The Pros and Cons of Volunteer Tourism
Volunteer tourism is a fast growing trend. It allows for a unique international experience while also providing the opportunity of doing a good deed. Clearly, I am someone who partakes and benefits from the volunteer tourism opportunities out there. But I think it is always a good idea to know that there are two sides to every story and that 'voluntourism' is not without it's potential dark sides.
"The desire to engage with the world is laudable, as is the desire to volunteer. But we need to tread more carefully. Unless we have time and transferable skills, we might do better to travel, trade and spend money in developing countries. The rapid growth of "voluntourism" is like the rapid growth of the aid industry: salving our own consciences without fully examining the consequences for the people we seek to help. All too often, our heartfelt efforts to help only make matters worse." (Ian Birrall)
As I read and learn more about volunteer tourism, I find myself questioning my own motives, the purpose of volunteering, who it helps, and what the sustainability is. Volunteers believe good intentions will lead to good outcomes, however, this is not always the case.
There are several harsh critiques of volunteer tourism. Some of them are:
- It is almost impossible for the discerning volunteer to figure out which volunteering organizations are doing good work and which are not.
- Short term volunteering makes a spectacle out of poverty and exposes overseas communities, especially children, to exploitation and abuse. It is basically using the "poor situation" of others to the benefit of the volunteer.
- It can put local workers and trades-people out of a job as welling meaning volunteers pay to do labour locals would otherwise receive a wage to do.
- Children can experience phycological harm when forming repeated attachments to short term volunteers.
- Unskilled workers on short term rotations take up more resources than they give as placements try to cater for their needs.
- What’s the ratio of service to sightseeing? Voluntourists do not have to martyr themselves and can opt to play as hard as they work, but service projects that are so slim they only give a respectable veneer to an otherwise leisure tour hurt the entire idea.
- Perhaps the biggest gripe about volunteer vacations is that they simply expand the trend of episodic volunteering, in which feel-good bursts of service give the volunteer pleasure but do not result in much useful help for the recipients or the complex cause. It is also often noted that problems away from home can be more appealing to support than those close to home.
My experience was a very positive one. I was placed in a school with a host teacher and once we were talking and she got to know that I was a qualified and experienced teacher, we had some amazing in-depth discussions. She expressed her desire for professional development, which is something not well supported in her school community. We delved into issues of curriculum, teaching methods and best practices. It was a very collaborative process, with both of us gaining new insights. I do believe my skill set was beneficial, allowing for dialog and professional development in a mutually beneficial way. I also worked one-on-one and with small groups targeting remedial mathematics during much of my time there, which is something I use skilled volunteers for in my own classroom.
That said, I cannot say that everyone I met during my time in South Africa had the same experience. I know as a teacher myself, having someone with no training in the classroom is often more hindrance than help. In addition, there were clearly people there who were more focused on the vacation aspect over volunteering. These tended to be younger people, often away from home for the first time.
More and more, I am coming to believe that volunteer tourism needs to be community driven and focused on desired skills transfer. If communities and individuals express a need for professional development, having trained and skilled volunteers willing to meet those needs is a sustainable and mutually beneficial way to volunteer overseas.
I have focused on the negatives of volunteering, but when matched properly, there are many benefits as well. These include:
- It meets the needs of busy people who want to volunteer and travel – with special benefits to families seeking a memorable shared experience and to the many adult singles (of all ages) who prefer taking vacation time in the company of others.
- Well-managed spurts of volunteer help can be extremely productive for many types of projects that need a lot of willing hands. After a natural disaster, for example, the enormous clean-up and rebuilding work goes on for years, and a continuous stream of fresh recruits can keep the momentum going.
- Ideally, voluntourism is a people-to-people experience, in which both the helper and the helped become acquainted with one another. Just as Peace Corps or UN Volunteers strive to create cultural exchange and understanding, even brief periods of working together gives everyone involved insight into the world of the “other.”
