¿Quieres ver el video en español? Haz clic en el botón de configuración para cambiar la pista de audio. Want to watch this in Spanish? Head over to the settings button to change the audio track.
I think you guys should’ve did a better job at covering her identity. Voice modifier perhaps, could’ve put her in a dark room. I honestly just hope that the person is ok and is safe.
This is useless. Who is she? Where was this? No real info is given, just putting some random person in a mask is not hard-hitting or useful. I don't doubt this happens, but the way this is done is overly dramatic and sensationalist with no real evidence presented.
This is exactly it I remember some girl went to Africa and this girl had never slept in a room with bugs, but she went all just for the resume not one crap giving about the cause or kids. Same for the organizations who know kids here want this for a step up and not the cause.
@@wargriffin5 they weren't helping anyone, didn't you watch it, the builders undone their work and started again because it was so bad and not a cent of their costs went to the orphanage.
I am from Kibera - Kenya, the largest slum in sub-saharan Africa. I see this sort of experience every other day. I can boldly confirm that whatever she is saying is absolutely true. So many rich 'volunteers' show up here to feel good about themselves yet the 'orphaned children' never get assistance. How can I be of help to stop this?
Since you asked, and this is truly just my opinion. First you need to identify the orphanages operating with genuine interest to help the orphans or kids they're hosting. Populate a list on a blog that says, TOP 5 VERIFIED ORPHANAGES IN KIBERIA AND WHICH TO AVOID, then publish it anonymously to protect yourself as you don't know the extent of corruption and how it can hurt you. If there is no list of verified institutions, and the verification process doesn't exist, then create it. Also add voluntourism and other trendy hashtags to get traction to the article. I know I'm making it sound simple, and the world can seem like a very dark place, but good people still do exist, they need other good people to look out for them so be that good person.
Also, "volunteering" at orphanages is especially harmful because it reinforces to the children that adults will only always come and 'love' them for a few days, take photos with them and then leave. No adult will ever stay or care about them beyond those few days. The kids will stay there until they age out and instead of being given proper schooling and helpful education on how to thrive as an adult, they spent their whole childhoods being ornaments for people who are already rich. Truly sad.
Exactly, most of these organizations are self serving. However, the governments of these countries are in part responsible. If proper governance existed people wouldn’t be incline to trade their dignity for a few tokens and photo ops mainly because there would be checks and balances at a State/municipal/ regional level. The issue is most third world countries have little rule of law, and Westerners are often treated as untouchable given the strength of their countries and the geopolitical landscape that we live in. Which is the rise of countries like China and South Korea is in part so compelling and should be studied by all developing countries. China has banned a lot of these organizations for 1 - its humiliating and they have pride and 2 - they have gotten more economically powerful over the years and can tend to their own needs. It’s sad state of affairs but It’s geopolitical issue. Many people don’t want to admit it but in a twisted way, wealthy countries depend on the underdevelopment to maintain the status quo. We have seen the drastic decline of quality of life of the West since a few Asian countries have risen economically and the competitive labour market it’s created. Imagine a continent like Africa consisting of 50+ countries finally getting their ish together and taken the similar path that China, India, have taken, etc… these third world countries are needed to stay where they are for ego boost, cheap travel and an overall feeling of superiority. If things are going to change these third world countries would have to make it happen.
These kids don't need "proper schooling", they need safety, love, nurturing, and a sense of belonging... you know, family. Education can never replace that
At my university, there were flyers promoting this type of voluntourism to Latin America for winter and summer break. Pre-Med students were often interested in them as a way to boost their Med school applications, myself included. The fees they charged for the trip were so exaggerated to me. Still, I actually paid around $800 just to reserve my spot for a trip to Nicaragua to help distribute medical supplies and help the locals with essential primary care. The e-mails with the coordinators started getting kind of suspicious for me because they next wanted $1000 for something else and another $800 for ‘paperwork.’ I ended up pulling out because the trip was becoming unaffordable to me and my family had warned me about volunteering scams in Latin America, where none of that money reached the actual people. I volunteered, instead, at my local hospital for 2 years and had a rewarding experience.
bruh, they scam you so hard, I'm from Nicaragua, with all that money you could have had a premium vacation and you still could have money left to help.
@@buddyholly5445 She's wearing a mask, but she's admitted all of this, and her own motivations, to herself. That's not something you can expect from most people.
I did a voluntourism "internship" experience in undergrad, and my entire 25 page final paper was ripping voluntourism to shreds lmfaooo. I resonate with her message. it's so sad.
@@jaquelintafolla6152 what is it called when they’re not white lol you do realize all humans suffer from trying to look good in front of others (virtue signaling). Look at the non white people that donated to blm inc just to get ripped off like everyone else (just one example). People will always scam people that virtue signal which is why it should be avoided. Just help in the moment or if you want to build a library in Africa at least go to school and learn construction 😂
@@jaquelintafolla6152 Huh, so immediately it's about race? Not surprised someone said this. It could never be an earnest endeavor ( obviously we unfortunately see it's not but at the time they didnt know) for People to try and do some good in the world, right? Pathetic take on your part.
as a Nigerian teen, I get pissed off when I hear people talking about "volunteering in Africa" this is just one of them, coupled with the generalization of the continent and its inhabitants. they're basically just selling privileged kids a sense of heroism and a chance to look good on their college application. I just finished high school and I'm working on a bunch of things if it all goes well I have a charity plan that can actually change people's lives, it's a long-term thing. I don't do impulse charity it is a f up the world and people have been suffering, feeding a bunch of people might feel rewarding instantly but where is the next meal coming from? teaching people to fish and creating a conducive environment for them to do so is the ONLY way to bring change
Yeah, interesting that your not "pissed off" with the people stealing the aid money every year! those kids and families "volunteering in Africa" are delusional but their heart is good, the African elites are greedy, dishonest and corrupt and have no heart.
@@mikhailabunidal9146it just seems that way because all that gets reported is the bad because evil sells. Evil gets more hits when used for click bait vs an honest post. It's just human nature.
I am from Nepal. When I was younger my school also had many western volunteers come to my school and teach for a month to 3 months. Most of my interactions with them were positive, learned different things from each person. It was refreshing to learn from someone else besides my regular teachers. My school’s leadership was very caring of the kids. Therefore, just do your research before you volunteer somewhere as not all schools/orphanages are run by legit good people. Don’t let bad apples dissuade you from doing good for the less fortunate. So many people need help in the world. ❤
I went on a “voluntourism” trip to Nepal in 2018 for 3 weeks once I got out of high school. We were volunteering at a very impoverished school outside Kathmandu where we were primarily working on painting all the walls of the classrooms. It wasn’t super challenging work, but I got the feeling from the kids and the teachers that our presence was not only helping the building of the school, but also a welcomed enrichment for the kids. We played with them on our breaks, and everyone seemed to have a fantastic time. The children were poor, but us volunteers weren’t really given the opportunity to see all of that, and I think that’s okay. You can’t fix every problem in every person’s life, and one important thing I learned is that being “poor” doesn’t necessarily mean that they need to be saved. That’s a very privileged and misguided perspective. All of the volunteers were around 16-18, and we had a great time. We went on a safari and other excursions on weekends, and went downtown to shop and get food after work. It was a very privileged experience and we definitely treated it as a somewhat unsupervised vacation at times, but what teenager wouldn’t? Perhaps we didn’t do as much help as we thought we did, but we did help others and I really did get the impression that the organization had a legitimately welcomed presence at the school over the years. It cost 3,000 usd, which isn’t a whole lot considering flight tickets, and excursions, chaperone staff, and room and board (kinda run-down hotel, modest meals) for 3 weeks. Perhaps more money was pocketed than there should have been, but I don’t have any evidence for that. I’m sure the issues raised in this video are a thing, but I think the message that the whole industry is exploitative and corrupt and preying on ethnocentric white saviors is not indicative of the whole industry. I get that a bunch of rich white kids coming to a country to volunteer is a bit cringey, but that doesn't mean it's fundamentally wrong. That aside, Nepal is a beautiful country and I'd love to visit it again sometime. Seeing all the lights in the valley around Kathmandu at night is wonderful.
Yes. Teaching though is one thing. If there's one thing we do a lot of in the west, it's going to school. But building construction? Almost none of us know the first thing about that.
I did this in Morocco a decade ago and the memory that haunts me is an afternoon attempting to teach English to victims of rape and domestic abuse. I was barely out of high school and didn't have the first clue what I was doing. Those ladies deserved better.
Two other important things: The rich children who get these experiences are also then further rewarded with prestigious scholarships etc for "saving a village before age 18". Also, the greenwashing of the companies who pay for these. I had a trip like this sponsored by TD Bank (I think) in University. It was like $2k per person they sponsored for 13 people to go to Mexico. We built like 1/2 of a water filtration system lol. They should have just sent them the cash directly.
@A1 that's not really the point of this. the money would be much better spent funding local volunteers and business owners to build water filtration systems, rather than on plane tickets for some random spoiled kids.
On the flip side, corrupt govt require payments before you can help the locals; pay for play, so to speak, so that money may still not fully go to the needy.
Bruh believe me you don't wanna send moneys like just.. all moneys. you bought something first! like clothes all size from babies to adults, all genders or foods & drinks(?) with long-lasting expire, Then send them all Carefully to the funds/agency/management(?) that are Very official & Trustworthy.
I am a doctor (general practitioner) from Indonesia, and I am so very sad to hear that such thing seems to happen a lot in different parts of the world. I don’t know if anything similar happens here as well, but let me share a story where I volunteered to a very remote area in Indonesia with a medical organization initiated by an Indonesian surgeon. It was short yet very rewarding as we managed to provide care for 900 ish persons by the course of only 4 days in a small island (Indonesia is an archipelagic country). It was obviously tiring, but at the end of the trip we didn’t even think about that. Most volunteers were doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. I didn’t pay a single penny as it wasn’t voluntourism. Bottom line, not every volunteering opportunity is a voluntourism. Please don’t be discouraged to do volunteer work, do your research and I’m sure you’re going to find an honest volunteering project. My heart breaks for the children involved in such practices like the one in the video. I hope those practices get shut down somehow.
I think the biggest thing that has stuck out about these "altruistic" trips is that you have to pay exorbant amounts to go. If someone offered a worthwhile service, like you and the other medical professionals did, they hopefully wouldn't expect forced donations to just be there and hopefully at least your meals would be covered, maybe even travel expenses. It's always been so weird to me how it's "pay to play". Churches are often willing to cover the costs but you literally have to apply for it. It all feels yucky.
The difference is that you have actual skills that the locals don't have. Sending teens to build a library makes no sense. They have no carpentry skills. If you are an actual carpenter, yeah going over to give your labor can be super helpful. But even then, locals CAN and SHOULD be the ones to do those jobs. They can do it just as well. It's things like medical care that requires expert skill that the locals can't always do or provide. That is where you can really make a difference.
Thanks for this. I'm promoting a new UK Registered Charity named Tardigrade International Organization (Tardio). Their mission is to help underpriviledged children gain basic education in conducive environments. They provide desks, books, school uniforms and other things. The problem is that getting donors has been almost impossible because of fears of fraud and the concerns raised in this video.
This happens in the states as well. I used to skip Sunday School and hide in the store room because the vibes from the people at the Salvation Army church were weird and creepy. Many times, I would see the pastor, his family, the church clerk and even the lady who played the piano come and raid the donations. My family was poor af. We would get the donation boxes and it would be canned cheese, canned beef, rice bags etc. All the good tasting and nutritious food went to the cupboards of the people in charge of getting it to the poor. We would get poorly fitting, out of style clothes and shoes while their kids would have Christmas every week. They took ALL the toys that were donated. All of them. We never got a single one. They would talk while I hid, saying things like 'they don't deserve that - go ahead and take that' and 'Just take everything you want - they don't need that'. I will never donate to an organization. Not. Once. Ever. Giving directly to the poor may not go on your tax returns but it sure as hell does more good.
Throughout my childhood growing up in South Africa, I was always told not to help poor people directly, because it's potentially dangerous and only an organisation knows what help is best. But then I realised that I was hearing that from the teachers and "volunteers" who collected all of our donations. I don't live in South Africa any more, but there is a homelessness problem in my city. I always help directly by buying food, hygiene products, etc. for people who look like they need it. I always ask first, because some people don't want to take charity. But it feels better to actually help someone than to to pretend you've done a good thing by contributing to a large organisation with a hidden system that funnels money away from the people who need it.
I had friends who went to a pretty ritzy private liberal arts college, but it was located in a midsize Rust Belt city where the locals had a lot of economic disenfranchisement. Sometimes students would volunteer for Habitat for Humanity to pad their resume or for personal aggrandizement, and they would also have their work torn down and replaced with actual construction when they weren't looking.
@@KatherineFrangos I'd rather not give them the opportunity to hide as it's more likely that the poor organization is still there than it is that a change to their greed has occurred or will occur.
Never saw a worse prepared and researched 'documentary'! No background facts, no statistics, no interviewing of different sides, not even pictures or videos, just One girl with a weird mask with One example (so absolutely Not representative) which is not even clear what is true and what invented.. 🤦🤦where are the research results, which organisation are we talking about, what do the orphanage organisers say, how many of them exploit the children? Because it's also 100% true that there are quite a few of them who are also doing honest work and use the money respectively. I can also dress someone up who wants to stay anonymous, put him on a chair and tell a story that is supposed to be true, it's just that I'm NOT a journalist.. this is how it looks when a team wanted to save as much work, time and money as possible for traveling, requesting interviews, background researches etc.. clickbait and dreadful result!
@@justsaying9006 Disregarding the allegations of abuse (which I really don't doubt are true in many places), the ethics of voluntourism are still questionable. You're paying thousands of dollars to go abroad. A fraction of that money actually goes to the community. Most of it is going to the organizers and the travel logistics instead. You're also likely not qualified skill-wise to carry out the needed tasks. It's much more effective to send either money, critical supplies, or specialists. That way you're investing in local skilled labor and the local economy. It's so common to see people posing on instagram with their living breathing participation trophies. Look, they may mean well, but ultimately it's more about feeling good for doing something than it is actually effectively doing good
I fully agree. Very strange set up, felt disconnected from the subject matter. I feel I was clickbaited into thinking this would be a full Vice documentary and I'm pretty disappointed.@@justsaying9006
This is so true. I did volunturism once, it was one of the most frustrating experiences ever. Most "volunteers" were just there to get drunk and destroy everything around.
That all happens here, too. I had the misfortune of ending up in a homeless shelter. I was allowed to "stay in" for a few days after a surgery. It was Thanksgiving time. A sweet family with small children unloaded and brought in a half of a friggin horse trailer of large turkeys. I watched all of the staff members put several in each of their cars. I saw their friends pull up and have turkeys loaded into their cars. They cooked 2 turkeys for us the next day. There were 150 residents there.
Can you imagine being one of those "people"? What an unfulfilling life they must lead, just existing with themselves as top priority. That is not living it's just surviving with extra steps.
@@sp33dracerx2 It's about more than that. You have to get to someone who cares like a local news station. If you complain to people that are already aware you'll likely be told to keep your mouth shut. If they feel threatened, they might even go so far and put forth some made-up allegations against you. It's especially hard for OP if he was there after an operation. Seriously, what was he gonna do? Risk getting thrown out when he complains to a boss that's likely already aware?
Call them out. Not all are like that. I have worked and volunteered at many very good ones. I would have called them out. Or if not safe at least brought it up to or out to someone who did! ✌
A friend of mine was volunteering somewhere in Africa. He discovered the director had embezzled 5 million dollars. My friend carefully collected proof and then presented it to the headquarters in NYC. My friend was threated that he will be accused of it all if he came forward. He was then fired and the director got to keep his millions. To this day I refuse to donate money to any NGO intending to help others.
No offense but your friends is dumb for going to the company that the Director had embezzled from. Chances are more people where in on it and getting paid too off other peoples money and or work if they had Volunteer programs. If he was going to do that he should have done it anonymously
I had a classmate who I noticed was learning Swahili on Duolingo and told us that he had also taken several courses at our university. I asked him if he was learning it because he was planning on going to Africa and he said yes. I asked him what he would do there and he said just visit and see things. Then someone else said she knows someone who volunteered there and it‘s traumatizing to see what kind of poverty those people are in and it changes you. But I realized I have a lot of respect for someone who is willing to just say „I am interested to go and see the things and that‘s it“ without needing to pretend to save the world at the same time, even if it won‘t look as good on his resume.
not everyone is going to “pretend to save the world” though… Some literally just want to extend their service to others. It’s also respectable to give up your time and give up your paycheck to assist. Its not about “looking good” for everyone
Those people actually do more good than harm btw since they come as tourists to spend ....dollars that really go a long way in the economy some even see business opportunities....as they are not blinded by the illusion that they are coming to help
Doing that helps the economy. And some day when you actually are a grown up with an actual skill you could go back and do actual work that is actually needed
To be certain, "Africa" is a continent with more than 50 distinct countries. Many, if not all, of those countries have some aspect of tourism that is good for local economies. It would be silly to be surprised that someone would visit Europe purely for tourism, to "visit and see things." Yet it feels normal somehow that someone would be surprised that one would visit "Africa" purely for tourism. Part of the problem is that we are taught to think of "Africa" as a monolith, and that the only reasonable reason to go is to "save the world" or to "pretend to," apparently. To be certain, "Africa" is a continent with more than 50 distinct countries.
I dated a girl who did this. She was self-satisfied and smug every time she showed photographs. Like she was saving the world by paying to take pictures of poor people
That's sad. I wanted to go and help build school in Nepal but when I saw the fees to go I thought it must be a scam as I imagined we will sleep on the floors and will be eating rice and seeds all day but it was around 3000 dollars for 2 weeks and I thought this is crazy and I can't afford that and the math just didn't make any sense.
The fact that those children are running towards you, a stranger, to sit on your lap, isn't anything positive. They sit on the next persons lap when you are gone. They have serious bonding issues. They are broken and you are part of breaking them because you're nice, but you leave, just like everyone else.
While it's nice to think these "volunteers" provide affection to those children in need, even momentarily, considering how she mentions that underage sex trafficking is involved in voluntourism, I think these adults speifically train those children to run toward them and sit on their lap. You might as well get your money's worth and take a wholesome selfie.
I didn't take her explanation of that to be positive - she was trying to explain why people continue to do voluntourism. It is manipulative on multiple levels but the "volunteers" are being manipulated into feeling emotionally satisfied when they see how "happy" the kids are to see them, almost like a circus act.
@@Eptiger Very true. Its disgusting. Everybodies being patronized, manipulated, and lied to. Its a well intentioned program thats been hijacked and turned into a racket.
She was about as honest a person as I have ever met. Bluntly said how at the time she was thinking about how it would look on her resume or college applications. While she struck me as someone who really did care about helping unfortunately many voluntourist probably only do it thinking about something else to put on their resume or to post on social media to make themselves look like they are actively making a difference when they are doing anything but.
she was involved for at least a decade is what she said. Pretty sure she must have kept going AFTER realizing that it was bad. Also the reason why she is anonymous
@@lootjunior She is someone who now feels virtuous for speaking out the truth even though she's already sitting on the mountain she helped create and benefit from. It's easy for her to "expose" evil because she's already benefitted from everything it can offer her; she's no better than the establishment she's supposedly calling out.
It’s interesting…I went to South Africa and Namibia as a gift to myself for finishing grad school. I told someone who does voluntourism a lot. They almost tried to shame me for going to visit countries in Africa just for vacation and not “mission work”. They also asked why I didn’t have more pictures of the locals. I informed them that I didn’t want to take images without permission and also didn’t want to exploit and unintentionally created poverty p@rn.
