Most people understandably believe the world’s orphanages are full of children who have tragically lost their parents to war, disaster or disease. But the truth is perhaps even more tragic – for it now appears that at least four in every five ‘orphans’ actually have one and sometimes two living parents who are unable to care for them.

Charity organisation Save the Children has just published a report showing that the figure is even higher in some places – 90 percent in Ghana, for instance, 95 percent in Indonesia and an astonishing 98 percent in Eastern and Central Europe. Child Protection Advisor Louise Melville-Fulford told RNW there’s one main thing that’s ‘orphaning’ so many children – poverty.

“Unfortunately, many desperate families feel that they have no other option but to place their child in an orphanage in order to ensure that they’re fed, clothed and educated. In many countries, possibly the only form of free education available within the community is in the orphanage. The tragedy is that children placed in orphanages are often permanently separated from their families.”

Institutional damage
While parents may give up their children believing it’s the only way to give them a better life, in reality the opposite is true. Children in institutions are far more vulnerable to abuse, neglect, exploitation and psychological harm.

Save the Children reports that children who grow up in orphanages are more likely to suffer from stunted growth, behavioural problems and have a lower IQ than those who raised at home or in foster homes. Young children under three in particular may face lasting damage, both physical and mental.

Orphanages not the answer
Save the Children is working to dispel what it says is the myth that orphanages are the answer for families struggling to bring up their children. It’s trying to persuade governments and donors to put their resources into projects which support families instead:

“We know that the running costs of institutions are often ten times higher than [the amount needed] to provide support to the child within the family by providing access to healthcare, education, childcare and livelihood support”.

The charity itself does not support institutions but focuses on projects, developing family and community support. It also supports programmes to provide alternative care for children who are genuinely orphans - such as foster care and adoption - and works with governments to improve standards within children’s homes and help with the process of de-institutionalisation.

Big Business
In some countries orphanages have become big business says Louise Melville-Fulford, leading to the number of such institutions increasing dramatically in recent years, particularly in Africa and Asia.

“Orphanages are often seen as a very easy solution, and they tend to attract a lot of funding, and unscrupulous individuals will profit from that. They may take the donations rather than invest them in the children in their care. In the worst situations, children are abducted into orphanages because funding is often related to the number of children within the orphanage, so the more children they have, the more money they get. Children may then be trafficked out of the institution.”

Save the Children argues that even the poorest families are quite capable of looking after their children if only they are given the right support. It is therefore urging governments, donors and those who work in orphanages to channel their efforts into providing that support.

lead photo: Orphanage in Vietnam by Tormod Sandtorv on Flickr, used under CC licence.