In this piece for Christianity Today, Krish Kandiah writes about the Christian community's support for orphanages around the globe and how their well-meaning support has contributed to the separation of families and other negative impacts on the wellbeing of children. "Ever since my wife and I first met nearly 30 years ago," writes Kandiah, "we have dreamed about pulling our experience together and spending our retirement running an orphanage in Africa or Asia. The last thing I want to hear is that I could be doing more harm than good by trying to help vulnerable children around the world." Kandiah continues, "for those of us who have invested our lives into this area of Christian service, the temptation is to insulate ourselves from criticism by retreating from the conversation or fighting against the critique. But I also know from years of working in the field of child protection that we must face up to the facts, research any allegations, and ensure we are putting the welfare of children before our own ego, mission or dreams."
Kandiah describes how Christian communities around the world have contributed to orphanages through donations and volunteers, and some of the ways in which these orphanages have harmful effects on children, families, and local communities. "The long-term effects of institutionalization are what lie behind the suggestion that orphanages may be doing more harm than good. And this has caused me to start rethinking orphanages too." Kandiah continues, "in the best cases, orphanages are indeed trying to keep children safe, nourished, clothed, and educated...However, just because a lifeboat is a safer alternative to drowning in the sea does not mean those who have been rescued want or need to live on a lifeboat for years on end. Similarly, just because an orphanage may be safer than trying to survive on dangerous streets does not mean orphanages are the long-term solution to the problems facing vulnerable children."
Kandiah then writes about some of the alternatives to institutionalization that Christians can support. "When it comes to vulnerable children, I have seen that the best place for them to thrive is in the context of a permanent loving family. If anything were to happen to my wife and me, we have made arrangements for our children to be taken under the wing of a family as close in values to our own as possible, not go to an orphanage or a residential home or foster care. A true sense of family cannot be replicated in institutional care." Kandiah discusses two main family-based alternatives to orphanages - family reunification and locally-based foster care or adoption - and calls on those in the Christian community to shift its efforts to support these types of initiatives instead.