Voluntourism or volunteering while traveling has become increasingly popular, but if you are not are not careful volunteering abroad could be a waste of your time and money as well as harmful to the communities that you volunteering in. When looking for a volunteerism trip there are a few things that you should keep in mind and here are just a few…

DO YOUR RESEARCH 

     There are tons of people who want to volunteer abroad, which is great, but many of these people have very specific idea of what they want to do and often it is not actually what is needed. Everyone wants to go abroad and build school or orphanages, you get to work with kids and you get the satisfaction if having a material finished product. However a new school or orphanage are not always needed or wanted. I know when I started looking for volunteer opportunity abroad I wanted to do just that, build a school in Kenya. Well as it turns out, I did my research and Kenya doesn’t actually need schools as the British government built plenty of school buildings. This is not to say that some countries don’t need school, but it is important to do your research and make sure that you are doing is actually needed and not just the ‘sexy’ work.

GO LOCAL

     The locals know best and they should be one the one dictating your contribution not the other way around. Going local should be part of your research, any volunteering should involved local direction, leadership and education. There are too many cases of foreigners installing computers or solar panels that the locals don’t need or don’t know how to use or repair. Any volunteering trip should include contribution from the local community.

GO SMALL & GRASSROOTS 

     Many people are against voluntourism because they believe that too much of the money that goes into it ends up in the hands of the wealthy. This is often the case, but by avoiding the bureaucracy of larger organization and corrupt governments you can ensure that the right people see the benefits of your money. There are many organizations that offer you a volunteering trip of a life time, for a large sum. Although some of these organizations are well run and do good work, but generally it is safer to aim for smaller, grassroots organizations.  

MICRO-FINANCE, MICRO-FINANCE, MICRO-FINANCE 

     If there is one thing you should remember from this post it is that micro-finance may just be the best thing that has ever happen in international development. Micro-finance is where you give motivated people with a business plan a loan at very little or no interest so they can start a new business or means of making an income This could range from giving a family $15 to buy a chicken to a few $1000s to open a small store. This allows people who otherwise would not qualify for a loan to start a business at low cost. It is a loan, not a handout which means it is sustainable and generally micro-finance loanshave a higher success rate then handouts.

DO WHAT YOU KNOW 

    If you don’t know know how to construct buildings than don’t attempt to, instead focus on something that you know and something that interest you. You will have more impact and enjoy yourself more. Try teaching students how to write a business plan or starting an art or book lending program.