Travel




Voluntourism



It’s now literally about the journey, not the destination, when it comes to the new trend in travel, dubbed voluntourism.

It used to be somewhat compulsory for gap-year travellersto return home after a year abroad with a pair of tie-died fishermans pants from Thailand, a tattered hemp necklace from Canada and a dog-eared copy of On The Road. Sure, they’d have added to their life experiences and have swags of stories to tell, too: from camping on top of a jungle-clad temple in Guatemala to getting Bali Belly on a bus bound for Denpasar to couch-surfing in St Petersburg. But thanks to a new trend in travel – dubbed Voluntourism – gap-year travellers are no longer blithely following cliché-strewn backpacker trails that lead straight from a share house in Hammersmith to a safari in Serengeti to a full moon party in Thailand.Instead, research has shown that many travellers are now being entirely more altruistic with their itineraries. Be it teaching English in Tanzania, to helping marine conservationists in Costa Rica or constructing homes for poverty-stricken families in northern Uganda, there are many projects that will benefit both the chosen charity and the volunteers.

Last year, while visiting relatives in Olympia, in Washington, Lena Hammond, of Sydney, stopped off at a roadside stall to buy some fruit and vegetables. It was there that Lena met members of a community-supported agriculture co-operative “who needed help and were in turn helping others”.
The 25-year-old, who has a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in ecology, landscape architecture and cultural heritage management decided to volunteer at GRuB (Garden-Raised Bounty) for the next three months and help support the socially disadvantaged teenagers who accessed the program.

“It was an enriching experience. I found it enlightening to care for these kids and give them a voice and actually hear – from them - that I was making a difference,” says Hammond, who is now studying for her postgraduate diploma in environmental education.

As well as the practical skills she gained working on an organic farm in an urban context, Hammond was awarded a Volun-Tony award by the City of Olympia for her efforts within the local community.

“This whole experience opened my horizons to a different way of life. Being able to do something long-term was personally very rewarding,” she says. International Exchange Programs’ executive director Brad Holland,agrees volunteering abroad is “one of the most rewarding ways to see and experience a new culture”.

“Volunteering is a good way to experience a culture as oppose to going somewhere and just seeing the sights,” says the 36-year-old.
“This is a way to get behind the scenes and see the real country; you can still do the tourist stuff but if you want to feel your time spent there has been a worthwhile, then this is a good way to go,” he says.

Although critics of some volunteer-driven projects claim they do more harm than good, Holland says there’s no room for cynicism when it comes to making the world a better place to be.

“I can see where the cynicism comes from: I was one of those cynics. Now I’ve seen the benefits for myself and know personally the positivesfar outweigh the negatives. All these projects have been set up for a purpose. And, whether it’s environmental or community-based,the projects exist and call for volunteers because they can’t get the resources they need to be able to make a difference without outside support,” he says.

At the age of 29, Holland worked as a counsellor at a recreational camp for children from HIV communities in South Africa. Although the region is known for its pristine golden beaches, warm seas, sun, sport and safaris, Holland says he also saw another side to the rugged destination.
“I’d done about eight seasons working in summer camps in the US and was on my way back home when I thought I’d like to go somewhere different. A lot of these kids don’t have any adult role models. A lot of them are orphans and they miss out on positive adult interaction. It was very rewarding for me to be a part of their lives,” Holland says.

As well as enticing young people who were determined to do something positive for the planet, Holland agrees some volunteering experiences will also bolster a participant’s CV. He agrees that those who sift carefully through all the potential placements can target specific projects and enhance their employability.
“From my experience, most people who get involved in volunteer work want to make a difference. Of course there is a cross-blend of people who are doing it for their resume but while they might go into it thinking ‘This will be a good experience for me and look good on my CV’ they usually come out of it feeling very humbled because the people they are dealing with are very real and they realise they have made a difference,” he says.

Holland says there are two types of experiences to be had: one is a holiday with a bit of volunteering (‘voluntourism’) and the other is full-time involvement in a serious project. Volunteers with IEP – a not-for-profit organization – do have to pay for a placement.
“People say ‘Why should I be paying to volunteer my time?’ It’s because these communities still have to host you and feed you and provide accommodation and there is a cost to the local community to provide this,” he says.
Holland says volunteer holidays are not aimed at privileged types who are used to spending their holidays reading Barbara Taylor Bradford books on a banana lounge. However, he says the experiences are open to anyone with a sense of adventure – no matter their socio-economic background.

“Voluntourism is one of the fastest growing industries. A lot of people have four weeks off and they might want to go to Southeast Asia for a month and help out and do something worthwhile as well as seeing the sights,” he says.

“The main advice we give to people is that they should have traveled before so they know they can cope with factors such as homesickness and culture shock,” he says.
In her e-book, The Underground Guide to International Volunteering, author Kirsty Henderson offers advice on how to choose a volunteering experience that is right for the individual.
Part-proceeds from the sale of Henderson’s book will be donated to Hands On Disaster Response, Henderson’s favourite volunteering organization.
Henderson, who hails from Canada and has been traveling since 2002, says her ebook is aimed at “introducing travellers to the wonders of volunteering abroad and to help them break away from the usual backpacker trail and get involved with local communities around the world”.
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