During college, many students want to go abroad and see the world; however this can seem impossible because of finances, or because it seems wasteful. This summer, I found out that it is possible, and in some ways it’s even necessary. Volontourism is a practice that has been growing in popularity and accessibility in recent years, and it just might mean the reinvention of travel.
When I did my time abroad, I spent a month in New Zealand with some of the most amazing people that I’ve ever met. We spent two weeks living in a volunteer house and doing work for Conservation Volunteers New Zealand, a nonprofit conservation group working towards the restoration of the natural ecosystem in some of the most unique areas on the planet. As a group, we planted over 400 trees in four hours, and we made a scenic nature walk more wheelchair accessible. While the work was rewarding, the best part was the reaction of the person we were helping on a given day: “The work you have accomplished would have taken us weeks, if we ever got it done at all!”. That said, we didn’t spend the entire time slaving over a shovel. After our volunteering was done we spent another two weeks on a road trip that covered the entire country. I will never forget my experiences during that time, and I have been forever changed.
Voluntourism is when you go to another country and help out by volunteering some amount of your time while you’re there. The best part about it (besides the fact that you’re making a positive impact on the planet), is the fact that it can be much less expensive than regular travel, sometimes even free! When you’re on location, many volunteer organizations will provide you with housing or food, which reduces the daily living costs. If you prepare enough ahead of time and tell people what you’re going to do and why, it can be really easy to fundraise enough money to do an entire trip at no cost to you. People are much more willing to pay for you to do volunteer work rather than partying in the Bahamas.
The most important thing is the positive impact volontourism has. When you volunteer, you’re doing more good than just the work. You’re improving the lives of real people: those that run the volunteer operation, the people in the community around the place where you stay, and the people you support financially just by being in the area and buying everyday things along with your souvenirs. During your time abroad, the person that you will be impacting the most is you. You’ll gain a larger perspective on life and the way it should be lived, you’ll meet people that will be your friends for the rest of your life, and you’ll come to understand that anything is possible but you have to work for it and really believe in it to make it come true.
If you want to look into voluntouring, there are several ways to go about it. You can go with an organization like International Student Volunteers. Organizations devoted to getting people into the world and volunteering will help you package everything up. They put you where you want to be, doing what you want to do , and they make sure that you remember to have fun. You can also set up your own expedition if the package deal doesn’t offer exactly what you want. To do this you’ll have to find out where you want to go, how you want to volunteer, and for how long. Then you’ll have to look up volunteer groups in the area that you’ll want to be in. Make sure to be careful here, because you never know what you’ll get until you are actually interacting with the people there. Try to talk to people that have worked with the organization first hand to get an idea of what they’re really like.
It doesn’t matter how you go about it, as long as you get out there and volunteer. Seeing the world is the best decision I have ever made, and voluntourism is the most important thing that has been a part of my life. Please consider looking in to this opportunity; I can guarantee that you will not come back unchanged.