Take pictures of locals?! It's illegal to take pictures of people in South Africa (especially young children) without their parents consent! That other person's "reproach" reeks of a neo-colonizer mindset 🥴
Bizarre that anyone would shame you for this, especially in South Africa. Here in SA, tourism is one of our biggest industries next to Agriculture. Tourists visiting us is 100 times more beneficial to our economy than a bunch of spoiled rich kids pretending to be missionaries and building a few cheap "houses" or making some soup. Tourism creates jobs and an inflow of money. All these "missionaries" generally achieve is a boost to their own egos and some Instagram posts.
SA is full of American missionaries, ironically they love to settle in the leafy suburbs of cape town or durban living posh lives often better then the ones back home haha
I used to work at Habitat for Humanity and it was not uncommon for us to undo the work that volunteers had done and then redo it after they were gone, just like she describes. We also learned that after the cost of insurance, using volunteer labor to build houses (instead of paid contractors) doesn't actually reduce building costs; the cost of a volunteer-built home is about the same as a contractor-built home, but the quality is worse. The real value of having volunteers do the building is that they are a source of funding and free marketing.
I attended a build for like 4 hours and they had me putting shingles on the roof. We did such a bad job, it was insane. I'd hate to live in that house.
As a structural engineer who does residential design and inspection and sees how bad some contractor work is, I always wondered how random classmates that did Habitat for Humanity back in grade school could do better having no experience in construction.
I was about to bring this up. I had to do a lot of thing to earn a scholarship and compete against all these girls (similar to a pageant) and you were only allowed to miss one scheduled event. It was super awkward during the whole process and a lot of the aspects of the house did not seem to be done by volunteers as they were much neater. I also was told to take off tape and clean counters, it was an odd experience.
Excellent interview. This woman is honest, passionate, blunt, well-spoken, intelligent and seems to be very self aware. Thank you for doing this series. In such a short clip she shares a lot of valuable information that most people would likely otherwise not be aware of. It’s incredibly important to research charities and where your money is going, don’t be discouraged to help provide assistance if you’re in the position to, just be informed!!
Hopefully she won't become brainwashed by the Marxists posing as liberals in college academia like the volunteer inserting herself into a woman and her choice of gender. Goes both ways. If one cannot admonish transgenderism then no one can encourage either. If transgern
How do you suggest people do research, if charities are not being transparent with their information, what would be the things to look out for? Just asking because I like to do donations, but after seeing this. I feel very ignorant, the only way I choose where to donate is following my intuition, idk if that’s enough.
Yes I once stayed at a Christian hostel in Europe and all the staff were there longer term (at least a year) and they didn‘t make a lot of money but they made a little bit so they could do it as their job. I don‘t see why they wouldn‘t do the same thing at orphanages.
Long terms of service don't address the inherent flaws in volunteer organizations. I served in the Peace Corps. That organization requires 2.5 years of service from its volunteers. Although generous, that amount of time cannot prepare ill-equipped foreigners to skillfully address hyper-local problems.
That's not the most alarming part. The most alarming part is the sexual abuse of these children. I wouldn't want long-term abusers at these orphanages. Actually, the worst part is that many of these children are not true orphans and were probably kidnapped from their families.
You missed the point. There are thousands of local people who would love to be able to work and take care of the children in the orphanages long term, but they can't because there's no funding. There are thousands of highly qualified people around the world too, but no one would pay them to mind these kids
My parents run an early childhood charity in Nepal aimed at improving rural village education in schools by not only running early childhood centres, but also training primary school teachers too. Initially, we used to have lots of volunteers, typically young kiwis/aussies/brits/americans on an overseas OE, but my parents quickly learned that you end up just babysitting them. They're young and enthusiastic and can play with the children, but they don't know how to do anything else. Nowadays, we prefer volunteers experienced in education for devising teacher training methods, and experienced builders or tradesmen for putting the roof on earthbag classrooms. We do actually like young volunteers every now and again, they can be a good help with earthbag building, but it's about working out the best way they can volunteer I guess if you're young and want to make a difference, stick to volunteering at home, and don't feel guilty to take a fairly normal backpacking trip around the world.
That’s the help that is needed, people who actually have skills training those in other countries who lack them to do it themselves. Good on your parents for recognizing this and making the necessary changes. The relationship between the western world and the rest of the world will never change if people don’t stop putting them on a pedestal just because they exist.
This usually happens. Nearly all the "volunteer" I met in Nepal are the high school kids or on gap year who were told by their upper or upper middle class parents that this "deeds" will reflect well on college application.
I have been working closely with a very good orphanage in Southern Africa for 6 years. Our volunteers are usually excellent(they do need babysitting, if you don't direct them on what to do they aren't helpful). This year about 10 students studying architecture built a community driven low profit station, they had a month and although it was difficult for them to complete the project on time, it was a great success, the mayor of the state congratulated them and there was like an official opening. We didn't expect the impossible from them. It was definitely a culture shock but I believe the experience was more positive than negative. The student volunteers were amazing and mostly went the extra mile.
As a West African whose parents grew up in the age of mass "mission" trips pre- and post- Nigerian civil war, I'm glad this video came out. My heart hurts every time I see adds because the effects of voluntourism on the people we met while financially navigating immigration and the redlining that happens once you get more comfortable in a country-- those effects meant that I was always "impressive" in my English speaking, or school performance, or general intelligence, or memories of living in a home. The propaganda is hurtful on both sides.
The example that she gave about how the co-volunteer was so immersed with their own moral compass that they became tone-deaf to a real life situation is such an important point. I've spent a lot of time overseas in different areas to research and volunteer. Coming from the medical perspective, there is a lot more "hands-on" opportunities to make a difference, so I did not experience the "fake help" scenarios... especially because these programs weren't funded by large organizations, they were mostly initiatives started by U.S. and foreign academic institutions working together. HOWEVER, the personality of some of the people I volunteered with had that same type of "world savior" entitlement complex. They assumed everyone should live like them and truly didn't understand reality outside of their own bubble. Good intentions, but completely tone deaf.
Right? If that were me, I'd be immediately thinking of practical things, does the young person have somewhere safe to live, do they have the means to support themselves. Would that organization have the funds to make sure that young person is able to live somewhere safe, if their own community is unsafe to live in. Then again I'm not rich. I remember my ex boyfriend could be like this, he was so used to the pampered bubble his parents had created for him, that any attempts I made to bring him to reality fell on deaf ears.
@@aelinorholloway3669 would it be possible that you might be living in a bubble yourself? I doubt that anyone truly knows what they need since they are so neglected
@@kv4648 well I know food and having a roof over your head are basic universal necessities for people. I'm sorry if that bursts whatever bubble you live in. I think a lot of well off people need to stop focusing on people like myself and look in the mirror, it seems to be well off people who have such a strong opposition to open up to different lives and people. And instead of taking responsibility for that issue they project this on to others. If well off people were like my best friend's family they're wouldn't be a problem, but my best friend's family is a rarity, not the majority.
This is why i've always been a big advocate for local charity first. Charity starts at home, there are people in our own communities who need help but instead people choose to go overseas to exploit innocent kids & get a few photo opps for 2 weeks. Absolutely sick.
We have standards and regulations. Do you think the American government will let a high school graduate build a house? They go to corrupt countries with poor people who have nobody to protect them so they can build substandard houses that nobody cares if the Starbucks cashiers built a house that could collapse on you at any time. As long as they have volunteering on their resume.
That is legit the most practical way to help folks. These volunteer-ship makes for a good PR and resume weightage and does nothing to help the community at large.
Nah, that's not reason to not help overseas. It's reason to control and regulate these organisations. To use it as excuse for not helping is as sick and wrong.
@@laughingbeast4481 My point wasn’t to stop helping ppl. My point is people should spend more time focusing on the suffering ppl who might live down the street from them, instead of jetting off to foreign countries just to make themselves look good. The majority of ppl who do these “charity trips” aren’t doing it out of genuine interests in helping ppl. But God bless the few who actually care.
As a teacher, what also makes me mad about voluntourism is that random rich teens think that them teaching the kids English for a week is a real education. Would you have your child go to school and learn from random unqualified strangers? Would you have those unqualified people build your home? No? Then why is it ok when other people in poorer countries get this. It reinforces the message that local workers who actually have qualifications are too stupid to do it AND that kids in these countries deserve subpar education and care.
That's part of the western culture. We feel entitled and superior, assuming as educated western citizens we know better. We're not used to actually see how's, say, Africa. Our news don't talk about it...
if the alternativ is absolutly no education? ofc i would. The Idea that there are everywere qualifyed workers is just not true and yes ofc it would be way better the educate some locals to be able to teach english.
“It reinforces the message that local workers who actually have qualifications are too stupid to do it” I find this to be largely an assumption. You’re using inactiveness to say that they aren’t intelligibly capable. A better way to make your point would be to say that the government systems and lack of funding limit true progression. That isn’t related to someone being smart enough to perform their job. The issue lies within providing them with their mentioned qualifications. Again, under completely different economies/ governments where basic education isn’t always met, these situations are quite common. But it just feels unnecessary to call them dumb as an assumption and i would have hoped a teacher would tread more likely with such phrasing. And if that is in fact the case, it shouldn’t be considered as laziness to learn but rather inaccessibility to education. There are people with high IQ’s that will simply never be able to put their brain to most uses due to the lives they didn’t chose. I’m just trying to reiterate here that smart isn’t always the same as educated, and being an idiot shouldn’t be judged through said knowledge. This was not meant to be this long.
@@GB_99999 IQ is an incredibly overrated concept, there are just different kinds of intelligences (Gardner). Moreover IQ tests have historically been incredibly biased. So yeah as per usual, it's more a matter of wealth than IQ->race->genetics. But racism is kinda in our culture isn't it
That quote "reinforces the message that local workers who actually HAVE qualifications are too stupid to do it" said to me “They can do it themselves, with their own learnings, under their own resources and environment”. Sphere project, IFRC, etc. Learned that the answer that is correct to some communities, aren’t right to others. No poor, not ignorant, just different, and the west think is just inferior because it is different. So, it is better just to talk, reach to the people in the same region. And it is all of it or nothing when we talk about teaching a language, do people honestly believe that ONE WEEK of learning english change lives? A language that isn’t even theirs. If they need it, they’ll have to really learned it somewhere else, not with one week.
I appreciate this woman for her vulnerability & honesty! She has helped expose the industry which she wouldn’t have been able to do without her experience.
I don't get why people are annoyed about this getting "exposed." Yeah, if you don't live under a rock you kind of know this, but it's still good if the knowledge is spread. The more it becomes part of people's general knowledge the less attractive it becomes for people to go there since the whole feel-good aspect of it is destroyed either by you being aware it's a scam or by your followers on insta knowing that you're not doing anything positive to be praised for.
“Or by your followers on insta knowing that you’re not doing anything positive to be praised for” is honesty the biggest for people. Sad, but true. Not many kids that I knew went to these things truly just to make a difference and actually just went to show off to their friends and on social media. If there was no benefit to the college application and it wasn’t like a “trendy” thing to go do, I don’t believe many kids would’ve gone at all. This sounds like a lose lose situation where once again the larger companies that organize these benefit while everyone else involved suffers. They don’t want the kids to be helped, because if they are, the company loses its advertisement and loses customers. Awful people.
@@JuliaMarieH Did you not watch the full video? These places are scam operations to take money from upper-middle class young Americans and are simultaneously trafficking operations… You either didn’t catch that part, or are unable to process the idea of that occurring on a large scale.
When I was in highschool we had to do social service, so my friends and I picked a foster shelter for children. And the first thing the director told us, was that they didn't need some teenagers coming to clean and play with the kids, they had staff for that. What they needed was medicine, specially pain killers for colics (menstruation related), toilet paper, period pads, canned food and clothes. So we planned to make a donation day in our school and ask teachers to give the students 2 points over 100 if they donated. Not gonna lie... we procatinated a lot and we were organizing everything last minute. But many people donated including us. A wealthy girl brought 2 trucks filled with pads, toilet paper, and clothes (many of them looked new). And when we brought everything to the director, she was super grateful. When we first met her she gave us the impression she was a stern woman, but she warmly thanked us. We actually felt guilty because we felt we could have done more if we wouldn't have procastinated. My dad explained me shortly after finishing my social service that it was actually a good choice to organize everything ourselves, because we made sure everything got to the shelter. It also hit me with the reality that these kids need compassion and love, but sometimes we are needed to help in other ways. It also gave another perspective about volunteering and stoped romantizing it.
Without transparency and accountability, many, but not all, nonprofits or organizations involved will continue this practice. And it is not restricted to third world countries, but in the communities where many of these volunteers live. It is better to get away with this practice because there is no one watching.
Yeah a lot these "non profit" organizations are all tied to this type of thing. It's disgusting! Child trafficking, abuse, money laundering. All under the umbrella to help people.
Unfortunately, as someone who was homeless in the USA, this happens here. I notice it primarily at food banks, or homeless shelters, usually during the holidays. People go and volunteer there around thanksgiving or Christmas, and their reason is both to "help others" but also "to remind ourselves of what we have to feel grateful for what we have." What happens is, in actuality, humiliating for homeless people. We were the example for rich folks, of "what could be". We were standing in front of people who were there so that they could remind themselves of how good they have it, and it showed. The faces they made at the food, the way they all looked so sad and pitying and grim looking at it, and the worst part was the way they brought their kids. A lot of the kids "helped", but those kids have no reference for what they're really doing. They were barging into personal space, both physically and verbally, asking questions about things we'd really like to not get into. They would try to "make friends", but a lot of people there wanted to hide under their hoods and eat, and get out. Not only is it more crowded with homeless folk during the holiday, but it's also OVERRUN with volunteers who really just get in the way. Parents were scolding their kids, showing us off (this usually happens around the corner, but still heard, still obvious, though less common to do it right in front of us, but it still happens) as an example of what happens if you "don't study or do your chores" or something. It's degrading. I felt awful for the kids who lived at the shelters, because they had to go and potentially run into a classmate helping, and then get bullied for being the homeless kid at school, or used as some other kid's "feel good story", like, oh I was helping at a food bank on christmas and I helped Jimmy, everyone! And now everyone knows Jimmy is homeless and gets food there, thanks, dude. (Sarcasm). It's horrible, and I wish more of the places had an age limit of 18 and up. Some do, but it's still pretty common to see the age limit like, 9 or 12, or maybe 14, but it still sucks. A lot of the kid volunteers don't wanna be there. It shows. And unfortunately, we're hungry, getting our only meal of the day or something, and their whining is grating and degrading.
My husband and I worked in a Christian ministry that had a yearly mission trip to Mexico. You had to pay $3k per person, which included a week at a 5-star resort, 2 full-time food trucks, and a clean water truck that followed them all the time. All of this to pour some sidewalks and paint a few houses. Plus a day before and after the trip in the resort to "emotionally recover". We never went. It was just a rich person feel-good trip.
It's sad because if they just sent a well used 3k it could pay a worker for months to build a hundred times the work of a tourist The older I get, the more I realize that charities are often a front for selfish virtue signaling
@@trniyyfalldown9927 yet there are places in african countries that are much wealthier than certain places in mexico... it's not a matter of helping or not helping entire continents, because the reality is that there is massive poverty and exploitation in lots of countries around the world. the root cause of this is extractive colonialism by european countries and the US, (and similar,) that is sucking these parts of the world dry for all of their wealth and have been for centuries.
@@sia2761 not really, I work at the Unicef and because of my job I need to go to African countries and Latin american countries. I can tell you that Mexico is a lot wealthier than Africa (including the richest), I really don't see how it will be posible that Africa will be wealthier, sorry but you need to travel more.
As a non-profit in Tijuana, I can say that I've seen this happen in other ministries and churches that I know. They make the kids look poor and hardly cared for so that they get more money again and again. The leaders taking the best of the donations for their kids who don't need it and giving the leftovers to the kids and the families in the community. It's sickening.
@@ShomoGoldburgler Nah there isn't. There are only dumb idiots who donate to these organizations, making these scammers rich and the poor more miserable.
Back in primary school I had a religious education teacher who would always brag about helping children in Tanzania saying she was sent there on a mission by God. She and her husband brought the children over to the UK during my time in primary school and they would sing and dance for us and tell us about life in Tanzania. At that age I never questioned where these children were staying. A few years later my teachers husband was arrested for having certain videos with the children. A crime of which I'm sure likely involved human trafficking.
You cant really be allowed to do good in the world nowadays. It happens in all professions or areas. Invent something new now in science, but none of the journals would want to publish it because of greed.
I am glad someone has finally spoken about this. I have noticed it as well, and i am shocked that people pay this much for these "life-changing" trips, without useful skills to change the places they visit. It's a scam on the hungry children and it's disheartening to see volunteers who are willing to be in poverty striken situations, drink fresh orange juice and not wonder why?
I learned this at 9 years old! My dad bless his heart use get big uhaul trucks everyone from our family, his work, and our Community would donate toys, food, clothes, everything you can think of everything was almost brand new. He would even wrap up the presents for the kids. Anyway he would get these big trucks drive them to Mexico and there is a orphanage that he used to donate to but one day he showed up randomly the owners didn’t know and all the stuff that my dad would donate to them they kept it all locked up in a room and wouldn’t even give it to the kids my dad was so heartbroken and he even stopped doing it because of that.
Just graduated from high school, the amount of rich kids in my school who did volunteering work abroad and domestically (coming from no experience or genuine wish to help) just for slapping it on their college application is insane
Hi Mira! I’m a senior in high school and I generally want to help others out and volunteer abroad aiding those less fortunate than me. I even had a teacher who served in the Peace Corps in Africa. Now I’m starting to get second guesses. It disgusts me how many people use their position of privilege and wealth to take advantage of these opportunities to slap on a resume rather than actually help and make a long lasting positive change.
I know of an orphanage that has been accepting donations from the US and the west, and the orphanages directors and workers just took it to their own families etc. it’s the reality of many - glad someone could share this with backed facts. Kudos
I know of an orphanage in Eastern Europe who deny adoptions because of the lucrative rubles that can be made off of slaving them out to be brutally raped, tortured and killed by incompetent but rich oligarchs. Hmmm, ironic I guess.
@@zyuqx capitalism is not the problem. It's the people working at the orphanage. Even if you remove capitalism, those people will still exist and continue to exploit.
In high school I was in a competition for a full-ride scholarship. The scholarship had different categories, and I was pretty well qualified in mine. Eventually, the award came to being decided between me and another girl -- and this girl had had the opportunity to go on one of these trips. This proved to be the deciding factor, as I lost and she won.... though my family could never have dreamed of affording a trip like that for me. It definitely left a bitter taste in my mouth.
This did happen. But even if it hadn't, the point would still be true that these trips are nothing more than a massive benefit to the already-privileged.
Thank you, VICE, for shedding light on the complexities of voluntourism. This eye-opening video reveals the stark reality behind the industry, exposing the unintended consequences of well-intentioned efforts. For English Learner, here are my notes & lessons: The video explores the voluntourism industry, where wealthier individuals pay to volunteer in struggling communities for a life-affirming experience. It highlights the mismatch between intentions and impact, narrating instances of ineffective projects, exploitation, and the potential harm caused to vulnerable communities. Vocabulary breakdown: 0. Voluntourism (noun) 07:10 -Context: 'Voluntourism is a multibillion dollar industry.' -Explanation: Voluntourism refers to the practice of combining volunteering and tourism, often involving wealthier individuals contributing to community projects in exchange for a meaningful experience. 1. Informed Consent (noun phrase) 00:22 -Context: 'Kids would see vans of volunteers... rub dirt on their faces... to be more appealing to the volunteers.' -Explanation: Informed consent refers to volunteers being fully aware and understanding the potential consequences and nature of their participation. 2. Library Construction (noun phrase) 02:24 -Context: 'The primary goal... was to build a library.' -Explanation: Library construction signifies one of the goals of voluntourism projects, aiming to create educational infrastructure in underserved communities. 3. Child Sex Trafficking (noun phrase) 05:48 -Context: 'The connection between orphanages and child sex trafficking.' -Explanation: Child sex trafficking involves the exploitation of children for sexual purposes, and the video suggests a link between orphanages and this dark reality. 4. Emotional Compelling (adjective phrase) 06:53 -Context: 'Experiences similar to what I had... are still emotionally compelling.' -Explanation: Emotional compelling refers to the powerful and appealing nature of experiences that evoke strong emotions, even if they may have unintended consequences. 5. Exceptionalism (noun) 07:08 -Context: 'It’s really easy for someone to apply exceptionalism.' -Explanation: Exceptionalism in this context suggests the tendency to believe that one's volunteer experience is unique and exempt from negative impacts, overlooking broader issues in voluntourism. Explore more about language and culture with our app [AI-powered Learning English with VOA]: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aipowered.voalearningenglish . Happy learning!
