“Voluntourism,” or volunteer travel, is a rapidly growing segment of responsible travel. While in the past volunteer trips were typically associated with large religious or government efforts like the Peace Corps, in recent years, partly in response to natural disasters, short-term, locally focused volunteer trips have grown in popularity. .
The prospect of helping others abroad is exciting, intriguing, and your contribution can be really useful. But this decision also requires serious reflection. How do you know which experience is right for you? How do you know if the help you want to give is really necessary? Where will your money really go? How do you know if you will be happy doing this?
Fortunately for responsible travelers, the trend in modern “voluntourism” is toward local empowerment. Today, more and more programs are focused on providing concrete assistance to expand local skills, grow the local economy, and support local culture. As a responsible traveler, you will find many experiences that will meet your personal requirements for responsible and culturally authentic travel.
Here’s an easy-to-follow roadmap to get you started on the volunteer travel path that’s right for you.
Step 1: Have you thought about the wide range of service possibilities? It may seem obvious, but start by looking at the big picture of volunteer travel. Education, healthcare and social service are just three of the most popular, but by no means the only, areas of volunteer travel. There really isn’t any field of service that couldn’t use another set of hands, some real skills, and an open heart. For example, while teaching English abroad is one of the most popular activities, you can also:
o Teach adolescents conflict resolution skills.
o Aid in disaster relief
o Lend legal expertise to a local organization
o Support women’s empowerment by sharing your business knowledge.
To get an idea of the many opportunities available, visit Cross-Cultural Solutions.
Step 2: What is your experience? You can be pretty sure that what you already know could benefit others. Are you a nurse who would love to help out at an AIDS/HIV clinic? Or an expert social worker in victim services? You can be of great help by combining your professional skills with existing volunteer opportunities. Two resources to start your search are idealist.org: Action Without Borders and Global Volunteers.
Step 3: What makes your heart sing? You may be a woman practicing law, but your dream is to support and participate in the efforts of the global community of women. Women’s Travels for Peace may be the perfect option for you. A teacher who enjoys building can help build a new classroom or school through an organization like HELP Travel. If you’re a website developer who also loves music, how about connecting with a community art program that can use your help to get their creations out into the international online world? A tailor-made volunteer experience could be just what you need to make your dream come true. Cross-Cultural Solutions can guide you in creating your ideal volunteer activity.
Step 4: What do you personally want to get out of the experience? Why are you doing this? What is really behind your desire to volunteer your time, money and effort? Want to practice a language you’re learning… or put your skills to use in a new field… or immerse yourself in a particular culture? Think carefully about your own personal motivation. This will help you to do what will be deeply satisfying to you and truly useful to others…and you will avoid doing something because you feel you “should” do it. It will also help you see if your personal goals could be better achieved through a different type of activity.
Step 5: Where do you want to go? And can you make the necessary adjustments? The world is yours to explore as a volunteer. You can travel to any continent and contribute to the local good. For example, if you know you want to brush up on your language skills in French-speaking West Africa, a prominent organization to contact is HELP Travel in southern Senegal. Or if you’re a wine lover yearning to take part in the winemaking process in a stunning location, check out Peace Through Travel’s agritourism adventures and program on the Italian Riviera.
The question to ask yourself is: can I happily do what will be required? You may have to make some significant daily adjustments… like taking a bath without hot water, walking long distances, befriending a menagerie of insects, or working in more extreme heat or cold than you’re used to. Carefully research the terms of the investments you are considering. You won’t be of much help to anyone, including yourself, if you are dissatisfied with the everyday physical or mental realities of your experience, no matter how appealing the opportunity may seem in the description.
Step 6: Where will your money go? Many volunteer travel programs are fee-based, some organized by non-profit organizations, others by for-profit organizations. Research the project that interests you. It is important to know, to your own satisfaction, where your money is going and how it will be used. As a responsible WORLD traveler, your main goal is to contribute and support the local destination. Does part of your travel fee go directly to this purpose? You want to understand exactly how the organization or business you are considering supports the community in which you work and where your money will end up. Research them online or call them.
These six steps give you a roadmap to start your research. For an in-depth analysis of the factors to consider, visit VolunTourism.
So… Keep Learning!
Like anything else, learning about a new way of traveling requires being alert to new information. This is an exciting process and it can change your life. So stay informed!
One of the best ways to stay informed is to subscribe to Peace Through Travel’s Responsible WORLD Traveler, the FREE monthly e-zine about eco-friendly and culturally authentic travel that protects our world and everyone who lives in it. Sign up today and start receiving news about unique cultural travel opportunities, tips and resources on responsible travel, information on learning languages for travel, and updates on Women’s Travel for Peace.
© 2008 Linda Rivero, Peace Through Travel LLC
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