manual labor every day in the fields owned by the orphanage director, who also repeatedly physically abused and raped Sinet and other children, even threatening to kill her if she ever spoke of her treatment there.  Shockingly, even after Sinet reported this abuse to local authorities, nothing was done.  The director continued to run this orphanage and was not charged with any of his many crimes.  A full 12 years would pass before this orphanage was shut down, meaning hundreds of additional children were exposed to this man’s abusive behavior.  Sinet eventually made a formal charge against her perpetrator, but the officials were unwilling to consider her case as trafficking.  She sadly remembers, “they sided with the offender, even though it was their job to protect me.”  Her case reveals an enormous misconception that allows this trafficking and abuse to hide in plain sight⁶.  Officials can often assume that those who run orphanages are good people and are slow to believe they are exploiting children.

Orphanage Trafficking can be fueled by the promise of support from foreign visitors and donors.  The establishment of orphanages that are primarily funded from Global North donor nations has created a system that incentivises higher numbers in children’s homes.  Lumos notes that in Uganda,

“The country saw an increase in the number of children institutions from just over 1,000 in the late 90s to approximately 55,000 now – despite a reduction in numbers of orphans. These orphanages are often built in the tourist ‘hotspots’, driven by international donations and volunteers from countries such as the UK⁷.”

While this paints a dark picture, there is good work being done around the world to combat the underlying conditions that perpetuate this abuse and support those who have survived Orphanage Trafficking.  You can be part of ending Orphanage Trafficking in several ways:

1. Don’t visit orphanages on your next mission trip or overseas adventure. While this may seem like a great way to “give back” to countries you visit, research tells us that this practice harms children in several ways.  Children separated from their families have already endured a significant disruption in their primary attachment.  This is further exacerbated by frequent visitors.  While you’ve likely seen pictures of cute, smiling children at orphanages or heard the stories of how much they loved having visitors, there is often pain beneath those selfies and stories. 
2. If you currently support an orphanage or children’s home, we’d encourage you ask their leaders some questions. Are you confident they are registered with their local and national authorities?  Do they have reporting mechanisms in place to ensure children are truly protected?  Could you potentially help them consider transitioning their model to support children in families instead?
3. Sign and share this petition from our colleagues at Hopeland to help with legislative efforts to formalize the prosecution of these crimes.
4. Commit to learning more about Orphanage Trafficking and the efforts being made to stop this crime. This brief from our colleagues at Better Care Network is a great place to start. Or you can listen to this recent webinar to hear more from brilliant leaders on this topic.

We join all those honouring today as the World Day Against Trafficking.  We share their hope to reach every victim of trafficking and leave no one behind.

As a note, Martin James Foundation specifically requested permission from both Barma and Sinet to share their name and story here.  

¹ See more here: https://bettercarenetwork.org/about-bcn/what-we-do/key-initiatives/global-collaborative-platform/thematic-brief-volunteering-voluntourism-tourism-and-trafficking-in-orphanages

² Nhep R, Deck S, van Doore K, Powell M. Detecting orphanage trafficking and exploitation. Child Abuse Negl. 2024 Jun;152:106813. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106813. Epub 2024 Apr 23. PMID: 38657489.

³ Nhep R, Deck S, van Doore K, Powell M. Detecting orphanage trafficking and exploitation. Child Abuse Negl. 2024 Jun;152:106813. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106813. Epub 2024 Apr 23. PMID: 38657489.

⁴ Hear more of Barma’s story here: https://bettercarenetwork.org/orphanagetrafficking_webinar

⁵ More of Sinet’s story here: https://bettercarenetwork.org/orphanagetrafficking_webinar

⁶ Read more here: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2017/08/23/2003677003

⁷ https://www.wearelumos.org/news-and-media/2019/01/15/ugandan-orphanage-business/#:~:text=The%20country%20saw%20an%20increase,countries%20such%20as%20the%20UK.

Think about answering the same questions repeatedly. What might it be like to share the most terrifying details of your life with a new adult regularly?

Participation, at its most fundamental level, means that at some point, an adult stops to look directly at the child to say, “How are we doing?“

Are we meeting your needs? 

What would you like us to do differently?  

Have you already shared this story elsewhere and would rather not share the details again?  

