As an ex VSOer in Hanoi who, on occasions, saw the otherside of volunteering in Granada, I’m with them 100% on this one.
From today’s Times:
“One of Britain’s leading charities has warned students not to take part in gap-year aid projects overseas which cost thousands of pounds and do nothing to help developing countries.
“Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) said that gap-year volunteering, highlighted by Princes William and Harry, has spawned a new industry in which students pay thousands of pounds for prepackaged schemes to teach English or help to build wells in developing countries with little evidence that it benefits local communities.
“It said that “voluntourism” was often badly planned and spurious projects were springing up across Africa, Asia and Latin America to satisfy the demands of the students rather than the needs of locals. Young people would be better off simply travelling the world and enjoying themselves, it added.”
Yes, yes, and yes again.
I’ve written on this subject before and you can find it here.
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August 14, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Stephen Newton
Interesting stuff. It should be obvious that just as dumping surplus Western grown food can destroy farming in developing countries, so volunteer labour risks putting already impoverished locals out of work, but it isn’t.
But given that these profitable firms are unlikely to simply go away, maybe the way forward for VSO, perhaps in partnership with other NGOs, would be to initiate some sort of endorsement scheme. Tour operators would be vetted and enabled to market themselves as making a difference. It would be nice little earner for VSO too.
August 14, 2007 at 4:00 pm
ourmanwhere
Perhaps - certainly somebody should be regulating the industry. There needs to be some kind of stamp of approval.
I believe that not only are these schems not actually helping I think there is something inherently wrong with charging people cash to volunteer. It’s one thing to pay your own costs regarding food and travel. It’s quite another to be handing over cash to a third party which will never benefit the local communities you might be working with.
August 16, 2007 at 5:20 pm
Dave
Hey Steve!
I’ve enjoyed your blogs. I started reading them before taking off to Hanoi this summer for an internship with a law firm. BTW, I met a friend of yours from Hanoi, Anne Marie. I, too, loved Hanoi, and having just returned a few days ago to the US, I am also having a bit of culture shock (though I imagine not as serious as yours).
Sorry Nica didn’t work out. My aunt lived there for nearly a decade… now she consults for PLAN international in Hanoi, curiously. Anyway… keep up the great work on the blog.
Dave
August 16, 2007 at 10:14 pm
ourmanwhere
Thanks Dave. Just been reading your blog too. Good stuff - leaving Vietnam is not easy. There is something about the place that stays with you.
Good luck with whatever is up next for you.
September 8, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Misbah
Hi Steve, it’s Misbah from the Facebook group. Just wanted to point out for your readers that VSO does have a scheme which ‘gap year students’ along with other young people aged between 18 and 25 can take part - Global Xchange (funded by the British Council)/World Youth (with different funders, and the model on which Global Xchange runs). There is also the Youth for Development programme. Anyone interested please check them out. Global Xchange/World Youth is not voluntourism; volunteers raise money to take part (which is also part of their own personal development and they are helped with this) and it is an exchange between two communities one from the UK and one from a partner country in which their is a local organisation which VSO works in partnership (which varies team by team). Participants spend 3 months in the UK and 3 months in the partner organisation. I could go but interested people can I’m sure find out more… I just wish VSO would plug this more and it’s a shame they didn’t when mentioning other ‘gap year’ schemes (of course VSO’s youth scheme is open to people at all stages of ‘education’)!