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This is a terrible article. It's just someone whining for the sake of it. They can't even find actual harm, the worst they've got is some people don't buy loca

This is a terrible article. It's just someone whining for the sake of it. They can't even find actual harm, the worst they've got is some people don't buy local health insurance because they know volunteer health workers will come in a few months. There's even a bizarrely racist paragrpah where the author bemoans white people helping black people. Because the volunteers can obviously help choose the colour their own skin is... Clickbait.

DanBC 11y ago
I'm surprised you have such a strongly negative reaction. "Volunteering holidays can do more harm than good" is not a new concept, and isn't particularly controversial. Floods of rich white low-skilled western volunteers with continual churn are not what is needed in most situations. This is especially true if those volunteers over-estimate their skills and ability to make any real difference. 2010: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hubs/gapyear/8107555/Volunteer-holidays-do-more-harm-than-good.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hubs/gapyear/8107555/Volun... 2010: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-cambodia-aids-holidays-madonna http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans... 2013: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22294205 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22294205
- mattmanser 11y ago
  Cherry picking some articles is a waste of both our times. Volunteering isn't all bad, but just like almost anything in the world, there is some bad and obviously where there's money there's going to be corruption. This article has absolutely no facts or even anecdotes to back it up, it's just a big whine designed to appeal to self-righteous suckers who can only see the bad in the world.
asgard1024 11y ago
It is always a dilemma if one should criticize efficacy of good intentions. I think at some point it is necessary, even though it may come of as "whining for the sake of it".
coldtea 11y ago
>There's even a bizarrely racist paragrpah where the author bemoans white people helping black people. Because the volunteers can obviously help choose the colour their own skin is... This complaint is half-thought. Their color is not just some accident that happened to them at birth. It's what, ever since they were born, defined their place and status in society. A white slave owner in 1840 Mississippi is not just somebody who "couldn't choose the color of his own skin", it's someone who was born into privilege and assumed a role that the society gave to him as a white person. And that's what that part of the article is about.
veddox 11y ago
Sorry if I ask the obvious question, but do you have any personal experience with development work/voluntourism? Because if you don't, I think you will find that many people who do would definitely agree with the article. It is a real problem, even if the article itself might perhaps not be an A* essay.

DanBC 11y ago

I'm surprised you have such a strongly negative reaction. "Volunteering holidays can do more harm than good" is not a new concept, and isn't particularly controversial. Floods of rich white low-skilled western volunteers with continual churn are not what is needed in most situations. This is especially true if those volunteers over-estimate their skills and ability to make any real difference. 2010: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hubs/gapyear/8107555/Volunteer-holidays-do-more-harm-than-good.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hubs/gapyear/8107555/Volun... 2010: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-cambodia-aids-holidays-madonna http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans... 2013: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22294205 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22294205

mattmanser 11y ago
Cherry picking some articles is a waste of both our times. Volunteering isn't all bad, but just like almost anything in the world, there is some bad and obviously where there's money there's going to be corruption. This article has absolutely no facts or even anecdotes to back it up, it's just a big whine designed to appeal to self-righteous suckers who can only see the bad in the world.

asgard1024 11y ago

It is always a dilemma if one should criticize efficacy of good intentions. I think at some point it is necessary, even though it may come of as "whining for the sake of it".

coldtea 11y ago

>There's even a bizarrely racist paragrpah where the author bemoans white people helping black people. Because the volunteers can obviously help choose the colour their own skin is... This complaint is half-thought. Their color is not just some accident that happened to them at birth. It's what, ever since they were born, defined their place and status in society. A white slave owner in 1840 Mississippi is not just somebody who "couldn't choose the color of his own skin", it's someone who was born into privilege and assumed a role that the society gave to him as a white person. And that's what that part of the article is about.

veddox 11y ago

Sorry if I ask the obvious question, but do you have any personal experience with development work/voluntourism? Because if you don't, I think you will find that many people who do would definitely agree with the article. It is a real problem, even if the article itself might perhaps not be an A* essay.