Orphanage trafficking refers to children who are deliberately recruited into orphanages and exploited for profit.
Some are sexually abused, forced into labor or begging, or used for their organs, while others may be sold for illegal adoption. Running an orphanage can be a lucrative trade. Vulnerable 'orphans' attract funding, donations, and international volunteers.
It is estimated that up to 80 percent of the more than eight million children in orphanages have at least one living parent. Most of these children are in an orphanage because they have been displaced, are disabled, or have lived in a family that cannot care for them due to poverty. In some cases, "child finders" are sent by orphanage owners to local villages or those impacted by war, natural disaster, or social discrimination. If they go and live in an orphanage, the "finder" promises a better life for the children, education, food security, safety, and healthcare.
Instead of fulfilling those promises, many orphanages use the children to raise funds by forcing to perform shows of interact and play with potential donors ito encourage more donations. Orphanages have also kept children in poor health to elicit more sympathy and money from donors. In addition, documents are created to make it look like the child has no family.
"Voluntourism"
T.W. is a survivor of orphanage trafficking. Her experience of being taken from her home in rural Kenya to an orphanage for the sole purpose of interacting with western volunteers and to keep donations to the orphanage flowing is disturbingly common.
It was made clear to her from the start that the orphanage's primary concern was to ensure volunteers visiting the orpahage were kept happy so that they would return, set up fundraisers, and make significant donations to the orphanage. Click here to learn more.
Alternatives to Orphanages
The United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child declares that every child has the right to grow up in a family environment, and its Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children states that the institutional care should be a temporary 'last resort' for the 'shortest possible duration.' Moreover, decades of studies conclude that children who grow up in institutions have poorer outcomes with increased rates of mental illness, physical and intellectual underdevelopment, and a higher risk of being trafficked.
A shift away from institutional care to a family caregiving setting has its challenges. As a result, there is a need for resources and expertise to develop solutions to children's health and safety.
Community care options, such as small group homes and community care where appropriate, can serve as alternatives while working toward a permanent placement in a family setting. Aftercare plans that include ongoing support from community resources can help children thrive after leaving institutional care. Click
here to learn more.
Babies are being stolen in Kenya to feed a thriving black market. In a year-long investigation, BBC Africa Eye infiltrated the trafficking rings selling children.
They witnessed children being snatched from homeless mothers to be sold for as little as $390 (United States). In addition, the team uncovered illegal child trafficking in street clinics and the theft of babies at a major government-run hospital. The main incentive behind this thriving unlawful market for babies, aside from money, is the stigma associated with childlessness. The "baby stealers" usually target mothers with infants and children under the age of three. Thus, vulnerable women are being preyed upon in Nairobi to supply a secretive but thriving illegal Kenyan market for babies and young children.
Agencies responsible for finding missing children and tracking black market activity are under-resourced and under-staffed. As a result, one of the few recourses for mothers whose children are taken is Missing Child Kenya. This community-led initiative leverages technology and crowdsourcing in the search for and the tracing and reunification of missing and displaced children. In its four years of operation, the organization has worked about 600 cases.
Child trafficking is rampant in Kenya and remains under-reported. Most of the children are stolen from vulnerable women who do not have the resources to force action from the authorities or to attract media attention.
According to BBC Africa Eye's research, child-trafficking rings operate within the walls of some of Nairobi's biggest government-run hospitals and in illegal street clinics in the city's slums. The clinics have delivery rooms for expectant mothers and have identified as a location for the black-market trade in babies.
While mothers may turn to the local police station, they often do not get any help. Missing Child Kenya points out the "Many street mothers are children themselves, and they are taken advantage of in their vulnerability." Too often, they are not seen as victims of crime who deserve sympathy, "but nobody should assume that people on the street do not have feelings, that they do not deserve justice."
The full BBC documentary can be found here. It is well worth the time.
Read more in November’s Stop Trafficking Newsletter
