VIEWPOINTS
Voluntourism implications Beyond the pictures
Hrishikesh Suresh & Gynter Kotrri Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours), Class of 2016 Correspondence: hrishikesh.suresh@learnlink.mcmaster.ca & gynter.kotrri@learnlink.mcmaster.ca
Definition
The term “voluntourism” refers to a form of tourism in which travelers participate in short-term voluntary work.
opinion
Introduction
For an idea that is generally portrayed as having only positive outcomes for the service providers and the recipients, voluntourism has quite a few negative outcomes. While people usually have good intentions when they decide to go on such trips, a combination of marketing, ignorance, and disorganization has prevented them from providing the intended assistance.
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Argument 1: Intentions
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The intentions behind a particular action can be as important as the action itself. In some cases of volunteer tourism, the primary intention behind volunteering is not humanitarian service. There are a significant number of people who choose these trips over local service because of the associated glamour in travelling overseas to developing nation. Often, this occurs because although people are aware of issues in their local communities, they choose to divert their attentions to global issues, and sympathize with those suffering in developing nations. For instance, there are areas in Hamilton where the life expectancy of the population is lower than that of developing nations.1 Misguided intentions can cause people to forget the alternative of volunteering locally, which may be more cost-efficient and beneficial.
Argument 2: Insufficient Impact
As the adage goes, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” This is illustrative of the fact that assistance is far more effective when sustainability is the goal, rather than an immediate remedy. The services provided by certain organizations are contingent on the volunteers’ presence and their capabilities to facilitate such an operation. Once the volunteers complete their service term, new infrastructure is not created to ensure continued access to the provided service. The volunteers are typically not skilled workers, which limits their abilities to contribute. In addition, these voluntourism programs simply provide temporary solutions instead of
establishing sustainability. Local populations need a way to access the necessary resources, as well as the services of trained personnel; neither are usually provided as part of such trips. Instead, the these short-term missions create a dependency on external assistance.
Argument 3: Reinforcing Stereotypes
Not a single nation that faces issues such as poverty would like their national identity to be defined by that issue. In order to encourage people to volunteer for such trips, the organizations behind them usually draw a large amount of attention to the negative issues within the countries. This has the consequence of mistakenly conveying that the only notable aspect of developing nations is the abject poverty and lack of access to resources. While such issues are indeed more prevalent in developing nations, branding these nations with images of suffering is doing them an injustice. Such stereotypes convince people that these issues characterize developing nations, and that developing nations are entirely dependent on foreign aid.
Conclusion
While people may wish to help, the current organization of voluntourism does not provide an adequate solution to the issues experienced by developing nations. We might be tempted to think that doing something is better than nothing, but it is important to consider all the potential consequences. Voluntourism has the potential to improve lives, but in its current state, causes significant harm.