As many of you know, I am part of an organization local to my hometown called MadagascarConnect. Since this was the organization that I pitched and I do talk excessively about it, I’ll give a brief recap. MadagascarConnect is a program based out of Rhinebeck, New York that sponsors the travel of five student ambassadors to the island of Madagascar, biennially. The ambassadors work with several nonprofits local to the area, building connections and learning from leaders in the nonprofit sector. This blog post was inspired by Hannah’s comment on my last post regarding a phenomenon known as voluntourism. Voluntourism is a form of travel in which people participate in some form of volunteer activity, usually through a charity. Voluntourism has become a controversial topic in recent years; does it do more harm than help? Recently, I discovered an instagram account related to this topic. The account, called Barbie Savior, is a satirical account based on the downfalls of voluntourism. ...
Figuring it Out in Real Time