Voluntourism: Is It Really All That Bad?

What exactly is ‘voluntourism?’

Voluntourism is a relatively new term, short for ‘volunteer tourism’ and is used to describe volunteering overseas, whilst travelling. The act of ‘doing good’ and experiencing a different culture can be an interesting prospect for those wanting a unique travel experience. But is it doing more harm than good? The short answer: yes and no. It totally depends on going the right way about it and finding a responsible way to volunteer abroad.

I will explain further down on how you can find responsible companies and how to make sure you will be volunteering for the right reasons. There are definitely positives and volunteering can be an excellent way of giving back when done right. I have volunteered in several countries and will talk about my personal experiences later.

But what are the negatives about voluntourism?

Although volunteering and wanting to help vulnerable communities is a good thing, it can sometimes cause harmful outcomes. Many of the volunteering opportunities require zero experience. For example there are many construction or teaching projects worldwide where no skilled experience is required.

For building projects, unskilled volunteers could be taking the place of locals who are skilled and who could be paid to do the same job. There have been some incidents where unskilled volunteers have worked on construction sites without being supervised and have done such a poor job, local workers have had to come in anyway. Working alongside and assisting skilled workers is a much better scenario, rather than essentially taking their jobs.

Another big issue which has recently been raised is in volunteering at orphanages in third world countries. The credibility of certain orphanages around the world is in question, after several reports of children being sold to the orphanage by their parents, and then being treated poorly, simply to attract more volunteers and in turn more money. This may be a handful of incidents, but it puts in question what the true intentions are in some of these places.

Many also don’t require any police checks, so basically anyone can walk straight into the children’s homes. However, many orphanages around the world are running for the right reasons and generally trying to help the children in them. You just have to find the right one to work with!

Working with vulnerable children can also be an issue for a young person who wants to volunteer but does not have the experience. Some of the children, particularly the ones in orphanages can be quite challenging and to work with them requires specific skills. Many kids in the children’s homes require love and attention but due to the high turnover of volunteers, this can often lead to further feelings of abandonment and disappointment. The children have to form bonds with new volunteers, only to have them leave a couple of weeks later and this could potentially be more damaging.

Keeping an emotional distance

Knowing how to approach these situations and keeping a professional distance can help greatly. You might find that children from the worst backgrounds may look to you for comfort (for example if they have been deprived of emotional love). Whilst it would generally be encouraged for the kids to form a bond with the main and consitent caregivers, it’s not advised for volunteers that will only be staying a few weeks.

If a child tries to hug you too much (looking for that comfort they’ve missed out on) it’s best to either guide them to a main caregiver if they need somehting or keep a bit of a distance (such as how a teacher would behave with their primary school students). Have the local caregivers explain to the kids that you are there for a short period to help with thier English or around the school/home, etc so they know to look at you as more of a teacher or member of staff, as opposed to a ‘parent figure’.

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Should you volunteer then? Yes! There are many benefits…

The negative aspects of volunteering stated above can be avoided by taking certain steps to make sure you’re doing it the right way (more on that further down). But first, here are some of the positive aspects of voluntourism.

You can generally help people in need

Volunteering can definitely be a good thing when done the right way. People from poorer communities can greatly benefit from your help and being exposed to people from a different culture can widen their cultural awareness, and allows them to practice their English conversation skills. Teaching English is a great way to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds overseas, as it can greatly help with them gaining a well-paid job, particularly in countries that have many tourists (tourism can provide many jobs to locals).

Projects such as teaching women empowerment and teaching income generating activities, such as jewellery making, painting, sewing, etc can have a lasting effect on the locals. They can learn how to make an extra income and how to save and use their money wisely- this can have a big impact on providing for their families and being financially independent.

