Voluntourism is almost a dirty word in some circles: it’s associated with gap year students, buying cheap jewellery to bring home as evidence of their “cultural” awareness, as well as the tequila shot glasses that they acquired on the many drunken nights, only affordable because of the weak economy of whichever developing country they were visiting. It’s synonymous with wannabe-philanthropy that does more for your ego than those you claim to be helping. This is a fairly pessimistic take on voluntourism but there is some truth in it.
Questionable Ethics
One problem is that volunteer tour companies are not necessarily non-profit companies. While some of the fees you pay do go toward the community you are working in, a large percentage may be going back to the company. They sometimes charge much more than it actually costs for you to live within the community during your allotted time. Should volunteering really be a big-business industry?
Another issue is the motives of the people signing up on the tours and how whether the efforts being volunteered are beneficial are not. Many people feel that there is a “colonialist” aspect to volunteer tourism: the assumption that because volunteers are from a developed country, visiting a developing country, that they automatically be of benefit to their hosts. There have also been cases of volunteers working in fields or on projects that they are completely unskilled for.
Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO) is an organization that attempts to counter-balance this perception. More specifically, they organize for students from developing countries who receive their volunteers, to then volunteer in the UK too. Part of voloutourism is about expanding your horizons and learning about new communities and as Judith Brodie, the director of VSO, points out, why shouldn’t people from developing countries be given similar opportunities?
Not All Wasted Effort
Of course, the counter argument to voluntourism is that there is often no or little infrastructure that exists with communities in need of volunteers, that has the resources to handle the demand and influx of volunteers from abroad. Scott Pralinsky, Executive Director of the Casa Milagro Foundation has a great post about why it is actually incredibly difficult to organize volunteer projects and why voluntourism is ethical. The open letter was written in response to Rob Meyer, from Go Budget Travel, who wrote about why he had issues with volunteer tour companies.
Find Out More
If you are still interested in volunteer tourism but have concerns about how ethical your trip will, the following sites should help: