Orphanage: how to detect when it’s a scam ⚠️

Voluntouring staff

7 years ago

Black and white image of a tanzanian kid wearing a red and white stripes t-shirt - representing Glory Orphans Foundation volunteer program in Tanzania

Important safeguarding note
Voluntouring.org does not support volunteering in orphanages or other residential care facilities for children, or any program that gives short-term visitors direct access to vulnerable minors. Multiple authorities warn that this can cause serious unintended harm and can create incentives for exploitation. Read our full policy and safer alternatives here: volunteering with children: safer alternatives.

Last updated: 2026-01-22

Orphanage volunteering and “orphanage tourism”: how to spot risky programs and avoid causing harm

Many people search for “orphanage volunteering” with good intentions. The uncomfortable reality is that volunteering in orphanages and visiting children in residential care is widely recognised as a high-risk activity. It can disrupt children’s well-being, weaken child protection, and in some contexts, create incentives to keep children in institutions to attract donors, visitors, and fees.

This page explains:

(1) why the idea of “choosing a legitimate orphanage” is often the wrong question,
(2) common red flags that signal exploitation or scams, and
(3) safer ways to support children and communities.

A quick rule that protects children and protects you

If a program offers you easy access to children in an orphanage or children’s home, walk away. Do not visit. Do not volunteer. Do not pay a fee for “activities with children”. Do not take photos. If you have already paid, skip to the section “If you already booked or paid”.

Why “finding a good orphanage” is usually the wrong frame

Child protection experts and authorities have raised consistent concerns about orphanage tourism and orphanage volunteering. Even when staff and volunteers mean well, the model itself creates problems. Regular turnover of short-term visitors can be harmful for children, and “care roles” performed by untrained outsiders can blur boundaries and safeguarding standards.

In addition, demand can shape supply.

In some contexts, the visibility of foreign visitors, donations, and program fees has been linked to incentives to recruit and keep children in institutions, including practices described as “orphanage trafficking”.

If you want to help children, the best starting point is not “which orphanage can I trust?”, but “how can I support children without fuelling institutionalisation or creating unsafe access to minors?”

What “scams” and exploitation can look like in practice

Not every risky program looks like a criminal scam.

Some are simply poorly designed, with weak safeguarding and marketing-driven narratives. Others can involve deliberate deception, including exaggerated stories, staged “poverty”, pressure to donate, and constant rotation of visitors to maximise income.

Residential care settings are particularly vulnerable to abuse risks because they concentrate children, create opportunities for unsupervised access, and can normalise strangers coming and going. Multiple reports have highlighted links between orphanage tourism and child sexual exploitation risks in some regions.

Red flags that should make you leave immediately 🚩

Red flag: “Come play with the kids”, “give hugs”, “be a big sister/brother”, “help in the baby room”.
Any offer that frames your role as emotional care or quasi-parenting is a safeguarding risk. Untrained short-term visitors should never be placed in attachment and caregiving roles.
Red flag: No child safeguarding policy, no code of conduct, no clear boundaries.
A credible organisation working with children should be able to show written safeguarding policies, supervision structures, and strict rules on photos and contact.
Red flag: Little or no screening.
If there is no serious screening, references, or background checks where relevant, do not participate. “Send your passport and pay a deposit” is not safeguarding.
Red flag: Easy access and constant visitors.
If visitors can come and go, tour dorms, take pictures, or interact freely with children, that is a major sign of unsafe practice.
Red flag: Pressure tactics and emotional fundraising.
“The children need you”, “donate now”, “bring gifts”, “sponsor a child you met today”. High-pressure emotional appeals are commonly used in unethical programs.
Red flag: Fees that are vague or framed as buying access.
Paying for accommodation is one thing. Paying for “time with children” or “orphanage experience packages” is another. If costs are not transparent and itemised, assume you are financing the business model.
Red flag: Invitation letters or visa promises that sound too easy.
Some operators use “invitation letters” as a sales hook. Legitimate immigration support is specific, documented, and not used as marketing.
Red flag: “A few days is fine”.
Duration does not fix the core safeguarding issues in residential care. Even “two weeks minimum” does not make orphanage volunteering safe or ethical. The safer choice is to avoid these settings entirely.

What to look for instead, if you want to support children abroad

If your motivation is to support children, focus on approaches that do not create casual access to minors and do not reinforce institutional care. Better alternatives usually support families and communities, strengthen local services, and keep children safe in family-based care wherever possible.

Examples of lower-risk ways to help can include supporting organisations working on family strengthening, disability support in communities, education systems (in formal, regulated settings), youth services with trained supervision, or skills-based support that does not involve direct contact with children.

If you are considering any role that involves contact with children (for example in a school or youth program), minimum safeguards should include: a clearly defined role that requires relevant skills, structured supervision, child-safe recruitment procedures, training, a no-photos policy unless explicitly authorised, and a framework that limits contact to professional, supervised contexts.

Due diligence questions you can ask any organisation

1) What is your safeguarding policy and who is accountable for it? Ask for a link or document, not a promise.
2) What screening do you require? Ask about references, background checks where appropriate, and how they handle concerns.
3) What does a volunteer actually do, hour by hour? Vague answers are a warning sign. Responsible programs can describe tasks, schedules, supervision, and boundaries.
4) How do you measure impact? Look for evidence they are supporting systems and outcomes, not selling experiences.
5) How are fees used? Ask for an itemised breakdown and what portion supports local staff and services.

If you already booked or paid

If you have already paid a fee for an orphanage visit or placement, the safest choice is to cancel and request a refund. Do not look for ways to “make it ethical” by staying longer or bringing donations. If you want to support children in that country, redirect your time and money to organisations that work on family-based care, community services, and child protection systems.

If you were misled, keep records (emails, invoices, screenshots) and consider reporting the operator to the platform, travel agent, or relevant consumer protection body in your country. If you are part of a school or group trip, raise the safeguarding issue with the organisers and request an alternative program that does not involve direct access to children.

Our approach on Voluntouring.org

We are reviewing older content and removing or transforming posts that promote or link to orphanage volunteering and similar high-risk experiences. When we keep a page online, it is for education and transparency, not as an endorsement. Our goal is simple: reduce harm, reduce risk for travellers, and support ethical forms of solidarity.