The Buzzword in Orphan Tourism

Recently the Rok Kern team was invited to speak at one of the International Schools here in Phnom Penh about volunteering and how we can best serve others. We spent a lesson talking to the year 11s about the issues around volunteering in orphanages and the growth of Family Based Care in Cambodia. After watching ‘The Love You Give’ video with us, one of the students, Annie* penned...

Considering volunteering overseas: Read this letter from one student to another

The Rok Kern project is an education project, aimed at teaching students and church-goers outside of Cambodia, about the harms of volunteering in orphanages and how they can “make a difference” in healthy and sustainable ways. Sometimes, the Rok Kern team has the opportunity to meet with international students within Cambodia and run similar workshops with them. Recently, Emily*...

Harmful or helpful: Exploring the ethics of missions and school trips

Short-term missions or volunteer trips are conducted around the world with the best intentions to care for children and their families and communities. People fundraise, visit, give and serve hoping to make a difference to individuals and to the injustices in our world.  Increasingly, research is suggesting that these trips can be harmful to the countries being visited. This research has...