As eager young adults and teenagers search for exciting opportunities to volunteer abroad, a multitude of companies have emerged to cater to this new market. These for-profit companies make a fortune providing placements and travel arrangements for volunteers. By exploiting the plight of endangered animals, orphaned children or whatever trending issue, companies can easily charge premiums for supplying opportunities for volunteers to feel good about themselves.

After attending WE Day several years ago (an event designed to encourage youth to promote social change) I felt inspired to make a meaningful difference in the global community. I was excited to sign up for my school’s annual trip to Kenya where volunteers built orphanages and schools for underprivileged children. But something stopped me. It felt wrong and I didn’t figure out why until recently.

“Voluntourism” is a disturbing trend that is booming in popularity. Some participants use it as a method to pad resumes, improve university applications or simply for the chance to show off to their peer while others genuinely hope to make a difference. However, in many cases even the most altruistic intentions can cause severe harm. The presence of unqualified international volunteers is not only an ineffective allocation of resources, it also slows progress and perpetuates the ‘white savior” complex which contributes to modern day colonialism.

It would be significantly more cost effective, stimulative of the local economy, and efficient for charities to directly receive the money that would otherwise be spent on travel expenses and hire locals to do the work.

References:

Biddle, Pippa. “The Problem With Little White Girls, Boys and Voluntourism.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. Web. 14 Oct. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pippa-biddle/little-white-girls-voluntourism_b_4834574.html>.

Kahn, Carrie. “As ‘Voluntourism’ Explodes In Popularity, Who’s It Helping Most?” NPR. NPR. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2014/07/31/336600290/as-volunteerism-explodes-in-popularity-whos-it-helping-most>.

Mohamud, Ossob. “Beware the ‘Voluntourists’ Doing Good.” The Guardian. Guardian Africa Network. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/13/beware-voluntourists-doing-good>.