In 2012, three American men launched a campaign to make Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony the most infamous person in the world. The flashy KONY 2012 video clocked more than 43 million views in only two days on YouTube, perhaps because it focussed more on what the audience were going to do and those who were filming, rather than focussing wholly on the child soldiers. But almost as quickly as it became a hit, KONY 2012 became a joke.
There were many lessons to be learnt from KONY 2012. Primarily, that people engage quickly with high-budget videos that paint them as the heroes. When we focus on doing good or being seen to be doing good, rather than delivering real solutions, we can quickly run into problems. This is why volunteer tourism draws so much criticism.
Volunteer tourism, or voluntourism, is an emerging trend of travel linked to charity. It has been on the rise in the last two decades, but despite growing criticism, still continues to rise in the digital age. Many of us, naïvely think that all charity is ‘good charity’ and voluntourism exploits this, often with detrimental effects on local communities.
As Tina Rosenberg explains, baby rescue missions offer volunteers an amazing experience, popular by allowing volunteers to be painted as a hero. ‘At Hope of Life International, a Christian mission in rural Guatemala, a rescue team springs into action when news arrives that a baby is dangerously ill in a nearby mountain village,’ recalls Rosenberg.
In the UK, as in many other Western countries, orphanages have been abolished, as they are seen as a remnant of the past, along with poor houses. We prefer to place children with foster families to avoid institutionalization and further vulnerability. However, some who feel uncomfortable with the idea of orphanages in wealthy countries would still consider funding orphanages in developing countries through supporting voluntourism. Often the wrong people capitalize on this funding.
A 2006 survey by Unicef in Liberia found that 98% of children living in orphanages were not orphans, having at least one parent alive. Save the Children looked at orphanages in Sri Lanka in 2005 and found that 92% were also not orphans. In the most extreme cases, ‘babyfinders’ have convinced parents to sell their child to the orphanage, keeping their orphanage business model going.
More worryingly, the conditions in which the orphans are cared for are often lacking and the guardians are looking after their own interests. All over the globe, children in orphanages live in squalid conditions and are at risk of child exploitation. As a report by Lumos points out, ‘there is a clear link between the institutionalisation of children around the world and child trafficking.’ By attracting voluntourists and their wallets, these institutions remain open, perpetuating something that needs to be phased out.
Source: pexels.com
It is also important to remember that not all voluntourists work in orphanages, but also teaching English in a school for two weeks at a time or saving turtles on beaches. The benefits of their labour are often outweighed by the harms.
Voluntourists’ ability to change systems, alleviate poverty or provide support for vulnerable children is limited. Often, they simply do not have the skills and they can inadvertently perpetuate colonial, patronising and unhelpful ideas about the places they visit.
More connection, less consideration
Technology supports this type of perverse economics. Finding voluntourism opportunities is easier than ever. A plethora of these opportunities are just a click away. One of the contributors to this rise is the availability of short-term stays, as short as a week or two, which can also be easily found on the internet.
It is also much easier to see others’ experiences, even with the rose-tinted filter of social media. If you look up #volunteer or #voluntour on Instagram, you only need to scroll for a few seconds before you come across young volunteers, holding children that are presumably not their own and even do not have the consent of the child’s parents.
There are also countless photos that reinforce negative stereotypes about children in the developing world, including photos of feeding children in the street or young people looking unhappy. This becomes part of the voluntourism cycle, as we are told that these people need heroes. As with KONY 2012 and Hope of Life International, social media allows users to refocus the narrative to put them at the centre. Followers therefore understand their trip as an extension of the person and the trip becomes instrumentionalised as a backdrop, with the purpose sidelined.
But, Instagram has proven to change the way in which people travel and it can play a pivotal role in people’s decision-making process on where to travel. Locations and activities that we unknown only a few years ago have seen flocks of tourists, due to Instagram-fame, such as Trolltunga in Norway. According to research conducted by Facebook in 2017, 70% of travel enthusiasts (those using travel-related hashtags) use the platform to share their travel plans, while 67% use Instagram to find inspiration for new journeys.
These are perhaps some of the contributing factors as to why voluntourism is still on the rise, despite the growing criticism. As social media becomes an ever increasingly important part of our lives, as do those who advertise their own experiences or voluntour businesses through the platforms. Eventually, it becomes normalised and seen as a coming-of-age activity.
This isn’t too say that volunteering overseas does not always have to be something to look down on. There are some organisations that really consider what the problem that needs to be solved is, and how a solution with volunteers could be sustainable. These organisations are making real change in communities and are changing the approach of other organisations.
When volunteering overseas, it is important for a volunteer to consider how their work can really contribute to a community in the long term, including their use of social media and research into charities. Are there skills you are bringing to the position? How is your money going to be used? How long can you commit?
Finally, it is important to be aware of the projects that intend to be emotive in their advertisements. Complicated problems have no simple solutions, and no heroes.
If you are thinking about volunteering overseas, here are some useful links:
onsundays.tech.blog 