Does volunteering do more harm than good?

in #volunteering7 years ago (edited)

In light of the coming months, this question has been on my mind a lot recently and so today I have spent my time looking into what has been said on the subject. The idea being to enlighten me a little so that I can perhaps reduce the negative effects of my trip, and maximize the potential benefits in undertaking this project.


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Does volunteering do more harm than good?

The desire to give your time and energy to someone is inherently laudable, as is the desire to volunteer. However, there are a number of reasons why volunteering, specifically in developing nations, can do more harm than good. This article discusses both the possible benefits a volunteer can provide, and why it might not be wise to follow through with these good intentions without fully examining the consequences for those we seek to help.

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.” — Muhammad Ali

On the surface, the benefits of volunteering abroad are quite straight-forward. Immersing oneself in a different language and culture, providing services to developing areas, and gaining a greater global perspective are all positive outcomes that can be obtained. However, in order to increase the chances of success, careful research and planning prior to embarking on this journey should take place.

Offering time and skills for long-term benefit


The key goal of a volunteering project should be to provide positive, long-lasting contributions in the regions receiving support. Building a classroom so that children can receive a better education, and helping to install running water at a location previously without clean drinking water shows clear, long-lasting benefits.
In Teaching, there is huge potential to provide lifelong skills, both on an academic and personal level. Whether you are a trained teacher, or have gained know-how during your career, transferring knowledge that can be used to aid the person and their community, can provide very positive outcomes to volunteer work.

Shorter term ‘focused’ volunteer work


When the project is clearly defined, the length of time spent working is not of key importance in being able to provide clear benefits. The focus here is the relevant hands-on skills that you can provide directly to the mission. This could take the form of teaching English at the local school, assisting in building new homes, environmental cleanup tasks...

Other, more personal, benefits to volunteer work can include gaining confidence, challenging yourself, and learning new skills. However, this journey should not be of personal focus if the goal is to provide the best outcomes for those in need.

“If you find yourself volunteering abroad only to have something to put on your resume, or get a new profile picture for Facebook, you need to redefine your priorities“. - Ayushi Patel source


Personal gain and poor allocation of funding

What some don’t foresee is that it is not as simple as flying off and trying to change a community. It takes time, careful planning, and a thorough understanding of what is required from the individual, as well as the current situation in a region, before one can attempt to help it. There is a balance between supporting on a day-to-day basis, and empowering a community so that it can benefit long into the future - It is the difference between provisioning food for a month or so, and helping build an irrigation system so it can grow, consume, and sell its own additional produce.

It is also easy to criticize the amount of money heading into volunteerism abroad programs without the transparency of where this money is being allocated. And indeed, the same could be said of well-known charities like the Red Cross. The below is an expenditure chart for the volunteer organisation, Projects Abroad.


projects abroad.png
source

Organizations which show a large percentage of administrative costs, could well be devoting an unbalanced amount of money to staff, reducing the cash used to directly benefit those they are set up to aid.

There are hundreds of organizations that encourage people to volunteer, but on many occasions these trips do more harm than good for local communities in the developing world. There is the potential that:

  • Volunteers can take away jobs from locals

  • The money would be better spent creating new industries and building infrastructure which would reduce the dependency on the developed world

  • The funds and time allocated to a project are spent ‘looking after’ volunteers ill-equipped for their chosen project

  • Emotional attachments are formed with the visitors, which can then be detrimental when the volunteer returns home

  • 'False promises' are made and 'false hope' is given


Summary

Careful planning and consideration must be taken prior to undertaking volunteer work abroad, and it is clear that unless we possess time and transferable skills, it may be a better option to travel and spend money in developing countries to provide growth in, at least, the tourism industry.

Some possible steps to consider before undertaking volunteer work could include ensuring that the project is:

  • sustainable and addresses the key problems, e.g. education and poverty

  • A true partner with the community

  • Transparent with regards to any funds taken

  • promoting cross-cultural understanding

  • doing more than stroking travellers' egos

  • established with track record of positive output

Heartfelt efforts to help, without fully understanding the people and project we are seeking to aid can potentially only make matters worse.


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source



If you have done any volunteer work in the past, i would be very interested to hear about your experiences, positive or negative.

