Tips for volunteering abroad
It is the dream of many young people: volunteering at a children's home or orphanage abroad. Before the pandemic, an estimated 10,000 Dutch volunteers and trainees traveled annually to help. With the best intentions, but unfortunately harmful to the six million children growing up in orphanages worldwide. In this article we tell you how it works and you discover how close to home you can make an impact on others, the world and yourself.
Volunteering abroad is also known as voluntourism. It is super popular and with good reason: you do something good and meaningful, get to know yourself and your qualities (again), meet new people, go on an adventure, get the chance to immerse yourself in a completely different culture and environment, etc. It is therefore not surprising that tens of thousands of Dutch people traveled abroad every year before the Covid pandemic. Even on NLvoorelkaar, where we basically collect all doing good activities in your neighbourhood, we saw many small-scale foreign projects and volunteers looking for this.
But there is also a lot of discussion about voluntourism. Sometimes it is questionable whether your volunteer work contributes to an improvement of living conditions for the people you work with. Or that the project was mainly set up to offer Western volunteers an educational and fun time. And, in case when you want to work with children abroad, it is even unintentionally harmful…. that is probably not what you had in mind when you step over the threshold of a children's home in Vietnam with your dusty backpack.
VOLUNTEER WORK WITH CHILDREN ABROAD
Voluntourism aimed at children and animals was (and is) the most popular volunteer work abroad. You can mean a lot, but start your volunteer journey consciously and be critical.
Research shows that volunteering with vulnerable groups such as children can unintentionally be harmful. Weeswijs , for example, found that children in an orphanage say goodbye to a carer (often unskilled volunteers) on average 24 times a year. This exacerbates the traumas and attachment problems of these children and often causes significant delays in physical growth and social or cognitive skills ( scientific research here ). And did you know that 80% of the children in an orphanage are not orphans? This harmful form of shelter is maintained by the volunteer trips of Western volunteers. There are also children's homes where the children are deliberately kept in bad conditions, so that volunteers donate more. ah.
"You build a bond and a month later you're gone."
TRAVEL ADVICE VOLUNTOURISM
There is a worldwide movement, with more and more governments and development organizations warning against 'orphanage tourism'. In the Netherlands, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been warning since 2019 in the travel advice for Nepal, Cambodia, Kenya, Uganda, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Haiti about the risks of orphanage tourism. You can read more about it here.
10 CRITERIA SO YOU DO SUSTAINABLE VOLUNTEER ABROAD
Of course, you can still do a lot of good with volunteer projects abroad. Only be well informed and find out the projects that do make a sustainable difference. For example, check these ten conditions for finding a successful volunteer project:
1. When volunteering with children: a good project preferably does not take place in an orphanage.
2. When volunteering for animals: preferably as close as possible or in their natural habitat.
3. The interests and needs of the local population take precedence over yours as a volunteer.
4. It is about lasting and sustainable impact, not about quick results. For example, always ask what happens to the project when volunteers go home.
5. Your work as a volunteer should be supportive and complementary. Do not volunteer for which you do not have the relevant knowledge and experience.
6. The organization is financially transparent. For example, check the annual financial report of the projects to see which donations are coming in and what that applies to.
7. The organization has a protection policy, such as a VOG or code of conduct that you sign and a privacy policy.
8. There is a complaints procedure for both the organization and the volunteer.
9. There is extensive preparatory training.
10. There is good guidance on site.
EVEN MORE SUSTAINABLE: VOLUNTEER WORK NEAR YOU
Volunteering abroad has become difficult due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But when the opportunities are there again, you realize that the impact you can achieve with volunteering in your area is many times greater than when you volunteer abroad for a short period. Traveling by bike is also a lot more sustainable than by plane ;-).
You can discover all volunteer work and all doing good activities in your neighborhood on NLvoorelkaar. All current volunteer projects are collected there, including requests for help from neighbors. Volunteering in your neighborhood also has the same benefits as abroad:
- you contribute to a better world (but even more sustainable!)
- you choose what you find important: for example, start working for children, against loneliness , for animals , against climate change , etc.
- you discover new worlds: for example as a language buddy or coach for a newcomer , supporter in a refugee center or in a care center if you arrange the bingo .
- you deepen your (study) knowledge and skills: for example by doing an internship at one of the 13,000 charities and foundations on NLvoorelkaar
- you work on your CV or career in development cooperation, by supporting an organization (more than 1 0.000 open volunteer jobs in the Netherlands!)
