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. The account was created in response to an YouTube video titled, “How to Get More Likes on Social Media.” The tutorial features a white man flexing with African children hanging on him, captioned, “real heroes don’t wear capes.” The video concludes with the statement, “suffering will get you twice the likes.” The women behind the Barbie Savior account have joined The Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund (SAIH) to combat this type of naive and unacceptable social media use. Photos like these are glorifying the privileged and highlighting people in degrading situations. The SAIH has created a downloadable manual and checklist for voluntourists to keep their intentions in check during travel.
I’ve seen MadagascarConnect grapple with the controversy of voluntourism incessantly. When I was an ambassador, I found myself struggling with something that made me uncomfortable: we fundraised $30,000 for us all to go on this trip. Would this money have been better donated to an a local organization in the capital of Madagascar, or directly to Malagasy people who face extreme poverty on a daily basis?
I am interested in hearing your opinions on the topic of voluntourism. I also recommend looking into the mission of Barbie Savior on their website (http://www.barbiesavior.com/) and visit their social media @barbiesavior for content that may make you laugh, uncomfortably.
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading your blog post, I had always been familiar with the idea of voluntourism, but this is the first time i'm hearing the actual term "voluntourism". I personally think that the controversy around the idea is well deserved. Fundraising 30k for a trip to Madagascar to learn about and work with non-profits definitely has some benefit however I am not confident that that is the best way to do the most good with 30,000 dollars. I do believe that what barbie savior pokes fun at is the exact question you asked, that the 30,000 dollars would have been better off just given to local organizations or the Malagasy people as opposed to being spent on all of the travel accommodations. I agree with the barbie savior idea that this sort of philanthropy is sort of backwards and basically allows people to feel justified traveling the developing world. However, I feel like I don't know much about what you guys did on the trip so depending on the actual philanthropy done on the trip, I would better be able to form an opinion. If you spent time doing meaningful work such as building a school or doing some sort of community development, I think I wouldn't be as opposed to the trip.
I'm really glad you wrote about this and included the link to the barbie savior website, I feel like this is another side of philanthropy we haven't talked about in class, and I look forward to seeing everyone else's thoughts and comments on this particular topic.
Hey Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post. I remember your charity pitch and hearing about the inspiring trip you took to the Madagascar. Similar to you, I have a lot of friends that have gone on similar philanthropic trips. A know a couple of people that went on trips to Kenya and South Africa, and I was able to ask them about their experiences. I really hate when people go on volunteer trips like these and constantly post videos on their Facebooks and Instagrams of them holding disadvantaged/poor native children. I feel that it is super disrespectful and rude to the natives living there. People who make posts like these are pretty much saying: “look at me, I’m volunteering with cute disenfranchised kids.” My friends who went on the African trips also had to pay a small fortune to go on the trip and also had the same questions regarding voluntourism.
In my personal opinion, I feel volunteer trips like these are only beneficial to the participant if they take what they’ve learned from the trip and apply the lessons to their everyday life. Just like how you pitched MadagascarConnect to our class, I hope all of the other participants on your trip help spread awareness and the hardships of the Madagascar people. The $30,000 you raised on your trip is only worth it if you make it all back in publicity and awareness of Madagascan people. Obviously raising $30,000 towards the cause would make a great impact as well, but that is significantly harder to do. In an effort to answer your question, I feel that you should try to keep in touch with the rest of your volunteer travel team and motivate them to remember all of the lessons and experiences you had in the madagascar. See how people are doing in achieving the goals you set at the end of the trip. If people forgot mostly about the trip, then maybe send them your charity pitch and reinvigorate the passion they had by signing up for the trip in the first place. I’m sure the trip you had to the Madagascar was incredible, but the only way to make it worth its time is if you continue to make an impact on the madagascar years after the trip. Good Luck!
