Perspectives

“Voluntourism”: Not So Black And White (2)

Date: June 19th, 2007 |

(Find Part 1 here.)
Focusing mainly on the problems with short term volunteering in contrast to longer term volunteering leaves out what is, I believe, a large piece of the picture: the fact that many, many social problems are not the result of a shortage of skills, and will not be fixed by well meaning foreign [read more]

“Our Man In Granada” On The Downside Of Voluntourism, Part 2

Date: June 18th, 2007 |

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(Find the beginning of Steve Jackson’s guest post here.)
“Imagine you spend two weeks as a voluntourist. Say you have no skills but are happy to help build a school and are just as happy to pay for the experience. Fantastic.
But if you’re paying then are you undercutting a local man who might only [read more]

Interview With Neil, Former Katimavik Volunteer: Part 3

Date: June 13th, 2007 |

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Find Part 1 and Part 2 of the Volunteer Logue interview with former Katimavik volunteer Neil, and read on here to find out what he feels he gained from the experience and his advice for others.
Looking back, what does he see as having gained from the whole Katimavik experience?
“Well, the most useful thing I’ve [read more]

Interview With Neil, Former Katimavik Volunteer: Part 2

Date: June 12th, 2007 |

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After asking Neil about his motivation to do Katimavik as well as the volunteer work he did in Part 1, I also made sure to ask him about the living situation – with nine volunteers from all over the country sharing a house for thirty weeks, it’s bound to be an interesting time. What [read more]

A Scary Story Of Getting Seriously Ill In The Middle Of The Night In A Fairly Remote Town Abroad

Date: May 18th, 2007 |

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Opting to volunteer abroad may place you in more remote locations or in developing countries – and in these cases getting sick is both more serious and perhaps more likely. First of all, read my health tips for volunteers, and then – if you can take it – read my scary story of becoming [read more]

“Our Man In Granada” On The Downside Of Voluntourism

Date: June 18th, 2007 |

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Steve Jackson is a former VSO volunteer (in Vietnam), and a current self-funded volunteer in Nicaragua. He’s also the author of the blog Our Man In Granada.
He took the time to explain his views on some of the problems with voluntourism. While I don’t agree in full (and don’t worry – I’ll explain in [read more]

“Our Man In Granada” On The Downside Of Voluntourism, Part 3

Date: June 18th, 2007 |

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(Start here for the first part of Steve Jackson’s guest post)
“The voluntourists (VTs) have contacted the NGO in the developing country. They’d like to visit and play with the kids for a week. The sustainable volunteer (SV) is wary about this. He knows it would mean taking all the children out of [read more]

Interview With Neil, Former Katimavik Volunteer: Part 1

Date: June 12th, 2007 |

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I had the chance to do an email interview with former Katimavik volunteer Neil (see the Volunteer Logue Profile of Katimavik here) and he was kind enough to answer all of my questions and also to share some photos from his Katimavik days. Find out why he did, what it was like – both [read more]

The Case Of The Steep Steps

Date: May 26th, 2007 |

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One of the organizations I volunteered with independently – a non-profit in a developing country – was involved in the construction of a new building complex. The project was quite large; lots of time, work and money went into this. One day there was a meeting with various stakeholders – community members, the [read more]

A Scary Story Of Getting Seriously Ill In The Middle Of The Night In A Fairly Remote Town Abroad, Part 2

Date: May 18th, 2007 |

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Read part 1 of my scary story of getting seriously ill in the middle of the night in a fairly remote town in India first.
…
D ran to the hospital, got inside, but found all the interior doors closed, with a few signs in the local language and alphabet. No receptionist. No people around.
Meanwhile, [read more]

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