In my previous post of my experience in South Africa, Andre raised a great question in his comment that I felt deserved more than just a reply, and I wanted to address it properly in a blog post.
The question/issue was: Would I recommend people to be involved with programs like SE101 with the issues of sustainability, cost and knowledge at hand? ( Please read my previous blog post for more insight)
Essentially, what I believe can be framed in 3 ways:
1) Motivation
Image taken from: http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/motivational-cartoons
It has become the social ‘cool’ these days to participate on trips to developing nations to ‘help’, be it a stint in Kenya to build wells, building homes in Mexico or helping the Orang Utan preservation in Borneo etc. I believe that if you want to participate on a trip of such, you need to believe in its cause, what you are contributing and what you want to learn.
The worst thing to do is to spend over $4,000 on a trip like this, write it down in your resume and tell your friends you’re going away to a 3rd world country receiving [insert ’ that is so cool’ response here] and… that’s it. I believe that people need to be accountable when volunteering. No one is going to turn around and say “you are so selfish for volunteering because all you are taking into consideration in your trip is yourself and having that experience.” The responses would likely be along the lines of “that’s so cool you’re volunteering. You’e doing such a good thing!”
Therefore, I believe that people need to be aware of the costs associated with volunteering. Let me break a typical 3 week trip down for you ( conservative rough estimate):
Airfare $2,500
Accomodation $500
Food $500
Paying the organization/prof/administrative fees/utilities $500
Total: Approx $4,000
That’s alot of money. Now, with the same amount, you can make 160 $25 microcredit loans at places like Kiva and change the lives of 160 people. You can sponsor 200 children at World Vision by paying $20 for their yearly school fees. You can feed the homeless for a month in Vancouver donating to the soup kitchen. That’s 160 lives you can change. From sitting in front of your computer with several clicks of your mouse.
Get the sense of comparison? You may argue that donating the money is different than the actual experience of volunteering, and yes I agree. However, what is stopping you then from volunteering online in places around world ie. writing grants, doing research, or even, actually following up with the organisations and places that you have volunteered at? Or even volunteer locally at your homeless soup kitchen?
Or are you one of those people that volunteer for the sake of its exoticness, take a ‘holiday’ jumping from one country to another each for a month, to write down in your resume that you’ve helped build refugee centers in Cambodia or [insert some form of program volunteering here].
Volunteering is alot more serious when you think of it in terms of opportunity cost — what you are giving up and whose life you are impacting.
2) Sustainability
Now, if you have the right intentions and motivation, the next question you should really be asking yourself is: Is the program I am plugging myself into sustainable? Is this the most effective way I can contribute my time and money (refer to point one on cost comparison) to give the most impact?
This is where research comes in. Research your program, talk to people, connect with past participants, find out where your money goes to. Research, research, research.
Let me give you some examples.
Program 1: Building wells in rural Kenya to provide a water source for local villagers.
Sounds great right? Well, a little more research would tell you that by participating in a program like this and building wells, you’ve just put the local water source provider, who has a family of 5 out of business along with the several other village water source providers out of business because you not only built one well, you built 3 wells in 3 different villagers. Congratulations.
Program 2: Collecting old clothes for donating to local villages in Vietnam
Sounds like a good cause? Well, a little more research would tell you that all your clothes have just put the local tailors who sells shirts for $1 out of business. Congratulations.
These 2 examples are the classic typical programs that you can find all round.
So essentially, please participate wisely. There are so many NGOs these days that you need to research and filter. The world doesn’t need another volunteer that is helping others at the expense of another person.
3) Prepare
So you have the right motivations, the right program and organisation. The last thing: Prepare. In the right way.
I cannot even begin to emphasize this last point enough. In my last post I described what it was like, to be on the ground and be completely paralyzed by my own ignorance. Yes, I have been guilty of it and wish what I know now.
Just like any normal situation, you need to be prepared as much as you can. Don’t swallow what is given to you. Investigate and learn.
Side Note: I want to make it CLEAR, that there is a big difference between signing up for labour volunteering, as opposed to ‘program’ volunteering. The difference lies in 1), you are tapping into an area which needs your time and labour, ie. hurricaine relief work in New orleans, as opposed to, 2) you are participating in a program that has a framework ie. building homes in Mexico.
What I have been addressing are PROGRAMS.
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So, in summary, to answer the question of whether I would recommend people to participate in volunteer programs… My answer is: I would. As long as they:
1) Have the right motivation. Know the cost benefit breakdown of the trip.
2) Make sure it is a sustainable program. Research.
3) Prepare. In the RIGHT way.
These 3 criterias seem very simple, but it’s the simple things that we forget when we get caught up in an idea and in our lives.
Good luck volunteering! If you have stories/experiences to share, I would love to hear them.
photo credit: abdallahh
