When most people think of taking vacations, places like the Caribbean, Hawaii and Disneyworld most often come to mind. But for the brave and noble few (not to mention humble) there is the world of voluntourism. It really isn't a word you can find in the dictionary, at least not yet, but among activists and Good Samaritans it is a growing industry where one can experience another country and make a difference in the lives of the locals.
From Time:
Getting in touch with your inner Angelina Jolie is easier than it used to be. The so-called voluntourism industry, which sends travelers around the globe for a mix of volunteer work and sightseeing, is generating almost as much praise and criticism as the goodwill ambassador herself. Are volunteer vacations--which have become so mainstream that CheapTickets recently started letting online customers book volunteer activities along with their vacations--merely overpriced guilt trips with an impact as fleeting as the feel-good factor? Or do they offer individuals a real chance to change the world, one summer jaunt at a time?
Voluntourism trips are shorter, more entertaining versions of the kind of international work long sponsored by the likes of church missions and the Peace Corps. During trips that can be as short as a day and usually don't last longer than three weeks, work--which is often physically intensive--is punctuated by excursions to each destination's artistic, historical or recreational highlights. Ambassadors for Children volunteers, for example, who range from teenagers to retirees, pay $2,025 for 11 days in South Africa (airfare and lodging included), spending about a week with children infected with or orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Plus, they get a daylong safari as well as a tour of the Robben Island prison that held Nelson Mandela for 18 years. In Thailand, Globe Aware charges $1,090, not including airfare, for a week split between teaching English to impoverished schoolchildren and visiting floating markets or trekking through temple ruins. These kinds of blended experiences are key to the multifaceted cultural education that tour operators are aiming for. "You don't walk away from the destination only with this snapshot in your mind of 'Oh, my gosh, it's this wretched, horrid poverty,'" says Voluntourism.org founder David Clemmons. "You see there are other sides."
The immediate response is that this is a great way for Americans to go out and do some good in the world that isn't as wealthy as they are. Yet critics assail it is more of a feel-good experience that really doesn't change much in the lives of those we want to touch. Especially since voluntourists do not stay long enough to form a strong bond with the community that they are interacting with.
In my book, a mitzvah is a mitzvah. If your intent is to do good instead of looking for a way to feel good, then that is what truly counts. The people who's lives are touched momentarily still benefit from that sincere feeling of compassion and love for another person, regardless of where they are from or how differently the circumstances that they grow up in.
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