Voluntourism is a form of tourism where travelers partake in voluntary work,

characteristically to improve the economic well-being, socio-cultural development and

environmental conservation in the community they are visiting. A report by Tourism
Research and Marketing estimates that volunteer tourism attracts 1.6 million people a
year, and that the market is worth up to 1.3bn. (Pattinson, 2014) While there are
seemingly many benefits to the destination country, in truth there are actually many
negative impacts on locals that we often overlook. One of the most detrimental impacts
would be how we are fostering a culture of dependency in the community, in turn
exploiting the locals. More than 60% of Nepals development budget comes from foreign
aid. (Subedi, 2009) Without this funding, which comes from multilateral agencies such
as the World Bank and the European Union, the government would not have the ability
to diversify the amount of budget to these areas for utilization. This makes the people
reliant on such help in order to improve their level of material comfort. The UNICEF
estimates that 85% of children in orphanages in Nepal have at least one living parent.
(Moran, 2016) However, these children are trafficked to become orphans under the
impression that they will receive better education and standard of living. Parents are
unaware of how their children are actually living under poor conditions and even
subjected to mistreatment to win the sympathy of the voluntourists, who would then be
more inclined to donate additionally to give back to the community and improve the
welfare of the children. Even if the orphanages were indeed legitimate, it is of great
importance that the children can develop an unwavering, lasting attachment to their
caretakers in order to find a sense of belonging. Allowing voluntourists to help them
would have the exact opposite effect. In addition, according to its latest report from the
Central Child Welfare Board (CCWB), 90% of children's homes failed to meet the
government's minimum operating standards. (Pattisson, 2014) This reinforces the
ideology of how the orphanage owners actually use sympathy for their own advantage
and exploit their people. They are not actually concerned about improving the lives of
those who are more unfortunate than them, but instead are satisfying their selfish
personal motives.

Several current measures have been put in to alleviate these negative impacts. It is
imperative that voluntourists should first and foremost deliberate the needs of the host
community before deciding to render their help. Organizations have been set up over
the years to help reunite families who have lost their children to traffickers. One such
organization, Forget Me Not, a former childrens home turned NGO have launched their
own projects such as Forget Me Not Families, which was established in January 2013.
This project helps to trace families and facilitate reconnections through reunification. A
team of reintegration officers and therapists build genuine connections with the children
so that they feel safe and supported throughout the entire progression. As they collate

information from the children based on their existing as well as official records, they
begin tracing the families in villages throughout Nepal. Once they successfully locate
the families, they begin the process of reconnecting them by firstly meeting the family to
better understand them in order to not put the child at risk again. Follow-up calls and
visits, as well as a variation of observations over time will analyze the best decision for
the child; either full reunification or remain long-term care in Forget Me Not Childrens
Home. Since the start of this program, they have successfully reconnected 95% of their
girls. The home serves as a transition place for children as well as a home for long term
care for children. Those residing here are provided with a protected, stable and loving
environment accompanied by high welfare standards to ensure their wellbeing is
sufficiently taken care of. Forget Me Not Futures is another project meant to empower
girls to dream big and help them attain their goals by providing them guidance and
planning. This is regardless whether they have been reunified or are still living in the
home. Such organizations also help to create awareness that such trafficking exists so
that voluntourists would be more careful with their choices.