When popular philanthropist “MrBeast,” also known as Jimmy Donaldson, announced a mission “to make the world a better place” by supporting orphanages worldwide in February, he got nearly five million views on YouTube in just a fortnight.
But as pointed out by NGO Lumos, who work to end the dangers of institutionalization and help children be reunited with family, “decades of scientific research shows that children need to grow up in a safe and loving environment, surrounded by family to help them thrive.”
“It can be challenging to undo some of the misconceptions around orphanages,” Lucy Halton, advocacy and campaigns manager at Lumos, told Devex in an email. “Traditional positive views of orphanages as helping children run deep, and require hard work to challenge.”
About the author
Amy Fallon@amyfallon
Amy Fallon is an Australian freelance journalist currently based in Uganda. She has also reported from Australia, the U.K. and Asia, writing for a wide range of outlets on a variety of issues including breaking news, and international development, and human rights topics. Amy has also worked for News Deeply, NPR, The Guardian, AFP news agency, IPS, Citiscope, and others.