I'm impressed with her honesty. The way she admits she signed up because it would look good on her CV/resume when she applied for professional jobs, is an honest thing to own up to. Most people will never admit that their actions are self-motivated. It takes an enlightened person to swallow their pride and say this. I was thinking of signing up to one of these "build schools/orphanages" programmes about 8 years ago, but after reading up on it, it didn't seem right that inexperienced young people were building huts for schools. What if it fell down and injured a child? It just seemed too dangerous and alarm bells rang.
It’s the bare minimum however. It shouldn’t excuse her for her actions just because she was honest especially after constantly benefiting and receiving from it until she couldn’t anymore. That’s like a predator going up to a police station and confessing what he did before an investigation was filed against them and expecting forgiveness. He would instantly be put behind bars.
Oh my gosh, the thing she said about the volunteer giving a young girl advice that would kill her.. reflects so much on woke culture.. how the privileged offer advice for their own moral satisfaction while not seeing reality in a grand scale even if advised by professionals. Wow.
I agree, it's truly afwul and sad... Though I think it should be said as "woke culture" because this isn't being conscious, it's being very, very shortsighted. It's time for people to truly expand their minds, there's so much information out there. I'm so grateful for platforms like these.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions as they say. There is also huge amounts of charity that are not only stolen/wasted but that actually have an adverse effect on the economies of these poor nations and end up keeping them dependent on the donations rather than giving them the tools to build an economy themselves.
That person clearly wasn't LGBT either, because no queer person would ever give such innapropriate advice to a _child_ in a country that is hostile to people with different sexual orientations. Urgh! **facepalm**
@@vice.nor.virtue that was my thought as well. I'm not LGBT, but it's just tone deaf as HELL to give a kid in that situation this "🤗 be yourself!" advice. But everything I've ever heard from LGBT friends and family is that coming out is not something you can rush even in good circumstances, and that the number one no-no is making that decision on someone else's behalf. The audacity of giving that advice.... God.
Had a group of church friends who did "Mission" trips like this. The whole point was getting trophy photos for your Facebook. None of them seemed to notice they were taking pictures with the same kids through multiple seasons.
Omg yessss!!! I know someone who does this. I said so you go to take pictures of sick and dying children to make yourself feel better? It's beyond disgusting!!!
@@Kapone27 The college age congregation exclusively went on missions for hungry and/or impoverished villages. The sick missions were done by the elders. They didn't bring back photos.
The FCA crowd and Campus Crusade college kids would raise money to go on mission trips to Daytona Beach and evangelize to sunbathers on the beach but really they got a free vacation. Everything was paid for from donors. It was sickening.
Wow so important!! I went on a volunteer trip to Honduras to help with construction and do a Kids program. We were never laying bricks which is what notoriously messes up construction sights and we were to ones dancing and singing for the kids haha. We also personally knew the organization founder. Nevertheless, the in-country contact started to use the money brought in to buy land for himself. The organization proceeded to request greater accountability and upon denial they chose a new in-country leader. This shows how crucial accountability is in these situations!!
Her realizing that volunteer work was being taken down to be properly redone by locals is something I discovered too, but I didn’t even have to go abroad for it. My junior year of college I signed up for a school volunteer program where we spent Spring break in another state volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. We went to a very rural and poor area of a state that was a full day of driving away. My group plus another volunteer group from a different college worked on three different houses. At the end, the Habitat for Humanity leader of that area thanked us for our work and mentioned how we did better than other volunteers, stating that they always have to tear down the work done by the college groups and redo it. However, our work was done well enough to keep as is. I know he was giving up a compliment but my heart sank. A lot of my group was clearly new to using tools but adapted quickly, and I grew up with parents that built everything themselves so I already had the skills. I have never looked at volunteering the same way. After college I actually joined AmeriCorps, but spent my year and a half working about a half hour from my hometown. My position at the nonprofit was fairly knew and required a college degree. My role was very flexible and I filled in gaps for others when regular employees were too busy, as well as bringing in local businesses, artists, etc. to work with the neighboring elementary school. That work felt right, I wasn’t taking away a job from anyone because I wasn’t in a normal position. I created partnerships and left all my contacts and notes behind for other staff, so I felt that my work was sustainable and not lost just because I left. Volunteering can be a great thing if you have due diligence to research your local options. I also heard that volunteering abroad during COVID was better for communities than before, because everything had to be virtual.
why, what would the incentive be? That must be that particular worksite and incompetence, because I can't imagine why Habitat for Humanity would want to do that. Unless it drives donations or something.
I went on the exact same trip that you are describing. Last spring break, I went on a volunteer trip for Habitat from college to another state. I, however, had an amazing experience. If they have to undo work being done, the build leaders are not doing their job. There are supposed to be regular volunteers (that's right, many leaders at Habitat are volunteers themselves) as well as people who are paid by Habitat to be at sites. Other than completing the work alongside volunteers, these people need to teach and guide others in order to get the most work done, and that is what they usually do. If they are having to redo it, something is wrong with how they are running things. Habitat also usually pays professionals to do jobs they know volunteers cannot do. I'm not saying your experience is false, but I don't think its the norm for Habitat. Although they get money from volunteers, they have no incentive not to take advantage of their presence.
that actually doesn't surprise me. I've also volunteered for habitat for humanity, and the amount of direction we got was very minimal, though I've always been pretty experience with power tools, so maybe that came off? I wouldn't be surprised if there were parts that needed to be redone, though I'm sure overall that we certainly did more help than we did harm. You only have to re-do what didn't turn out well, which wasn't everything.
how much better could it be if this money was spent to hire the qualified local workers to do the job from the scratch, instead of wasting it on this voluntourist sham, after which the workers must redo the job anyways…
@@mulethedonkey2579 you already answered the question: it indeed drives donations, which at the end are part of the global Charity Industrial Complex, if I’m allowed to call it this way… which, by large, is nothing but a huge money laundering/tax evading mechanism for the rich and powerful.
Most orphanages are just a cover for trafficking and every time i think about my experience in the orphanage I was in, I just keep thinking how all of it is a sham. I like many other kids, were trafficked. It’s not just in Africa, it happens in Asia and Eastern Europe which is where I’m from. It’s really horrifying and deeply upsetting for me. Edit: I can’t believe how many rude and insensitive comments have been posted under my thread… why are you offended at my comment? I’m not looking for pity, far from it, but I would expect people to be respectful considering the fact that I was commenting something very personal about this horrible experience. Some of you are absolutely rude.
Man that makes me so sad. I’m 15 and In the future I really want to invest my money and time into orphanages. But knowing that most orgs are corrupt and/or used for child trafficking sickens me. I don’t know how I can help lots of ppl
@@ryang6419 Best way to help is with reputable charities such Ummah Welfare Trust or One Ummah. I know people who have been working with these charities for years and can only speak good of them. Mashaa'Allah.
@@ryang6419 lol 15. focus on school. you arent even an adult yet. the real world is gonna eat you up if you are focused on this "money" you havent even earned yet and what you are gonna do with it in the "future" you havent even seen. you think you understand this video but you dont.
I did a voluntourism trip after a LOT of research in a small village in Costa Rica. We were doing sea turtle conservation where our job was just to patrol the beach at night so poachers would stay away. I asked one of the guys running the program about these issues because I was curious... He told me that they were grateful for volunteers because then the people in the village could preserve the wildlife without needing to stay up all night. I also asked my "host parent" and she said in their rural area, the income from housing and feeding the volunteers was good for their village. I'm not saying it was perfect, but I am glad I did it in the way I did when I wanted to go somewhere but without just staying in a hostel and partying. I highly recommend doing what you can to set up your own opportunities to go to places to travel and work if it's important to you. Put the work in, don't be lazy. Also... I would NEVER recommend working with children or any vulnerable population for the very reasons spoken about here. Any 'volunteer work' that takes away from the ability for a local person to get a job (like construction, medical, etc opportunities) are also problematic because they'll use volunteers and then they won't have to pay people who need to make their bills. You're robbing local people of the chance to make a living because you have the privilege to do it for free while you Eat Pray Love for yourself. Lastly: try volunteering locally. You'll still be able to experience the important value of giving to someone else without the problematic industry that's been created so you can get that perfect profile picture you always wanted.
Yes yes yes to volunteer locally. Animal shelters are so desperate for help and it’s something that you can directly see an impact towards. If someone is absolutely set on working with kids, consider becoming a big brother or big sister at at the boys n girls club in your area. Something I’ve done in the past is volunteering at equine centers that work with those that are differently abled to use horses for rehabilitation. There’s so many options in local communities.
This is why I decided not to join the Peace Corps: a lot of people volunteer to teach in Africa. But a good question to ask, is "why can't African citizens be the teachers? Wouldn't that fill the need for teachers *and* give people jobs?" I read that some years ago in exchange for foreign aid from the US, some African countries were required to make cuts and lay off a scary percentage of teachers. So then we're going there to "help" them by volunteering? *Btw this is what I read some years ago; if any African citizen knows something to the contrary or knows more about it, by all means I welcome more info on the subject.
Tbh 70% of travel is like this- going through big companies you either get ripped off or there is a smallprint that ruins everything. Best to organise yourself.
Thank you for your honesty. But I also hope that this video doesn't discourage people from helping people in need around the world. Do enough research before committing to donate or volunteer. ❤ Also, just admit that you are helping others for your own good; it only makes volunteering more attractive because you help yourself and others. And this puts you in the mindset of not expecting anything in return because you are doing it for your own good.
I recall quite vividly, to this very day, how I got this CV from a neighbor of mine, whose friend’s daughter was my age, or probably 2-3 years younger. A 90s child that is. I didn’t promise her anything. But I did take the liberty of going through the girl’s cv. It had this weird segment where she speaks about how her trip to Nepal changed her life, and she literally pasted 3 pictures of her with smiling kids under the segment of “Humanitarian Work”. I lookup the organization, they charge 3200 bucks per person, for a two-week experience, in a country where the GDP per Capita is around 900 dollars. This was in 2015. It was the most disturbing CV I’ve ever had the misfortune of gazing upon, and that neighbor of mine, would often speak about how much of a saint that girl is. I did give her a call after all, and she was everything my gut told me she would be. She spent 2 weeks in Nepal, and yet, she thought they were Muslims, and that Hindi is their native language. Oh, and how she encouraged the little kids, all orphans I might add, to simply have faith (She’s an Evangelical Christian), and that God will deliver them everything. I still recall me hanging up on her too. I literally felt, I was talking to someone, living in an actual bubble, one that was actually tangible, and my God, don’t get me started on the virtue-signaling.
I often call certain types of voluntourism poverty porn. Because I could see rich people only came to these communities to gawk and gain new experiences and grow as a person. It's like dark tourism where rich foreigners have a respected community leader take them to very dangerous places where the community leader acts as a tour guide. This is poverty porn, those people are their to gawk, not caring that many people have no other option than to live in those terrible circumstances and they see this as a cool experience.
It’s really awful, my mom has suggested to me that I should do some volunteering because it would “look good on a resume and scholarships”, ignoring the fact that it shouldn’t really have anything to do with employment, that is an awful reason to volunteer for something
I had the exact same experience of going to orphanages in India. I was telling this again and again but none seem to notice anything disturbing of this “trend”. It’s sick to realise what we donate never goes for the kids welfare instead they are forced to sing and dance in return to the donations. Glad this has been brought to light to millions by this video. I appreciate this.
@@Dare2Doubt I recently heard about that, and the stories about her and her "charity work" are horrifying. She had the funds to take care of so many people with curable conditions (e.g. tuberculosis), and they just needed some more hospital equipment to survive, but she would deny them that by saying, "blessed are the poor" (quoting a Bible verse completely out of context).
Recently a girl was promoting this kind of thing to me I said no because I had a gut feeling and this confirms it. I was like “they ask me for money, not qualifications, that doesn’t sound right at all” and in fact. It’s clearly just economic motivation. I want to help for real, not pay people to tell me and other lies and not even help the people in hardships.
I always say the plane fare to take the group there alone, if donated to the right hands, would be a thousand times more valuable than a bunch of kids gawking at the locals and making messes.
Even if someone isn’t a good enough person to care about people suffering, I don’t know how all these people are okay with being straight up scammed. I guess maybe they just turn a blind eye for their resume idk.
Thoughtful, caring and bright young woman who effectively articulates some of the issues with the business side of volunteering and covering examples of corruption. She also merits much respect for acknowledging the cultural differences that could lead to unintended harm if one disregards the local norms. I am encouraged, however, that there are many young people like her who would like to make a positive difference in the world and are looking for a way to best do that.
As someone who went on annual service trips via my private high school, I definitely experienced a similar (albeit to a lessor extent) realization that the money we spend on the trips could be much better spent on effective programs and infrastructure to generate a long-lasting effect and break the cycle of poverty. My school has and continues to take pride in having every kid G7-12 go on these trips every single year and idk what can make reflect on this.
People think they are living in heaven, convinced[by marketing or propaganda] such organizations and governments have the very best interests in mind, whatever actions taken would undoubtedly result in a positive outcome for both parties, however increasingly reality is demonstrating a more lucrative practice that is happening below the surface. Evil doesn't always come dressed as evil.
I've had the same feeling when we went on Project Week to Sri Lanka. We have done absolutely nothing to help but they felt obligated to have us because they received a ton of donations from the school community.
I did a voluntourism trip to Ghana when I was 19/20 and I remember asking the people running it what the pint of everything was, and they pretty much said it looks good on your CV. I don't think my experience was as bad as hers (we did some positive stuff around HIV screening for the community) but most of it was to polish our egos and not help anyone.
I had a similar experience in Kenya, it was sold to me as a health related volunteer work in a school but when I arrived nothing was expected from the "volunteers", some didn't even show up, only traveled. Luckily, I had some knowledge and organized some classes about reproductive health, but I spent two months there and can truly say I only truly felt useful once or twice. I loved the experience but I feel ashamed of the white savior bullsh*t.
I chaperoned a group that helped build schools in Ghana. The whole trip was very sheltered and supervised. We could only work 4 hours max per day. We basically just scraped dirt the whole time. I was reprimanded for showing one of the children my music. We had to live and eat separately from the village. A lot of instances that felt off and I only realized them once I was home for a while.
I agree 100% with your insight re: CVs. Wealthy, western volunteers-- by virtue of their privilege-- can often invent for themselves titles, roles, and powers that they can then parlay into grad programs or administrative positions once they return home. As a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, I've seen it happen plenty of times.
@@davidsummers4820 It's almost like colonialism and imperialism is in their blood. Coming up with titles and enforcing everyone else to worship it so they can do whatever they want.
I lived in Beijing China several years ago. The agency that brought me there matched me with a family. This family owned a kindergarten and would often take field trips. On Children's day, we went to an Orphanage. Our goal was to teach the children about caring and helping others. I remember seeing a dozen tour buses, and big painted signs on the walls of each house that were for the orphans. The signs were pretty much just a big ad for these companies bragging about how much they donated to this Orphanage village. When you get there, they immediately take you in the lobby area and give you a quick history about it, then you proceed with a tour guide. It wasn't very big. About 6 houses with old blankets, pillows, and bunk beds. The floor was dirt. In the center was a garden were they grew their own vegetables. As you continue down the path, you will see all the orphans in this dingy old, broken playground. They too had dirt all over their faces and hands. They had old toys that were also broken. The really sad thing is, we weren't the only group there. Eventually other tourists would show up, and instead of playing with the kids like our school did, they stood outside, pointed, laughed and took pictures of the orphans. To them, it was a petting zoo, a source of entertainment. One last thing I remembered was there were two sisters with white complexion and blue eyes. One of them raised her arms at me, asking me to carry her. As I did, she immediately starts to yell something out loud in Mandarin that I couldn't make out. One of the teachers of our school told me that she was saying "Your thighs are soo big, you have big hips!" over and over and over again. That was enough to make me feel uncomfortable, but what made it worse was that our school teacher asked why she was saying this and one of the workers there openly said that one of the other employees would say that to her. That trip ended up making us all real sad. We left with more broken hearts and unanswered questions.
@@notreallyhim Exactly. I asked about that, and noone knew where they were from. One person said they could be Mongolian and that they have people like that closer to Russia. However, my guess is that an expat enpregnated a local Chinese citizen. In China, boys are way more preferred to have than girls, and at this time the One child policy was still in effect. Either case, I'm sure their story is a really sad one.
@@rubendavila6248 you are probably 100% correct that she was the child of an Expat. Orphaned Eurasian children isn’t that uncommon in the lesser income parts of Asia. Use to be a war time affair, now it’s economic
A really good book is toxic charity by Robert Lupton - shows the damage thats really done and the best ways we can ACTUALLY help (raising money and giving it to local craftsmen to use their pre existing skills etc)
@@destructionman1critical thinking is not being critical but having empathy and considering many factors! if they volunteered to make a video and profit, why would they do an anonymous video for a channel that isn't theirs. what you infer about strangers online shows your bias. not them imo this video shows open eyes and research to contextualize what they witnessed and experienced. maybe even access to privy information because of being an attractive white woman who asked
I went to volunteer in Tanzania as well. I got the same feeling when I went to the orphanage that alot of these kids weren't actually orphans and that this place was pocketing alot, if not all of the money and supplies that was being donated. These kids and natives were being exploited. Thank you for sharing your story
Most children in orphanages not being orphans has always been the case, even historically in the US. Some were abandoned and are essentially still orphans, but others come from families in extreme poverty that could be given aid directly.
My mother is a director of a wonderful home for children in Mexico. I started it with her 15 years ago. These children come from terrible situations and become nurses, dentists, and beauticians. Most importantly for however long they are there, they learn that they are loved and have self worth for the first time. Many still have parents and family (but the parents are addicts or were trafficking their own kids). My point is you need to get to know an orphanage to make sure it is legit. Because there are people out there who exploit others. Do the research before giving money. Being part of a good non-profit’s community can make a profound impact for generations to come. ❤ Thank you for bringing awareness about the dark side. There really needs to be an organisation that verifies orphanages, so we can funnel all the help to the good ones.
So true. There was a scandal around here because a guy who set up an orphanage in Nepal was arrested. The whole thing turned out to have been a charade so he could abuse children, something for which he already had two convictions here. But the church didn't care, kept the money flowing. And he lived like a king in Nepal, with ready acces to dozens of kids that he has power over, without having to worry about his criminal record.
This is someone who now feels virtuous for speaking out the truth even though she's already sitting on the mountain she helped create and benefit from; she seeks attention and moral righteousness - probably because deep down she feels a sense of guilt, albeit a selfish guilt - as a result of the narcissism she developed from her priveleged, elite background. It's easy for her to "expose" evil because she's already benefitted from everything it can offer her; she's no better than the establishment she's supposedly calling out.
@@Wackaz this is true as you say, but we are all at some point guilty of being ignorant of our actions and inadvertently harming others. It’s never easy to admit our wrongs. Those within that circle and those in other circles could learn from hearing this. It could be the only thing that wakes these people up to what’s going on.
