Living in a crowd: young people’s counter-narratives of care in a Thai orphanage

Abstract

ABSTRACT Young people in orphanages are exposed to compounding structural inequalities tied to local, national, and global processes. Popular criticisms of orphanages highlight the potential harm of institutionalised living, including abuse and exploitation associated with the global rise of voluntourism and the intensified disadvantages young people face when transitioning out of institutionalised care. Yet, these concerns often lack cultural specificity and understanding of complex lived experiences from the Global South, instead reinforcing a simplistic image of young people in care as passive or damaged victims. This article examines the narratives of young people who grew up in an orphanage in Thailand. Now in their early 20s, nine young Thais participated in interviews and a focus group which they saw as self-advocacy regarding their experiences of care as the orphanage shifted from a small residential house of 40 children to a larger institution with 100 children. Participants reported a loss of intimate care as the orphanage grew, damaging their sense of self and precipitating their using strategies to obtain desired forms of care, with implications for their adult relationships. Such insights are important for informing alternative care policies that nurture the sort of care that matters to those with lived experience.