Traveling by bike is also a lot more sustainable than by plane
MORE INFORMATION
This article was inspired by the WeesWijs campaign. On their website you can read more background information about the -unintended- negative consequences for children when volunteering abroad. You will also find more information on this subject on the website of the campaign partners: Better Care Network Netherlands, Kerk in Actie, Save a Child, Wilde Ganzen, Defense for Children-ECPAT, Stichting Kinderdoelen, SOS Children's Villages, Wereldkinderen, Free a Girl and WereldOuders. . You can read the travel advice for voluntourism on the government website . More information and tips about volunteering with animals can be found on GoAbroad .
Giving is more beautiful
Giving is better than receiving These are the words of Monique Mentjox of SNS. SNS is part of de Volksbank together with ASN, Regiobank and BLG Wonen. This story comes from de Volksbank's doing good platform. Here you can read the impact stories of other Volksbank colleagues. "I do volunteer work for a long time, but when our job description at SNS stated that we are encouraged to do more volunteer work, it took serious shape for me. It was preferable to help in the neighborhood where we worked. I asked customers here in the Bijlmer if they knew of a great project in which I could contribute. For example, I ended up at a crisis shelter for children in Amsterdam South East. A shelter for children who suddenly have to leave their home because it is not safe. And that makes an impression when you first enter there. received in silence You can see it on television, you can read about it… But when you walk there, it hits you on all sides. I will never forget that I met an 8 year old girl there. She had nothing at all. No room, no hug. Just two pairs of socks. When we organized a Christmas dinner for these children, she received a gift voucher of 50 euros so that she could choose something beautiful in the toy store. Then you expect such a girl to be very happy, but she was very resigned. She received the gift very quietly and at the end she just said, “I don't know. I have never had such a big present.” And that also makes you silent. What can be a small effort for us, can sometimes be a huge gesture for someone else. I met an 8 year old girl who only had 2 socks. You will never forget that In love with your neighborhood We have done a lot for crisis relief. With several teams we refurbished all the outdoor areas so that it looked cozy. Organized a beautiful Christmas dinner where we went to all the shopkeepers in the Bijlmer for sponsorship. There was a cook who had gone out of her way, everything was beautifully decorated, supermarkets and butchers donated food and in the end each child even got a new bicycle. It was an enormous amount of work. But it really was Christmas for those kids. You get to know the neighborhood well through these kinds of projects. And I am now in love with this neighborhood. The people, the different cultures, the friendliness, but also the solidarity. There are so many beautiful projects here. For example, our store that we open every year around Christmas. Here, families living below the social assistance level can shop for free. For toys. Or a new winter coat. Or other beautiful clothes. Because we have really nice stuff, no junk. Through projects like this you get to know the neighborhood well, I'm in love with that now COLLECT LAPTOPS A while ago we collected laptops for children who could not participate in online classes. No child believed they were allowed to keep the laptop. They thought they could borrow it. Or they asked if I wanted something for it. And then I said, “What I'd like in return is that if you can ever help someone, you'll remember your laptop. Then there was a beautiful 14-year-old boy who said: “But I already do that…” It still gives me goosebumps. This guy had a support group. And talked to guys from the neighborhood, made music with them, helped them with homework. And then you are 14 years old. And how happy it made him, just to help someone, it makes me so happy too. Sometimes it even moves me a little. IN THE BLOOD It feels natural to me to help people and listen to them. That is in my work, but also in my blood. If you want to start a relationship with people, you have to talk to them. This does not only apply to customers, but to everyone. So when I'm done with work, I make a round of tea for the homeless or I make a call if I see that someone doesn't have a warm coat. It doesn't always have to be big. People often say, “It's great that you're doing all this.” But then I say, "Walk with me for a day and you'll see who the real heroes are." That is the grandmother who has to get by on 33 euros a week. I'm not a hero, I'm just putting in a few days of work. The people in the neighborhood are the real heroes. And I'm not doing this alone. I get so much support and help from my team members and my manager. We really do it together. People often say, “It's great that you're doing all this.” But then I say: "the real hero is the grandmother who has to get by on 33 euros a week" I also went through a period where everything was against me. And that can happen to anyone. We often turn our heads away, but when you listen to someone's story, it really makes a difference. To me it's worth it when someone feels seen. A homeless person once said to me, “I am everything anyone doesn't want to be. And that's why I'm never seen. But today I was seen.” Everyone deserves to be seen." Monique Mentjox, SNS Bank Give an hour too! Do you want to do something good just like Monique? With an hour you can already make a difference for someone else, the world and yourself. Discover all open questions here , or place your own offer . Share these stories and inspire others to help too! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Whatsapp Forward
Read the story