@@Wackaz I was thinking the same thing. Most of what she said is already common knowledge for people really wanting to make a change. But how deep was she into the volunteer culture to know first hand about sex trafficking? Or is she just throwing things out there? That's a big charge and I wonder what is being done in light of what she may have witnessed or is this video it? There are lots of these organizations that pander to westerners having a glorified vacation where they can take selfies with the poor kids and feel good about themselves.
I volunteered in an orphanage in vietnam. I spent 3 months im with the program and then stayed 3 months continuing to help teach the kids after it ended. The orphanage would purposely break the walls or leave the kids in filth to parade wealthy donors in. With the money obviously never helping the children. There was an Australian man “teaching” computer class who I got extremely creepy vibes from. He had been there a long time though and the nuns and older woman who operated the place gave him a lot of power. I was a 19 year old with little life experience and confidence in these situations. One day the place was rush full of police officers and foreign officials, turns out he was wanted back home for crimes against children and had been using the orphanage to hide. God only knows the things he must have done to those poor children but after that I couldn’t stay there much longer. I left soon after, I came back after finishing school though and I’m proud to call vietnam my second home and now have built a life gaining a wife, friends and new family in this beautiful place.
I'm from vietnam (sorry if I make any grammatical mistakes) and I live in ho chi minh city, which is considered to be wealthier than any other rural places in the south. From the district where I lives seeing a beggar is more common especially if you are in a richer district like district 1, 2, 3,... you usually see them standing next to a traffic light waiting for people to stop and ask for money. Some just sits there pretending to be injured, disabled, or holding a sleeping baby with them. A few of these beggar are children and the majority of them are being exploited by either their parents or their "guardian". If you see any child beggar near the traffic light, look for any suspicious adults that wander near, they have the role of making sure these children aren't running away, looking for help or even slacking of. If you want to know more then you can watch a documentaries about beggar in vietnam or comment if you want me to tell you more. I can asure you that every countries even the most developed ones still have a darker side to them
Apart from volunteering abroad, having unqualified volunteer is another problem. English is not my first language. I didn’t know until lately that the free Saturday English class I had at my elementary school was actually a volunteer service given by the rich kids from international schools whose English is native. I remember I was so enthusiastically talking to them to practise English, but the “teacher” I had just got annoyed and asked me not to talk rubbish. This experience has influenced me to hold back when making friends/ speaking up. Some of these “volunteers” don’t actually want to help but were forced to volunteer to polish their CV. We the recipients were just tools for their advantage, and sometimes, were abused. I truly hope that, if they are not truly into education, please do not do harm to the innocent kids. 😡 To add: My classmate whose English is better actually heard the volunteers talked bad about us with foul language, she reported to our school teacher. Since these volunteers came to teach one term or two for the title so there's no big deal for the programme from the persepctive of the management.
I've spoken to people that got paid for teaching english in other countries, they don't need teaching experience and it's widely considered easy money. Most don't even know more then a few words in the local language. Rich kids earning their home deposit on "gap" year while choosing their career path. I'm not surprised to read your negative experience and wish it was just a rare exception.
Some schools actually require that you do some "volunteering" work before you graduate. Like mine, I also had to teach English and Math, although I was told that I was a good teacher, but I saw a couple of issues like not having a regular teacher and continous program students basically never learn anything.
@@jasonmullinder It's true. Some countries will take just about anyone. Sometimes they don't even need a degree in English + teaching, which is extremely important, because knowing the language doesn't qualify you to teach it!
When i was in secondary school, we had big projects to complete in order to graduate which could be just about anything (learning to quilt, researching a subject that's interesting to you, etc.). One girl who was notorious for being lazy in academics went on missions trip. A lot of people saw right through it immediately that she got her church to pay for her "project" while doing next to no work. She hung out with kids for about a week and acted like she lived in complete poverty. Her living quarters werent great but they we probably still better than the kids' she'd "helped". Her presentation was mainly about her personal experience rather than what she had learned about those kids and their culture. My peer feedback was negative since her presentation p, but my friend tore her to absolute shreds and I had mad respect for her for calling out that farce.
I remember hearing about a man who came to a Goodwill with his kids and their only clothes, which smelled of smoke from a housefire,, he asked if they could donate any clothes since they lost everything and the manager said no, but she was known to go through and take her pick of clothes when new ones came through. And don't get me started on all of the Second Harvest Food bank employees who stock their own pantry before their shelves.
YES! THIS!!! I saw much of the same treatment of people happen when i volunteered over 500 hours at the local Salvation Army thrift store near the town i grew up in. The family running it, literally stole everything donated worth anything. And i mean everything! So much so that the store had to close completely because they couldn't even afford the building's rent. And they would treat the poorest people coming in and the people struggling the most like complete trash.The very people they claimed to be there to serve. The reason for the entire organization is to help the needy. And yet, I saw mothers run out crying with their kids because of the way they were spoken down to, in front of an entire store of people mind you. Disabled and homeless people so frazzled and embarrassed that they just froze. Im telling ya, it did something in me to see people use charity and good will as a guise to be so damn greedy and selfish and grotesque. Something about it ignites a deep rage in me. Its SO wrong on SO many levels. And yet, even when its spoken out against...nothing happens. I tried. I tried hard as hell to let people and higher ups in the S.A chain of command know what that captain (the dad) and co captain (his wife) and their older teenage kids (fellow volunteers and employees at an outrageous hourly rate) AND their long time family friends (the managers who also were paid extremely high hourly wages. And im talking WAYYY higher wages then would ever have been approved by any other captains) were doing there, and how they were treating innocent people in need in the store. and literally NOTHING happened. I was assured it would be once though. By some lady, i wish i had gotten her name. She was astounded and grossed out as i was telling her this stuff.. Yet nothing. So, as far as im concerned, the Salvation Army is as bad as Second Harvest Food Bank and Goodwill, and all these voluntourist organizations. Smdh. Really makes you wonder how in a world full of lying crooked thieves and greedy jerks manipulating charity and peoples kindness and generosity, how any of the TRULY good charity's survive.
I used to work at one of the largest homeless shelters in NYC. I got to see so much of the money meant for the shelter pocketed or spent on worthless stuff like buying 400$ chairs for the main offices. It's a good system in theory, but horribly corrupt because nobody dares to try and expose the corruption because if you do you're branded as not caring about improvised people and face a crazy moral backlash. Everything is about appearances.
I've been saying this for decades but would get atracked with the same rebuttal: oh they are doing good work for charity. How can you be against that?'
I wanna commend her for caring so much to share this story. For doing research and sharing her findings as well. She is so well-spoken and I wish more would be done about this than just shedding a bit of light on it. I’m sure she feels very compelled to do something but feels very limited in her capacity to change things
I went to Uganda for 2 months between my junior and senior years of college and although I had a really really great experience, I'm a little bit embarassed looking back about how I spoke about it and how underqualified I was to be doing the work.
I always suspected that volunteering was for white people to feel good about themselves, under the delusions of making a change. Funny how they/you wouldn't interact with the same people back home.
While this is the reality for a lot over volunteering.. I started to volunteer when I was 16 at an organization, where we prepared the meals together and went out to give them homeless people and chat while having some tea together just to make their day a bit better(this in Russia). During winter we would look for homeless people sleeping outside and let them know and lead them to locations of warm places where they can rest. The food was always prepared by one handicapped lady who made it her goal to provide homeless people with good nutritious food. We organized trips with the homeless folks that have become friends to the volunteers, and other volunteers helped to retrieve bodies of those who died in the streets back to forgotten families. Another friend of mine from there spent many years by now helping Romani kids who grew up in Russia and usually beg for money in the train stations, teaching them math and Russian and getting them back on track to study. Others help in the mental hospital for the elderly because those are left abandoned in Russia. There are still some good organizations out there. Just make sure you talk to people you are helping and really get to know them. You can meet hear many impactful stories this way and do a little good
yes, there is definitely normal orphanages in Russia and Ukraine run by people who are just there to help the children who are homeless or abandoned.. but then also we had a rich relative whose parents had an orphanage business and they would profit from the donations sent to their orphanage form Germany to Russia..
@CatRat the white savour complex stem from colonial times during the height of the European empires namely British empire. After many countries had gotten their independence it transformed into “charity work”. People are not unaware of the issue, it’s a matter of balancing the scales. Are we collectively comfortable moving into a world where racial superiority does not exist or dampened. Collaboration doesn’t consist of one group dictating to others but coming to the table as equals to make the world a better place? Or do we need the ego boost of impoverished countries to maintain status quo and for some people to feel more important than they are?
Oh my gosh, I had almost the EXACT same experience doing work in Peru, similar to the point where it was nerve-wracking hearing this. We "worked" hard for an entire day trying to build a kitchen for a school, and what we had done was such a shoddy job the workers we didn't know about completely re-did everything when they thought we had already left. Major welcoming ceremonies showing appreciation to the point where the school we were working in was allowed out for the day. I will NEVER advocate or recommend doing something like this. Tourism in and of itself is almost better because you give people jobs to take care of you (generally paying much more than local jobs, for relatively little work on their part.) Honestly, you also tend to enjoy it a lot more as you learn about their history, culture (admittedly exaggerated at times for foreigners,) and see other ways of life.
Tourism IS better because it’s an industry that employs local people. Charity is just a temporary bandaid. Also why would any community need a bunch of teenagers to build anything? Since when do kids have construction skills that locals don’t have? I’ve never quite understood that.
I went on a trip like this to build a house for an orphanage with the amount of money we spent local workers could have been hired to do the job 10x better than a bunch of teenagers messing around
As someone who has grown up in Africa (South Africa). This is something that's really close to me. It is sooo dangerous because not only it more often worsens situations than at least be neutral.... it also perpetuates the narrative of African countries as inferior/exotic and needing of teaching. I mean how bad can a country be that they need someone completely inexperienced to fly in from extremely far away to do something they have no knowledge about (eg. teaching about farming, construction...)
You mean like volunteer to drill a well for water? That happens quite a lot. Sure seems better than having no water. As for Africa appearing inferior to the rest of the world …… sorry but that ship has sailed.
@@OM-sb2bd I don't understand your reply. Are you agreeing with the her that volunteering to drill for water in SA sounds demeaning or are you saying you really believe if this "volunteers" didn't come drill for water, the whole village or town or whatever would die from drought or something. Because they were obviously all surviving before that and human beings become creative where there is a necessity. Besides what are the chances that African countries still need people to drill wells for them?
@@japanpanda2179 who would you be paying exactly?? Having money to provide for your own amenities anywhere is good. Charity is amazing but handing money to a "village leader" or some such doesn't sound smart. They might misunderstand and feel insulted, or they might just pocket it and that's your money gone especially if they didn't request for any aid. I'm not against volunteerism especially when it's just trying to make people's lives better even in a small and obvious way but with that particular trend, I'm against the idea of pretending if you didn't do it, the people would perish from thirst. They were obviously drinking something to survive long enough to meet said volunteers. And when people need something strongly enough, they hardly sit around idly, waiting for someone else to provide it. If you want to volunteer in that way, please don't let me stop you. It can have positive effects and create lasting impact. But if you just want to visit and experience 'Africa' then do so openly, don't look down on the people and if there is a need you see and think you can help meet then by all means, please do so.
It is almost always more effective to do something in your own home country-even better your own joke community. If you are wealthy and you think no one you know needs help, rethink your definition of help. If you can talk to your parents’ wealthy friends and help them reallocate their donations from extractive organizations to ones that actually do the work-You’ve made a big change. If you advocate for policies to find title I schools in your state, you’ve made a huge change. It doesn’t look cool or exotic, and that the point. It’s not about you.
The problem is a lot of these ppl with money don’t want to give “hand out” when in reality it’s proven that financial support is the most effective way to help someone. They are twisted and greedy.
@@rosebud0391 I don’t think that’s true at all. What they want is for their kids to roll up their sleeves and become directly involved with helping people in need, rather than tossing cash at them from their castle.
@@rosebud0391 many just don't like the poors near them, but are ok with developping countries poverty for various reasons. It's very annoying. If you can't even help your neighbour maybe ask yourself what are your motives.
@@tomcat8662 that's totally stupid. So tell your kids to go volunteer at a local charity. Or to do groceries for the elderly next door. If you want them to work on particular fields/project it's called an internship and you can find them everywhere🤷♀️
This is the exact same reason why short-term missions trips have always sat wrong with me, as a Christian. It's one thing to totally uproot your own life to actually *live* amongst a certain people group and to learn their language and adapt to their culture and to teach them actual life skills that can help them thrive on their own. It's a very different thing to just show up for two weeks, build some shoddy library, and spend the rest of your time sightseeing or on a safari. That feels extremely self-serving to me and I really cannot stomach the idea of that. If you want to see a certain part of the world, just take a trip there. Don't combine it with a church event to make yourself feel good even though you're really not doing much to benefit the people you're supposedly going there to serve.
As a Latin Amaerican, it always baffled me to see rich kids volunteering in places like Thailand or Malaysia when there are lots of impoverished communities so close to home. Of course it all reeked of a chance to elevate their own ego while traveling cheaply
It baffles me that then Latin Americans move to the USA and become rich, they're not part of the ones volunteering. Why don't they foster or adopt children? Just wondering.....
Nail on the head. It's only ever been about ego cause helping out in your own local community doesn't garner as much attention/praise or benefit you like getting a cheap vacay
Do you make a habit of taking anonymous statements at face value with no verification or credibility? How can you call that truth? the ignorance of you people is astounding. zero critical analysis of her claims. Why do this anonymously? Why not name the specific organization when her claims are so scathing? Why not go to authorities, or at the very least, provide some evidence of a specific organizations crimes so others can avoid it? She has no credibility. That being said; I'm sure a lot of what she says DOES happen. But that doesn't mean everything she said was true. Her being anonymous and refusing to name names destroys her credibility. The international volunteering organization/grift isn't going to send international volunteer assassins' after her. think critically.
Should definitely have a pt 2 on "mission" work. I grew up surrounded by churches (usually megachurches or bigger non-denominational ones) that would fly whole groups of white kids out to South America and Africa to do volunteer and mission work at a similar price point and I'm sure the exact same thing happens. I'm very thankful my church focused on our own community and the furthest out we ever went was to Alabama (literally a state over) and you can still find the community garden we planted and the habitat for humanity house WE built ALONGSIDE HH's supervisors over there. We helped out a summer school too but our job was only to help when children asked and to have fun with them, we weren't asked to evangelize or solve their problems because we too were kids.
Totally. Plus there's the extortion aspect: "we can feed and clothe you, but you must first accept Jesus as your lord and savior." It's manipulative and gross.
@@marcaronincheese That's OK, it was only a technicality. It was already evident through True spiritual discernment that you're in a Works Based church. God had you expose the denomination so that you could be corrected/rebuked from your Sin and error of Lukewarmness. You know what He said He does to the Lukewarm right? Doing "good deeds" in your home country that is already more than evangelized is Not "missions". It is just good Samaritan works. Missions is to tell people the Gospel, which only includes the Bad News first. And has Nothing in it about any deed of a person to be Justified. Episcopalian religion is only a week off shoot of roman catholicism, which is damnable herecy itself. Infant Baptism, Sacraments, and many other man-made religious Works, are not required for Salvation/Justification as purported by roman catholic and episcopal statements and practices. It's MoRe than likely you still need to be Saved/Justified if you align yourself with episcopal religion and will not rebuke roman catholics to defect as well and Repent.
When I was a teenager, I was *OBSESSED* with the idea of such “volunteering”. Was saving a bunch of groups on our local social media, planning out the trips in my head. It was the primary goal of my life at some point. Thanks to videos like this one, the truth about voluntourism being this massive and destructive scam got revealed to me. Also, working through some personal issues and self-esteem things really helped out as well. As it turns out, apparently you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to go to Africa to pretend to build something to prove yourself😅 (not even mentioning how plenty of local shelters, orphanages, hospices and etc need your help here, locally, not in some distant “paradise”) Upd.: some people here thinking that I still want this or that I don’t know how to help out at local places, huh…
Get a useful skill that takes years of hard work to acquire. Then volunteer. Millions around the world do. I personally know someone who is alive today because of a skilled unpaid volunteer, and you probably do too
I think it can still be done, but you have to do the research. I went to Bolivia, and there you had to stay at least 3 months in order to be eligible. On top of that, you had to spend one month learning about the language and the culture. There was a lot of oversight, and we didn't pay thousands, we merely donated and paid for our trip and our stay. When working with children, the children weren't orphans. It was basically an after school program, where we would help younger kids who fell behind on their homework with that, so the emotional bond wasn't thát strong. Their parents were still in the picture. The classes were just too big for the staff to be able to pay attention to kids who had trouble. So yeah, we were qualified enough to help kids with math and English, and do chores around the house (clean, help kids brush their teeth etc). Yeah sure, we weren't changing the world, but you can't really do that as a young adult with barely any experience. But we did often buy supplies for the program ourselves. Like, we'd notice that they didn't have any colored pencils, so we just went out and bought some from a local market place. Stuff like that. A friend of mine is a teacher at a high school. Every year, he goes to Romania to build schools for kids there. However, the difference is that one, HE knows everyone in Romania, the connection is direct and he manages the money. And also, the kids are a combination where at least half of the group is actually in trade school for contruction, guided by a teacher, so they know what they're doing.
“The kingdom of heaven is within”. I learned the same. We have to see the beauty of what’s available locally = the nature, the trees, the birds. And by the way, some kid near me may need the same kind of help as a kid far, far away.
I’ve been at the orphanage for 4 years, everything she’s saying is completely true, when I was at the orphanage we would get some toys and some candies for Christmas and that was all. We had many volunteers coming to us to take pictures of us I didn’t understood, ever, why would they take pictures of us, volunteers would bring BIG sacks of many toys and clothes, most of these weren’t given to us. I don’t know about the sexual abuse but we were definitely physically, verbally and mentally abused so much for barely any reason at all, like when we would be watching tv and if someone flinched or made any noise one of the educators would hit us with the stick on our backs. I’m glad this woman spoke up about this, because many people believe that kids are the orphanage are doing good which is a big f*cking lie.
Oh my GOD..! This lady is speaking plain facts!! I am from and currently located in Africa - the Horn of Africa to be exact - and yes, I have witnessed some similar conditions concerning the horrible conditions that those poor kids are exposed to day in and day out! These kids are mostly collected from the countryside where there is a lack of hospitals equipped to receive maternity cases, and where also extreme poverty prevails to the point that parents could literally sell some of their kids to rescue the rest from starvation! I later learned that the real reason behind these so-called Orphanages targeting kids with no birth certificates is to be able to sell them to human and sex traffickers without solid proof that these poor souls had ever existed!!
Hey do you know the names of these orphanages, or where exactly they are? Or do you know an organisation who I could contact to get more informations? I wanna do some research about it
I don't need a video to know that spending $2k to send an unskilled kid to "volunteer" is extremely narcissistic and inefficient compared to even just donating $100. Kids who think their labor is more useful than the money they spent going there are delusional. Even if they were extremely good at their job, it would be cheaper to just donate and have a local do the job
If you donate 100 dollar’s how much do you think ends up at the orphanage. I think these kids have the right intentions there emotions and conciseness is just being exploited.