-Matt
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteVoluntourism is definitely a very complex, multi-faceted issue and I'm glad you chose to address it with this post. I enjoyed hearing about your experience with MadagascarConnect and they seem like an organization which tries to ensure that the volunteers and the people they are serving both have the best possible experience. I previously attended Fordham University where there was an entire department dedicated to these types of trips called "Global Outreach" (GO) trips. As a freshman, these trips were something I was interested in pursuing. They sounded like exciting opportunities to travel somewhere new, gain a different perspective, and help others as well. However, the more I heard about these trips from my peers, the more skeptical I became. Many of my peers who took these trips had showed little interest in volunteering when we were in the Bronx. However, when an international destination was involved they suddenly were all for it and filled with passion. Many students who took these trips would post pictures of them in an orphanage surrounded by children, but very few of them had experience working with children or were pursuing an education to work with children. Furthermore, these trips costs thousands of dollars, but lacked transparency as to where funds were going directly. Students would come back and speak about how much the trip impacted them, but never spoke about whether they made an impact on the community they proposed to serve. Some of the trips served medical missions but brought students to give shots who had no medical experience which sounded extremely dangerous. Although these issues are not present with every single volunteerism trip, many of these trips exploit students and lead them to believe they will be making a difference when the fact of the matter is that their weeks-long experience will not leave a lasting impact.
I know that I sound very skeptical and somewhat negative about these trips, but they certainly have many positives as well. It is great that young people have the ability to visit a foreign place, delve into the local culture, and learn about global citizenship. However, what many of these countries need is trained professionals rather than student volunteers. Students may make a much larger impact volunteering within their own community or in an area where they have educational or professional experience. Additionally, the money that students raise for these trips does not always benefit the populations they intend to serve and this is a huge issue. Students should be encouraged to visit these places, stimulate the local economy, and learn more about the culture. In some situations, it is completely appropriate to volunteer as well. It is important for young people to be critical and skeptical of the companies offering these trips and know the difference between having a impactful volunteering experience abroad and fishing for social media likes. The following podcast speaks about the importance of doing your research before partaking in one of these voluntourism trips.
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2014/07/31/336600290/as-volunteerism-explodes-in-popularity-whos-it-helping-most
-Mary Kate
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteFor the past three years, I have been going on mission trips to Arizona through my local church. In a small Native American town named Carrizo, we give bible study lessons, play with them, and create relationships with them. The latter is the most important, which I’ll be talking about later. This year will be my fourth year going and my first time actually leading the trip. Every year, we tend to share how difficult mission trips are, simply because of the negative impact it can bring. If you search online, there are tons of articles on why “you should cancel your church mission trip” or the “problems with mission trips.”
In one of the articles, several issues are pointed out about how toxic it can be when people travel to a poverty-stricken town or foreign nation. One of the problems include dependency. When someone constantly receives, they start relying on it, in terms of long term care.
When we give supplies to those in need, there are many times where parents are embarrassed that they need to rely on someone else to take care of their family. We attempted to plan our mission trip around this. Instead of prioritizing their poverty level, we prioritized relationships. There is a reason why we go to the same location every single year and meet the same people. While resources do not last a lifetime, relationships do.
In my view of mission trips and voluntourism, it is absolutely crucial that a proper bond is formed with the people you meet. Simply put, it is not about building your experience or attending a trip to have something on your resume. It is all about having the urge to show the people you meet that even though we have a comfortable life, we still struggle internally just like them. There needs to be something that they can relate to so that they can continue to pursue their dreams; continue to grasp on hope.
This is of course not an easy task. There are probably hundreds of voluntourism trips each year with people that do not know the dangers of it. This ultimately raises a question on the different ways people can approach international volunteer trips. My example of creating relationships definitely has its limitations. What are ways where the toxic aspects of voluntourism are avoided? How can we create a trip that is meaningful to the people we meet?
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/why-you-should-consider-cancelling-your-short-term-mission-trips/
Jacob Yi
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI find the debate over voluntourism to be fascinating, as this is a topic I have never really thought about before. I personally haven't gone on a voluntourism trip, but I definitely have seen others post on social media while on these trips. In my opinion, there is a fine line between showcasing a volunteer trip you're on and degrading the people you are there to help/serve. When I went over to @barbiesavior's Instagram page, I immediately understood what you meant about laughing uncomfortably. While this page is a mock account, it highlights an important issue about the misguided intentions some people have towards voluntourism.
