The Consequences of Poverty Tourism (and how we're to blame)

A few years back, when I was volunteering in Ghana, one of our projects was supporting a local orphanage. There were thirty-some kids at the time, all between 2 and 19 years and the older children looked after the younger ones, much as you'd expect. The girls cooked the meals, the boys collected water, and all but the youngest kids did their own laundry by hand. The orphanage was clean and provided routine, responsibility, and safety.

And the kids were happy. On weekends I would go out and visit and we'd play makeshift volleyball or watch a movie on a small laptop, thirty kids squished together, eyes glued to the screen. Nearly all spoke very good English, in part due to the Western volunteers who had come through over the years. Deprived of love, the younger ones would come running up to you upon arrival and cling onto you for the duration of your stay. Everyone wanted to be held, to have someone listen to them, to be told they were smart or funny or beautiful. 

After a year of deterioration, last week we received news that the orphanage has ordered all the kids to leave by the end of July. Some have already moved out to live with other family members. We are waiting to hear the full story, and in the meantime the organization is doing its best to track down each child and pay fees to ensure they can sit for their final exams. I'm sure the organization will hold a fundraising event to continue to help out these great kids.

This situation gets me thinking about the recent opposition to supporting international orphanages. Living in Cambodia, you hear about corrupt orphanages where the kids are kidnapped or bought from their families and then subjected to the humiliation of hoards of tourists photographing them in their new home. It has become something of an industry and Cambodia is not the only culprit. The reaction from the media (and the general public) is to condemn all orphanages, causing financial assistance to be dispersed elsewhere. 

My fear is this proclamation of the "evils of orphanages" will have a tremendous impact. Of course I don't condone fraudulent schemes. But there are plenty of actual orphanages out there. Orphanages in developing countries often have little support from their own government where there's only so much money to go around (and corruption on a much larger scale). 

Source: thisisafrica.me

The real problem here stems from the recent popularity of poverty tourism. Our infatuation with slums and orphanages, perhaps partially due to movies like Slumdog Millionaire. By turning homes of the poor into tourist attractions, we allow entrepreneurs to make money off of others' misfortune for the sake of our curiosity. It is no different than San Francisco guides offering tours of homeless shelters in the city; such an idea would cause an uproar, yet somehow it is acceptable when we visit India. We observe the destitute as though they are animals in a zoo, forgetting these are real people trying to survive in a less fortunate world.

I'm not going to say these local businessmen are in the right. But if they didn't see a golden opportunity, they wouldn't have capitalized on it in the first place. No tour guide would dream of showing you the dirtiest part of town. That is until you start asking him to take you there. Even volunteering in orphanages can get tricky, enough so I won't go into it here.

Advocates of poverty tourism say it gives foreigners a dose of reality. That by visiting a slum you may come home a changed person who will take advantage of the opportunities so abundant in your life. That you will understand what poverty truly is. That you will no longer be wasteful or indignant or complain when you run out of hot water in the shower. They say that poverty isn't going away. By making it accessible to the masses, they are bringing the issue to the front where it can no longer be ignored.

Source: NY Times

Perhaps on a very small scale, with groups of individuals who had the power to invest in change, poverty tours could be beneficial. But I'd argue that all travel changes a person, especially when visiting a developing country. You don't need to tour a slum to realize how good you've got it made or visit an orphanage to be thankful for your childhood. Spend a week in Manila and I assure you, you will realize that serious work needs to be done about poverty, no slum tour required.

 There is a huge difference between shedding light on an important global issue and allowing tourists to stomp around intruding on private lives. Perhaps some local guides truly do believe this will help their people. And perhaps some tourists have the best intentions and leave ready to change the world. But how do you remain accountable for all of them? And besides, has anyone ever asked these slum-dwellers if they mind being exploited? The justification sounds like an awfully familiar story of the West knowing what's best for the other half, without actually consulting them. 

Again we come back to the theme of social responsibility. Responsibility on the part of travel guidebooks to provide information about respectful tourism. Responsibility on the part of travel agencies and tour groups to maintain their integrity and denounce those who allow tourists to gawk at the poor for a couple of bucks. 

And responsibility on the part of the traveler to have enough sense to realize that it is voyeuristic and offensive. 

Don't turn your back on one of the most vulnerable groups because you read a few articles about corruption. Do your research. Support organizations doing honest work. Travel responsibly and refuse to participate in this trend. Maybe then these "businessmen" will see the well has run dry. 

Most of all, don't forget that while you may not have to live with the consequences, you may still be part of the problem.

UPDATE (7/28/13): If you are interested in this topic, grab a copy of Little Princes" by Conor Grennan. It's an incredible book and delves far deeper into the issues of orphanages and the selling of one's children for the change at a "better life" than one blog post.