Are orphanages in Bali a scam? 😳
When I asked if anyone wanted to visit the orphanage with me, several people told me to stay away. 😕
There are a lot of orphanages who take money from unsuspecting tourists.
And they don't take care of the kids.
They just keep all of the profit for themselves.
Bali isn't the only place where this happens.
Luckily, I already knew that could be an issue, so I researched orphanages hardcore. 🌻
My grandma grew up in one (her mom was too poor to keep her) so I've always been interested in orphans and orphanages. 👵🏻
There's one in Bali called Jodi O' Shea in Bali that's wonderful!
They treat the kids so well there.
The kids are happy and polite.
Volunteers come and teach them yoga, cooking classes, dance classes, English and art. 💃🏽🎨
They needed food this time, so instead of taking a money donation, we actually got to go grocery shopping with the kids and get them chicken and vegetables.
🍗🍅
I absolutely loved my day here and want to go back and maybe teach an art class or something. I was so happy to find a place that is as angry about the fact that kids are taken advantage of as I am.
I'm still not sure if it's a good idea to visit orphanages or not though, based on some more things I read after the fact.
What you do think?
I don't know much about this thing in Bali. But I know for a fact that many orphanages in Nepal have been misused to get money from donations and kids haven't seen any of that. Soo donating should be done carefully.
But you went there. And you bought those groceries and veggies. So I guess you are 100% sure kids benefited from ur actions or? I've spent one evening in Nepal near Chitwan national park in an orphanage and bought kids some sweets and stuff...Soo from my experience, visiting is for sure worth it and has effect.
Donating...dunno. There's a story from Dorota Nvotova (traveler from Czech republic) and she created a chain of orphanages and collected loads of donations, just to find out couple of years later that all those money have been kept privately by people on the Nepalese side and kids didn't get anything :/
I don't know much about this thing in Bali. But I know for a fact that many orphanages in Nepal have been misused to get money from donations and kids haven't seen any of that. Soo donating should be done carefully.<<< Yep!! It's the same here! You have to really do your research before going. That really sucks though. I hate that people exploit good intentions.
Yep, went and bought groceries and I watched some ladies that work there start cooking it up for dinner.
That Czech republic story makes me so sad/angr/all of the above.
I love your oprhanage pic!
Hey @nomadicsoul, I was able to visit an orphanage when I lived in Indonesia. It was a great experience as well for me and my family. We found a place that really cared well for the kids.
Growing up in the States, I always thought that orphanages were for kids without parents. In the city where we lived the kids would stay at the orphanage for most of the time and then occasionally go back to any living parents (if the situation was safe).
Thanks for sharing photos of those wonderful children. All of the bright colors remind me of my second home.
Aww I'm glad you had a good experience, too! I think a lot of people think that orphanages are just for kids without parents. I only knew otherwise because of my grandma.
But some people here in Bali were angry that the kids were in orphanages when they have a home technically. But I can see why they do it sometimes.
go be a shining light in a dark place. If the orphanage is really that bad just a smiling kind face can make a big difference
Oh that's a nice thought!! This orphanage seemed like a decent place. If I was a kid and had to choose an orphanage to live in, could definitely do a lot worse I think.
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