I am not opposed to raising and spending money on volunteer trips in foreign nations. Talking to the locals in that nation, and learning more about their culture, the issues facing them, and what their daily lives are like can be invaluable lessons. These trips can promote greater cultural understanding and empathy towards those less privileged than we are. If students go on a trip to help those in need and learn, I have absolutely no problem with this. Simply donating from the comforts of our own homes is not the same as directly volunteering where your donation will go. However, there is clearly an issue when students go on voluntourism trips primarily in order to get more likes on social media. Aside from being degrading and disrespectful, people who do this miss out on a great opportunity to learn and expand their horizons, as I discussed before.
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post and your take on the complex and controversial issue of voluntourism. As a member of MedLife, an on-campus organization that funds service-learning volunteer trips for students to destinations such as Peru, Tanzania, and Ecuador, this issue is very relevant to me. I understand there are many different perspectives on the concept of voluntourism, and there exists a well-known stigma around students funding trips to volunteer abroad. However, I was recently reading a National Geographic published article titled, "5 Myths About Voluntourism" that attempts to abolish this stigma, and I think the article is very relevant to this blog post.
The article's main emphasis is that not all voluntourist trips are created equal, and I think this is the largest issue surrounding the stigma around voluntourism. While some trips are indeed only beneficial to the volunteers, and the trips are sometimes more vacations than volunteer trips, there are many service-learning trips that are very helpful to the communities they serve.
The article also mentions the main issues that voluntourism is associated with, such as how voluntourism is believed to hurt local economies, or that the concept of going abroad to service those in need is more colonialism than volunteerism. Yet, these statements are not always true. For example, on some voluntourist trips, instead of diverting business away from locals by donating supplies to the community, the trip organizers work with local business owners to grow the community as a whole. Perhaps, if recruitment for a voluntourist trip is selective to only those with proven intentions and a responsible outlook, the belief that voluntourist trips are more harmful than helpful could potentially be abolished. After all, the outcome of every service trip is very different, and depends largely on the intentions of those traveling.
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post and your take on the complex and controversial issue of voluntourism. As a member of MedLife, an on-campus organization that funds service-learning volunteer trips for students to destinations such as Peru, Tanzania, and Ecuador, this issue is very relevant to me. I understand there are many different perspectives on the concept of voluntourism, and there exists a well-known stigma around students funding trips to volunteer abroad. However, I was recently reading a National Geographic published article titled, "5 Myths About Voluntourism" that attempts to abolish this stigma, and I think the article is very relevant to this blog post.
The article's main emphasis is that not all voluntourist trips are created equal, and I think this is the largest issue surrounding the stigma around voluntourism. While some trips are indeed only beneficial to the volunteers, and the trips are sometimes more vacations than volunteer trips, there are many service-learning trips that are very helpful to the communities they serve.
The article also mentions the main issues that voluntourism is associated with, such as how voluntourism is believed to hurt local economies, or that the concept of going abroad to service those in need is more colonialism than volunteerism. Yet, these statements are not always true. For example, on some voluntourist trips, instead of diverting business away from locals by donating supplies to the community, the trip organizers work with local business owners to grow the community as a whole. Perhaps, if recruitment for a voluntourist trip is selective to only those with proven intentions and a responsible outlook, the belief that voluntourist trips are more harmful than helpful could potentially be abolished. After all, the outcome of every service trip is very different, and depends largely on the intentions of those traveling.
Link to the National Geographic Article: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/intelligent-travel/2015/02/04/unpacking-voluntourism-five-myths/
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteStephanie,
ReplyDeleteI honestly haven’t thought of voluntourism in this sense before. I honestly saw it as a great way to help others while getting to explore the world a bit. However, your question of whether or not the thousands spent on making voluntourism possible could be better spent if supplied towards other philanthropic efforts had be in deep thought for quite a while. It reminded me of Peter Signer’s ted talk. As I’ve written in my decision-making assessment, I wish to be an effective altruist. I wish to allocate my resources in the most effective way possible in order to help the most people and do the most good. I’m sure Peter Signer would disprove of voluntourism. He would rather see the $30,000 be spent on malaria prevention, or treating the water crisis, or some other movement that would save thousands. However, giving all you can to efforts and people who try to save lives is not always the way to do the most good. Let me explain.
