The Worth of Volunteering Abroad
This summer I had the opportunity to volunteer abroad in Cusco, Peru with Global Leadership Adventures (GLA), a company many other Exonians traveled with both this summer and summers past. However, I would never do it again, and I would not recommend going on a similar trip— at least without actually thinking about why you’re going and what help you’re actually bringing to that country with your two-week “Let’s experience poverty!” vacation.
First off, trips like these are probably doing more harm than good. My group was in charge of digging a terrace into a mountain to begin the foundation for a cuy or guinea pig house. In the morning, we worked side-by-side with Andres, the owner of the adobe brick home situated next to the massive hill we were to level with only shovels and pickaxes. The entire time we dug, which was only four hours every day, Andres worked tirelessly as we took constant water breaks and complained about not having a bulldozer. After two hours of “hardwork,” we’d play with the local children (who should be in school at that time), Andres and his wife prepared a free lunch for the six of us “volunteers.”
While the emotional pain may not be intentional, it is a dangerous thing to teach young children that abandonment is normal.
Playtime was awkward. Many of us didn’t speak Spanish, and those of us who could, only told the kids to sonrisa or smile for pictures. Mealtime with Andres’ family was also awkward, but it was then that I learned the truth behind the outdated, unsafe adobe brick architecture. His wife told me that the government forced them to build their homes this way since they lived in a tourism district. Essentially students or “voluntourists” are coming in to help build adobe brick homes each year, and the Peruvian government is making money off of their visits. To keep tourists coming, whether or not they even come to see adobe brick homes, the government began to make laws that have inadvertently kept their people in poverty.
This vicious cycle is not uncommon. For example, rich American teenagers have begun to visit African orphanages for a couple of weeks. Then they leave, and another set of teenagers come in and bond with the orphans. At the end of the summer, these distraught children are then left trying to understand ended relationships while the teenagers get a boost in their resume and a new Facebook profile picture. While the emotional pain may not be intentional, it is a dangerous thing to teach young children that abandonment is normal.
Another reason to reconsider volunteering abroad would be the price. Depending on where and for how long, the trip could cost several thousand dollars. Properly donating that money would make a bigger, more positive impact in people’s lives. A long-term solution to poverty begins with strengthening the government in each country, so spending two weeks digging holes is nothing compared to working with officials and explaining why their laws are forcing their people into poverty.
When I returned from Peru, I did not feel fueled with excitement over the “hard work” I had done. I felt embarrassed knowing I chose that country from a long list of others solely because I wanted to visit and help out a Spanish-speaking country in South America. At the time, I didn’t think about the long-term effect of trips like these on these countries. I didn’t think about how heartbreaking it would be to experience voluntourism knowing I could’ve spent that thousand dollars on something more productive for Peru than moving dirt.