Is volunteering abroad just a glorified holiday?

irishrepeat2

Is volunteering abroad ethical as a glorified holiday or can you really make a difference:?

nichikki

In my opinion and going off of family and friends experience it depends on the company. gvi.com, volunteering projects are most definitely a glorified holiday that you pay through the nose for. Particularly when you look at the fact that a lot of volunteer workers are beginning to do more harm than good. For example construction of homes and wells are a popular choice for volunteers, however the locals there would have been paid to do these things even by virtue of bartering, but then people come in and do their jobs for free.. ergo, no more jobs, no money etc.
projects.abroad is a company i myself am looking into volunteering with simply because they seem to focus more on the professional and social side of things.
Although I have been told time and time again by world travellers that the best thing you can do in any of these countries is teach them english.

irishrepeat2

nichikki wrote: »

In my opinion and going off of family and friends experience it depends on the company. gvi.com, volunteering projects are most definitely a glorified holiday that you pay through the nose for. Particularly when you look at the fact that a lot of volunteer workers are beginning to do more harm than good. For example construction of homes and wells are a popular choice for volunteers, however the locals there would have been paid to do these things even by virtue of bartering, but then people come in and do their jobs for free.. ergo, no more jobs, no money etc.
projects.abroad is a company i myself am looking into volunteering with simply because they seem to focus more on the professional and social side of things.
Although I have been told time and time again by world travellers that the best thing you can do in any of these countries is teach them english.

but it comes down to this..if yeh really wanted to make the difference..why not let them spend the fund-raised money on the community.
unless youre a professional doing it all for free..isnt it a bit..dodge.shouldnt training them be the best bet..not going to the same spot each year doing similar things..

sarkozy

It depends how you do it, but it's definitely not a career path.

irishrepeat2

sarkozy wrote: »

It depends how you do it, but it's definitely not a career path.

what yeh mean "hoe you do it?"