Blog by Fiachra Brennan, Comhlámh (INEW Member)
To Hell with Good Intentions was the striking title of Ivan Illich’s forceful address in 1968. The target of his ire was the paternalistic nature of US volunteering trips to Latin America, concluding with a powerful call to action
Come to look, come to climb our mountains, to enjoy our flowers. Come to study. But do not come to help.
Seven years on from Illich’s speech, in 1975, Comhlámh was established, with its founding members primarily drawn from the growing community of returned development workers and volunteers. Comhlámh was always meant to be political, positioning itself as a critical voice and supporting the emergence of networks, social movements, and pedagogies that continually reflect on how we can respond to the major challenges facing our interconnected, interdependent world.
Given our origins, supporting, but also challenging the Irish international volunteering tradition has always been an important aspect of our mission. In 2025, as we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we have been exploring our archives, trawling through the rich history of reflective articles and actions generated by our members. While Illich spoke of paternalism, a 1988 piece by Niall Crowley in the Comhlámh magazine posited a stronger critique, in an article titled ‘Racism and the Irish Volunteer’. Crowley writes
We all go with vague notions of “helping them”. We came by these notions with little analysis of whether a local person might be far better for the job. Ultimately these notions are patronising and have their roots in our conditioning of white superiority.
Comhlámh has consistently sought to challenge the power relations inherent in international volunteering. Our Code of Good Practice for Volunteer Sending Agencies (VSAs) is a set of values-led principles that provides organisations with a framework to reflect on, adapt, and deepen their international volunteering practice. In recent years, an important part of the work has been spending time with VSAs reconsidering what ‘good practice’ means, seeking to create space to hold contradictions, explore power and complicity, and generate momentum for new ways of doing.
Sitting with complexity offers some space for the grey areas to be considered and explored. Sometimes, however, the strident words of Illich and Crowley are what we need to take most heed of. Since 2016, alongside civil society partners, the Comhlámh End Orphanage Volunteering Working Group has been campaigning to end orphanage volunteering and advocating for family-based global care reform.
Informed by extensive research and international best practice, the group came together to challenge this harmful practice. Over the years, many Irish people have supported orphanages through volunteering, visits, and fundraising. Guided by those good intentions that Illich warned of, this supports a system which puts children at risk and harms their long-term development. Visits can help to sustain an ‘orphanage industry’, increasing the risk of exposure to abuse and exploitation.
Children have a right to family life, something which is denied to the estimated 5.4 children living in orphanages globally. Studies have shown that 80% of children in orphanages have at least one living parent and even more have extended family that could be supported to care for them. In Ireland, we know about the negative impact of institutional care. It has been well documented, not least throughout the Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (The Ryan Report). This understanding has led to a shift away from the provision of out-of-home care to children in large scale residential institutions towards efforts to prevent family separation and to support the development of kinship and foster care when in the best interests of the child.
You might be asking – why should this matter to global education efforts?
Firstly, anyone committed to quality education for all worldwide ought to be alarmed about the negative learning outcomes for children who grow up in orphanages. Research has shown that children in institutions typically have lower literacy and numeracy levels and fewer educational attainments than their peers. Orphanage care leads to development delays, exposing children to neglect and abuse.
Secondly, educators might be considering international volunteering. If you are among them or know someone who is, get in touch with Comhlámh – check out our resources for prospective volunteers, which includes our self-guided course E-Tick. Please do not visit or volunteer in an orphanage. It is not just me saying it – the Irish Government has recognised the harm caused by orphanage volunteering. Since 2024 travel advice has been in place, warning that people travelling from Ireland should not visit or volunteer in orphanages.
Equally, humanitarian and development aid organisations receiving funds from Irish Aid now must sign that their work will not support any orphanages and we ask our education programming colleagues to join our call for awareness and action.
To find out more, please visit our dedicated campaign page. You can show your support by signing our pledge. And please watch these campaign videos.
The End Orphanage Volunteering Working Group is co-convened by Comhlámh and Tearfund Ireland and includes representatives from Misean Cara, Nurture Africa, and SeeBeyondBorders Ireland. Our campaign is endorsed by 45 organisations including the three main teaching unions (ASTI, INTO, and TUI), the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union, Educate Together, and WorldWise Global Schools. Internationally our work has been highlighted by leading children’s rights bodies including Eurochild and ECPAT International.
Comhlámh is a member of the Irish Network for Education Worldwide (INEW). A heartfelt thank you to Fiachra Brennan and everybody at Comhlámh for this kind contribution to our blog!