Thanks for reading today

Asher


References

The realities of volunteering abroad
Before you pay to volunteer abroad, think of the harm you might do
Pros and Cons of Short Term Volunteer Programs
Giving Back: A Special Report on Volunteer Vacations
Beware the 'voluntourists' doing good
Does voluntourism do more harm than good?
When Volunteering Abroad Does More Harm Than Good
Volunteering in Africa – pros and cons
Pros and Cons of Volunteering Abroad
The Pros and Cons of Volunteering Abroad With a Local Organization
Where Does the Money Go When You Volunteer?

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Excellent writeup and some really true and valid points raised!! Great stuff :):) I can't agree with you more!

Thank you @theneau! I'm really appreciative of your kind worlds. It's a subject I'm now very interested in and I'm glad you think I gave it a good shot. Cheers!

About time that something like this appears and you have certainly done a good job! Another issue to consider is "False promises" Don't tell a youngster in a developing country that you will take him to your nice country for a visit when you return and then you are never seen again! Please abstain from any doubtful commitments! Sorry, but we had a couple of volunteers in the past and I felt the urge to share this! Your post is great! Congrats!

I very much agree with your comment. Working in a school/orphanage amplifies the risk of these 'false promises' taking place and so extra care is required here.

Thank you very much for you kind words @papilloncharity, I did have a reasonable look around Steemit and didn't find much on this subject from this angle.

Cheers!

My pleasure! Blessings to you! Stephen

Interesting perspective. Upvoted and resteemed! I hope you have a wonderful day! 😀 😃 😄 😁 😆 Thanks for following me by the way.

Thanks!

I tried to give a balanced view, perhaps airing on the side of negativity if not enough though was put into doing this kind of thing.

😁

Yeah but its counterintuitive and I like that!

not usually a good thing but i'll take it as a compliment! :D

Why do you say that?

sorry i took it as 'unintuitive' which is not the same at all!

So instead i say, 'thank you!'

You're welcome! Thank you for your kind words! 😀 😃 😄 I hope you have a WONDERFUL day!

Interesting post ;-)
I just watched "Poverty Inc." a nice documentary about this topic.

We will have a look! seen your new competition, I wonder if i can say 100 NSFW words in a row :D

Love this! I think the giving mentality is brilliant and powerful, but just don't say anything :) Be humble.

Upvoted and Resteemed!

Are you awake? On discord somewhere? cheers!

I've never really thought about the negatives of volunteering so thank you for your post, it has opened my eyes and made me think a bit more!

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Excellent post @abh12345! "Volunteerism", I think, is a very good thing. Candidly, however, I think "volunteering" probably has more of an impact on the lives of those volunteering than on the lives of those who are being assisted. I suspect it makes a dramatic impact on the perceptions and views of those who are doing the volunteering; much moreso than on the lives of those who are being assisted by the volunteers. Why? Change takes time and long term commitment, especially in traditional societies and cultures; not something one can hope to achieve in short term volunteer assignments; it's just not possible. Does it help; absolutely; because it does open the eyes of those being assisted and exposes them to new ways of thinking and viewing the world; but, unless it is constantly and consistently re-enforced over an extended period...well, traditional ways of thinking and behaving are very, very difficult to overcome. I very much applaud what you are doing and hope you continue--long term commitment is one of the keys. Having lived and worked, building my own businesses in Africa, for 30+ years, I have seen and experienced...

Hi @beantownboy

I'm really sorry for not spotting this helpful comment earlier.

I totally agree with your comments and hope the 3 months (added on to the 3 last year) will be a suitable length of time to bring some positive permanent changes to the school we plan to teach at.

We go with an IT degree and 20 years in the trade, plus a Montessori deploma and hope that this, along with our smiles and humbleness will be enough.

Thanks for your reply

Asher

This is really up to you, I hope you try volunteering first and see for yourself. I hope you choose an ethical volunteering agency though, if you are going through that. For me, it is better to go directly to the families or communities, although that is difficult too but it is more rewarding on both sides (you and the host).

Yeah no agency!

Direct to the school/children's home via word of Montessori Teacher mouth. @osm0sis was their last year too, so we are continuing the work, which sounds better to me.

Anyway yeah, got to live it first before commenting, and yeah I'll be commenting alright :)

I look forward to reading about your volunteering experience soon! :)