Rok KernHarmful or helpful: Exploring the ethics of missions and school trips
Short-term missions or volunteer trips are conducted around the world with the best intentions to care for children and their families and communities. People fundraise, visit, give and serve hoping to make a difference to individuals and to the injustices in our world. Increasingly, research is suggesting that these trips can be harmful to the…
CiFChildren in Families·2018-11-17·7 min read
Rok KernDiscover Family Based Care
Research shows that voluntourism to orphanages is harmful to children growing up in those institutions. Voluntourism refers to when people combine tourism with the desire to make a difference. They want to serve the people they have been visiting, often by volunteering at an orphanage. Despite their good intentions, this practice increases child protection and…
CiFChildren in Families·2018-02-19·5 min read
Rok KernCelebrating ‘Anne with an E’: Orphans in Popular Culture
Part One: An Introduction to Orphans in Popular Culture Ludwig Wittgenstein once said “The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” Our language shapes our perceptions of what life is like, what our values are and the way we understand the world. The language we use matters. The way we tell stories…
CiFChildren in Families·2017-06-30·5 min read
Rok KernVolunteering Short Term: The Excellent Amy!
Introducing Amy In the coming weeks on the CIF blog, you might notice a bump in the quality of our photos. That’s due to the work of Amy Higg. Amy is a professional photographer from Queensland, Australia. She put her business on hold for two months this year, spending that time volunteering short term in…
CiFChildren in Families·2017-03-27·9 min read
Rok KernMedia: The Power of Dignity or Shame
A recent media campaign by a Cambodian NGO, portraying children in rags and labelling them as “a sex worker” or “a street kid” has kicked off a storm of discussion. How do we as NGOs portray or represent the people we are trying to help? While many children and families do live in poverty, we need to…
CiFChildren in Families·2016-06-13·3 min read
Rok KernProblems & Solutions: Child Trafficking Part I
Six months ago, world news headlines highlighted the child trafficking and abuse in Thailand’s fishing industry. The BBC reported children from Myanmar and Cambodia are forced to work on vessels and in processing factories, leading to dangerous and debilitating injuries, not to mention violating a litany of human rights. (Article here.) During the past decade,…
CiFChildren in Families·2016-05-10·12 min read
Rok KernStories – Powerful and Valuable
“Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.” ― Ben Okri, Nigerian Poet and Novelist Humanity gathers together around stories. Whatever the format – a book, a movie, a tale told around the fire with friends, facing the flames, backs to the darkness – we as people grow in the sharing…
CiFChildren in Families·2016-04-08·3 min read
