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Volunteering, or voluntourism, as the industry has been termed by some, has become a growing sector of the travel industry for some years – many volunteering companies have sprung up around the world offering packages that enable volunteers to work with particular communities or areas of interest, such as wildlife conservation, while travelling overseas. The flow of volunteers generally tends to be from developed countries to developing countries, and many “gap year” students look to volunteer for a period of their time spent overseas to get to know a country and its people on a more intimate level, as well as to “give something back” to the countries in which they stay.
While their intentions are honourable, what is the chance of volunteers’ presence on a project overseas actually being a detriment rather than a help, if a placement organisation is more interested in making money than helping the community? This is the charge that has been levelled at some in the industry by various commentators. Suggestions have been made that ill-thought out volunteering projects can do more harm than good; that some companies offer short-term placements so volunteers are only just settled in when they leave again; Western lifestyles and attitudes can be offensive if volunteers aren’t counselled appropriately; and some companies use local staff sparingly and therefore the onus is on the volunteers’ goals and not those of the community they are helping.
Harold Goodwin, Director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism in the UK, gave a talk about this subject at the Icef Work & Travel Forum, warning that “vulnerable communities overseas” were being tarnished by gap year students just interested in having a good time. Judith Brodie, UK Director of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), complained last year that there was an emphasis in some programmes on volunteer enjoyment rather than how to help the communities they were living in.
This is understandably a topic which many companies are keen to address. At Global Volunteers in the USA, Michele Gran, Vice President, agrees that some “hastily contrived projects can in fact, leave grossly unfavourable impressions in host countries”. She says a key difference between Global Volunteers and other companies is that they contribute not just volunteer labour, but funds to support volunteer work projects overseas. “We work together with our partners annually on their vision for volunteer assistance and project priorities,” says Gran, whose company offers volunteering placements from one to 40 weeks. She says the long-term developmental focus the company has means short-term placements can still serve a purpose, and she notes that they only work in countries at the invitation and under the direction of local leaders.
Employing local people on volunteer projects is central to the ethos of many volunteering organisations. “Our projects are completely run by locals, we do not employ foreigners on the projects,” says Sarah Bishop of African Conservation Experience in the UK, which offers wildlife conservation placements on game and nature reserves in southern Africa. She says placements can be from two to 12 weeks, although they encourage a minimum of four weeks’ stay. “We provide assistance [in-country] in the form of training and guidance on project management, health and safety and other aspects,” she underlines, adding, “It is vital that volunteers are made aware of the cultural differences they can expect and also how to respond to these differences.”
At Global Vision International in the UK, Tabitha Symonds also recommends a minimum placement length of four weeks and stresses too that projects are entirely run by local partners. “We believe very strongly that, in order for a volunteer to be of benefit to the community in which they are working and in order for sufficient training to take place, four weeks is the minimum length of time,” she says. GVI offers projects and expeditions in over 30 countries, and the average placement length is six to eight weeks. Symonds says she is pleased that the issue of ethical or appropriate volunteering is being brought up. “I am very concerned that the volunteer industry as a whole is going to get bad press based on the actions of a few irresponsible and unethical organisations,” she says, stressing that volunteers need to be assessed for their suitability in the same way projects are. “At GVI,” she adds, “a volunteer is liable to be expelled if they behave in a way that sours our relationship with the host community.”
A further charge made by some is that profits are not appropriately channelled into the volunteer projects, but back into the placement companies, which charge inflated prices given the actual costs of running projects overseas. However, Scott Pralinsky of Tropical Adventures in Costa Rica, writing online at GoBudgetTravel.com, argues that staff costs as well as the cost of orientation and training, 24-hour assistance and extras such as free use of mobile phones and medical insurance, are all costs to be considered over and above the cost of organising a volunteer programme independently. Symonds also points to the benefit of having a head office backup available for volunteers as a factor distinguishing reputable programmes.
With such a wide range of companies to choose from, would-be volunteers and agents looking for business partners need to consider factors that they deem important before embarking on a volunteering venture. Richard Nimmo of Blue Ventures in the UK notes that many companies should also display their commitment to responsible tourism. The company won the UNDP Equator Prize last year for its work at a marine protected area.
Points to consider
Does the placement involve cultural orientation, and training where appropriate?
Is there a minimum advised length of stay?
Is the project run by locals?
Are funds contributed to the project as well as manpower by the placement organisation?
Is there a coordinator on hand fluent in both the volunteer’s and community’s language?
Is there a long-term developmental goal to the project?
Is there a management strategy for emergencies?
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