Are people who go volunteering abroad doing so for selfish reasons?

Whisko

Yes.

http://www.cracked.com/article_19123_6-socially-conscious-actions-that-only-look-like-they-help.html

Son Of A Vidic

steddyeddy wrote: »

Are people who go volunteering abroad doing so for selfish reasons?

Yes and the reason is called a CV.

Legs.Eleven

NoCrackHaving wrote: »

I always find it a bit odd all these people who volunteer over seas but wouldn't even think of volunteering in Ireland. Is Dublin just not exotic enough?

To be blunt, no.



It's completely stupid to believe that people are volunteering for altruistic reasons and selfishness doesn't come into it. I don't think any volunteer abroad would tell you that was the case. I volunteered in Buenos Aires because the nightlife was great and men are gorgeous but it doesn't mean I didn't do some good for those kids.

Surely the end result is what matters - people are being helped in some way (except the example given in the OP). When people complain about others volunteering in foreign countries, it sounds like jealousy to me tbh.

Legs.Eleven

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Yes and the reason is called a CV.

Among other things.

cletus van damme

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

To be blunt, no.



It's completely stupid to believe that people are volunteering for altruistic reasons and selfishness doesn't come into it. I don't think any volunteer abroad would tell you that was the case. I volunteered in Buenos Aires because the nightlife was great and men are gorgeous but it doesn't mean I didn't do some good for those kids.

Surely the end result is what matters - people are being helped in some way (except the example given in the OP). When people complain about others volunteering in foreign countries, it sounds like jealousy to me tbh.

dunno about gorgeous men , but the rest you say is spot on.
there are always people who look for the stain in every good thing because they are miserable people.

RDM_83 again

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

To be blunt, no.



It's completely stupid to believe that people are volunteering for altruistic reasons and selfishness doesn't come into it. I don't think any volunteer abroad would tell you that was the case. I volunteered in Buenos Aires because the nightlife was great and men are gorgeous but it doesn't mean I didn't do some good for those kids.

Surely the end result is what matters - people are being helped in some way (except the example given in the OP). When people complain about others volunteering in foreign countries, it sounds like jealousy to me tbh.

It is jealousy I'l freely admit my bitterness but its the fact that your meant to smile and nod along to it, its all about self validation, this is no bad thing in itself but its the attitude that this makes you a better person and that "its not just a holiday" that grinds my gears.

Thread reminds me about an event years ago at a college society night.
A guy at the event was collecting for his mates to go on an ecology based field school in South America, I didn't give him any money as I knew people who had gone on it (they had self funded and money from relatives), he got up in my face and replied "do you not care about people with cancer, these guys are going out there to do that" (the field school was straight ecology/conservation with no ethnopharmacology or such like), never been more angry in my life :mad:

Legs.Eleven

RDM_83 again wrote: »

It is jealousy I'l freely admit my bitterness but its the fact that your meant to smile and nod along to it, its all about self validation, this is no bad thing in itself but its the attitude that this makes you a better person and that "its not just a holiday" that grinds my gears.

Thread reminds me about an event years ago at a college society night.
A guy at the event was collecting for his mates to go on an ecology based field school in South America, I didn't give him any money as I knew people who had gone on it (they had self funded and money from relatives), he got up in my face and replied "do you not care about people with cancer, these guys are going out there to do that" (the field school was straight ecology/conservation with no ethnopharmacology or such like), never been more angry in my life :mad:

Smug, sanctimonious people are always annoying in every context, no doubt about it but I was really responding to the poster above who asked why don't people stay at home and volunteer as if you have to live like Ghandi before you can help someone and that enjoyment outside of the volunteering is strictly forbidden. Ridiculous.

hawkwind23

the modern day slum tourist may be affiliated with a church , club or small unregistered charity.
they collect everyones few quid and gather a few grand.
they then buy expensive flights and a few weeks digs.
maybe a few hundred left for the actual charity in Africa/India etc.
they then swan around the slums feeling pity for people getting on with it and feel much better about themselves.
nights will be dinners in the best restaurants hotels with drinks, bar the few days doing the orphanages etc , it will be day trips and nice lunches.
they then come home and play the do-gooder card to collect the price of the holiday again next year.
some of them even believe their own crap so much that they decide they should be paid to have this holiday and will start looking into registering as a charity.

recylingbin

Thinly veiled 'oooh, look at me, I went volunteering' thread.