You will learn about a new culture

Many programs will offer you to stay in a local home stay, which can be a great cultural exchange experience for both parties. I have stayed in two home stays, one in Cambodia, the other in Sri Lanka. I found that this gave me an opportunity to feel part of the community, live how they live, chat with the neighbours and find out more on the local culture. I was in search of a different travel experience- yes, I love to do the touristy things to, but I also wanted to get a real feel for the country and to experience it for myself, rather than looking from the outside. This gave me a deeper understanding and connection with the local people, and I was made to feel at home with the friendly locals.

You can do good

If you are skilled in a certain area, e.g. a teacher or a builder then you can certainly do wonders within an underprivileged community. I am not a teacher and had no experience, but I did teach in several countries. Most of these classes were after the children’s normal school hours, so they could choose to come or not. But the children love to learn English and the local coordinators said that they had seen a vast improvement with the children’s English.

I understand it must be disruptive having teachers come and go and I’m in two minds about that, but I do think the children still gain a lot from learning English from volunteers. Because there are many people coming and going, new ideas and activities are always fun for the kids, and they get to be exposed to many people from all over the world to practice their English on.

Voluntourism can be life changing

Not only are you helping people in need, but you are also learning valuable skills yourself, and can gain quite a humbling experience. Seeing poverty first-hand can be a huge wake up call and it can change your entire outlook on life. Not only do you give to the people in need, they will also give back to you. You can learn so much from the local people and you will be inspired by how they continue on with life, with smiles and generosity, even in the face of very poor living conditions.

You can provide valuable help

Many of the projects abroad, particularly schools and kindergartens have little resources, including teachers. Many are run off their feet and generally appreciate the help you can give- even if it is just another set of hands to watch the children. You can also provide valuable help and supplies. Things like donating chairs, tables, books, playgorund toys, etc. These are things that can be used for a long time after you leave and make a much nicer learning environment for the children and teachers.

So how do I pick a responsible volunteer company?

Research! Research! Research!

Finding a reputable company is probably the best way to go about voluntourism. You could do it by yourself directly, but you could end up finding its not a trustworthy or dependable organisation and you will have no in country support if anything goes wrong. Research companies, look at reviews and discover the types of projects you can do and what’s suited to you. Make sure they are a registered charity and require police checks when working with children.

Pick animal voluntourism projects wisely

If volunteering with animals, do make sure the organisation is ethical and is generally doing what’s best for the animals, whether that’s rehabilitated injured animals or animals in the wild. Don’t work for projects that use animals to entertain tourists, as this only encourages more of this type of activity.

Know where your money is going

Make sure you find out where your money goes and what percentage of that actually goes to the charity/ project. Most of the reputable companies will have no problem in explaining how they use the money. Usually, a portion of your money will go the project, as well as your food and accommodation during your stay, in country support, local transport, etc. If you are unsure then you can always ring and ask the company to explain further. If you have any doubts, then its best to avoid and find a company you feel you can trust.

Use Your skills!

If you have any specific skills, then great! You can use them to really make a difference. People who are skilled in medical areas, teaching and labourers will be highly valued. If you don’t have any skills, then find a project where you are working alongside local workers and ensure there is supervision at the project. Rather than try and rebuild a local school where you have zero experience, work alongside a local skilled worker and help in areas you can, such the painting or clearing up stage.

You can also learn new skills before you leave. Always wanted to teach abroad? Get yourself a TEFL certificate. This will give you great skills for the classroom and allow you to better teach things like grammer and phonetics. It can also land you a paid teach job abroad.

Make sure your voluntourism is sustainable

Projects that are sustainable can help the local people carry on, after the volunteers leave. Teaching local teachers new methods and ways of learning will give them exciting new skills to try out, renovating a local school will leave a lasting impression on the kids having a better learning environment and a medical professional teaching local doctors and nurses better practices, will leave them with the skills to continue the work themselves.

So, although there are negatives to voluntourism, there are definitely positives too and it should not put you off volunteering- just be sure to go the right way about it and be doing it for the best intentions. Hope you enjoyed this post- what are your opinions? Share amongst friends and let’s discuss!

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