Category FAQs Search : Tourism
Question: The Positive Side of Voluntourism
Answer: Voluntourism still has its benefits and can make a real, positive impact on communities and projects when done right. Volunteering can stimulate local economies, as more people spend money in local shops, markets and restaurants.
1- Training of local communities
If you have a particular skill that you can share with locals, this can make a real difference for the future of a community. For instance, if you are a physiotherapist, you can teach some workshops to local doctors. This will provide a more long-term contribution to the area. Similarly, if you are a doctor, you could help provide medical care to underprivileged communities that cannot afford to pay or don't have access to the healthcare they need.
2- Free workforce
Often, volunteers are not taking jobs from locals. They are in fact providing a service that would otherwise not be done, as it would require paying someone. This is often the case when volunteers come to teach English. It allows children to learn English without the need for a paid, qualified English teacher that the school could not afford. The best way that voluntourism supports this model is when the volunteer can also provide a financial support as well their time, so the school can recruit a permanent local English teacher. Globalteer's overseas volunteer program makes sure the local projects get financial support to ensure the schools have permanent staff that volunteers can work with rather than replace.
3- Help needed on a variety of different projects
Not all volunteer opportunities involve working with children, which is often where issues with voluntourism arise. Other projects involve conservation, research or working with animals. These are in equal need of the support of volunteers to be effective. Although this type of volunteering is not completely problem-free (such as the issues with Elephant Trekking in Asia), it shows there are easy ways to volunteer whilst ensuring you will not be contributing to the exploitation of children.
4- Cultural exchange
Volunteering abroad also provides an excellent opportunity for cultural exchange. Both volunteers and those in the local community can learn about another way of life. Being involved with locals can provide a much more enriching experience abroad. Indeed, you get a more intimate view of how people actually live in other communities. This must be done with an open mind to avoid looking down on other cultures as ‘inferior’ to western ones.
5- It all depends on the approach
In reality, the only difference between volunteering abroad and voluntourism is how we view what we are doing. Ultimately, if you are aware of the situation in the community, are fully dedicated to helping in any way you can, and carefully select where you volunteer, you are going to be able to make an impact. Even if it’s only a small one, it always makes a difference!
(Source: Globalteer , 20 Oct 2021)
Source Link: https://www.globalteer.org/voluntourism/