Difference Between Volunteerism And Voluntourism

Volunteerism and Voluntourism

Volunteer tourism or voluntourism is one of the fastest growing tourism industries today. Students and young adults are being encouraged to spend their vacation or gap year volunteering abroad. Many testimonies speak of how a volunteering experience changes lives. Wanting to be a part of this experience and being able to say that “I have volunteered”, voluntourism has become a trend for many to help the poor or less fortunate communities. Despite stemming from good intentions, voluntourism has been debated over some years. As many as 10 million people a year are spending up to $2 billion for the opportunity to travel with a purpose, according to Nancy Gard McGehee, an expert on sustainable tourism at Virginia

Volunteers with little or no knowledge of the local language, culture, social and economic background could cause destructive effects to the community. The negative impacts could be unskilled volunteers taking over local jobs. Why would someone pay for the job where volunteer will work for free or with minimal allowance? Worst still, in the event of child trafficking, kids are taken or kidnapped from their families and placed into ‘orphanages’ to attract volunteer placements. On the other hand, parents would send their children to ‘orphanages’, knowing that there would be a constant stream of volunteers bearing gifts and

Reevaluate our approach to help, use resources to empower communities to develop according to their own standards, and not continue to hinder them with our own sights and methods. Vocational training and community-based projects are some of the good initiatives. Look for volunteering opportunities that match existing skill and integrate with the local communities, learn about and listen to real needs. When channeled correctly, volunteering can benefit both the volunteer and the community they serve. Being an avid swimmer and a volunteer lifeguard, one occasion stood out among the rest. I was helping children with special needs. Their parents would send them to learn how to swim every Sunday. Teaching them to breathe while swimming, stroke by stroke, and seeing them swim across the pool was pure joy. Watching their enthusiasm and excitement as they competed, they were no different from other children without special