Two girls

ReThink Orphanages - A better way to care

Our vision

A world where no child is needlessly separated from their family, and the institutionalization of children is a thing of the past.  

Our partners

We comprise of individuals and organizations from international aid and development, child protection, tourism, philanthropic, education and faith-based communities who have come together in this shared vision. 

Our history

Founded as Better Volunteering Better Care (BVBC) in 2013 by Better Care Network and Save the Children UK, the primary purpose of the coalition was to the understand and share information about the impact of international volunteering in residential care centres (orphanages) and raise awareness about the negative effects of volunteering in these settings. This initiative brought together several actors from different sectors and provided a platform for collaboration. 

The first regional ReThink Hub

In 2015, in response to strategy discussions that greater impact could be achieved if the coalition focused at a country level, BVBC members in Australia adapted the cross-sectoral model employed by BVBC to develop the first of the country-hub concepts and called it ReThink Orphanages. The Hub broadened its remit to focus on funding support for orphanages as well as volunteering, recognizing that these two streams were frequently aligned.  Since it was established, ReThink Orphanages has made significant inroads in effecting change across various sectors and succeeded in bringing the issue of the link between orphanage tourism and orphanage trafficking to the attention of Australian Parliamentarians. This led to orphanage trafficking being recognized in Australia as a form of modern slavery. Find out more about our work in Australia

Expanding into the USA and Europe

Building on the success of the first country-hub, two further hubs – in the USA and Europe – were established at the end of 2017, both adopting a broader remit of focus, to include funding as well as volunteering. In light of this broader global remit, with the agreement of the founders of ReThink Orphanages in Australia, BVBC and the country-hubs were renamed ReThink Orphanages in June 2018.  

The global coalition continues to serve as a platform for sharing knowledge and best practice; the focus of the country-hubs is on advocacy and engagement.  Find out more about our work in the USA and Europe.