Volontourism: more harm than good ?

« Voluntourism » or « volunteer tourism » is a new phenomenon that is gaining popularity in the Western world and refers to an alternative form of tourism where mainly young people spend time doing voluntary work as part of their stay in a “developing country”. This trend, while at first sight altruistic and benevolent, is nonetheless a money-making industry that in 2019 generated about $173 billion a year. If the Covid years have forced a pause to this phenomenon it continues to gain in importance and that is why it is important to unpack some of the harmful consequences hidden behind mouth-watering communication campaigns for Western students who dream of “changing the world”.

Voluntourists are young unskilled volunteers who may be doing more harm than good

Teaching English, building school, taking care of children, digging wells… The missions offered once in the country vary from one place to another but have one thing in common: they are targeted to young people – mainly students – who have little or no training to complete them.

Driven by a philanthropic impulse, wanting to “give back”, “help the poor”, “make a difference”, these young people actually produce mediocre work that at best makes no difference to the local community or at worst damages it^[1]. Indeed, most of the time volunteers pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to come and do a job that a local community member could have been employed to do. Furthermore, projects are initiated without consulting the local people, so they often do not address their real needs.

The assumption that the voluntourists will make a “huge impact in a short time” on a community that they don’t have any connection to and with a culture they don’t fully comprehend is not realistic and even harmful. Overall, the volunteering experience is more useful to volunteers who can value this experience socially, academically and even on social media. The local communities benefit little or not at all from the money spent by the volunteers on their stay, as most of it goes to the sending organizations.

Voluntourism perpetuates a paternalistic and neocolonial vision of the Global South

Voluntourism organizations market their actions by maintaining a vision of an impoverished Global South, a “Third World” desperately awaiting charity from the North to achieve this almighty idea of a westernized and capitalist “development”.

This paternalistic vision affects the youth of the West by presenting them as the “saviors“^[2] who can make a lasting impact on local communities in a two-week trip. At the same time, the discourses often present local communities with simplistic images of poor, traditional and helpless people to produce imagery that resonates with the Western audience. This discourse reinforces the neo-colonial construction of the dichotomy between « Us », the superior giver and « Them », the « Other » the inferior aid-recipient in the voluntourism experience^[3].

Finally, whether in practice or in discourse, voluntourism can be harmful because it reinforces neocolonial structures of power, privilege and domination of Western culture over the Global South.

Put your motivation to good use, volunteer the right way

The best way to break with this paternalistic and neo-colonial bias is to acknowledge it. So, before paying thousands of dollars to go with one of the hundreds of associations that offer volunteer work to ‘build a school in India’, make sure to yourself several questions:

What are your motivations? What are your skills and to what extent could they be useful in a mission? Are there any local associations and organizations where you could give your time and skills to make yourself useful without a language barrier and without traveling to the other side of the world?

And if the experience abroad suits your skills and seems necessary, it is important to do it in good conditions. For example, try to plan your project of mission with a local and ethical organization. And also make sure beforehand to have a good knowledge of the language, culture, history, social, economic and political context of the country.

Overall, keep in mind that you should find a cause that you are truly passionate about and volunteer and travel to learn and grow, not to add a line to your resume or to release some white privileged guilt

Further readings:

One of the first people to testify and raise awareness about the dangers and reality of the voluntourism industry is Pippa Biddle and you can find her work and testimonies on her blog: https://pippabiddle.com/tag/voluntourism/

^[1] https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/10/voluntourism-new-book-explores-how-volunteer-trips-harm-rather-than-help

^[2] https://metro.co.uk/2019/03/06/what-is-a-white-saviour-complex-8793979/

^[3] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283430976_Volunteer_Tourism_A_Postcolonial_Approach