While also stimulating the economy with those cash donations. A bit of research on reputable charities with decent reach and you can make sure you're actually helping
@@PhoxxWon nothing of the money is going to the cause. it`s the same in church. There is a reason the pastor lives in a big house. When the working man is broke he go to the preacher and ask for advice. The preacher tell the working man to pray to God for help. When the Church is broke, they first go to the working man and ask him for money. If the working man is broke they go to the government. If the government is broke. They go to the Mafia
That is true assuming the cost is not a factor but I knew kids from working class backgrounds who saved their own money from summer jobs and other minimum wage endeavours to do this type of thing and while it would be more efficient to use that money to pay local workmen, if the money was to be allocated and spent properly, your labour is costing them nothing and I’d in addition to the money, not subtracted from it (unless guys are ripping out and replacing your work in the middle of the night.) Sadly this often isn’t the case. I don’t want to discourage anyone from doing this sort of thing. It is a humbling and noble thing to do that can be a great experience but I urge anyone considering it to do a LOT of research and do so only through somewhere reputable. Packaged deals that take you from the US and other westernised countries with a high cost of living that organise all this all for you will 90% of the time be extremely inefficient use of your money, if any of it goes to where you think it is going. Really use you head and think. If you have to pay to volunteer, then your labour isn’t worth much. If the money is for “flights, food and accommodation” Then someone is booking it, cooking it or organising it on your behalf and who’s paying them I wonder? Because this is SO broad I don’t have any specific advice except be careful and perhaps try to connect some bi-lingual expats who have lived in that specific region for 5+ years, and not just one person but multiple. Embassies are your friend as are some travel writers and the authors of reputable and highly specialised “guide books” at which point they’re not really guide books any more. Before you leave your country, local university and colleges may have useful information, people and resources but steer fairly well clear of any “programs” you’re being offered. Spend some time learning fundamentals of the skills you expect be using, because as soon as you start to think, hey I’m learning this skill you will cross the threshold into knowing that you know NOTHING about it and once you’re beyond that point you will be much better equipped to identify when you or others are being conned. Steer somewhat clear of things being advertised where tourists gather. Seek knowledge from places that local people frequent.
Your on point ! I worked in Africa ,Nigeria,Congo,and Mozambique. I agree with your testimony. I have seen the game and how it’s played . Corruption is rampant. We don’t really effect change that lasts and definitely can’t understand the social customs ,beliefs ,and morals . Our worlds are very different. I would advise against doing this type of travel to “help” .
@@1rstTry you might not like the answer. It’s the same place many have asked for hundreds of years. It has to start within the government of that nation to assist. Then there has to be support from the population. Expect things could get prohibitively expensive and political. Pray there are no civil disputes over ,tribal groups,religion, race , politics. Example pirates if on the coastal states . Bokuharam , Islamic terrorist organizations,and guerrillas. Expect set backs but be ready to bug out !Keep your exit plan ready for all involved. Kidd napping for ransom should be a great concern . In Africa , pandemics are a constant treat . I found myself in a very dangerous position in Nigeria,during The Ebola outbreak .Yellow fever , is shaken off like a flu for the locals,but for westerners it’s still extremely dangerous even with the vaccines. You will have Need of interpreters , security personnel and work with immigration officials for work visas . If you can afford all this then I would advise to invest that in your own country where the poor , would benefit greatly and Your safety and health will be assured.
@@1rstTry research and monitor where your funds go. Also work with people who are hands on . You can tell from one interaction if someone is really good and about their organization or if its just an excuse to make money
@@floridahuntsman7915 thank you and well said. I have never understood the need to go to the other side of the globe when there are plenty of people in need right where you are.
I can confirm this. I was not rich but i had an opportunity to go to Peru to build “showers” for indigenous folks near Machu Picchu through a program called Summer Search. The program paid me to go since I was low income. I am not sure what was the program that worked with summer search, but we didn’t even build showers the local town people did. It was basically a vacation.
¿Quieres ver el video en español? Haz clic en el botón de configuración para cambiar la pista de audio.
Want to watch this in Spanish? Head over to the settings button to change the audio track.
I think you guys should’ve did a better job at covering her identity. Voice modifier perhaps, could’ve put her in a dark room. I honestly just hope that the person is ok and is safe.
This is useless. Who is she? Where was this? No real info is given, just putting some random person in a mask is not hard-hitting or useful. I don't doubt this happens, but the way this is done is overly dramatic and sensationalist with no real evidence presented.
Creo que está mal traducido VOLUNTURISMO
I want to watch in English but this is just in Spanish and it doesn't allow me to change it
@@ILSJALesta bien traducido, es una fusión de las palabras Voluntario y Turismo: Volun-turismo
"What you're being sold is an opportunity to help a community. What you're really buying is an opportunity to help yourself." Well said.
This is exactly it
I remember some girl went to Africa and this girl had never slept in a room with bugs, but she went all just for the resume not one crap giving about the cause or kids. Same for the organizations who know kids here want this for a step up and not the cause.
Why should those two be mutually exclusive? Almost any/every social good is supposed to benefit both sides of that equation.
Spoken like someone who’s never done mission work
@@wargriffin5 they weren't helping anyone, didn't you watch it, the builders undone their work and started again because it was so bad and not a cent of their costs went to the orphanage.
@@volty3454 That's not what the OP or my comment were about.
I am from Kibera - Kenya, the largest slum in sub-saharan Africa. I see this sort of experience every other day. I can boldly confirm that whatever she is saying is absolutely true. So many rich 'volunteers' show up here to feel good about themselves yet the 'orphaned children' never get assistance. How can I be of help to stop this?
Since you asked, and this is truly just my opinion. First you need to identify the orphanages operating with genuine interest to help the orphans or kids they're hosting. Populate a list on a blog that says, TOP 5 VERIFIED ORPHANAGES IN KIBERIA AND WHICH TO AVOID, then publish it anonymously to protect yourself as you don't know the extent of corruption and how it can hurt you.
If there is no list of verified institutions, and the verification process doesn't exist, then create it. Also add voluntourism and other trendy hashtags to get traction to the article.
I know I'm making it sound simple, and the world can seem like a very dark place, but good people still do exist, they need other good people to look out for them so be that good person.
@@fitnessaddict154 That’s a very nice plan you laid out, Bless You.
Would you consider becoming the director of an orphanage with the children's lives and well being in your mind? That would help a lot
@@fitnessaddict154 Fair enough. Thanks for the advice.
@@Gloomgrave Most definitely I would. However, I don't have the financial resources to sustain an orphanage.
Also, "volunteering" at orphanages is especially harmful because it reinforces to the children that adults will only always come and 'love' them for a few days, take photos with them and then leave. No adult will ever stay or care about them beyond those few days. The kids will stay there until they age out and instead of being given proper schooling and helpful education on how to thrive as an adult, they spent their whole childhoods being ornaments for people who are already rich. Truly sad.
Exactly, most of these organizations are self serving. However, the governments of these countries are in part responsible. If proper governance existed people wouldn’t be incline to trade their dignity for a few tokens and photo ops mainly because there would be checks and balances at a State/municipal/ regional level. The issue is most third world countries have little rule of law, and Westerners are often treated as untouchable given the strength of their countries and the geopolitical landscape that we live in. Which is the rise of countries like China and South Korea is in part so compelling and should be studied by all developing countries. China has banned a lot of these organizations for 1 - its humiliating and they have pride and 2 - they have gotten more economically powerful over the years and can tend to their own needs. It’s sad state of affairs but It’s geopolitical issue.
Many people don’t want to admit it but in a twisted way, wealthy countries depend on the underdevelopment to maintain the status quo. We have seen the drastic decline of quality of life of the West since a few Asian countries have risen economically and the competitive labour market it’s created.
Imagine a continent like Africa consisting of 50+ countries finally getting their ish together and taken the similar path that China, India, have taken, etc… these third world countries are needed to stay where they are for ego boost, cheap travel and an overall feeling of superiority. If things are going to change these third world countries would have to make it happen.
Sounds like these kids are bred for sick adults. I've actually heard about this years ago
Lol
@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ no
These kids don't need "proper schooling", they need safety, love, nurturing, and a sense of belonging... you know, family. Education can never replace that
At my university, there were flyers promoting this type of voluntourism to Latin America for winter and summer break. Pre-Med students were often interested in them as a way to boost their Med school applications,
myself included. The fees they charged for the trip were so exaggerated to me. Still, I actually paid around $800 just to reserve my spot for a trip to Nicaragua to help distribute medical supplies and help the locals with essential primary care. The e-mails with the coordinators started getting kind of suspicious for me because they next wanted $1000 for something else and another $800 for ‘paperwork.’ I ended up pulling out because the trip was becoming unaffordable to me and my family had warned me about volunteering scams in Latin America, where none of that money reached the actual people. I volunteered, instead, at my local hospital for 2 years and had a rewarding experience.
bruh, they scam you so hard, I'm from Nicaragua, with all that money you could have had a premium vacation and you still could have money left to help.
@@chamba-b7z True and I learned my lesson. At least it was my own money and not my family’s that was lost.
If any premeds are reading, get a 4 year nursing degree and work!
Good call, You don't pay for volunteer.
good pivot
Impressed with her level of honesty about what she saw but also her honest self reflection
She's wearing a mask ya numpty
@@buddyholly5445 Haha, that is true!
@@buddyholly5445 She's wearing a mask, but she's admitted all of this, and her own motivations, to herself. That's not something you can expect from most people.
Is that a Mask? I thought she was an android ? Amazing Android though !
@@buddyholly5445 why wouldn’t she wear a mask are you a clown
I did a voluntourism "internship" experience in undergrad, and my entire 25 page final paper was ripping voluntourism to shreds lmfaooo. I resonate with her message. it's so sad.
I would read your 25 page paper. White savior complex never fails to surprise me, this all makes sense.
would it be possible at all for us to read your essay? im so interested
I would also love to read your essay
@@jaquelintafolla6152 what is it called when they’re not white lol you do realize all humans suffer from trying to look good in front of others (virtue signaling). Look at the non white people that donated to blm inc just to get ripped off like everyone else (just one example). People will always scam people that virtue signal which is why it should be avoided. Just help in the moment or if you want to build a library in Africa at least go to school and learn construction 😂
@@jaquelintafolla6152 Huh, so immediately it's about race? Not surprised someone said this. It could never be an earnest endeavor ( obviously we unfortunately see it's not but at the time they didnt know) for People to try and do some good in the world, right? Pathetic take on your part.
as a Nigerian teen, I get pissed off when I hear people talking about "volunteering in Africa" this is just one of them, coupled with the generalization of the continent and its inhabitants. they're basically just selling privileged kids a sense of heroism and a chance to look good on their college application. I just finished high school and I'm working on a bunch of things if it all goes well I have a charity plan that can actually change people's lives, it's a long-term thing. I don't do impulse charity it is a f up the world and people have been suffering, feeding a bunch of people might feel rewarding instantly but where is the next meal coming from? teaching people to fish and creating a conducive environment for them to do so is the ONLY way to bring change
Yeah, interesting that your not "pissed off" with the people stealing the aid money every year! those kids and families "volunteering in Africa" are delusional but their heart is good, the African elites are greedy, dishonest and corrupt and have no heart.
A lot of them might still go and participate to volunteer in these places anyway because of college applications/resumes and personal gain.
Hell yea bRother! Those people are just super lazy and unmotivated, all they need is for you to teach them how to work!
@@HugeStirz I never said I was pissed off with the people who genuinely wanted to help. I'm pissed off with the whole situation and the elite too
Exactly my angle here in Sudan
there's so much evil happening around us that we don't have any idea, it's sickening :(
Sometimes I feel as if evil is winning but not fully
@@mikhailabunidal9146it just seems that way because all that gets reported is the bad because evil sells. Evil gets more hits when used for click bait vs an honest post. It's just human nature.
I hope your statement means you are awake.
@@mikhailabunidal9146 GOD ALWAYS WINS. As evil as people are he will always win
Including the evil in your own life.
I am from Nepal. When I was younger my school also had many western volunteers come to my school and teach for a month to 3 months. Most of my interactions with them were positive, learned different things from each person. It was refreshing to learn from someone else besides my regular teachers. My school’s leadership was very caring of the kids. Therefore, just do your research before you volunteer somewhere as not all schools/orphanages are run by legit good people. Don’t let bad apples dissuade you from doing good for the less fortunate. So many people need help in the world. ❤
I agree with you - don’t let the bad apples keep you from helping where it is truly needed
I'm from Nepal too and my school was funded by japanese people so japanese volunteers would often come to our school. And they were very helpful ❤❤❤️
thank you for this comment! the perspective of someone on the other side of these volunteer trips is so valuable
I went on a “voluntourism” trip to Nepal in 2018 for 3 weeks once I got out of high school. We were volunteering at a very impoverished school outside Kathmandu where we were primarily working on painting all the walls of the classrooms. It wasn’t super challenging work, but I got the feeling from the kids and the teachers that our presence was not only helping the building of the school, but also a welcomed enrichment for the kids. We played with them on our breaks, and everyone seemed to have a fantastic time. The children were poor, but us volunteers weren’t really given the opportunity to see all of that, and I think that’s okay. You can’t fix every problem in every person’s life, and one important thing I learned is that being “poor” doesn’t necessarily mean that they need to be saved. That’s a very privileged and misguided perspective. All of the volunteers were around 16-18, and we had a great time. We went on a safari and other excursions on weekends, and went downtown to shop and get food after work. It was a very privileged experience and we definitely treated it as a somewhat unsupervised vacation at times, but what teenager wouldn’t? Perhaps we didn’t do as much help as we thought we did, but we did help others and I really did get the impression that the organization had a legitimately welcomed presence at the school over the years. It cost 3,000 usd, which isn’t a whole lot considering flight tickets, and excursions, chaperone staff, and room and board (kinda run-down hotel, modest meals) for 3 weeks. Perhaps more money was pocketed than there should have been, but I don’t have any evidence for that. I’m sure the issues raised in this video are a thing, but I think the message that the whole industry is exploitative and corrupt and preying on ethnocentric white saviors is not indicative of the whole industry. I get that a bunch of rich white kids coming to a country to volunteer is a bit cringey, but that doesn't mean it's fundamentally wrong. That aside, Nepal is a beautiful country and I'd love to visit it again sometime. Seeing all the lights in the valley around Kathmandu at night is wonderful.
Yes. Teaching though is one thing. If there's one thing we do a lot of in the west, it's going to school. But building construction? Almost none of us know the first thing about that.
I did this in Morocco a decade ago and the memory that haunts me is an afternoon attempting to teach English to victims of rape and domestic abuse. I was barely out of high school and didn't have the first clue what I was doing. Those ladies deserved better.
Which place of Morocco?
such a horrible human being
@@jobukijoe7270 ?
thank god the situation is improving these days
@@jobukijoe7270yes you are. Like, an anime pfp? Check out the rope section in Home Depot.
Two other important things: The rich children who get these experiences are also then further rewarded with prestigious scholarships etc for "saving a village before age 18". Also, the greenwashing of the companies who pay for these. I had a trip like this sponsored by TD Bank (I think) in University. It was like $2k per person they sponsored for 13 people to go to Mexico. We built like 1/2 of a water filtration system lol. They should have just sent them the cash directly.
@A1 that's not really the point of this. the money would be much better spent funding local volunteers and business owners to build water filtration systems, rather than on plane tickets for some random spoiled kids.
@A1 🙏 God bless you
On the flip side, corrupt govt require payments before you can help the locals; pay for play, so to speak, so that money may still not fully go to the needy.
Bruh believe me you don't wanna send moneys like just.. all moneys. you bought something first! like clothes all size from babies to adults, all genders or foods & drinks(?) with long-lasting expire, Then send them all Carefully to the funds/agency/management(?) that are Very official & Trustworthy.
This is very egotistical thing.
I am a doctor (general practitioner) from Indonesia, and I am so very sad to hear that such thing seems to happen a lot in different parts of the world. I don’t know if anything similar happens here as well, but let me share a story where I volunteered to a very remote area in Indonesia with a medical organization initiated by an Indonesian surgeon. It was short yet very rewarding as we managed to provide care for 900 ish persons by the course of only 4 days in a small island (Indonesia is an archipelagic country). It was obviously tiring, but at the end of the trip we didn’t even think about that. Most volunteers were doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. I didn’t pay a single penny as it wasn’t voluntourism. Bottom line, not every volunteering opportunity is a voluntourism. Please don’t be discouraged to do volunteer work, do your research and I’m sure you’re going to find an honest volunteering project. My heart breaks for the children involved in such practices like the one in the video. I hope those practices get shut down somehow.
I think the biggest thing that has stuck out about these "altruistic" trips is that you have to pay exorbant amounts to go. If someone offered a worthwhile service, like you and the other medical professionals did, they hopefully wouldn't expect forced donations to just be there and hopefully at least your meals would be covered, maybe even travel expenses. It's always been so weird to me how it's "pay to play". Churches are often willing to cover the costs but you literally have to apply for it. It all feels yucky.
Sounds like you were actually qualified, though. That's the difference.
The difference is that you have actual skills that the locals don't have. Sending teens to build a library makes no sense. They have no carpentry skills. If you are an actual carpenter, yeah going over to give your labor can be super helpful. But even then, locals CAN and SHOULD be the ones to do those jobs. They can do it just as well.
It's things like medical care that requires expert skill that the locals can't always do or provide. That is where you can really make a difference.
No one asked.
Thanks for this.
I'm promoting a new UK Registered Charity named Tardigrade International Organization (Tardio).
Their mission is to help underpriviledged children gain basic education in conducive environments.
They provide desks, books, school uniforms and other things.
The problem is that getting donors has been almost impossible because of fears of fraud and the concerns raised in this video.
This happens in the states as well. I used to skip Sunday School and hide in the store room because the vibes from the people at the Salvation Army church were weird and creepy. Many times, I would see the pastor, his family, the church clerk and even the lady who played the piano come and raid the donations.
My family was poor af. We would get the donation boxes and it would be canned cheese, canned beef, rice bags etc. All the good tasting and nutritious food went to the cupboards of the people in charge of getting it to the poor.
We would get poorly fitting, out of style clothes and shoes while their kids would have Christmas every week. They took ALL the toys that were donated. All of them. We never got a single one. They would talk while I hid, saying things like 'they don't deserve that - go ahead and take that' and 'Just take everything you want - they don't need that'. I will never donate to an organization. Not. Once. Ever. Giving directly to the poor may not go on your tax returns but it sure as hell does more good.
Throughout my childhood growing up in South Africa, I was always told not to help poor people directly, because it's potentially dangerous and only an organisation knows what help is best. But then I realised that I was hearing that from the teachers and "volunteers" who collected all of our donations.
I don't live in South Africa any more, but there is a homelessness problem in my city. I always help directly by buying food, hygiene products, etc. for people who look like they need it. I always ask first, because some people don't want to take charity. But it feels better to actually help someone than to to pretend you've done a good thing by contributing to a large organisation with a hidden system that funnels money away from the people who need it.
ohh my god, thank you for sharing. Do you mind if I ask which state or city or community this happened to you?
I had friends who went to a pretty ritzy private liberal arts college, but it was located in a midsize Rust Belt city where the locals had a lot of economic disenfranchisement. Sometimes students would volunteer for Habitat for Humanity to pad their resume or for personal aggrandizement, and they would also have their work torn down and replaced with actual construction when they weren't looking.
@@KatherineFrangos I'd rather not give them the opportunity to hide as it's more likely that the poor organization is still there than it is that a change to their greed has occurred or will occur.
Exactly. This is why I vouch only for doing good personally and not within the confines of any organization no matter what they say
I feel bad for this girl. She tried so hard to fix the world and came to such a stark realization about the reality of the world.
Focus on the victims
@zahaco what is her name/what other videos can I watch of her on this topic?
Wtf
She quite clearly said she did it to help herself...to have something that "looked good" on her resume. What eaxct hell did she go through??
Capitalism & human greed is root part of this problem 🙄
Have nothing but respect to this young woman who is able to articulate the problem of voluntourism. She is person who truly cares for people.
