Beware of Voluntourist Traps
Voluntourism is an increasingly popular way to travel the world and supposedly do good, but how effective are volunteering trips, and what are some things you should consider before hopping on a plane?
Many religious groups, and educational institutions organize and encourage mission trips, service trips or other volunteer-based travel. Overwhelmingly, consensus about trips like these is positive, however I want to pose a few important questions to consider and point out a few common mistakes and suggestions. First let’s start with the positives though:
Voluntourism is an incredibly valuable experience for the people who are doing the travel and volunteering. For adolescents especially, both travel and volunteering have shown to have positive impacts on child development. Benefits like an expanded world view, increased creativity, increased confidence, and overall happiness are all proven effects of travel and volunteering. The argument for voluntourism is that even if there are unintended negative consequences, they are outweighed by the positive effects it has on the individuals participating. These benefits will then lead to overall more selfless, more altruistic, and more generous people. That’s not a bad argument… BUT I think we can do better.
Things to Consider Before Booking your Voluntourism Trip
This is not a Chance to Enhance your Personal Brand or Experience
Social Media has no place in volunteering unless the organization chooses to share your activities. Your primary motive for volunteering in general should never be to enhance your online presence or your resume. Be courteous, kind and respect others’ boundaries, understand that wherever you are choosing to spend your time as a volunteer, others in the same space do not view this time as a trip, travel, or vacation, this is their life and their reality.
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.”
Additionally, many of us including myself simply need to beware of the “White Saviorism Complex.” Be able to genuinely introspect and ask, “but is what you're doing to help, making you feel good about yourself, more so than actually combatting the systemic problems that affect BIPOC people?”
Are There Human Connection and Relationships at Play?
One of the first to call out the potentially harmful effects of voluntourism was Linda Richter and Amy Norman in a 2010 article entitled “AIDS orphan tourism: A threat to young children in residential care.” In their research they…
“…show how short-term attachments formed between children in group residential care and volunteers may worsen known impacts of institutional care…
…advocate against the exploitation of especially vulnerable young children in sub-Saharan Africa for commercial gain by tour operators in the current growth of “AIDS orphan tourism”…
…propose that young people who wish to volunteer their time and talents to assist children less fortunate than themselves be properly informed about children's development and attachments to others, as well of the vulnerabilities and rights of young children, especially those outside of family care.”
This research was picked up and distributed by NPR, The Guardian and other news outlets, but exploitation like this still occurs today.
In addition to the recommendation the article makes, I would additionally recommend an internal evaluation of your preparedness to enter into a volunteer relationship. Organizations like Our Little Roses encourages the long-term pairing of orphan girls with groups, families and sponsors. These pairings stay connected while away from the orphanage and maintain relationships well into adulthood.
What is the Local Job Market and is there Skilled Labor Involved?
Although the fallacy that immigrants take jobs away from Americans has mostly been disproven, some Americans still have a difficult time accepting when non-citizens come to the US to “take our jobs.” Yet often we commit the same theft when we choose to travel as unskilled volunteer labor. For the organizations themselves, it’s a no-brainer from a business perspective, do they pay a skilled local laborer, or solicit a wealthy volunteer who will pay their own way, provide the labor for free, and most likely donate an additional amount while they’re here. Even when the skill of the laborers is compared, the answer is easy… solicit the rich people.
“A study of 162 Americans who travelled to Honduras to build houses after Hurricane Mitch in 1998 found that years later, this work had made no difference to their giving or volunteering. And even if the houses they built didn’t fall over, they were expensive. The houses in Honduras built by international volunteers cost $30,000 apiece, including airfare, while local Christian organizations could build them for $2,000.”
This is called “unqualified volunteering” and it is less helpful to a developing country than simply being a tourist. WorldVision, an international organization dedicated to helping children in dangerous places across the world, has one simple piece of advice when considering unqualified volunteering, “Lend your strengths, not your weaknesses. Don’t go build a house if you don’t know anything about building houses.”
Where is Your Money Going in the Organization?
This consideration is admittedly complex and can be frustrating and difficult to figure out. Some sources recommend simply giving via donations instead of paying or even fundraising expenses to travel. One example from an orphanage in Honduras about a group of students who raised in total $30,000 to travel, paint rooms, clean playgrounds and spend time with kids while on spring break also highlighted the fact that the orphanage’s annual budget is $50,000. In this case, think of what all that organization could have done if that group would have simply just donated over half of the organization’s annual budget.
However, when we choose to donate and travel, it is important to be aware of the use of funds by the organization. An organization in Guatemala called Hope of Life hosts a robust volunteer program whose focus seems to be on the volunteer experience rather than the experience of their community or their clients. In 2018 Tina Rosenberg of The Guardian visited Hope for Life’s 3,000-acre complex in the mountains of Guatemala and found
“…one of the biggest organizations offering an emotionally charged tourist experience. The orphanage, founded in 1989 by Vargas and his American wife, Cheryl, now houses 195 children, at least 60 of them with disabilities. Volunteers pay between $750 and $1,000 to come and work for a week: the higher sum gets you an air-conditioned suite with private bathroom. (Baby rescue is extra: one man who takes employees of his company on trips to Hope of Life told me his group pays $1,500 for a baby rescue trip.) When I visited this year, the lunch I ate was excellent, the swimming pool I saw spectacular. There’s a zoo, with a lion, tiger, crocodile, and jaguar.”
While traveling for volunteerism we must be ready to forego some of the amenities we are used to and remember that the experience, although hopefully positive for us, is not meant to be about us, it is about the organization and their clients.
Summary
I do hope this hasn’t killed the selfless spirit in many of you. The intentions of voluntourism are nearly always pure, however it is our responsibility to think about any unintended consequences of our actions and think about the most beneficial strategy for those who need help.
Naturally we crave human connection and to have that warm fuzzy feeling we get from feeling like we are being helpful. It is difficult to know when an organization is intentionally pulling on our heart strings, but we have a responsibility to make these considerations and make the best decisions we can for those we have the intention of helping.
