Travel abroad, see the world and do something good: Voluntourism promises exciting experiences with social engagement. But the volunteers often pay expensive trips, which then harm more than help.
The idea of traveling to foreign countries, getting to know new people and cultures and at the same time making a positive contribution to society sounds tempting for many young people. This combination of volunteer work and travel is also referred to as voluntourism and is particularly well received by young people. For example, you can teach English for a few weeks in Ghana, look after children in an orphanage or help wild animals in catch stations. But it is not quite as great as the idea sounds.
Volunteers only fight symptoms
Many organizers of such volunteer programs are primarily travel providers. The European Consumer Center warns that instead of real volunteer work, they often offer overpriced vacation trips in which a few working hours have been integrated into a social project. This means that many of these projects are not sustainable solutions for the existing problems.
Examples can be found in countries such as Cambodia and Nepal, where more and more orphanages are opened. According to the government’s official estimates, however, 80 to 85 percent of children are not orphans in these facilities. Rather, their parents often simply cannot afford to make a living for the children. The orphanages are more likely to act as boarding schools in which the children are looked after and receive access to education and food. Through tourists who donate on site, and the volunteers who partly take on lessons and support there and pay for it, at the same time money flows into the facilities.
This lucrative business model means that even more orphanages are founded – sometimes even without there. As early as 2014, the UNICEF organization warned of orphanage voluntourism and the abuse, which is made possible by such initiatives. Some of the volunteers are not supervised there and could also leave the orphanage with some of the children.
The cheap workforce of the voluntourists can even reinforce the local population’s poverty problem: organizations on site then prefer to use this free support instead of paying employees appropriately. For example, voluntourists unintentionally endanger the jobs of the local population, while the organizations become dependent on the cheap help.
Short help and missing expertise
Another problem is the short stay of the volunteers: Support children or adolescents in particular in social aid projects, it is important that trustworthy contacts are long -term on site. The constant adoption and getting to know new caregivers can be a significant burden for the children. You actually need a stable and reliable environment.
In addition, there is often a lack of adequate preparation for the volunteers. Many providers decide independently whether they check the skills of the participants or not. Often the volunteers do not have the necessary expertise, sometimes there are also no basic language skills in order to be able to provide sensible support on site. These deficiencies can cause the well -meaning help possibly even bring more damage than benefit. The volunteers can also suffer if they are confronted with situations for which they were not trained.
Find trustworthy providers
If you still want to participate in a voluntourism project, you should consider a few basic things: The European Consumer Center recommends a look at the provider’s general terms and conditions to determine the advantages and obligations connected to the trip. Sometimes meals or flights have to be booked extra, but they are included in some providers. Alternatively, a brief demand also helps what is included in the package. Interested parties should also ask about the specific services. For example, how many working hours are roughly intended in which organization they should be achieved and how much free time remains.
Alternatives for volunteering
In general, however, the consumer center advises to apply for state volunteer work such as the federal volunteer service. If you are under 26 years old, you can also complete a voluntary social or ecological year after school – both are not only possible within Germany, but can also be done abroad.
Alternatively, many volunteer organizations near their own place of residence also offer opportunities to get involved. Working on the board or for the local animal welfare organization may not sound so exciting at first. However, you also need help and can teach a lot. So you can help on the website, for example, everyone – a volunteer portal of the aid organizers – can be one Hilfs-O-Mat Filling out that takes into account preferences, skills and place of residence when looking for volunteer work.