It has always been something I've wanted to write about, not only because it meant the world to me, but to so many others I grew up with. Over the five trips I took to Tijuana, Mexico, I learned a great deal about the area, the kids I met who greatly impacted my experience, and what exactly was a productive use of my time there, or for that matter any volunteer tourism trip. We got to build houses for four to six awesome families every year, but the people behind the scenes of the trip spent months teaching us how to do it and why we were there – fostering an attitude in each of the volunteers that we weren't there out of high-minded imperialism, but as a result of time well spent looking into what individual families needed.
It would be a dream to recount every detail of my time at the orphanage or on the housing site where we built, but looking further into volunteering abroad, there were countless stories of weeks of unproductive volunteer work, or what could have been time spent on other projects a community needed. There are so many reasons why volunteer tourism can turn from something with so much potential to do something beneficial for a community that needs it, into something with a finished product that isn't researched/executed enough to have long-term impact, or even worse – done half heartedly.
I wanted to look into specific instances of voluntourism experiences that ended up being less than ideal. Of course, no one wants to admit that the time they spent volunteering wasn't worth their while, but it turned out to be easier to find than I had expected.
One specific experience in an orphanage in Ghana, which I found outlined in a dissertation on the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADi) website, showed that "volunteer tourism can offer potential as a development solution in Ghana yet it is hindered by certain shortcomings, many of which are self-inflicted by the mindset and approach of participating organizations." The case study found that many volunteers did everyday tasks that would have happened regardless of whether they were there or not, and may have even been done more effectively had someone local done it.
The lack of productivity similar to this in many other trips was attributed to the volunteer organization's failure to train and prepare their volunteers. The majority of volunteers in this case were given an orientation when they got to Ghana, followed by a smaller amount who were given pre-departure reading, and many were given no preparation at all.
The EADi further explains that many organizations indulge in what the volunteer is looking for in an experience, instead of what a specific community really needs. This often leads to short stays in orphanages, or projects without long term effects. The nature of volunteering is seemingly unselfish, but is often fueled by self interest and the feeling of "making a difference in someone's life," or "putting a smile on someone's face," or my favorite, "giving something to someone who has nothing, because I have so much." Not only do these sound incredibly cliched, but I can't help but feel like people who step foot abroad with this mindset, aware of it or not, are walking into their volunteer situation almost patronizing those they are there to help.
In many instances, there is a sincere desire to help, a well-researched evaluation of what a community needs, and a thoughtful execution and placement of volunteers. However, many organizations, with good intentions at heart of course, fail to effectively accomplish the latter two – instead looking at an area as impoverished and generally in need of help, and end up sending inexperienced, ill-trained volunteers to do menial tasks.
A final aspect of voluntourism to consider is how short term this all is. Some of the stories of volunteers I read online described how attached they got to the families they were helping or the kids they were working with, only to leave them a week later, never talk to them again, and not having anything concrete and long-term to show for the time they spent there.
I don't want to discredit those relationships; I've had them myself. I know there are few things sadder than leaving kids behind with whom you so deeply connected, but I think pouring yourself into having long term-impact is more important than how much they miss you after you leave. With that being said, following up is incredibly important – don't be a stranger who came for a week, loved on some orphans, and left never to be heard from again.
Volunteering abroad can be an incredibly valuable experience. I don't want this to discourage anyone from applying to travel and help where it's needed. But make sure you're going somewhere well researched and doing something that needs to be done. If you're going to spend time and money on a ticket, do something with it that is incredibly well thought-out. Go in with a mindset that you have an incredible amount to learn, instead of so much to offer.
The reality is, there is absolutely a need to help some people in certain areas of developing countries. People die every single day from starvation, disease, natural disaster, poor living conditions, and the list goes on. But instead of looking at foreign need and saying, "Wow, I want to go to Africa to volunteer," with no agenda, we should be thinking, "Wow, a child dies almost every minute from malaria – that really touches my heart. What can I do for those affected in sub-Saharan Africa that would be productive and long term?" Get it? Instead of, "You're welcome for helping," shouldn't it be, "How can I help?"
Volunteering is a beautiful thing, and we are lucky to have things like modern Western medicine and an abundance of food, but instead of going places to work for three hours a day and spend the rest of it poolside, put pictures on our Instagrams and search for the feeling that we are doing something good and right. I hope people start taking a step back and carefully evaluating how they can help without representing a modernized moral imperialism and doing more harm than good. I'd rather see volunteer tourism that works toward promoting equality of conditions and opportunity versus making ourselves look good.