We must regularly ask for feedback from the children we are serving, and be ready to hear what needs to be adjusted. It means that professionals within the care space must be prepared to learn from the very children they are serving.  We must take deliberate, decisive action based on their feedback to ensure we improve our manner of care.

People with lived experience of care are indeed the experts in their lives and throughout the care reform sector. They may not yet have fancy titles or additional letters to add past their name, but of anyone we know, they have the most important perspective to offer. It’s why we believe we should prioritise asking them for input on the whole system, as well as their own care. It means ensuring people with lived experience a prominent seat at the table while we work to develop services and policies for children, youth and those with care experience. It must be genuine, demonstrated by a willingness to take the time to ensure their participation and perspective are integrated at every decision-making level. Every policy and service will be better for being informed by people with lived experience.

That’s why participation, authentic and genuine participation, is embedded into each of our projects with our valued global partners. Read on to hear how several of them prioritise participation within their programs today.

Global Social Service Workforce Alliance & Child Frontiers

“Five Reasons the Expertise of Children and Young People with Lived Experience of Care Must Take Centre Stage in Care Reform Efforts” 

By Hugh Salmon, Director, Global Social Service Workforce Alliance and Emily Delap, Senior Associate, Child Frontiers 

As countries work to achieve lasting family-based care solutions, children and young people with lived experience of care possess invaluable insights and wisdom. Yet, too often, their perspectives are sidelined or overlooked. The Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, Child Frontiers and Martin James Foundation are currently implementing a multi-national project that aims to improve the capacity of the social service workforce to respond to children at risk of family separation by learning directly from those with lived experience of care. 

There are five reasons, in particular, why we consider it imperative that the voices and expertise of children and young people with lived experience of care take centre stage in efforts to strengthen the social service workforce in support of care reform: 

1. Ensuring social services and work practice are grounded in reality: Children and young people who have experienced the care system firsthand possess a unique understanding of its intricacies, challenges, and shortcomings. Sharing these experiences can help identify gaps in services, barriers to access, and areas of social work practice that need improvement. These insights can ensure that the ways we strengthen the social service workforce are rooted in the lived realities of those the workforce aims to serve.
2. Empowerment: By engaging young people with experience in care, we can help foster a sense of belonging and purpose. By providing opportunities for meaningful participation, we also empower young people to become agents of change in improving social work practice in supporting children and families.
3. Informing training and development: Incorporating the insights and expertise of children and young people in care into the training and development of social service workers can greatly enrich the learning experience and provide practical resources for the workers. By sharing their positive and negative experiences, young people can also help shape more effective approaches to service delivery.
4. Advocacy and Policy Influence: The voices of children and young people with lived experience of care can be powerful catalysts for policy change. By following their lead in our advocacy campaigns, we can elevate issues that are otherwise all too often overlooked.
5. Driving Systemic Change: Ultimately, incorporating the expertise of children and young people with lived experience of care is not just about improving the quality of services and working practices—it’s about driving overall systemic change and moving closer to a world in which every child and family can benefit from lasting family-based care solutions.

Click here to learn more about the Strengthening the Social Service Workforce for Family-Based Care project.

Beyond this, Udayan Care has worked to incorporate the perspective and leadership of those who experienced care within their programs. By implementing their feedback and ideas, children served have been empowered to voice their opinions and advocate for their needs. This input has significantly influenced the operation and management of Udayan Care. Further, several youth with care experience are now employed within Udayan Care’s programs, providing crucial insight and leadership.  

New Guidance on Transition – Produced by People with Lived Experience 

Finally, this month, we are celebrating with several of MJF’s partners who collaborated on a new tool, Residential Care Transition Messaging. Leaders, including those with lived experience, from Child’s i Foundation, Forget Me Not, and Better Care Network worked to shape this powerful guide on approaching the transition of residential care models from the perspective of children who spent time in alternative care.   

This guide serves to remind those within care reform of the importance of clear communication with children and young people while a residential care home is being transitioned, noting that “although children and young people are the individuals whose lives are most impacted by transition, they are often rendered bystanders to a process imposed upon them. They may be left to wonder what is happening to them, with little agency to exercise their right to meaningful participation.”  

