I disagree. I think a volunteer from the US or Europe can have a big impact for exactly the reasons you list as negatives. For a start, they come bundled with

I disagree. I think a volunteer from the US or Europe can have a big impact for exactly the reasons you list as negatives. For a start, they come bundled with the optimism, determination and an innovative mindset that is normal in the Western World. Even if they're way off the mark and not skilled enough to build a school, sometimes just seeing someone from outside their community who isn't shackled with local politics or local racism and is just doing something, anything, can be a source of inspiration to the local population. One Peace Corp volunteer I met was posted to a former Soviet block country. The locals were still stuck in the Soviet mindset that the government would provide for them. He introduced them to computing, he mapped out their entire town onto Google Earth and set up a WiFi service. Yeh it's not much, and they weren't dealing with starvation or illness like parts of Africa, but just by having an 'outsider' living in the community can be a help just by itself.