The Value Of Any Volunteer Trip

By Kate | Permalink | 3 comments | May 31st, 2007 | Trackback

I’ll be honest: it strikes me that many “volunteer vacations” are arranged mainly to meet the desires of volunteers, rather than to meet a local need. Perhaps this is to be expected; many people with a genuine desire to get involved with a volunteer project abroad, typically the target population for volunteer vacations, have a limited amount of time to plan and make those trips. And there is just a limit to what people can achieve in a few weeks’ time.

One alternative is of course to volunteer at home. Another is simply to donate money to a good cause so a trained staff member can do the work. Certainly many already do this – but I think it is human nature to want to be directly involved, and while there are facets to this which mean is not always possible or ideal, I still think generally it is a positive thing.

There is quite a difference between a volunteer vacation and living in a location for several months, contributing a specific skill to a local initiative or project. Of course. The viewpoint exists that volunteer vacations accomplish next to nothing, and as such are limited in value. I would acknowledge the difference, but still point out that all kinds of experiences can have value, and here is why:

Giving people a chance to see issues like poverty or environmental problems first hand is important. I personally think the process of changing minds is perhaps even more important than getting more people involved in the “front lines” of volunteering or delivering aid. Certainly some issues like natural disasters will just happen, but most problems have at least some of their roots in societies which allow, for example, poverty or inequality to thrive – and by no means do I mean to exclude my own country (or any country) from this. But people seeing this up close, in my mind, is the first step in changing the situation in the long term.

The impression people come away with will most certainly vary with their experience, and it’s hard to say convincingly that a week-long trip to a developing country will give full insight into that country and the issue at hand. It almost definitely won’t. But it will give more than staying at home or staying at the beach, and for that I think it is worthwhile.

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