The guide is crucial for all practitioners involved in any care reform efforts, as it was developed by those who experienced alternative care directly. It contains powerful testimonies from children who were often left with questions.  Researchers noted children were concerned about whether their education support would continue or were confused as to why their “home” was being closed in the first place. The report also highlights the risk of offering disingenuous participation offers, with some children feeling as though their concerns and questions should have been addressed throughout the transition process. To address these concerns, the guide recommends that leaders “clarify the areas in which children and young people will be allowed to make decisions versus the areas in which they will have no choice at all, and the areas in between. Consider not only the developmental age of children and young people but also be mindful of resource limitations.” 

The report concludes with this powerful advice, “Be kind to care leavers. They have been through a lot at a young age.” 

All of us at Martin James Foundation are deeply grateful for the leaders and partners with care experience from whom we learn daily. We are thankful to follow their lead and share their hope that one day, every child will grow up in a safe and loving family.

Strengthening the Social Service Workforce for Family-Based Care: Learning from Young People with Lived Experience of Care 

The Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, Child Frontiers and Martin James Foundation are delighted to announce an innovative new project beginning this year. This multi-national, multi-year project will work to learn from and amplify the knowledge and expertise of young adults with lived experience of care, their families, and social workers serving vulnerable children worldwide to develop a range of new training and advocacy tools for the social service workforce.   

This project comes at a crucial time in history as nations are growing in the recognition of the value of family for every child’s development and well-being. This has led many to adopt new laws and policies to prevent the separation of children from their families and ensure family-based alternative care options are available when necessary. To ensure the social service workforce worldwide is ready to meet the requirements set forth in these new laws and policies, this project looks to learn directly from young adults with lived experience of care. Our hope is their expertise, insight, and knowledge will strengthen, deepen, and sustain the motivation and competencies of the social service workforce. 

While research indicates the central role family plays in the healthy development of every child, many countries throughout the world still rely primarily upon residential care to provide alternative care for children. Millions of children are, therefore, growing up in residential care or are currently at risk of being separated for long periods of time from their families and communities.   

As the first line of response for many children and families at risk of separation, a well-developed and supported social service workforce plays an essential role in helping countries achieve lasting family-based care solutions. It is critical to ensure that these social workers, paraprofessionals and community volunteers are well-resourced, trained and equipped to ensure that children are not unnecessarily separated from their original family and returned to their families and supported when separation has occurred. Further, when children do require alternative care, it is critical that the social service workforce be equipped to ensure that every child receives high-quality, family-based care through kinship care, foster care, or adoption.     

This project aims to enhance this workforce’s skill set by turning directly to young people with lived experience of care. Implemented in Brazil, India and Uganda, the project will begin by documenting the knowledge and perspective of those with care experience through videos, written testimonies and other creative media. Expertise gathered will inform a series of training and advocacy tools in each country. The training tools will aim to enhance the knowledge, resources and practices of social service workers as they are increasingly motivated by and skilled in prioritizing family strengthening and family-based alternative care. The advocacy tools will aim to raise awareness of the crucial role of social service workers in supporting governments to reform care systems and of the need to increase long-term investment in this essential workforce, covering not only adequate salaries and resources, but the resources required to build and incentivize continuous professional development and supervision.  

“Incorporating the knowledge and experiences of care-experienced youth, family members, and practitioners is crucial in shifting policies and workforce practices away from a reliance on residential care, ” says Hugh Salmon, Director of the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance. “The perspectives of those with lived experience can guide the creation of more effective alternative care models centred on the needs and wishes of the child and on empowering families to provide good care for their children. This will enable a more responsive and empathetic approach to protecting children who might otherwise be at risk of losing the care of a family.” 

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“As we aim to be led by young adults with lived experience of care, we are really pleased to be collaborating with the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance and Child Frontiers. We celebrate the fundamental importance of social workers and the pivotal difference they make in the lives of children and families. When they have the best, evidence-informed tools and resources available, children and families greatly benefit,” said Ailsa Laxton, Director of Global Programmes at Martin James Foundation.   

Stay tuned for more information as this two-year project unfolds. 

Child’s i Foundation is committed to bringing African practice-based evidence to the global care reform movement, with a vision of a future where every child thrives in a safe and loving family. In Uganda, they are reimagining solutions to replace orphanages with family-based care, while also providing a blueprint for care reform in the country, which they share about in this reflection piece.