In my experience, most people do volunteering for one of three reasons:

1) for the cv
2) for a free holiday
3) for the kudos.

The odd, very odd, person does it to help the less fortunate.

Legs.Eleven

recylingbin wrote: »

Thinly veiled 'oooh, look at me, I went volunteering' thread.

In my experience, most people do volunteering for one of three reasons:

1) for the cv
2) for a free holiday
3) for the kudos.

The odd, very odd, person does it to help the less fortunate.

Not very thinly-veiled "I'm jealous" post.

suicide_circus

These groups of students who fund raise to pay for them jet off to some place so they can build an orphanage despite that the fact that they've never worked a day in their lives and could hardly build a sandwich let alone an orphanage. Scrounging off peoples generosity to pay for a tropical piss up. Pure scum.

Legs.Eleven

suicide_circus wrote: »

These groups of students who fund raise to pay for them jet off to some place so they can build an orphanage despite that the fact that they've never worked a day in their lives and could hardly build a sandwich let alone an orphanage. Scrounging off peoples generosity to pay for a tropical piss up. Pure scum.

Jesus Christ. Scum? Really? Maybe save the vitriol for someone more worthy of it?


The levels of jealousy are hilarious here.

emuhead

The responses here are interesting and I've come to the conclusion that volunteering abroad is not as black and white an issue as I thought up to now. An acquaintance (a very well meaning and nice guy I might add) did the whole fundraising and volunteering abroad thing. Apparently the charity did not allow volunteers to post photos of their work online, as this guy put up an album on facebook saying 'We're not allowed to show [this good deed, that good deed etc., i.e., description of volunteering] so here are some photos of our time off.' I think it was unconscious but the whole album and description came across as a thinly veiled attempt to tell everyone what he had done by any means necessary. On the other hand, a good friend of mine has done meals on wheels for years, and I only found out by accident.

PingO_O

emuhead wrote: »

The responses here are interesting and I've come to the conclusion that volunteering abroad is not as black and white an issue as I thought up to now. An acquaintance (a very well meaning and nice guy I might add) did the whole fundraising and volunteering abroad thing. Apparently the charity did not allow volunteers to post photos of their work online, as this guy put up an album on facebook saying 'We're not allowed to show [this good deed, that good deed etc., i.e., description of volunteering] so here are some photos of our time off.' I think it was unconscious but the whole album and description came across as a thinly veiled attempt to tell everyone what he had done by any means necessary. On the other hand, a good friend of mine has done meals on wheels for years, and I only found out by accident.

Is that not the point of Facebook though? A thinly veiled attempt to tell everyone what you're doing, no matter what it is. Some of the posts here are quite cynical. There are people believe it or not who give a **** about those less fortunate to them and if they want to go away do it it's no ones business. Volunteering and enjoying yourself aren't mutually exclusive, and I really doubt they're all conning us out of donations so they can swan off on a sunny holiday, sounds ridiculous to me.

emuhead

PingO_O wrote: »

Is that not the point of Facebook though? A thinly veiled attempt to tell everyone what you're doing, no matter what it is. Some of the posts here are quite cynical. There are people believe it or not who give a **** about those less fortunate to them and if they want to go away do it it's no ones business. Volunteering and enjoying yourself aren't mutually exclusive, and I really doubt they're all conning us out of donations so they can swan off on a sunny holiday, sounds ridiculous to me.

Fair point about facebook, but when you email me / text me or message me on facebook to ask me to donate to your trip you are making it my business.

PingO_O

emuhead wrote: »

Fair point about facebook, but when you email me / text me or message me on facebook to ask me to donate to your trip you are making it my business.

That's fair enough and if you choose to donate you obviously trust the person has the right intentions.

emuhead

I'd sponsor people and have mixed feelings about it TBH. But people do mean well in general.

April O Neill

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

When people complain about others volunteering in foreign countries, it sounds like jealousy to me tbh.

Arrah, come off it. Sure, anyone can go travelling. Jealousy, srsly? Can't believe you trotted that one out.

