Voluntourism: How To Have an Impactful Volunteering Travel

 

It has been said that millennials are the generation of purpose. According Gallup 2016 study* most millennials seek purpose over paycheck and look for meaningful experience. Thus, it is not surprising that voluntourism, a mix of travel and volunteer experience has been popular for the past decade.

Navigating the $2 Billion voluntourism industry is not that easy. And certainly, a good intention is not enough. We are either lured by the promise of making a positive change to a community in-need plus plenty of fun-time. However, after years of joining humanitarian aid missions, volunteering abroad for weeks and organizing social work at local level, I have learnt that you can maximize your impact if you research, plan and implement your volunteer work responsibly. Some asked me how they can contribute as they work 9-5 (or let’s be honest, as a worker in Malaysia you probably get used to work past dinner time) and have 14-20 days of annual leave.

In most cases, it is not about having a field day all the time, but learning to enjoy fresh perspectives, appreciating the laid-back way of doing things and most importantly, putting the development and welfare of the community that you are trying to help above all things. I can’t guarantee every volunteering trip will be a life-changing experience for you, but it will gradually shift your mindset to have a more purposeful life.

1. Examine Your Intention

Source: Pexel

Question yourself why you are volunteering abroad. Do you intend to help refugees who suffer from war? Do you deeply care about the cause, and have you at least tried to contribute your time locally to those causes? If you are looking for a really short-term engagement  at an orphanage (for example 2 days) as well as photo opportunity with orphans, you need to set your intention straight.

2. Stocktake Your Skillset

Source: IVHQ

Like a job application, you have to match your strengths and skills to help a community or an NGO to achieve its goals. Effectively. Position yourself as not just a mere helper, but as someone who can leave a group of children or beneficiaries better than when you first meet them. For a low-skill task such as painting a wall of a community center, I recommend you to ask the organizer why it is not done by the local youths. The answer might give you a context and the real dynamics of the community. Pick one skill, be good at it and contribute through your volunteer experience.

3. Research The Organization

There are debates on whether it is necessary to pay for volunteering experience with reports of some operators exploit low-skilled volunteers  and children for profit. In addition, people are skeptical about a few of international NGOs having high expenses, hence are worried that their contribution is not being maximized. Whether you want to contribute your money or your time as a volunteer, make a thorough research on potential organizations. You can read annual reports or sites such as CharityNavigator for NGOs. As for tour operators, ask to be connected with past volunteers and ask their honest opinion yourself. The less middle-man you have in between you and the community, the better.

4. Treat the volunteer task like a professional job which can empower a community

You can’t just linger around a village after 2 hours of farming and call it the most productive time of your life. If you are very skilled at what you do, either teach the locals or develop a plan, together with the community leaders, on how they can sustain the task after you leave. If you are not really skilled, learn from the community while setting goals for incremental improvement for yourself. I believe that exchanging knowledge between volunteers and community can empower both sides.

One thing to note, a good NGO or operator will not leave you aimless. I was lucky to have good NGOs such as the one I volunteered for in Izmir, Turkey. It tried its best to match the needs of the community with the skills of volunteers. I truly think I maximized my time there.

These are bracelets made by Syrian refugees under ReVi NGO

If you have a short time and you really want to do good, look for a local soup kitchen or volunteer for environmental causes such as marine data collection.

5. Study the ethics of volunteering

Instastory with orphans or refugees? Definitely no unless you have permission from their guardians or parents. Do look at the ethical ways of volunteering whether your cause is environmental, social or animal welfare. Keep in mind that these people whom you are trying to help, have dignity like us. Also, there is a risk of exposing refugees’ name and face online as they are exposed to human traffickers. 

6. Don’t forget to have fun!

Food prepared with TLC

For most of the time, the community will be happy to host you. Immerse in their culture, be open-minded and appreciate that they can teach you a lot about life. You will have fun learning and getting new friends. A daily routine of (professional) work and play will make your voluntourism an impactful one!

All the best in finding your Ikigai!

Source: David McCandless