---
title: "Contrary to popular belief, most orphanage alumni look favorably on…"
date: 2019-08-22
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
---

# Contrary to popular belief, most orphanage alumni look favorably on…

*August 22, 2019 · Facebook*

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[https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/the-success-story-of-orphanages](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/the-success-story-of-orphanages){target="_blank"}
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Contrary to popular belief, most orphanage alumni look favorably on their time in the orphanage, and have better than average life outcomes:\
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[https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/the-success-story-of-orphanages](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/the-success-story-of-orphanages){target="_blank"}\
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\"Beginning in the mid-1990s, I started surveying orphanage alumni from as many orphanages as I could find. I assumed initially that orphanage critics were likely right: "Orphanages were generally bad, but my orphanage was special"---or so I thought. After receiving more than 2,500 responses, I learned that my home was ordinary. An overwhelming majority (85 percent) of the surveyed alumni look back "favorably" or "very favorably" on their orphanage salad days. Only 2.3 percent of the alumni had hostile assessments.\
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\[Orphanage alumni\] reported that they had done better than the general population on almost all measures, including education, income, attitude toward life, criminal records, psychological problems, unemployment, dependence on welfare, and happiness. For example, the alumni reported that they had an overall college graduation rate 39 percent higher than the general population in their age group (and the respondents, who lived an average of eight-plus years in their orphanages, were 56 to 97 years old, with a mean age of 68). They also reported 10 to 60 percent higher median incomes than those in their age cohort. \"\
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Homecoming is a documentary about the alumni of orphanages (which the author above contributed to):\
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Trailer:\

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[![YouTube video](img/2019-08-22-fb-001-yt01.webp){style="max-width:100%; display:block"}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tKExmu5oJI){rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"}

▶ Watch on YouTube
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Full Film:\

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[![YouTube video](img/2019-08-22-fb-001-yt02.webp){style="max-width:100%; display:block"}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8krigqWaU8){rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"}

▶ Watch on YouTube
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#orphanage\
#children
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