- Positive experiences as a voluntourist can lead to more sustained service, either in return trips to the same country or to more informed and deliberate forms of volunteering back home for international or development causes.
- Direct benefits to the community include increased manpower and direct financial support through placements. Indirect benefits include increased local employment (facilitated by the injection of revenue) and improved facilities (schools, parks and daily activities).
- Although volunteers may have some prior awareness of global development issues, providing tourists with opportunities to live and work amongst people from societies and cultures very different to their own has the potential to increase cultural understanding, social awareness and sense of global responsibility. A strong message coming out of the research was that volunteer tourism provides host organisations/projects with a voice; a means of spreading their message and inspiring long-term social movement and activism.
- Volunteers take their experiences home with them, and the majority of host organisations/projects confirm that volunteers tend to stay in touch when they finish the placement and return home, even actively fundraising on their behalf.
I'd also like to pass along some really good advice when working with children:
"Don't let the kids get too attached to you. Please explain to them you are here to help, but you will leave. Never leave without saying goodbye."
We need to remember that these children are emotionally vulnerable. They have been abandoned and many abused; they want someone they can trust, but they will exponentially demand any kind of attention given and feel as if they were let down once again if things are not clear. If this relation is well managed, it can even become a good way for the children to understand that, at times, people will come and go into their lives, and that their leaving has nothing to do with something the child did wrong. This needs to be explained to upcoming volunteers and monitored throughout their stay, or they will do more harm than good. (Filipa Chatillon)
Lastly, I would like to make a particular note about orphanage placements. I would strongly encourage anyone considering such a placement to reconsider their choice. Teach English or assist with outreach programs if you want to work with youth or consider an environmental cause to support with your time and money. For more information please read the links below.
A great place to start and to learn a lot about volunteer tourism is here: http://volunteertourismviews.wordpress.com/
A well written, concise look at some of the pros and cons of volunteer tourism can be found here: http://www.tsvc.lincoln.ac.uk/papers/submission.php?paper=112
For an in-depth, well researched look at volunteer tourism, start here: http://www.voluntourism.org/
The Responsible Tourism Partnership works to help businesses and communities around the world to maximise their potential for responsible tourism through a range of activities and initiatives: http://www.responsibletourismpartnership.org/index.html
Another great resource full of information: http://www.volunteeringinfo.org/
An inside look at volunteer tourism from someone who's worked on both sides of the desk:
http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/12-05/voluntourism-from-an-insider.html
A well written personal reflection from a past volunteer who worked with children: http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/12-05/voluntourism-from-an-insider.html
There is a backlash against volunteering at orphanages. I strongly encourage you read more before considering an orphanage placement:
http://www.orphanages.no/index.html
http://www.replace-campaign.org/volunteering.html
http://www.thinkchildsafe.org/thinkbeforevisiting/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/myanmar-burma/travel-tips-and-articles/77716
A well written, concise look at some of the pros and cons of volunteer tourism can be found here: http://www.tsvc.lincoln.ac.uk/papers/submission.php?paper=112
For an in-depth, well researched look at volunteer tourism, start here: http://www.voluntourism.org/
The Responsible Tourism Partnership works to help businesses and communities around the world to maximise their potential for responsible tourism through a range of activities and initiatives: http://www.responsibletourismpartnership.org/index.html
Another great resource full of information: http://www.volunteeringinfo.org/
An inside look at volunteer tourism from someone who's worked on both sides of the desk:
http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/12-05/voluntourism-from-an-insider.html
A well written personal reflection from a past volunteer who worked with children: http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/12-05/voluntourism-from-an-insider.html
There is a backlash against volunteering at orphanages. I strongly encourage you read more before considering an orphanage placement:
http://www.orphanages.no/index.html
http://www.replace-campaign.org/volunteering.html
http://www.thinkchildsafe.org/thinkbeforevisiting/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/myanmar-burma/travel-tips-and-articles/77716