How to Volunteer Responsibly
It makes sense that many avid travellers decide to spend some time volunteering. When you spend a lot of time visiting different cultures and meeting different people, it doesn't take long before you see there is a big wide world out there and a lot of people are doing it pretty tough. Poverty is rampant, there is need everywhere you look, it's only natural to want to help in some way. And overall, volunteering can be great! In fact, we wholeheartedly support the idea of volunteering. I have spent three months volunteering in Uganda and my business partner has spent six months volunteering in Nepal.
But!... (And there is a big BUT!)... as global citizens, we have an obligation to volunteer responsibly. Just being willing to help and having the best intentions actually doesn't cut it. In fact, volunteering irresponsibly can have more detrimental impacts on a community than positive outcomes.
Here are just a few reasons why:
1. Volunteering can actually undermine the local economy. It's not always the case, but having foreigners fly halfway around the world to conduct basic tasks like building, painting, cleaning, gardening etc. can actually be taking employment from local people where there is already severe underemployment.
2. Although it's never the intent, some forms of voluntourism like orphanage tourism can have pretty severe negative impacts including leading to significant increases in the presence of orphanages in some regions where children become commodities for foreigners to visit and take photos.
3. If volunteer projects are implemented solely or even predominantly by foreigners, there is often no long term sustainability. As soon as the volunteers return home, the projects shut down and no long term improvements are seen in the community. And that's just frustrating for everyone!
4. Volunteers often arrive in-country with no pre-departure training or cultural awareness and can often cause offense because they operate without cultural sensitivity. Being a bit clueless as a tourist is one thing, but as a volunteer, it's just not cricket - it can cause real damage to the project underway and any that follow.
While that may all sound very negative, don't despair - it is possible to turn good intentions into good actions. Here are some simple ways to volunteer well:
1. Don't pay a third-party to "place" you with another volunteer organisation
2. Focus on capacity building! The best kind of volunteering takes place when volunteers are focused on training and building skills and capacity within the local people so ultimately they can operate independently.
3. Do your research! Find out a bit about the organisation you are volunteering with and talk to previous volunteers. Make sure you are happy with the model and how the organisation works in a development setting.
4. Learn about the culture you are planning to volunteer in. Research the culture, the religion, the people and operate with sensitivity and respect. This covers everything from interaction with people, to what you wear and how you speak.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aimee Pearce is a writer, traveller and online business entrepreneur. She launched Wanderlust People in 2015 with her business partner Elissa after years of dreaming and countless conversations about how amazing it would be to create a place where kindred wanderlusters could bring home authentic, global treasures and do in a way that genuinely respects and uplifts the craftspeople and cultures that produced them. For more travel inspiration visit www.wanderlustpeople.com.