Never saw a worse prepared and researched 'documentary'! No background facts, no statistics, no interviewing of different sides, not even pictures or videos, just One girl with a weird mask with One example (so absolutely Not representative) which is not even clear what is true and what invented.. 🤦🤦where are the research results, which organisation are we talking about, what do the orphanage organisers say, how many of them exploit the children? Because it's also 100% true that there are quite a few of them who are also doing honest work and use the money respectively. I can also dress someone up who wants to stay anonymous, put him on a chair and tell a story that is supposed to be true, it's just that I'm NOT a journalist.. this is how it looks when a team wanted to save as much work, time and money as possible for traveling, requesting interviews, background researches etc.. clickbait and dreadful result!
its a waste of time. she is telling us nothing new. giving us names
@@justsaying9006 Disregarding the allegations of abuse (which I really don't doubt are true in many places), the ethics of voluntourism are still questionable.
You're paying thousands of dollars to go abroad. A fraction of that money actually goes to the community. Most of it is going to the organizers and the travel logistics instead. You're also likely not qualified skill-wise to carry out the needed tasks. It's much more effective to send either money, critical supplies, or specialists. That way you're investing in local skilled labor and the local economy.
It's so common to see people posing on instagram with their living breathing participation trophies. Look, they may mean well, but ultimately it's more about feeling good for doing something than it is actually effectively doing good
@justsaying, I don’t think that’s as a documentary, only a point of view
I fully agree. Very strange set up, felt disconnected from the subject matter. I feel I was clickbaited into thinking this would be a full Vice documentary and I'm pretty disappointed.@@justsaying9006
This is so true. I did volunturism once, it was one of the most frustrating experiences ever. Most "volunteers" were just there to get drunk and destroy everything around.
So liberals
u should watch the green inferno. decent movie if u keep that in mind, if u dont, it's just typical eli roth torture porn. @mize7684
is there any good documentary's/articles/content u can recommend to bring more awareness to this situiation??
I saw a few like that here and there in my voluntourism projects, but the majority I met were well-intentioned.
That all happens here, too. I had the misfortune of ending up in a homeless shelter. I was allowed to "stay in" for a few days after a surgery. It was Thanksgiving time. A sweet family with small children unloaded and brought in a half of a friggin horse trailer of large turkeys. I watched all of the staff members put several in each of their cars. I saw their friends pull up and have turkeys loaded into their cars. They cooked 2 turkeys for us the next day. There were 150 residents there.
If no one calls them out, they'll continue to take unchecked.
Can you imagine being one of those "people"? What an unfulfilling life they must lead, just existing with themselves as top priority. That is not living it's just surviving with extra steps.
@@sp33dracerx2 It's about more than that. You have to get to someone who cares like a local news station. If you complain to people that are already aware you'll likely be told to keep your mouth shut. If they feel threatened, they might even go so far and put forth some made-up allegations against you.
It's especially hard for OP if he was there after an operation. Seriously, what was he gonna do? Risk getting thrown out when he complains to a boss that's likely already aware?
Call them out. Not all are like that. I have worked and volunteered at many very good ones. I would have called them out. Or if not safe at least brought it up to or out to someone who did! ✌
And you said nothing about it?
A friend of mine was volunteering somewhere in Africa. He discovered the director had embezzled 5 million dollars. My friend carefully collected proof and then presented it to the headquarters in NYC. My friend was threated that he will be accused of it all if he came forward. He was then fired and the director got to keep his millions.
To this day I refuse to donate money to any NGO intending to help others.
yeah, wow, you know who was behind all that???!!!
@NUAGES ENCOEUR the tribe...
Why tf aren't you exposing their name to us ?
No offense but your friends is dumb for going to the company that the Director had embezzled from. Chances are more people where in on it and getting paid too off other peoples money and or work if they had Volunteer programs. If he was going to do that he should have done it anonymously
@@supersaiyanjay4504 yeah and bring it to the FBI instead or something, just someone a little more trustworthy.
I had a classmate who I noticed was learning Swahili on Duolingo and told us that he had also taken several courses at our university. I asked him if he was learning it because he was planning on going to Africa and he said yes. I asked him what he would do there and he said just visit and see things. Then someone else said she knows someone who volunteered there and it‘s traumatizing to see what kind of poverty those people are in and it changes you.
But I realized I have a lot of respect for someone who is willing to just say „I am interested to go and see the things and that‘s it“ without needing to pretend to save the world at the same time, even if it won‘t look as good on his resume.
not everyone is going to “pretend to save the world” though… Some literally just want to extend their service to others. It’s also respectable to give up your time and give up your paycheck to assist. Its not about “looking good” for everyone
Those people actually do more good than harm btw since they come as tourists to spend ....dollars that really go a long way in the economy some even see business opportunities....as they are not blinded by the illusion that they are coming to help
Doing that helps the economy. And some day when you actually are a grown up with an actual skill you could go back and do actual work that is actually needed
To be certain, "Africa" is a continent with more than 50 distinct countries. Many, if not all, of those countries have some aspect of tourism that is good for local economies. It would be silly to be surprised that someone would visit Europe purely for tourism, to "visit and see things." Yet it feels normal somehow that someone would be surprised that one would visit "Africa" purely for tourism. Part of the problem is that we are taught to think of "Africa" as a monolith, and that the only reasonable reason to go is to "save the world" or to "pretend to," apparently. To be certain, "Africa" is a continent with more than 50 distinct countries.
@@lailas.3205 its also the most diverse continent in the worls
I dated a girl who did this. She was self-satisfied and smug every time she showed photographs. Like she was saving the world by paying to take pictures of poor people
That's sad. I wanted to go and help build school in Nepal but when I saw the fees to go I thought it must be a scam as I imagined we will sleep on the floors and will be eating rice and seeds all day but it was around 3000 dollars for 2 weeks and I thought this is crazy and I can't afford that and the math just didn't make any sense.
The fact that those children are running towards you, a stranger, to sit on your lap, isn't anything positive. They sit on the next persons lap when you are gone. They have serious bonding issues. They are broken and you are part of breaking them because you're nice, but you leave, just like everyone else.
While it's nice to think these "volunteers" provide affection to those children in need, even momentarily, considering how she mentions that underage sex trafficking is involved in voluntourism, I think these adults speifically train those children to run toward them and sit on their lap. You might as well get your money's worth and take a wholesome selfie.
@@albertchen2020 That's what I thought too, the children are most likely told and maybe even intimidated by the adults to do this kind of thing.
No the kids are told to do that 😂
I didn't take her explanation of that to be positive - she was trying to explain why people continue to do voluntourism. It is manipulative on multiple levels but the "volunteers" are being manipulated into feeling emotionally satisfied when they see how "happy" the kids are to see them, almost like a circus act.
@@Eptiger Very true. Its disgusting. Everybodies being patronized, manipulated, and lied to. Its a well intentioned program thats been hijacked and turned into a racket.
She was about as honest a person as I have ever met. Bluntly said how at the time she was thinking about how it would look on her resume or college applications. While she struck me as someone who really did care about helping unfortunately many voluntourist probably only do it thinking about something else to put on their resume or to post on social media to make themselves look like they are actively making a difference when they are doing anything but.
she was involved for at least a decade is what she said. Pretty sure she must have kept going AFTER realizing that it was bad. Also the reason why she is anonymous
You are implying that they are doing the opposite. In what world does that make sense?
At least she’s agreeing to talk about this. There’s a lot of people who just sit and accept it but at least she’s attempting to break that system down
@@-baconfactory-1935 ik she's anonymous so not getting any attention, but these people just want to feel important.
@@lootjunior She is someone who now feels virtuous for speaking out the truth even though she's already sitting on the mountain she helped create and benefit from. It's easy for her to "expose" evil because she's already benefitted from everything it can offer her; she's no better than the establishment she's supposedly calling out.
It’s interesting…I went to South Africa and Namibia as a gift to myself for finishing grad school. I told someone who does voluntourism a lot. They almost tried to shame me for going to visit countries in Africa just for vacation and not “mission work”. They also asked why I didn’t have more pictures of the locals. I informed them that I didn’t want to take images without permission and also didn’t want to exploit and unintentionally created poverty p@rn.
It's better to do tourism and spend money on local tour guide and entrepreneurs
Take pictures of locals?! It's illegal to take pictures of people in South Africa (especially young children) without their parents consent! That other person's "reproach" reeks of a neo-colonizer mindset 🥴
Bizarre that anyone would shame you for this, especially in South Africa. Here in SA, tourism is one of our biggest industries next to Agriculture. Tourists visiting us is 100 times more beneficial to our economy than a bunch of spoiled rich kids pretending to be missionaries and building a few cheap "houses" or making some soup. Tourism creates jobs and an inflow of money. All these "missionaries" generally achieve is a boost to their own egos and some Instagram posts.
SA is full of American missionaries, ironically they love to settle in the leafy suburbs of cape town or durban living posh lives often better then the ones back home haha
Tourism can help support the local economy, although it still has many flaws. Voluntourism is almost always negative
I used to work at Habitat for Humanity and it was not uncommon for us to undo the work that volunteers had done and then redo it after they were gone, just like she describes. We also learned that after the cost of insurance, using volunteer labor to build houses (instead of paid contractors) doesn't actually reduce building costs; the cost of a volunteer-built home is about the same as a contractor-built home, but the quality is worse. The real value of having volunteers do the building is that they are a source of funding and free marketing.
I attended a build for like 4 hours and they had me putting shingles on the roof. We did such a bad job, it was insane. I'd hate to live in that house.
As a structural engineer who does residential design and inspection and sees how bad some contractor work is, I always wondered how random classmates that did Habitat for Humanity back in grade school could do better having no experience in construction.
I was about to bring this up. I had to do a lot of thing to earn a scholarship and compete against all these girls (similar to a pageant) and you were only allowed to miss one scheduled event. It was super awkward during the whole process and a lot of the aspects of the house did not seem to be done by volunteers as they were much neater. I also was told to take off tape and clean counters, it was an odd experience.
Yeah, it seemed like it wasn’t built well, as you said. The walls, flooring, doors, (especially windows) were odd to me.
Excellent interview. This woman is honest, passionate, blunt, well-spoken, intelligent and seems to be very self aware. Thank you for doing this series. In such a short clip she shares a lot of valuable information that most people would likely otherwise not be aware of. It’s incredibly important to research charities and where your money is going, don’t be discouraged to help provide assistance if you’re in the position to, just be informed!!
Hmm
Hopefully she won't become brainwashed by the Marxists posing as liberals in college academia like the volunteer inserting herself into a woman and her choice of gender.
Goes both ways. If one cannot admonish transgenderism then no one can encourage either.
If transgern
Agree
How do you suggest people do research, if charities are not being transparent with their information, what would be the things to look out for? Just asking because I like to do donations, but after seeing this. I feel very ignorant, the only way I choose where to donate is following my intuition, idk if that’s enough.
Volunteering at orphanage should be a long term commitment. Short trips shouldn't be allowed. This is sickening.
Yes I once stayed at a Christian hostel in Europe and all the staff were there longer term (at least a year) and they didn‘t make a lot of money but they made a little bit so they could do it as their job. I don‘t see why they wouldn‘t do the same thing at orphanages.
Long terms of service don't address the inherent flaws in volunteer organizations. I served in the Peace Corps. That organization requires 2.5 years of service from its volunteers. Although generous, that amount of time cannot prepare ill-equipped foreigners to skillfully address hyper-local problems.
That's not the most alarming part. The most alarming part is the sexual abuse of these children. I wouldn't want long-term abusers at these orphanages. Actually, the worst part is that many of these children are not true orphans and were probably kidnapped from their families.
I've had that sickening feeling of leaving children who were emotionally connected to me quite a few times. #nannylife
You missed the point. There are thousands of local people who would love to be able to work and take care of the children in the orphanages long term, but they can't because there's no funding. There are thousands of highly qualified people around the world too, but no one would pay them to mind these kids
My parents run an early childhood charity in Nepal aimed at improving rural village education in schools by not only running early childhood centres, but also training primary school teachers too. Initially, we used to have lots of volunteers, typically young kiwis/aussies/brits/americans on an overseas OE, but my parents quickly learned that you end up just babysitting them. They're young and enthusiastic and can play with the children, but they don't know how to do anything else.
Nowadays, we prefer volunteers experienced in education for devising teacher training methods, and experienced builders or tradesmen for putting the roof on earthbag classrooms. We do actually like young volunteers every now and again, they can be a good help with earthbag building, but it's about working out the best way they can volunteer
I guess if you're young and want to make a difference, stick to volunteering at home, and don't feel guilty to take a fairly normal backpacking trip around the world.
That’s the help that is needed, people who actually have skills training those in other countries who lack them to do it themselves. Good on your parents for recognizing this and making the necessary changes.
The relationship between the western world and the rest of the world will never change if people don’t stop putting them on a pedestal just because they exist.
This usually happens. Nearly all the "volunteer" I met in Nepal are the high school kids or on gap year who were told by their upper or upper middle class parents that this "deeds" will reflect well on college application.
Hi ! What is the name of the charity your mom runs?
I have been working closely with a very good orphanage in Southern Africa for 6 years. Our volunteers are usually excellent(they do need babysitting, if you don't direct them on what to do they aren't helpful). This year about 10 students studying architecture built a community driven low profit station, they had a month and although it was difficult for them to complete the project on time, it was a great success, the mayor of the state congratulated them and there was like an official opening. We didn't expect the impossible from them. It was definitely a culture shock but I believe the experience was more positive than negative. The student volunteers were amazing and mostly went the extra mile.
Lol so many people going to nepals orphanage
As a West African whose parents grew up in the age of mass "mission" trips pre- and post- Nigerian civil war, I'm glad this video came out. My heart hurts every time I see adds because the effects of voluntourism on the people we met while financially navigating immigration and the redlining that happens once you get more comfortable in a country-- those effects meant that I was always "impressive" in my English speaking, or school performance, or general intelligence, or memories of living in a home. The propaganda is hurtful on both sides.
The example that she gave about how the co-volunteer was so immersed with their own moral compass that they became tone-deaf to a real life situation is such an important point. I've spent a lot of time overseas in different areas to research and volunteer. Coming from the medical perspective, there is a lot more "hands-on" opportunities to make a difference, so I did not experience the "fake help" scenarios... especially because these programs weren't funded by large organizations, they were mostly initiatives started by U.S. and foreign academic institutions working together. HOWEVER, the personality of some of the people I volunteered with had that same type of "world savior" entitlement complex. They assumed everyone should live like them and truly didn't understand reality outside of their own bubble. Good intentions, but completely tone deaf.
white people had "good intention with the slaves and indigenous people too...." white people don't even know what good is
This is what WASPs do
Right? If that were me, I'd be immediately thinking of practical things, does the young person have somewhere safe to live, do they have the means to support themselves. Would that organization have the funds to make sure that young person is able to live somewhere safe, if their own community is unsafe to live in.
Then again I'm not rich. I remember my ex boyfriend could be like this, he was so used to the pampered bubble his parents had created for him, that any attempts I made to bring him to reality fell on deaf ears.
@@aelinorholloway3669 would it be possible that you might be living in a bubble yourself? I doubt that anyone truly knows what they need since they are so neglected
@@kv4648 well I know food and having a roof over your head are basic universal necessities for people. I'm sorry if that bursts whatever bubble you live in. I think a lot of well off people need to stop focusing on people like myself and look in the mirror, it seems to be well off people who have such a strong opposition to open up to different lives and people. And instead of taking responsibility for that issue they project this on to others. If well off people were like my best friend's family they're wouldn't be a problem, but my best friend's family is a rarity, not the majority.
This is why i've always been a big advocate for local charity first. Charity starts at home, there are people in our own communities who need help but instead people choose to go overseas to exploit innocent kids & get a few photo opps for 2 weeks. Absolutely sick.
We have standards and regulations.
Do you think the American government will let a high school graduate build a house?
They go to corrupt countries with poor people who have nobody to protect them so they can build substandard houses that nobody cares if the Starbucks cashiers built a house that could collapse on you at any time. As long as they have volunteering on their resume.
That is legit the most practical way to help folks. These volunteer-ship makes for a good PR and resume weightage and does nothing to help the community at large.
Nah, that's not reason to not help overseas. It's reason to control and regulate these organisations. To use it as excuse for not helping is as sick and wrong.
@@laughingbeast4481 My point wasn’t to stop helping ppl. My point is people should spend more time focusing on the suffering ppl who might live down the street from them, instead of jetting off to foreign countries just to make themselves look good. The majority of ppl who do these “charity trips” aren’t doing it out of genuine interests in helping ppl. But God bless the few who actually care.
Preach :) ♡
As a teacher, what also makes me mad about voluntourism is that random rich teens think that them teaching the kids English for a week is a real education. Would you have your child go to school and learn from random unqualified strangers? Would you have those unqualified people build your home? No? Then why is it ok when other people in poorer countries get this. It reinforces the message that local workers who actually have qualifications are too stupid to do it AND that kids in these countries deserve subpar education and care.
That's part of the western culture. We feel entitled and superior, assuming as educated western citizens we know better. We're not used to actually see how's, say, Africa. Our news don't talk about it...
if the alternativ is absolutly no education? ofc i would. The Idea that there are everywere qualifyed workers is just not true and yes ofc it would be way better the educate some locals to be able to teach english.
“It reinforces the message that local workers who actually have qualifications are too stupid to do it” I find this to be largely an assumption. You’re using inactiveness to say that they aren’t intelligibly capable. A better way to make your point would be to say that the government systems and lack of funding limit true progression. That isn’t related to someone being smart enough to perform their job. The issue lies within providing them with their mentioned qualifications. Again, under completely different economies/ governments where basic education isn’t always met, these situations are quite common. But it just feels unnecessary to call them dumb as an assumption and i would have hoped a teacher would tread more likely with such phrasing. And if that is in fact the case, it shouldn’t be considered as laziness to learn but rather inaccessibility to education. There are people with high IQ’s that will simply never be able to put their brain to most uses due to the lives they didn’t chose. I’m just trying to reiterate here that smart isn’t always the same as educated, and being an idiot shouldn’t be judged through said knowledge. This was not meant to be this long.
@@GB_99999 IQ is an incredibly overrated concept, there are just different kinds of intelligences (Gardner). Moreover IQ tests have historically been incredibly biased. So yeah as per usual, it's more a matter of wealth than IQ->race->genetics. But racism is kinda in our culture isn't it
That quote "reinforces the message that local workers who actually HAVE qualifications are too stupid to do it" said to me “They can do it themselves, with their own learnings, under their own resources and environment”. Sphere project, IFRC, etc. Learned that the answer that is correct to some communities, aren’t right to others. No poor, not ignorant, just different, and the west think is just inferior because it is different. So, it is better just to talk, reach to the people in the same region. And it is all of it or nothing when we talk about teaching a language, do people honestly believe that ONE WEEK of learning english change lives? A language that isn’t even theirs. If they need it, they’ll have to really learned it somewhere else, not with one week.
I appreciate this woman for her vulnerability & honesty! She has helped expose the industry which she wouldn’t have been able to do without her experience.
I don't get why people are annoyed about this getting "exposed." Yeah, if you don't live under a rock you kind of know this, but it's still good if the knowledge is spread. The more it becomes part of people's general knowledge the less attractive it becomes for people to go there since the whole feel-good aspect of it is destroyed either by you being aware it's a scam or by your followers on insta knowing that you're not doing anything positive to be praised for.
👏🏽
“Or by your followers on insta knowing that you’re not doing anything positive to be praised for” is honesty the biggest for people. Sad, but true. Not many kids that I knew went to these things truly just to make a difference and actually just went to show off to their friends and on social media. If there was no benefit to the college application and it wasn’t like a “trendy” thing to go do, I don’t believe many kids would’ve gone at all. This sounds like a lose lose situation where once again the larger companies that organize these benefit while everyone else involved suffers. They don’t want the kids to be helped, because if they are, the company loses its advertisement and loses customers. Awful people.
but its racist
I still think it’s a good experience for the teens as for self discovery, but it would be better for them to volunteer at local shelters
@@JuliaMarieH Did you not watch the full video? These places are scam operations to take money from upper-middle class young Americans and are simultaneously trafficking operations…
You either didn’t catch that part, or are unable to process the idea of that occurring on a large scale.
