Questioning Volunteerism
I have this thing about volunteerism.
You know, the type of tourism where people spend amazing amounts of money to go to a foreign country and volunteer for minimal amounts of time in order to do good.
The thing is that I really, REALLY dislike it. To the point that I am one of those people who will tear up posters on my faculty’s notice board that say stuff like “ Volunteer in Ecuador: Spend two weeks rafting , surfing and playing with poor children to make yourself feel good while not actually teaching them anything useful and probably leaving them psychologically scared” . (Actually, they don’t really say that but maybe they should).
So I was (in a very cynical and slightly weird way) delighted to find this in depth story on Al Jazeera that takes a critical look at Volunteerism in Cambodia. For all those who are planning on volunteering abroad, know people that are or are curious about the workings of international aid this is a must see:
2 Responses to “Questioning Volunteerism”
I completely, completely agree with you.
Thanks for the link!
Thanks for the link, this is alarming.
While I do agree with you that voluntourism can often do more harm then good, I still think that it can be an enriching experience for both the community and the volunteer. Last summer I volunteered in Cambodia. I was fortunate enough to have a contact for a grassroots NGO through a friend (I didn’t have to go through a big middle man company). I volunteered with Raise and Support the Poor (http://rspngo.org/wp/) which is a local charity started by a monk who basically built the only school in this town. I learned a lot and I still keep in touch with the the monk. My big advice is to try to contact the grassroots organizations on your own rather than going through a volunteer-coordinating-company.