With voluntourism people are able to visit different cultures. They are able to understand the people they are trying to help. Melinda Gates does just this to better the Gates Foundation charity efforts. By understanding the people, you are learning. And by learning your potential for effectively helping increases. You understand what the people in need will accept. What they will do when help is offered. As Bill Gates said in his ted talk, its no good to put effort towards a solution if the solution just solves the problem and doesn’t solve the problem in a way that people will accept.
If this class has taught me anything, its that philanthropy is a complicated field. It is comprised of decisions that do not always have clear cut right choices. All we can do is our best.
- Anthony Zavala
Hello Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteIn the class I took with professor Campbell last year, we also discussed voluntourism, and while I do not necessarily know if it is a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ thing, I can conclude that is it is a complex topic. I have never personally gone on a mission trip or a trip with the sole purpose of volunteering, but I do know people who went on them and they definitely learned a lot about their privilege and how to help others.
I personally believe that what matters is the intention behind the voluntourism rather than the act itself. Last year, we read an article recalling a story about a trip where the volunteers would help build houses and schools in another country. While this sounds necessary and important, the volunteers were not properly trained and the workers would go back every night to demolish the volunteers’ work and re-construct the foundations of the buildings. This in my opinion is a complete waste of time; the money spent for travel and other expenses could have been more impactful should the group have donated the money to buy more equipment or construction materials.
In addition, the influence of social media on volunteering is also a factor that needs to be considered when defining voluntourism as something ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Like you said in your blog, posting photos similar to the one shown in the tutorial glorify the privileged, make the disadvantaged look like they need saving, and ultimately perpetuates the social stereotypes. If you are voluntouring with the right intentions, you will not be posting planned Instagram photos with elaborate captions, rather you will be using your privilege to benefit others.
Thank you for the thought provoking blog post, it was a great way to spark self reflection and remember similar conversations I have had in the past!
Sincerely,
Lexi Murman
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteThis was certainty an interesting read! I did not know that volunteerism as a phenomenon was so popular. I decided to look at the website you provided to give you my impressions. The website talks about the "White Savior" complex, which is something I haven't heard about. It sort of reminds me of a poem we learned about in high school, called a "white man's burden." This poem describes the task that white colonizers believed they had to impose their civilization on the black inhabitants of their colonies. I believe that the "white man's burden" idea may relate to the white savior complex, because both seem to patronizingly look down upon black people. BBC news seems to agree, as they have also made this connection in the "What Others Have Said" portion of the website.
One of the articles in the blog section, titled "ORPHANS MAY BE CUTE, BUT ATTACHMENT PROBLEMS ARE NOT," describes how orphans need long-term care instead of love for a few short moments. It is interesting to read how volunteerism does little to solve this problem, as it only provides a very temporary solution. The volunteers are more focused on their experiences with the children, than the health of the children. The post seems to indicate that if we want to solve these problems, we need to provide more permanent services to these people than condescending volunteering.
Thank you for this blog post. It was certainly and enlightening read and revealed a whole new world of narcissism to me.
- Christian
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog post. I thought it was well written and very interesting. I also would like to commend you on you sharing with us how you considered the idea that perhaps you going to Madagascar was not the most beneficial way to donate the money. That is very selfless of you.
I also like the link you posted. I scouted the website and found a lot of interesting material. I really love how the program started simply with two friends joking around and it turned into a way to draw awareness to the issue of volunteerism. However, although it may seem on paper that these trips are a waste of time and money and sometimes end up actually being insulting, I think volunteerism can be extremely beneficial when done right. This is definitely the case in MadagascarConnect. I think the fact that you had to go through an education program for a long time before actually going makes you more likely to visit Madagascar in a humble way aimed at helping people. However, if people simply go to Madagascar with the fake illusion that they are helping people, it creates even more of a barrier between those fortunate to travel to these countries and those who are treated like animals in a zoo in their own country.