We naturally feel drawn to explore the world, to learn about other cultures, to learn new languages, and to
experience the world is outside our everyday boundaries.
We also feel a call to help others. We are all passionate about a cause, and we would often respond to that
call and find ways to help those causes.
In our search to find ways to make an impact, we may come across opportunities that combine these passions–
traveling and helping others. Many opportunities offer package-deals which allow volunteers to travel
abroad, while working on a volunteer project, like buildings schools or teaching English. These short-term,
‘no-experience-required’ opportunities seem like a great way to make an impact while exploring new places.
They appear as a natural path for us to follow, but for a large fee. These types of opportunities are known
as voluntourism, and it’s crucial that we don’t confuse them with volunteering.
As amazing as these opportunities may seem, they unfortunately perpetuate harmful social constructs. By
looking critically at these opportunities, we find a common denominator– the pictures used in their
advertising are usually made up of light-skinned people from rich countries smiling with kids from Africa,
South Asia, or South America. These programs typically involve people from the global north traveling to the
global south to “help them” while enjoying a vacation to find that ‘life-changing experience’.
I’m sure that many of us attend these programs with pure and good intentions, but it is hard to acknowledge
our internalized biases sometimes. We may not realize how our actions may reinforce certain negative
stereotypes.
It is true that many of the world’s current issues are concentrated in certain geographical areas that lack
the resources or systems to solve them independently. Collaboration between people and nations is then
welcomed, and globalization has facilitated this work. However, we must be reminded that there is a fine
line between volunteering abroad and voluntourism. That distinction is made through our motivations for
working abroad, as well as our ability to remain critical of our work and the programs that facilitate it.
The term voluntourism is a combination of the words “volunteering” and “tourism.” Voluntourism differs from
volunteering because volunteers focus on the recipients of their work and they help the programs/NGOs grow
through their service. On the other hand, voluntourism is focused on the experience of the volunteer, hence
the emphasis on tourism. Voluntourism programs often charge volunteers a large fee to participate, and are
criticized because they drain local resources for incoming volunteers. In addition, the programs are too
short and poorly supervised to create an actual impact.
To avoid falling into this we must ask ourselves two questions:
1. What is my purpose with these programs? Do I really want to make an impact or do I just want to
explore a new place?
If your goal is to create an impact, find an organization with verified credentials so you can fulfill your
purpose. If your goal is to travel, there are other amazing ways of exploring new places for a low cost. You
could find cheap plane tickets on Skyscanner, stay in hostels, or backpack in a natural area, and you’d
still gain a life-changing experience.
2. Is the organization behind this program really impact-oriented?
Research them! Look at their reviews and impact reports to see if you’d be able to create a real impact. In contrast to voluntourism programs, real volunteering programs may be more technical and require a longer commitment.
Furthermore, I’d like to highlight that when we decide to go abroad to support an NGO or aid project, we’re not there use our expertise as privileged individuals to ‘save’ anyone. When we go abroad to volunteer, we’re rather devoting our time and skills to support existing programs because they are unable to locally source certain help.
Lastly, remember that to make an impact in a different part of the world, you don’t need to travel! There are many many programs out there that you can remotely collaborate with by organizing fundraisers, or using your skills to support their work. Many global non-profits also have local branches you can support.
At ámaxa, we focus on finding ways to help our students create a meaningful and tangible impact locally or abroad by collaborating with amazing nonprofits that have a great track record.
Check out our blog to find amazing local and remote opportunities, or join our Student Impact Program and start solving problems with global non-profits!