Magic on the road

Orphanage Revolution

Some time ago, in the birthplace of Lord Buddha, the white man arrived. It began with the hippie movement, when artists came to get inspired; it continued with the quest to conquer the roof of the world; it evolved to a stop in the backpacker trail of Asia. This last one was a little trickier than the preceding eras. Not every traveller was interested in the mighty Himalayas and that world famous plant was illegalized. This magical land had to figure out a way to continue their economic prosperity through the pocket of the Kuhire…
Orphanages were built.
Westerners tend to believe, they are the saviours of the world. So much, that we’ve manage to make a business out of volunteerism. Our intentions are good, but we are blinded by our arrogance.
A couple of years ago, causality took me to Nepal. This was my second time around, so I was expecting the usual trekking offers. As I strolled down the streets of Thamel, something struck me as odd. No one was selling me tours. Instead I was hearing shouts of “You want volunteer?” Like any good traveller I felt I needed to give back on the road, so I decided to work in one of the 400 orphanages in Kathmandu.
It’s funny. Many volunteers talked about how this encounter had changed their lives. To be honest, it was nothing like that for me. Yes, I did grow with this experience, but that was never my goal. I just wanted to help. By the end of my journey, my biggest contribution was the money I was paying to work there.
A big number of the children are not even orphans. They have just been recruited so that the foreigner can come and “save” them. It’s quite the shock when the supposedly chopped up parents show up for a visit.
Many argue that the opportunities provided by these places outweigh the fact that these kids were made orphans. “Hell, we probably saved them from a life of struggle,” they say. Yes, they all go to school and have a perfect command of English. Yet, everyday they miss their moms’.