When I was in highschool we had to do social service, so my friends and I picked a foster shelter for children. And the first thing the director told us, was that they didn't need some teenagers coming to clean and play with the kids, they had staff for that. What they needed was medicine, specially pain killers for colics (menstruation related), toilet paper, period pads, canned food and clothes.
So we planned to make a donation day in our school and ask teachers to give the students 2 points over 100 if they donated. Not gonna lie... we procatinated a lot and we were organizing everything last minute. But many people donated including us. A wealthy girl brought 2 trucks filled with pads, toilet paper, and clothes (many of them looked new). And when we brought everything to the director, she was super grateful. When we first met her she gave us the impression she was a stern woman, but she warmly thanked us. We actually felt guilty because we felt we could have done more if we wouldn't have procastinated.
My dad explained me shortly after finishing my social service that it was actually a good choice to organize everything ourselves, because we made sure everything got to the shelter. It also hit me with the reality that these kids need compassion and love, but sometimes we are needed to help in other ways. It also gave another perspective about volunteering and stoped romantizing it.
This sh*t has been going on for years..Im just glad things are coming to light at last.
Via censored identities 👀
Yeah 😌 it’s good knowing some kids are fine. Now let’s save the 4000 kids under some billionaires house that we will never know til it’s to late
Without transparency and accountability, many, but not all, nonprofits or organizations involved will continue this practice. And it is not restricted to third world countries, but in the communities where many of these volunteers live. It is better to get away with this practice because there is no one watching.
Paying to work has been going on for years?! Do you know people who pay their boss?
Yeah a lot these "non profit" organizations are all tied to this type of thing. It's disgusting! Child trafficking, abuse, money laundering. All under the umbrella to help people.
Unfortunately, as someone who was homeless in the USA, this happens here. I notice it primarily at food banks, or homeless shelters, usually during the holidays. People go and volunteer there around thanksgiving or Christmas, and their reason is both to "help others" but also "to remind ourselves of what we have to feel grateful for what we have." What happens is, in actuality, humiliating for homeless people. We were the example for rich folks, of "what could be". We were standing in front of people who were there so that they could remind themselves of how good they have it, and it showed. The faces they made at the food, the way they all looked so sad and pitying and grim looking at it, and the worst part was the way they brought their kids. A lot of the kids "helped", but those kids have no reference for what they're really doing. They were barging into personal space, both physically and verbally, asking questions about things we'd really like to not get into. They would try to "make friends", but a lot of people there wanted to hide under their hoods and eat, and get out. Not only is it more crowded with homeless folk during the holiday, but it's also OVERRUN with volunteers who really just get in the way. Parents were scolding their kids, showing us off (this usually happens around the corner, but still heard, still obvious, though less common to do it right in front of us, but it still happens) as an example of what happens if you "don't study or do your chores" or something. It's degrading. I felt awful for the kids who lived at the shelters, because they had to go and potentially run into a classmate helping, and then get bullied for being the homeless kid at school, or used as some other kid's "feel good story", like, oh I was helping at a food bank on christmas and I helped Jimmy, everyone! And now everyone knows Jimmy is homeless and gets food there, thanks, dude. (Sarcasm). It's horrible, and I wish more of the places had an age limit of 18 and up. Some do, but it's still pretty common to see the age limit like, 9 or 12, or maybe 14, but it still sucks. A lot of the kid volunteers don't wanna be there. It shows. And unfortunately, we're hungry, getting our only meal of the day or something, and their whining is grating and degrading.
My husband and I worked in a Christian ministry that had a yearly mission trip to Mexico. You had to pay $3k per person, which included a week at a 5-star resort, 2 full-time food trucks, and a clean water truck that followed them all the time. All of this to pour some sidewalks and paint a few houses. Plus a day before and after the trip in the resort to "emotionally recover". We never went. It was just a rich person feel-good trip.
It's sad because if they just sent a well used 3k it could pay a worker for months to build a hundred times the work of a tourist
The older I get, the more I realize that charities are often a front for selfish virtue signaling
Frankly in Mexico you dont really need to help like in Africa.
@@trniyyfalldown9927 yet there are places in african countries that are much wealthier than certain places in mexico... it's not a matter of helping or not helping entire continents, because the reality is that there is massive poverty and exploitation in lots of countries around the world. the root cause of this is extractive colonialism by european countries and the US, (and similar,) that is sucking these parts of the world dry for all of their wealth and have been for centuries.
@@sia2761 not really, I work at the Unicef and because of my job I need to go to African countries and Latin american countries. I can tell you that Mexico is a lot wealthier than Africa (including the richest), I really don't see how it will be posible that Africa will be wealthier, sorry but you need to travel more.
@@trniyyfalldown9927 you realize Africa is a continent, right? Full of MANY countries? Mexico is ONE country, and yes, has loads of poverty.
As a non-profit in Tijuana, I can say that I've seen this happen in other ministries and churches that I know. They make the kids look poor and hardly cared for so that they get more money again and again. The leaders taking the best of the donations for their kids who don't need it and giving the leftovers to the kids and the families in the community. It's sickening.
Missionaries are such a blight. Keep your BS religion out of other cultures. No one needs or wants your preaching.
There is a place in hell for people like that.
@@ShomoGoldburgler Nah there isn't. There are only dumb idiots who donate to these organizations, making these scammers rich and the poor more miserable.
@@Metalbringer92
That would be your atheistic worldview, you might be more familiar with what comes around goes around.
Same thing happen in shelters, everything is a business
Back in primary school I had a religious education teacher who would always brag about helping children in Tanzania saying she was sent there on a mission by God. She and her husband brought the children over to the UK during my time in primary school and they would sing and dance for us and tell us about life in Tanzania. At that age I never questioned where these children were staying. A few years later my teachers husband was arrested for having certain videos with the children. A crime of which I'm sure likely involved human trafficking.
wow
You cant really be allowed to do good in the world nowadays. It happens in all professions or areas. Invent something new now in science, but none of the journals would want to publish it because of greed.
that's horrible
This is devastating. I appreciate her honesty I had no idea about this stuff.
I am glad someone has finally spoken about this. I have noticed it as well, and i am shocked that people pay this much for these "life-changing" trips, without useful skills to change the places they visit. It's a scam on the hungry children and it's disheartening to see volunteers who are willing to be in poverty striken situations, drink fresh orange juice and not wonder why?
Can you imagine sitting in a separate room drinking OJ and eating fruit, whilst the kids next door get their daily spoon of rice? I just couldn't.
Rich, White-do gooder liberals & self righteous Christians.
My friend went and did this while we were at uni, all they did was build a hut for one week, and the other two weeks they were island hopping 🙄
everyone already knew this. everyone that didn't have their head up their own ass, that is
The first indication of fraud is the fact that you are paying to help other people. It already sounds like a vacation in my head.
At least she's realized. The majority of these rich kids don't, or refuse to acknowledge the dark side of "volunteering".
If they're paying to work, it's not even volunteering.
@@davidz3879 volunteering is when you don't get paid for work
@@blackcat-mp7kh I know, but volunteer workers don't normally pay to work.
@@davidz3879 Exactly, which is why I added the quotation marks.
@@davidz3879
Exactly. That’s the first red flag,
that everyone should be alarmed by.
I learned this at 9 years old! My dad bless his heart use get big uhaul trucks everyone from our family, his work, and our Community would donate toys, food, clothes, everything you can think of everything was almost brand new. He would even wrap up the presents for the kids. Anyway he would get these big trucks drive them to Mexico and there is a orphanage that he used to donate to but one day he showed up randomly the owners didn’t know and all the stuff that my dad would donate to them they kept it all locked up in a room and wouldn’t even give it to the kids my dad was so heartbroken and he even stopped doing it because of that.
My god!
Your dad sounds like a wonderful guy.. bless his heart.
Such a kind soul
@Zani Taniri nobody cares though?
Cool story bro but it needs more dragons
This needs a documentary, needs more awareness
Just graduated from high school, the amount of rich kids in my school who did volunteering work abroad and domestically (coming from no experience or genuine wish to help) just for slapping it on their college application is insane
And then these midwits want to demonize high IQ white men that are racist and funny.
Hi Mira! I’m a senior in high school and I generally want to help others out and volunteer abroad aiding those less fortunate than me. I even had a teacher who served in the Peace Corps in Africa. Now I’m starting to get second guesses. It disgusts me how many people use their position of privilege and wealth to take advantage of these opportunities to slap on a resume rather than actually help and make a long lasting positive change.
@Blessup33! ok
Is it always a bad thing?
I know of an orphanage that has been accepting donations from the US and the west, and the orphanages directors and workers just took it to their own families etc. it’s the reality of many - glad someone could share this with backed facts. Kudos
The contradictions of capitalism are growing.
I know of an orphanage in Eastern Europe who deny adoptions because of the lucrative rubles that can be made off of slaving them out to be brutally raped, tortured and killed by incompetent but rich oligarchs. Hmmm, ironic I guess.
@@zyuqx capitalism is not the problem. It's the people working at the orphanage. Even if you remove capitalism, those people will still exist and continue to exploit.
@@zyuqx what are you blabbering about?
This
In high school I was in a competition for a full-ride scholarship. The scholarship had different categories, and I was pretty well qualified in mine. Eventually, the award came to being decided between me and another girl -- and this girl had had the opportunity to go on one of these trips. This proved to be the deciding factor, as I lost and she won.... though my family could never have dreamed of affording a trip like that for me. It definitely left a bitter taste in my mouth.
At that point they could literally pay the tuition. This system favors those in the upper class, it’s appalling.
Interesting
Yeah that didn't hapoen
This did happen. But even if it hadn't, the point would still be true that these trips are nothing more than a massive benefit to the already-privileged.
I am so sorry to hear that this happened this way. Unfortunately, even scholarships aren’t such a fair ground still.
Thank you, VICE, for shedding light on the complexities of voluntourism. This eye-opening video reveals the stark reality behind the industry, exposing the unintended consequences of well-intentioned efforts.
For English Learner, here are my notes & lessons:
The video explores the voluntourism industry, where wealthier individuals pay to volunteer in struggling communities for a life-affirming experience. It highlights the mismatch between intentions and impact, narrating instances of ineffective projects, exploitation, and the potential harm caused to vulnerable communities.
Vocabulary breakdown:
0. Voluntourism (noun) 07:10
-Context: 'Voluntourism is a multibillion dollar industry.'
-Explanation: Voluntourism refers to the practice of combining volunteering and tourism, often involving wealthier individuals contributing to community projects in exchange for a meaningful experience.
1. Informed Consent (noun phrase) 00:22
-Context: 'Kids would see vans of volunteers... rub dirt on their faces... to be more appealing to the volunteers.'
-Explanation: Informed consent refers to volunteers being fully aware and understanding the potential consequences and nature of their participation.
2. Library Construction (noun phrase) 02:24
-Context: 'The primary goal... was to build a library.'
-Explanation: Library construction signifies one of the goals of voluntourism projects, aiming to create educational infrastructure in underserved communities.
3. Child Sex Trafficking (noun phrase) 05:48
-Context: 'The connection between orphanages and child sex trafficking.'
-Explanation: Child sex trafficking involves the exploitation of children for sexual purposes, and the video suggests a link between orphanages and this dark reality.
4. Emotional Compelling (adjective phrase) 06:53
-Context: 'Experiences similar to what I had... are still emotionally compelling.'
-Explanation: Emotional compelling refers to the powerful and appealing nature of experiences that evoke strong emotions, even if they may have unintended consequences.
5. Exceptionalism (noun) 07:08
-Context: 'It’s really easy for someone to apply exceptionalism.'
-Explanation: Exceptionalism in this context suggests the tendency to believe that one's volunteer experience is unique and exempt from negative impacts, overlooking broader issues in voluntourism.
Explore more about language and culture with our app [AI-powered Learning English with VOA]: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aipowered.voalearningenglish . Happy learning!
I'm impressed with her honesty. The way she admits she signed up because it would look good on her CV/resume when she applied for professional jobs, is an honest thing to own up to. Most people will never admit that their actions are self-motivated. It takes an enlightened person to swallow their pride and say this.
I was thinking of signing up to one of these "build schools/orphanages" programmes about 8 years ago, but after reading up on it, it didn't seem right that inexperienced young people were building huts for schools. What if it fell down and injured a child? It just seemed too dangerous and alarm bells rang.
It’s the bare minimum however. It shouldn’t excuse her for her actions just because she was honest especially after constantly benefiting and receiving from it until she couldn’t anymore. That’s like a predator going up to a police station and confessing what he did before an investigation was filed against them and expecting forgiveness. He would instantly be put behind bars.
It's easy to be honest when you get to wear a big baby mask and retain some anonymity. I doubt she'd be so open if everyone could see her face
Every action is self-motivated even if you're helping someone else.
That’s the whole point … for her to be honest .
@@foreverdm7000exactly
Oh my gosh, the thing she said about the volunteer giving a young girl advice that would kill her.. reflects so much on woke culture.. how the privileged offer advice for their own moral satisfaction while not seeing reality in a grand scale even if advised by professionals. Wow.
I agree, it's truly afwul and sad...
Though I think it should be said as "woke culture" because this isn't being conscious, it's being very, very shortsighted. It's time for people to truly expand their minds, there's so much information out there. I'm so grateful for platforms like these.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions as they say.
There is also huge amounts of charity that are not only stolen/wasted but that actually have an adverse effect on the economies of these poor nations and end up keeping them dependent on the donations rather than giving them the tools to build an economy themselves.
That person clearly wasn't LGBT either, because no queer person would ever give such innapropriate advice to a _child_ in a country that is hostile to people with different sexual orientations. Urgh! **facepalm**
@@vice.nor.virtue It happens all the time.
@@vice.nor.virtue that was my thought as well. I'm not LGBT, but it's just tone deaf as HELL to give a kid in that situation this "🤗 be yourself!" advice. But everything I've ever heard from LGBT friends and family is that coming out is not something you can rush even in good circumstances, and that the number one no-no is making that decision on someone else's behalf. The audacity of giving that advice.... God.
Had a group of church friends who did "Mission" trips like this. The whole point was getting trophy photos for your Facebook. None of them seemed to notice they were taking pictures with the same kids through multiple seasons.
Omg yessss!!! I know someone who does this. I said so you go to take pictures of sick and dying children to make yourself feel better? It's beyond disgusting!!!
@@Kapone27
The college age congregation exclusively went on missions for hungry and/or impoverished villages.
The sick missions were done by the elders. They didn't bring back photos.
Bro mission trips are just bible vacations paid for by your church. Nobody goes for the mission
@@Siferatu So take the money for all those plane tickets and donate it to them instead!!! Send them a US Dr over instead not kids !!!
The FCA crowd and Campus Crusade college kids would raise money to go on mission trips to Daytona Beach and evangelize to sunbathers on the beach but really they got a free vacation. Everything was paid for from donors. It was sickening.
Wow so important!!
I went on a volunteer trip to Honduras to help with construction and do a Kids program. We were never laying bricks which is what notoriously messes up construction sights and we were to ones dancing and singing for the kids haha. We also personally knew the organization founder. Nevertheless, the in-country contact started to use the money brought in to buy land for himself. The organization proceeded to request greater accountability and upon denial they chose a new in-country leader. This shows how crucial accountability is in these situations!!
Her realizing that volunteer work was being taken down to be properly redone by locals is something I discovered too, but I didn’t even have to go abroad for it. My junior year of college I signed up for a school volunteer program where we spent Spring break in another state volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. We went to a very rural and poor area of a state that was a full day of driving away. My group plus another volunteer group from a different college worked on three different houses. At the end, the Habitat for Humanity leader of that area thanked us for our work and mentioned how we did better than other volunteers, stating that they always have to tear down the work done by the college groups and redo it. However, our work was done well enough to keep as is. I know he was giving up a compliment but my heart sank. A lot of my group was clearly new to using tools but adapted quickly, and I grew up with parents that built everything themselves so I already had the skills. I have never looked at volunteering the same way. After college I actually joined AmeriCorps, but spent my year and a half working about a half hour from my hometown. My position at the nonprofit was fairly knew and required a college degree. My role was very flexible and I filled in gaps for others when regular employees were too busy, as well as bringing in local businesses, artists, etc. to work with the neighboring elementary school. That work felt right, I wasn’t taking away a job from anyone because I wasn’t in a normal position. I created partnerships and left all my contacts and notes behind for other staff, so I felt that my work was sustainable and not lost just because I left. Volunteering can be a great thing if you have due diligence to research your local options. I also heard that volunteering abroad during COVID was better for communities than before, because everything had to be virtual.
why, what would the incentive be? That must be that particular worksite and incompetence, because I can't imagine why Habitat for Humanity would want to do that. Unless it drives donations or something.
I went on the exact same trip that you are describing. Last spring break, I went on a volunteer trip for Habitat from college to another state. I, however, had an amazing experience. If they have to undo work being done, the build leaders are not doing their job. There are supposed to be regular volunteers (that's right, many leaders at Habitat are volunteers themselves) as well as people who are paid by Habitat to be at sites. Other than completing the work alongside volunteers, these people need to teach and guide others in order to get the most work done, and that is what they usually do. If they are having to redo it, something is wrong with how they are running things. Habitat also usually pays professionals to do jobs they know volunteers cannot do. I'm not saying your experience is false, but I don't think its the norm for Habitat. Although they get money from volunteers, they have no incentive not to take advantage of their presence.
that actually doesn't surprise me. I've also volunteered for habitat for humanity, and the amount of direction we got was very minimal, though I've always been pretty experience with power tools, so maybe that came off? I wouldn't be surprised if there were parts that needed to be redone, though I'm sure overall that we certainly did more help than we did harm. You only have to re-do what didn't turn out well, which wasn't everything.
how much better could it be if this money was spent to hire the qualified local workers to do the job from the scratch, instead of wasting it on this voluntourist sham, after which the workers must redo the job anyways…
@@mulethedonkey2579
you already answered the question: it indeed drives donations, which at the end are part of the global Charity Industrial Complex, if I’m allowed to call it this way… which, by large, is nothing but a huge money laundering/tax evading mechanism for the rich and powerful.
Most orphanages are just a cover for trafficking and every time i think about my experience in the orphanage I was in, I just keep thinking how all of it is a sham. I like many other kids, were trafficked. It’s not just in Africa, it happens in Asia and Eastern Europe which is where I’m from. It’s really horrifying and deeply upsetting for me.
Edit: I can’t believe how many rude and insensitive comments have been posted under my thread… why are you offended at my comment? I’m not looking for pity, far from it, but I would expect people to be respectful considering the fact that I was commenting something very personal about this horrible experience. Some of you are absolutely rude.
Man that makes me so sad. I’m 15 and In the future I really want to invest my money and time into orphanages. But knowing that most orgs are corrupt and/or used for child trafficking sickens me. I don’t know how I can help lots of ppl
@@ryang6419 Best way to help is with reputable charities such Ummah Welfare Trust or One Ummah. I know people who have been working with these charities for years and can only speak good of them. Mashaa'Allah.
@@TruthFoundno
@@ryang6419 lol 15. focus on school. you arent even an adult yet. the real world is gonna eat you up if you are focused on this "money" you havent even earned yet and what you are gonna do with it in the "future" you havent even seen. you think you understand this video but you dont.
@@aperturealpha6760 please enlighten me on what I don’t understand abt this video bro
I did a voluntourism trip after a LOT of research in a small village in Costa Rica. We were doing sea turtle conservation where our job was just to patrol the beach at night so poachers would stay away. I asked one of the guys running the program about these issues because I was curious... He told me that they were grateful for volunteers because then the people in the village could preserve the wildlife without needing to stay up all night. I also asked my "host parent" and she said in their rural area, the income from housing and feeding the volunteers was good for their village. I'm not saying it was perfect, but I am glad I did it in the way I did when I wanted to go somewhere but without just staying in a hostel and partying.
