The world-famous Youtuber MrBeast (178 million subscribers) set up his charitable YouTube channel Beast Philanthropy in 2020.

The Youtuber recently posted a video titled ‘We Adopted an Orphanage’ which in just one day has had over 2.8 million views. This follows his video earlier this year, ‘We Saved an Orphanage’.

In his most recent video, MrBeast is fundraising for an orphanage that found itself in disrepair. Though MrBeast’s intentions are admirable, over 300 studies across the world highlight the dangers of orphanages to the children who grow up in them and the severe impact orphanages can have on children’s physical and cognitive development.

Though Mama Rosie's orphanage seems well-intentioned, this is sadly not the case for all orphanages. Many orphanages across the world are set up to exploit children for profit, exposing children to harm and abuse. By promoting orphanages, even well-intentioned ones, we promote the work of those that are not, continuing the cycle of exploitation.

Over 80% of children who grow up in orphanages have at least one living parent and with the right support, these vulnerable children can be looked after where they belong – at home, with their families and in their communities. Redirecting funding to family and community-based care is cheaper, and more importantly, allows children to grow up with the love and support they vitally need.

We do not believe that anyone in the video has bad intentions including Mama Rosie and MrBeast. But if we are going to support children in the best way possible, we need to move away from promoting the orphanage system and start supporting families with community-based care, so that their children can remain where they belong.

We hope that MrBeast and his followers embrace our mission so we can all work together for a future where every child is raised in a safe, loving family home.