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Voluntourism
Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 11:24 pm
by Anchor Moy
Well, they keep talking about this voluntourism, yada yada, and nothing's being done about it, but it seems to be getting worse; I mean holy crap! A Carnival Corp socially responsible cruise ! Includes 3 days !! of volunteering no less.
Pay to play with an orphan. Spend 1hour "teaching" English. What next?
(Oh, I almost forgot the sight-seeing tours to see the kids foraging for rubbish at the dump.)
LONDON — Rapid growth in the multi-billion dollar volunteer tourism industry has prompted calls for tighter controls with concerns over exposing vulnerable communities to unskilled foreign labor and dodgy operators exploiting foreigners for profit.
Voluntourism, which allows socially conscious holiday-makers to pay thousands of dollars to work in poor communities across South America, Asia and Africa, has become a boom sector of the global travel industry.
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Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise operator, this month announced a “social impact” cruise which allows travellers to take part in three days of volunteering, helping to cultivate cacao plants, building water filters and providing English tuition.
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A recent study by Britain’s Leeds Metropolitan University, published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism, warned students considering a project for a gap year or summer break that the most expensive trips were found to be the “least responsible”.
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Some returning volunteers have expressed their concerns about the negative impact they might have had.
“The kids [in the orphanage] were so used to seeing volunteers that they were barely paying attention to us,” said Carla Salber, who volunteered in Cambodia with Projects Abroad, one of the largest voluntourism companies. “We felt betrayed.”
And what about this poor volunteer who is upset because she was ignored by Cambodian "orphans" ? Words fail me.
Re: Voluntourism
Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 11:37 pm
by General Mackevili
Jesus. Please let that be satire.
Re: Voluntourism
Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 11:47 pm
by hanno
General Mackevili wrote:Jesus. Please let that be satire.
I am afraid it is not......
Re: Voluntourism
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 6:51 am
by vladimir
Bloody scams, don't do them!
Interns get abused a lot in this country, too, even by expat employers, another scam.
Re: Voluntourism
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 7:05 am
by frank lee bent
using kids as a product is so wrong.
how is this not trafficking in people?
given the number of kids in voluntourist "orphanages" who have parents, it is obvious that this is an industry.
Re: Voluntourism
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 7:18 am
by TheGrinchSR
Voluntourism is generally a shit waste of everyone's time. You can't make a difference to children's lives teaching for a day or a week and then buggering off. Many forms of voluntourism steal jobs from people in the "assisted" country (like watching cretinous white college leavers "build" schools in Africa - where they lay the equivalent of a brick a day - and prevent an African from doing the job properly and getting paid for it). In most cases, charities would be better off with a cash donation and the volunteer would be better off taking a cheap holiday....
Re: Voluntourism
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 8:39 am
by rick_o'shea
Wow you guys are really all experts on everything, huh?
Re: Voluntourism
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 9:07 am
by flying chicken
Volunteerism is a big business here. About 10km from where I live, donors paid triple for the market land price. In fact the local 'directors' know that once the funds run dried they will get to keep it as it is under their name. I seen a few recently driving a spanking new Toyota Rav4 and other new vehicles and god knows how much money they secretly banked. I know that area quite well, the majority of children arent exactly orphans. Some of the schools look and have better facilities than most for-profit schools...you're talking about massive flat screens, LCD projectors, bungalows (for volunteers to stay and relax), playground, new laptops, desktops, library etc.
Re: Voluntourism
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 9:07 am
by hanno
rick_o'shea wrote:Wow you guys are really all experts on everything, huh?
This has been widely discussed all over the news, forums, etc. And one does not need to be an expert to know that some whitey paying USD 1,000 to paint a wall is a complete waste of time.
Re: Voluntourism
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 9:15 am
by rick_o'shea
Grace House Community Centre. Green Gecko. Both take volunteers. I'm sure you know these places, and their staff/founders, Hanno. Sweeping statements are a bit misleading.