In my postgraduate research and work in Cambodia, I have met mothers who placed their own biological children in orphanages. When I ask them why they would send their own son or daughter away, they all say the same thing: “I couldn’t afford to feed them.”
So, why are we not spending our money to support and strengthen families so they can keep and care for their own children and orphaned relatives? Why are we using our resources to take children out of their families?
3. Orphanages mess kids up.
You might be wondering, what’s the big deal? At least these kids have a roof over their head and three square meals a day. At least they get to go to school and get Christian teaching.
Let me ask you this: would you be willing to place your own children in such an environment? If you died, would you rather they go to relatives or an institution?
I have two kids, and it takes every bit of energy, commitment and focus that my wife and I have to raise them. I simply couldn’t imagine how one staff member with 30 children could possibly do the job properly.
Then, at 18 years old, the children are sent out of the orphanages and too often left to fend for themselves, ill-equipped to deal with a society they have not grown up in. They have never seen how a real family functions, how neighbors interact, how to deal with local leadership, or simply how to function without a strict schedule and rules.
Little wonder, then, that many of these orphanage leavers end up depressed and even suicidal. On top of that, they no longer have the supportive family network an adult needs to feel connected and have a sense of identity.
4. God places the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6).
I could go on, with dozens more reasons that orphanages are a terrible idea. But I will just say this. God’s plan for caring for children can be summed up in one word: family. It is a much better plan than caring for children in an institution—no matter how pretty and well-run that institution is.