A U.S. federal court has sentenced a former missionary from Oklahoma to 40 years in prison for sexually abusing children at a Kenyan orphanage. His arrest and conviction—one case among several recent instances of overseas abuse—highlights the need for more vetting procedures in international volunteering, experts say.
The Better Care Network's "Better Volunteering, Better Care" initiative is working to discourage international volunteering in residential care homes—a trend BCN director Florence Martin said would be unheard of in the United States. Beyond the possibility of sexual offenses, Martin said focusing only on orphan care encourages care homes to lie about the status of the children who live there. BCN advocates volunteers go beyond orphanages and one-on-one contact with children to work with existing local groups that focus on building up families.