There are over two million children living in residential care centres, or ‘orphanages’, in the world, although it has been suggested that the real number is likely to be far higher, and possibly as high as eight million. Research has shown that four out of five of these children have at least one living parent and the vast majority could be living with one or both of their parents or with other family members if provided with appropriate support. Despite well-established evidence of the harmful impact of institutionalisation on children’s development and wellbeing, international travellers volunteering in such centres, often with very limited, if any, supervision, continues to be promoted as an acceptable form of tourism and volunteering experience. Children in residential care are already at a higher risk of abuse and exploitation4 and are exposed to further risk of harm by unqualified and unsupervised international volunteers. In addition, residential care operators can come to see international volunteering and children in their ‘orphanages’ as a key means of income, fuelling the growth of residential care in the country and promoting children’s unnecessary separation from their families. There are different understandings of volunteerism, ‘voluntourism’ and tourism, as well as perspectives on what is meant by short- and long-term placements. International volunteering in residential care centres can take the form of short visits, sometimes associated with gifts, performances and day-visits, or longer term stays at the residential care centre where a volunteer cares for, or interacts with the children, on a daily basis for a period of time.