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:
