Cambodia forum

I have been very pleased with the response I've had from my message on Travelfish. Many people from around the world have contacted me to visit the Cambodian Dump Children Centre. No one has been disappointed. Your reception will be heartwarming.

Since I am not always available to take people there, here are the directions. South on Monivong Blvd, past Mao Tse Tung, to Street 466. Turn right, and go to Street 103. Turn left, and watch for the sign about 100 meters.

Hi Longtail,

With which charity did you go there?

I am contacted regularly by travelers who notice this announcement, and no one appears disappointed by their visit. Meeting these kids is a heart-warming experience.

By the way, better directions: south on Monivong Blvd (a very big street) to Street 488 (not 466 as in an earlier message), turn right (west), to Street 103 and turn left (south), about 150 metres to a compound with a CDCC sign in front. Unexpected visitors are very welcome.

Visiting orphanages and 'dump' children bring a sour taste to my mouth as I remember Fletcher's 'charity'.Anybody who wants to know the details should maybe google it.I think he's still in Thailand waiting for extradition to Cambodia? I think if I mention his predilection for the little orphaned girls you might get the idea.
Suturn, you are absolutely right.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/9055213/Orphanage-tourism-help-or-hindrance.html
I think this article says it all. Especially the 'do and don't' part.

Gwapo
don't forget the customised Hummers.
Time maybe for Cambodia to stand on its own feet.There is definitely a culture of relying too much on foreigners to sort things out.

In defence of orphanage tourism "Fletch the Letch" would probably still be running centres for children today if he wasn't greedy enough to solicit attention from people that actually cared about children. I also don't believe that barangs are any more likely to commit acts of child abuse than entirely locally-run operations.

Streams of funny looking foreigners coming to chat to kids in an alien tongue isn't an ideal substitute for the affections of a couple of doting parents.
But, playing the devil's advocate here, what are the real alternatives in that part of the world? The kids looked after by tourist-targeting NGOs are probably less badly off than those who only have contact with overworked, underpaid staff for whom childcare is a means of subsistence rather than a means of enjoyment, or stern religious teachers determined to instil moral values, or their cousin twice removed who's delighted because now he has some workers to help pay for the education of his own children, people traffickers ,or people who'd prefer their contact with children didn't come under any scrutiny at all.

FWIW I did a brief stop at an orphanage in Cambodia because the driver (a reputable qualified tour guide) suggested it. Essentially it was children making souvenirs which are then sold on to sympathetic tourists. Apparently they get half a day of education too.
I'm sure this is exactly the sort of organisation UNICEF is campaigning against, and I found the whole thing distasteful. But even then, it's possibly less distasteful than the million child postcard peddlers that fight each other to be the first to deliver their aggressive sales pitch; I'm not sure many children in that part of the world lead what could be considered a normal, happy upbringing.

sayadian.
I am in total agreement with you

I agree, bad idea.