I think a lot of people have an issue with whether volunteering abroad does more harm than good. See the article I linked upthread.

I volunteer at an animal shelter (in Ireland) at the moment. I guess it's not completely altruistic, as once my work is done I get to cuddle kitties and doggies. But there is so much work to it. Walking, feeding, mucking out, socialising the animals etc. etc. The shelter has a no-kill policy and is very fussy about what homes the animals go to. I can see for myself the good this charity is doing. It's something I have always wanted to do, but you definitely can't slack whilst there. It's not in any way glamorous.

I think if you just are parachuted into a foreign volunteering situation abroad, it's more difficult to know if you are actually helping or just think you are. Like someone said upthread, what's the point of turning up at, say, an orphanage for a few weeks, forming a bond with the kids, then fúcking off?

johnr1

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Not very thinly-veiled "I'm jealous" post.

Not necessarily. Some of us prefer to take our holidays where it doesn't stink of sh1t. Oh, and pay for them ourselves with like, - our own money, not scrounged "charity" from people who mistakenly think they are doing some good in the third world by paying for your junket.

The BBC article linked earlier sums it up really.

NoCrackHaving

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

To be blunt, no.



It's completely stupid to believe that people are volunteering for altruistic reasons and selfishness doesn't come into it. I don't think any volunteer abroad would tell you that was the case. I volunteered in Buenos Aires because the nightlife was great and men are gorgeous but it doesn't mean I didn't do some good for those kids.

Surely the end result is what matters - people are being helped in some way (except the example given in the OP). When people complain about others volunteering in foreign countries, it sounds like jealousy to me tbh.

Yeah I think that's pretty obvious but it's more a case of people begging me for money to fund their trip is what annoys me. If you want to volunteer in Argentina off you go say but don't expect me to help you pay for it. And as for volunteers claiming altruistic reasons, yeah I've heard a lot claiming that's why they did it.

Jealously, really? I don't think people mind about volunteering (as long as it's doing some good-the BBC article sums it up well) but the whole fundraising thing for what are in effect just holidays with some charity/volunteering work on the side leaves a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth.

I'll give an example, someone I know was climbing Kilmanjairo for 'charity' and asked me to donate €60 towards the cost of the trip. Basically I was just giving him and his group funding so they could go and enjoy themselves climbing in Kenya (they're all mostly mountain climbers as it is). Instead I said I would donate to a charity of his choice which is what I did.

Expecting other people to pay for what is in effect your holiday is the issue most people have rather than jealousy.

Legs.Eleven

emuhead wrote: »

Fair point about facebook, but when you email me / text me or message me on facebook to ask me to donate to your trip you are making it my business.

You don't have to donate. And most people do have their heart in the right place. Some very cynical people here. Not all of us are like your man boasting about it on Facebook.

Legs.Eleven

NoCrackHaving wrote: »

Yeah I think that's pretty obvious but it's more a case of people begging me for money to fund their trip is what annoys me. If you want to volunteer in Argentina off you go say but don't expect me to help you pay for it. And as for volunteers claiming altruistic reasons, yeah I've heard a lot claiming that's why they did it.

Jealously, really? I don't think people mind about volunteering (as long as it's doing some good-the BBC article sums it up well) but the whole fundraising thing for what are in effect just holidays with some charity/volunteering work on the side leaves a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth.

I'll give an example, someone I know was climbing Kilmanjairo for 'charity' and asked me to donate €60 towards the cost of the trip. Basically I was just giving him and his group funding so they could go and enjoy themselves climbing in Kenya (they're all mostly mountain climbers as it is). Instead I said I would donate to a charity of his choice which is what I did.

Expecting other people to pay for what is in effect your holiday is the issue most people have rather than jealousy.

You don't have to donate though.

I did volunteer in Argentina (ooooh look at me boasting here!! What a big head! :rolleyes:) but I did it off my own back. I actually paid 5 Euro a day to cover my transport there etc.

The fact that people are throwing ALL volunteers in together annoys me.

Legs.Eleven

johnr1 wrote: »

Not necessarily. Some of us prefer to take our holidays where it doesn't stink of sh1t. Oh, and pay for them ourselves with like, - our own money, not scrounged "charity" from people who mistakenly think they are doing some good in the third world by paying for your junket.

