Campaign for real overseas volunteering
Campaign to bring back volunteering that is true to its purpose
Over the years many organisations have begun offering voluntary placements overseas. From small companies to tourism giants now offer the opportunity for young people to volunteer abroad. However with this expansion there seems to be a drift from worthwhile and selfless volunteer placements to short term placements more concerned with what ‘fits in’ to a gap year around travel or tourism plans.
The ideals set out by the forbearers of the voluntary gap year; being committed to expanding the development of young people and the communities they volunteered with, have been hijacked by companies looking to turn a profit out of young people’s desire to do good with their time off.
The dumbing down of placements and quick turnaround of volunteers is diluting the perceived benefits to the extent where gap years are quite uniformly criticised and mocked (such as in the now famous ‘gap yah’ video). Even more worrying is the seeming lack of responsibility towards the host communities that are supposedly benefitting from volunteer help.
In many cases these short term placements can actually create a great deal more harm than good
Human Sciences Research Council
Lattitude Global Volunteering will be celebrating 40 years of sending young people on meaningful, long term placements next year. We have been around since the birth of the industry; in fact the term ‘gap year’ came from our original name (GAP Activity Projects). We are quite disheartened how the positive concept of the gap year has now been overshadowed by the profiteering of tourism companies who have moved into the industry. We are campaigning to bring back real and meaningful overseas volunteer placements.
It is all too easy to be sidetracked or distracted by the various offers of voluntary placements mixed up with tourist activities. So called ‘voluntoursim’.
The advice given here is to avoid these so called ‘voluntourism’ activities and think back to why you want to volunteer in the first place. There is nothing wrong with travelling, and many volunteers do travel after a long term placement. But they do it with better knowledge and understanding of a different culture and people, greater confidence and better understanding. This all adds up to a better experience. Furthermore they are not limited to what they pre-booked back in the UK. The time is theirs to make the most of with this greater insight. As many a backpacker will tell you, spontaneity is important.
On these pages are hints and tips to help you navigate the gap year volunteering industry and help you choose an organisation that can provide a volunteering experience that is worthwhile as well as help you to weigh up the costs to get best value for money and the chance for personal development.
Please use the menu on the left to obtain more information of what to look out for when choosing an organisation, when choosing a placement as well as what the pitfalls may be. Alternatively, click the links below:
>> What are the pitfalls to look out for?
>> What sort of placement should I look to do to ensure responsible volunteering?
>> What sort of thing should I look out for when choosing an organisation to go with?
