Famous author and New York Best seller, J.K Rowling has spoken up about her view of orphanages. Back in 2004, Rowling founded Lumos, an organization to prevent poor and disabled children and children from ethnic minorities be unfairly put in orphanages.

Last month, she spoke up about what she clearly thought about people limiting their help towards orphanages by just the means of donation.

Donors funding orphanages unwittingly contribute to the continued abuse of children in orphanages – better ways to give. -Lumos via Twitter

Celebrity chef, Jose Andres, then responded “What donors should do is visit the orphanage and volunteer at them, and if possible adopt. We support one in Haiti and my family volunteers!”

It only shows that these two public figures agree there’s more to helping than just donating!

She then responded with an explanation why she believes donating is not helping orphans the way they should be helped. Donations contributes to the never-ending abuse kids get. The intentions might be good but it’s not the solution.

“Many, many kind and well-intentioned people think this is the way to help the world’s most vulnerable children. We know that at least 80% of children in so-called ‘orphanages’ have at least one living parent.

Sometimes the child was given up they are excluded from mainstream education or denied healthcare in the community.”

“There are ways to donate than support children within have vanished from the developed world – and for very good reason. We have 80 years of research to show that institutionalized children kill themselves.”

Studies support Rowling’s statements. A 2012 study showed that children who are thrown into a second-rate group living condition are more likely to develop behavioral, neurological and cognitive problems.

“These statistics are repeated even in ‘well-run’ institutions. Again: the overwhelming majority of people donating and terrible abuse. We have testimony of children being kept hungry to appear even more needy and vulnerable in pictures designed to appeal And we can always use more people with a profile like yours to spread the message that children need families, not orphanages!”

A January 2017 study also revealed that 80% of the orphans in Cambodia still have at least one living parent. This shows that most children in orphanages are there because of the lack of resources available, whether due to lack of education or financial capabilities, for a parent to raise their own kids.

This is where Lumos steps in. Lumos exists to reunite children that were voluntarily given up with their parents, channeling their financial support to local community services helping the families raise their kids easier.

It is not wrong to donate. But, before you decide to, Rowling encourages you to educate yourselves. Simply donating to institutions that have substandard care will not help children. Preventing them from being placed in orphanages should be of utmost importance first and foremost.