The BBC article linked earlier sums it up really.

My junket? You didn't pay a penny for my volunteering, I did!

Buenos Aires doesn't smell at all btw. It's a great spot! Men are very handsome as are the women. I recommend it.

Legs.Eleven

April O Neill wrote: »

Arrah, come off it. Sure, anyone can go travelling. Jealousy, srsly? Can't believe you trotted that one out.

I think a lot of people have an issue with whether volunteering abroad does more harm than good. See the article I linked upthread.

I volunteer at an animal shelter (in Ireland) at the moment. I guess it's not completely altruistic, as once my work is done I get to cuddle kitties and doggies. But there is so much work to it. Walking, feeding, mucking out, socialising the animals etc. etc. The shelter has a no-kill policy and is very fussy about what homes the animals go to. I can see for myself the good this charity is doing. It's something I have always wanted to do, but you definitely can't slack whilst there. It's not in any way glamorous.

I think if you just are parachuted into a foreign volunteering situation abroad, it's more difficult to know if you are actually helping or just think you are. Like someone said upthread, what's the point of turning up at, say, an orphanage for a few weeks, forming a bond with the kids, then fúcking off?

Well if it's not jealousy, then why the over-the-top hatred for them by some posters here? Not everyone can travel btw - you need money. I can't understand calling volunteers "scum". Seriously? Scum?

I volunteered just like you did but in a foreign country as I happend to be there at the time and not doing anything else. Not all volunteer organisations are the same. The one I volunteered for was just a day care centre for kids who's parents were at work and couldn't hang around the streets on their own as they were too dangerous. We played games, taught them some maths and a bit of English. No one there got sponsorship from anyone and we all paid a fiver a day to cover our costs and to get biscuits and drinks for the kids. I don't have one photo of that time and I don't think my family even know I did it.

My point being, it's unfair to label volunteers "scum". Many of the charities they work for might be scum but the volunteers? Nah. Most have their heart in the right place and most wouldn't claim to be doing it for purely altruistic motivations. They don't, for the most part, deserve the level of vitriol thrown at them on this thread. Perhaps they're naive but bad people who are trying to cheat people out of money? Come of it.

kupus

ok tin hat time......what if a lot of the charities in africa are affiliated with gangs and are used as a front to launder money.
Would that be a wide stretch of the imagination. so volunteers are aiding and abetting criminals. Makes you think doesn't it.

Legs.Eleven

kupus wrote: »

ok tin hat time......what if a lot of the charities in africa are affiliated with gangs and are used as a front to launder money.
Would that be a wide stretch of the imagination. so volunteers are aiding and abetting criminals. Makes you think doesn't it.

Do you think most people who volunteer would volunteer for those charities knowing that was the case?

Volunteers are not scum by definition. You have to take each one case by case. I won't be thrown in with that lot, thanks.

emuhead

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

You don't have to donate. And most people do have their heart in the right place. Some very cynical people here. Not all of us are like your man boasting about it on Facebook.

I never said that I had to donate.
I never said that people didn't have their heart in the right place.
I never said all volunteers boasted about it on facebook.

Good luck with your volunteering.

Legs.Eleven

emuhead wrote: »

I never said that I had to donate.
I never said that people didn't have their heart in the right place.
I never said all volunteers boasted about it on facebook.

Good luck with your volunteering.

My post wasn't directed solely at you.




I don't volunteer anymore.

emuhead

Your response was quoting mine, so it certainly appeared that you were.
Good luck with any volunteering you do in the future.

[to legs eleven]

Legs.Eleven

emuhead wrote: »

Your response was quoting mine, so it certainly appeared that you were.
Good luck with any volunteering you do in the future.

[to legs eleven]

Apologies for that then.



Still think they mean well though for the most part. I know a lot of people do it for charities that mean a lot to them. Someone whose brother commits suicide and he raises money to climb some mountain or other for some suicide awareness charity is hardly scum. Seems like the charities they're collecting for are personal to them. I don't expect them to stick pins in their eyes for donations ffs (this post not directed at you emuhead)