The Foster Care Structure in Uganda: A Path to Family-Based Care

The meaning and implementation of Foster Care can look different depending on the country or context you are in. In this reflection, we will shed light on the Ugandan context where we’re working with the community and Government to ensure children grow up in families, not orphanages.

Formal Foster Care in Uganda involves the legal care of a non-relative child under the guidance of the Probation and Social Welfare Officer. A formal foster carer must obtain a care order from the court or be registered with the Probation and Social Welfare Officer at the district level.

The foster care structure includes Emergency Foster Care, Long-Term Foster Care, and Fostering-to-Adopt. These structures have established peer support groups where foster carers can assist and support one another, share challenges, and find solutions. 

• Short-Term Foster Care: Providing temporary care for children for a few days or months, allowing time for tracing their relatives and assessing, preparing, and supporting both the child and the family for reintegration.

• Long-Term Foster Care: Providing care for children who lack family support or are unable to be reintegrated with their families due to child protection or other issues. Long-term foster families offer children the chance to grow up in a loving family environment until they reach the age of 18 and support them into independence.

Collaborative Efforts

Child’s i Foundation collaborates with community structures to support vulnerable children through Child Well-being Committees, also known as Community Development Networks (CDNs), at both the district and sub-county levels. These committees serve as gatekeepers within the community to ensure child safeguarding.

These committees consist of various community members who meet quarterly to discuss issues affecting children who are vulnerable and develop solutions to support them. If referrals are necessary, the team includes a Community Development Officer at the sub-county level who can refer cases to the District level through the Probation and Social Welfare Officer.

At the community level, Child’s i Foundation works with community volunteers recommended by their fellow community members or the Local Council at the village level. These volunteers play a crucial role in safeguarding children in their communities. Child’s i Foundation provides training and mentorship to these volunteers, enabling them to identify cases, offer counselling and guidance, and raise awareness about the importance of children growing up in families within the community. They also actively identify families interested in becoming foster carers.

Child’s i Foundation has partnered with the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development to train District Alternative Care Panels. These panels consist of various community members within the district who make collective decisions concerning which foster carer is suitable to care for and protect a child. They also approve a child’s profile determining whether the child should be placed in foster care.

To identify potential foster carers, Child’s i Foundation relies on the support of community structures such as community volunteers and child well-being committee members. These teams conduct community sensitisation programs about foster care, with some community volunteers who have experience of being emergency foster carersacting as advocates. These advocates raise awareness about foster care in village meetings, places of worship, savings groups, and other gatherings to encourage the identification of foster carers. Directors from Child Care Institutions have also advocated for foster care in the community, emphasising the importance of ensuring every child belongs in a family setting.

In collaboration with the Martin James Foundation, Child’s i Foundation is implementing a two-year project called “Demonstrating Community-led Alternatives to Orphanages.” This project aims to establish a professional foster and kinship care community, working with the government to review and endorse National Foster Care guidelines. Additionally, best practice models are being developed in three districts to raise national awareness of alternative care in Uganda and the region.

To learn more about this initiative, visit https://martinjames.foundation/partner-childs-i-foundation/.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we are highlighting some of the remarkable women working in family-based alternative care for children that we are privileged to know, partner with, and learn from worldwide. 

Hilda Nabbosa is a Project Manager at Child’s i Foundation, our partner organisation in Uganda. She is a social worker with a bachelor’s degree in social work and social administration from Makerere University. She is deeply passionate about her work, approaching it with a constant willingness to learn and grow while seeking impactful results. She is ambitious and aims to become an expert in her field and become one of the best technical people in family-based alternative care in Uganda and the world.

While there are many rewarding elements of her work, she finds satisfaction when she sees children she and her organisation supported successfully reintegrate into families and communities and thrive.

The willingness of foster carers to wholeheartedly accept caring for children without compensation inspires her as it’s evident that they’ve fully embraced the importance of family-based care instead of institutions.

“Every day, my passion for working with children and strengthening communities motivates me. I am inspired as I witness the positive results I have made in the lives of children, families and communities. I love working alongside families to develop the best solutions to their challenges,” says Hilda.

Learn more about our work with Child’s i Foundation at https://martinjames.foundation/new-partnership-to-demonstrate-community-led-alternatives-to-orphanages/