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Ukraine: Now is the Time to Remember Children and Families
My Great Great Grandmother, Anna Punaks; the mother of my Grandfather, Valis Punaks, who fled Latvia at the age of 18 to escape being captured and killed by the Soviets in 1944. Note: This blog post was originally published by Family for Every Child in February 2023. In 1944 my Latvian grandparents and great-grandparents were forced to flee their country when the Soviets invaded. Initially the men stayed behind to defend their country, while the women escaped to Poland as r

Martin Punaks
Jan 2


What is Care Reform?
Care reform is the process of transitioning from institutional care for children towards family and community-based care. Having worked...

Martin Punaks
Apr 29, 2021


Fear and Loathing in Las Virus: Covid-19 as an opportunity for international development
At a time when many of us are getting used again to renewed restrictions to curb a rise in Covid-19, I have been intrigued by the...

Martin Punaks
Oct 2, 2020


The Orphan Myth: the global movement to end institutionalisation
"Helping orphans and supporting orphanages is almost synonymous with what it means to be compassionate. At least this is the perception...

Martin Punaks
Mar 6, 2020


The Orphanage Voluntourism Campaign: is the end-game in sight?
This blog was published on the Learning Service platform on the 26 November 2019. It summarises the history of the orphanage voluntourism...

Martin Punaks
Dec 4, 2019


WTM 2019: reflections from a child protection tourist at the world’s largest travel event
Glamour, excitement and pride The World Travel Market in London brings together 51,000 travel professionals from around the world and is...

Martin Punaks
Nov 11, 2019


Beyond Orphanage Visits: what are the responsible alternatives?
This blog post was originally published on the Responsible Tourism Partnership website on 30 October 2019 as part of the lead up to the...

Martin Punaks
Nov 4, 2019
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