Voluntourism - helpful or harmful?

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Recently, the concept of Voluntourism has been heavily criticised by many who have accused it of being a means in which privileged and socially idealistic travellers can enter less fortunate communities and ‘make their difference in the world.’ They show concern for the ever-growing industry’s treatment of the developing world as a giant ‘playground’ in which the socially privileged can overcome the ‘guilt’ they feel for being on the beneficial end of global disparity. They also fear that many projects, in which the volunteers participate for only 1-2 weeks do more harm than good in often delicate social situations.

Although it is clear that many projects exist that only ever scratch the surface of the effects of poverty, it would be very short-sighted to generalise with regards to other volunteer organizations. The main objective of Voluntario Global is to empower local communities and to create long-term sustainable development programs. The idea is to work with rather than for the community, thus focusing more on development rather than dependence. This therefore rejects the current popular notion that ‘ voluntourism is the new colonialism.’  

This mutually beneficial relationship creates a two way learning experience, in which the volunteer takes away from the project just as much, if not more than the local community. It would seem that the organisation’s basis of inter-cultural exchange, is what is lacking in other projects that have been recently criticised for their ‘superficial’ and ‘disingenuous’ approach to important social issues. It is therefore clear that the idea of exchange is crucial in the success of volunteer projects. Not only do the projects exist to benefit the local communities, but they are also a vehicle through which volunteers can gain a deeper insight and understanding into the lives of the people with whom they are working.   

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