I highly recommend doing what you can to set up your own opportunities to go to places to travel and work if it's important to you. Put the work in, don't be lazy. Also... I would NEVER recommend working with children or any vulnerable population for the very reasons spoken about here. Any 'volunteer work' that takes away from the ability for a local person to get a job (like construction, medical, etc opportunities) are also problematic because they'll use volunteers and then they won't have to pay people who need to make their bills. You're robbing local people of the chance to make a living because you have the privilege to do it for free while you Eat Pray Love for yourself.
Lastly: try volunteering locally. You'll still be able to experience the important value of giving to someone else without the problematic industry that's been created so you can get that perfect profile picture you always wanted.
Yes yes yes to volunteer locally. Animal shelters are so desperate for help and it’s something that you can directly see an impact towards. If someone is absolutely set on working with kids, consider becoming a big brother or big sister at at the boys n girls club in your area. Something I’ve done in the past is volunteering at equine centers that work with those that are differently abled to use horses for rehabilitation. There’s so many options in local communities.
well, you come to Costa Rica to help turtles, not to Kenia to attend to sick kids. I totally recommend your experience. Costa Rica is awesome.
which organization did you volunteer with? second this
This is why I decided not to join the Peace Corps: a lot of people volunteer to teach in Africa. But a good question to ask, is "why can't African citizens be the teachers? Wouldn't that fill the need for teachers *and* give people jobs?" I read that some years ago in exchange for foreign aid from the US, some African countries were required to make cuts and lay off a scary percentage of teachers. So then we're going there to "help" them by volunteering? *Btw this is what I read some years ago; if any African citizen knows something to the contrary or knows more about it, by all means I welcome more info on the subject.
Tbh 70% of travel is like this- going through big companies you either get ripped off or there is a smallprint that ruins everything. Best to organise yourself.
Thank you for your honesty. But I also hope that this video doesn't discourage people from helping people in need around the world. Do enough research before committing to donate or volunteer. ❤ Also, just admit that you are helping others for your own good; it only makes volunteering more attractive because you help yourself and others. And this puts you in the mindset of not expecting anything in return because you are doing it for your own good.
I recall quite vividly, to this very day, how I got this CV from a neighbor of mine, whose friend’s daughter was my age, or probably 2-3 years younger. A 90s child that is.
I didn’t promise her anything. But I did take the liberty of going through the girl’s cv. It had this weird segment where she speaks about how her trip to Nepal changed her life, and she literally pasted 3 pictures of her with smiling kids under the segment of “Humanitarian Work”. I lookup the organization, they charge 3200 bucks per person, for a two-week experience, in a country where the GDP per Capita is around 900 dollars. This was in 2015. It was the most disturbing CV I’ve ever had the misfortune of gazing upon, and that neighbor of mine, would often speak about how much of a saint that girl is.
I did give her a call after all, and she was everything my gut told me she would be. She spent 2 weeks in Nepal, and yet, she thought they were Muslims, and that Hindi is their native language. Oh, and how she encouraged the little kids, all orphans I might add, to simply have faith (She’s an Evangelical Christian), and that God will deliver them everything.
I still recall me hanging up on her too. I literally felt, I was talking to someone, living in an actual bubble, one that was actually tangible, and my God, don’t get me started on the virtue-signaling.
I often call certain types of voluntourism poverty porn. Because I could see rich people only came to these communities to gawk and gain new experiences and grow as a person. It's like dark tourism where rich foreigners have a respected community leader take them to very dangerous places where the community leader acts as a tour guide. This is poverty porn, those people are their to gawk, not caring that many people have no other option than to live in those terrible circumstances and they see this as a cool experience.
Ppp PP} on p
Ppp PP PP 0pp}pp
It’s really awful, my mom has suggested to me that I should do some volunteering because it would “look good on a resume and scholarships”, ignoring the fact that it shouldn’t really have anything to do with employment, that is an awful reason to volunteer for something
@@evilemuempire9550 same
I had the exact same experience of going to orphanages in India. I was telling this again and again but none seem to notice anything disturbing of this “trend”. It’s sick to realise what we donate never goes for the kids welfare instead they are forced to sing and dance in return to the donations. Glad this has been brought to light to millions by this video. I appreciate this.
The most famous of which was Mother Theresa who made a mint out of orphanages where the people inside were allowed to die rather than heal them.
@@Dare2Doubt I recently heard about that, and the stories about her and her "charity work" are horrifying. She had the funds to take care of so many people with curable conditions (e.g. tuberculosis), and they just needed some more hospital equipment to survive, but she would deny them that by saying, "blessed are the poor" (quoting a Bible verse completely out of context).
Recently a girl was promoting this kind of thing to me
I said no because I had a gut feeling and this confirms it.
I was like “they ask me for money, not qualifications, that doesn’t sound right at all” and in fact. It’s clearly just economic motivation.
I want to help for real, not pay people to tell me and other lies and not even help the people in hardships.
Little Rich rats that thinks I can go to Africa and dig wells because the people they’re too thick to dig them themselves
I always say the plane fare to take the group there alone, if donated to the right hands, would be a thousand times more valuable than a bunch of kids gawking at the locals and making messes.
Thinking outside the box is crucial!
Even if someone isn’t a good enough person to care about people suffering, I don’t know how all these people are okay with being straight up scammed. I guess maybe they just turn a blind eye for their resume idk.
Look into a career in Monitoring and Evaluation. It entirely specializes in investigating and resolving these type of issues
Thoughtful, caring and bright young woman who effectively articulates some of the issues with the business side of volunteering and covering examples of corruption. She also merits much respect for acknowledging the cultural differences that could lead to unintended harm if one disregards the local norms. I am encouraged, however, that there are many young people like her who would like to make a positive difference in the world and are looking for a way to best do that.
she should stop shaving the top of her head though would look good with full head of hair
Harming vulnerable children is on another level of evilness, it's so despicable 🤮
As someone who went on annual service trips via my private high school, I definitely experienced a similar (albeit to a lessor extent) realization that the money we spend on the trips could be much better spent on effective programs and infrastructure to generate a long-lasting effect and break the cycle of poverty. My school has and continues to take pride in having every kid G7-12 go on these trips every single year and idk what can make reflect on this.
People think they are living in heaven, convinced[by marketing or propaganda] such organizations and governments have the very best interests in mind, whatever actions taken would undoubtedly result in a positive outcome for both parties, however increasingly reality is demonstrating a more lucrative practice that is happening below the surface. Evil doesn't always come dressed as evil.
Lol you're gullible and can't spell. Hope you become the patsy in a securities fraud scheme down the road.
Close private "schools" that are just religious indoctrination centers for the rich and stupid.
I've had the same feeling when we went on Project Week to Sri Lanka. We have done absolutely nothing to help but they felt obligated to have us because they received a ton of donations from the school community.
@@rkah6187 i mean... That seems fair... They get donations and you get to see the life in Sri Lanka
I did a voluntourism trip to Ghana when I was 19/20 and I remember asking the people running it what the pint of everything was, and they pretty much said it looks good on your CV. I don't think my experience was as bad as hers (we did some positive stuff around HIV screening for the community) but most of it was to polish our egos and not help anyone.
I had a similar experience in Kenya, it was sold to me as a health related volunteer work in a school but when I arrived nothing was expected from the "volunteers", some didn't even show up, only traveled. Luckily, I had some knowledge and organized some classes about reproductive health, but I spent two months there and can truly say I only truly felt useful once or twice. I loved the experience but I feel ashamed of the white savior bullsh*t.
It gets weird too because some of them would say they're purely doing it to help. I think not admitting it is worse.
I chaperoned a group that helped build schools in Ghana. The whole trip was very sheltered and supervised. We could only work 4 hours max per day. We basically just scraped dirt the whole time. I was reprimanded for showing one of the children my music. We had to live and eat separately from the village. A lot of instances that felt off and I only realized them once I was home for a while.
I agree 100% with your insight re: CVs. Wealthy, western volunteers-- by virtue of their privilege-- can often invent for themselves titles, roles, and powers that they can then parlay into grad programs or administrative positions once they return home. As a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, I've seen it happen plenty of times.
@@davidsummers4820 It's almost like colonialism and imperialism is in their blood. Coming up with titles and enforcing everyone else to worship it so they can do whatever they want.
Thank you so much for sharing this story. These precious children need protection.
I always wondered how a bunch of rich kids that never swung a hammer went somewhere to build a school.
🎯🎯🎯
I lived in Beijing China several years ago. The agency that brought me there matched me with a family. This family owned a kindergarten and would often take field trips. On Children's day, we went to an Orphanage. Our goal was to teach the children about caring and helping others. I remember seeing a dozen tour buses, and big painted signs on the walls of each house that were for the orphans. The signs were pretty much just a big ad for these companies bragging about how much they donated to this Orphanage village. When you get there, they immediately take you in the lobby area and give you a quick history about it, then you proceed with a tour guide. It wasn't very big. About 6 houses with old blankets, pillows, and bunk beds. The floor was dirt. In the center was a garden were they grew their own vegetables. As you continue down the path, you will see all the orphans in this dingy old, broken playground. They too had dirt all over their faces and hands. They had old toys that were also broken. The really sad thing is, we weren't the only group there. Eventually other tourists would show up, and instead of playing with the kids like our school did, they stood outside, pointed, laughed and took pictures of the orphans. To them, it was a petting zoo, a source of entertainment. One last thing I remembered was there were two sisters with white complexion and blue eyes. One of them raised her arms at me, asking me to carry her. As I did, she immediately starts to yell something out loud in Mandarin that I couldn't make out. One of the teachers of our school told me that she was saying "Your thighs are soo big, you have big hips!" over and over and over again. That was enough to make me feel uncomfortable, but what made it worse was that our school teacher asked why she was saying this and one of the workers there openly said that one of the other employees would say that to her.
That trip ended up making us all real sad. We left with more broken hearts and unanswered questions.
That's really really disturbing..
It's not possible for Chinese people to have blue eyes..
@@notreallyhim Exactly. I asked about that, and noone knew where they were from. One person said they could be Mongolian and that they have people like that closer to Russia. However, my guess is that an expat enpregnated a local Chinese citizen. In China, boys are way more preferred to have than girls, and at this time the One child policy was still in effect. Either case, I'm sure their story is a really sad one.
@@notreallyhim Why not?
@@rubendavila6248 you are probably 100% correct that she was the child of an Expat. Orphaned Eurasian children isn’t that uncommon in the lesser income parts of Asia. Use to be a war time affair, now it’s economic
A really good book is toxic charity by Robert Lupton - shows the damage thats really done and the best ways we can ACTUALLY help (raising money and giving it to local craftsmen to use their pre existing skills etc)
Warren Buffett stopped giving money to local charity organization after he noticed no change in situation. He want to see the result.
Looking up. Thanks
YES, FROM THE GROUND UP!
Grassroots :3
These days, if you wanna help someone, you better take your goods/donations DIRECTLY into the hands of the final guy/girl in need.PERIOD.
Thankyou! Im gonna check it out and try and read it soon
You can tell she truly wanted to help. Good for her doing this.
Thank you, white savior for doing the bare minimum 😊
Maybe this was her plan all along -- pay for the voluntourism trip, then make this video, profit etc.
@@destructionman1 Most likely, yes.
i doubt she paid to do this for ten years so she could be paid for one video...
@@destructionman1
@@destructionman1critical thinking is not being critical but having empathy and considering many factors! if they volunteered to make a video and profit, why would they do an anonymous video for a channel that isn't theirs.
what you infer about strangers online shows your bias. not them
imo this video shows open eyes and research to contextualize what they witnessed and experienced. maybe even access to privy information because of being an attractive white woman who asked
I went to volunteer in Tanzania as well. I got the same feeling when I went to the orphanage that alot of these kids weren't actually orphans and that this place was pocketing alot, if not all of the money and supplies that was being donated. These kids and natives were being exploited. Thank you for sharing your story
Poor parents abandon their children, or simply let someone take them, someone who says, "We will take care of your child for you."
I love her Slip Knot mask. 🥸
Most children in orphanages not being orphans has always been the case, even historically in the US. Some were abandoned and are essentially still orphans, but others come from families in extreme poverty that could be given aid directly.
Please make this shows often, I like to watch them tell the dark side stories that we’ve been unknown
They should make the dark side of Autism then.
Because Democrats see it as not a problem to talk about
People within the industry have to come out and do it. Vice can't just make the video like your hit tv show.
Unknown? Unless someone resides beneath a rock, this is pretty much well known...
GREAT POINT right at the end where she points put how many people use exceptionalism to rationalize their volunteer trip. 👏👏👏
My mother is a director of a wonderful home for children in Mexico. I started it with her 15 years ago. These children come from terrible situations and become nurses, dentists, and beauticians. Most importantly for however long they are there, they learn that they are loved and have self worth for the first time. Many still have parents and family (but the parents are addicts or were trafficking their own kids). My point is you need to get to know an orphanage to make sure it is legit. Because there are people out there who exploit others. Do the research before giving money. Being part of a good non-profit’s community can make a profound impact for generations to come. ❤ Thank you for bringing awareness about the dark side. There really needs to be an organisation that verifies orphanages, so we can funnel all the help to the good ones.
So true. There was a scandal around here because a guy who set up an orphanage in Nepal was arrested. The whole thing turned out to have been a charade so he could abuse children, something for which he already had two convictions here. But the church didn't care, kept the money flowing. And he lived like a king in Nepal, with ready acces to dozens of kids that he has power over, without having to worry about his criminal record.
This is someone who now feels virtuous for speaking out the truth even though she's already sitting on the mountain she helped create and benefit from; she seeks attention and moral righteousness - probably because deep down she feels a sense of guilt, albeit a selfish guilt - as a result of the narcissism she developed from her priveleged, elite background. It's easy for her to "expose" evil because she's already benefitted from everything it can offer her; she's no better than the establishment she's supposedly calling out.
@@Wackaz this is true as you say, but we are all at some point guilty of being ignorant of our actions and inadvertently harming others. It’s never easy to admit our wrongs. Those within that circle and those in other circles could learn from hearing this. It could be the only thing that wakes these people up to what’s going on.
@@Wackaz I was thinking the same thing. Most of what she said is already common knowledge for people really wanting to make a change. But how deep was she into the volunteer culture to know first hand about sex trafficking? Or is she just throwing things out there? That's a big charge and I wonder what is being done in light of what she may have witnessed or is this video it?
There are lots of these organizations that pander to westerners having a glorified vacation where they can take selfies with the poor kids and feel good about themselves.
What’s the name of the orphanage @blue morpho rising
Would like to support
I volunteered in an orphanage in vietnam. I spent 3 months im with the program and then stayed 3 months continuing to help teach the kids after it ended. The orphanage would purposely break the walls or leave the kids in filth to parade wealthy donors in. With the money obviously never helping the children.
There was an Australian man “teaching” computer class who I got extremely creepy vibes from. He had been there a long time though and the nuns and older woman who operated the place gave him a lot of power. I was a 19 year old with little life experience and confidence in these situations. One day the place was rush full of police officers and foreign officials, turns out he was wanted back home for crimes against children and had been using the orphanage to hide.
God only knows the things he must have done to those poor children but after that I couldn’t stay there much longer. I left soon after, I came back after finishing school though and I’m proud to call vietnam my second home and now have built a life gaining a wife, friends and new family in this beautiful place.
Cope
Cool
I'm from vietnam (sorry if I make any grammatical mistakes) and I live in ho chi minh city, which is considered to be wealthier than any other rural places in the south. From the district where I lives seeing a beggar is more common especially if you are in a richer district like district 1, 2, 3,... you usually see them standing next to a traffic light waiting for people to stop and ask for money. Some just sits there pretending to be injured, disabled, or holding a sleeping baby with them. A few of these beggar are children and the majority of them are being exploited by either their parents or their "guardian". If you see any child beggar near the traffic light, look for any suspicious adults that wander near, they have the role of making sure these children aren't running away, looking for help or even slacking of. If you want to know more then you can watch a documentaries about beggar in vietnam or comment if you want me to tell you more. I can asure you that every countries even the most developed ones still have a darker side to them
Oh my
Apart from volunteering abroad, having unqualified volunteer is another problem. English is not my first language. I didn’t know until lately that the free Saturday English class I had at my elementary school was actually a volunteer service given by the rich kids from international schools whose English is native. I remember I was so enthusiastically talking to them to practise English, but the “teacher” I had just got annoyed and asked me not to talk rubbish. This experience has influenced me to hold back when making friends/ speaking up. Some of these “volunteers” don’t actually want to help but were forced to volunteer to polish their CV. We the recipients were just tools for their advantage, and sometimes, were abused. I truly hope that, if they are not truly into education, please do not do harm to the innocent kids. 😡
To add: My classmate whose English is better actually heard the volunteers talked bad about us with foul language, she reported to our school teacher. Since these volunteers came to teach one term or two for the title so there's no big deal for the programme from the persepctive of the management.
I've spoken to people that got paid for teaching english in other countries, they don't need teaching experience and it's widely considered easy money. Most don't even know more then a few words in the local language. Rich kids earning their home deposit on "gap" year while choosing their career path.
I'm not surprised to read your negative experience and wish it was just a rare exception.
Some schools actually require that you do some "volunteering" work before you graduate. Like mine, I also had to teach English and Math, although I was told that I was a good teacher, but I saw a couple of issues like not having a regular teacher and continous program students basically never learn anything.
@@jasonmullinder It's true. Some countries will take just about anyone. Sometimes they don't even need a degree in English + teaching, which is extremely important, because knowing the language doesn't qualify you to teach it!
When i was in secondary school, we had big projects to complete in order to graduate which could be just about anything (learning to quilt, researching a subject that's interesting to you, etc.). One girl who was notorious for being lazy in academics went on missions trip. A lot of people saw right through it immediately that she got her church to pay for her "project" while doing next to no work. She hung out with kids for about a week and acted like she lived in complete poverty. Her living quarters werent great but they we probably still better than the kids' she'd "helped". Her presentation was mainly about her personal experience rather than what she had learned about those kids and their culture. My peer feedback was negative since her presentation p, but my friend tore her to absolute shreds and I had mad respect for her for calling out that farce.
I’m grateful for this Woman speaking out. God help us.
God bless her..
Love from MCGI 😥
@@marugotofromMCGI Yes, let's all feel sorry for rich white girl. So brave to wear a make and speak. My apathy is only towards those children.
😮❤
I remember hearing about a man who came to a Goodwill with his kids and their only clothes, which smelled of smoke from a housefire,, he asked if they could donate any clothes since they lost everything and the manager said no, but she was known to go through and take her pick of clothes when new ones came through. And don't get me started on all of the Second Harvest Food bank employees who stock their own pantry before their shelves.
YES! THIS!!! I saw much of the same treatment of people happen when i volunteered over 500 hours at the local Salvation Army thrift store near the town i grew up in. The family running it, literally stole everything donated worth anything. And i mean everything! So much so that the store had to close completely because they couldn't even afford the building's rent. And they would treat the poorest people coming in and the people struggling the most like complete trash.The very people they claimed to be there to serve. The reason for the entire organization is to help the needy. And yet, I saw mothers run out crying with their kids because of the way they were spoken down to, in front of an entire store of people mind you. Disabled and homeless people so frazzled and embarrassed that they just froze. Im telling ya, it did something in me to see people use charity and good will as a guise to be so damn greedy and selfish and grotesque. Something about it ignites a deep rage in me. Its SO wrong on SO many levels. And yet, even when its spoken out against...nothing happens. I tried. I tried hard as hell to let people and higher ups in the S.A chain of command know what that captain (the dad) and co captain (his wife) and their older teenage kids (fellow volunteers and employees at an outrageous hourly rate) AND their long time family friends (the managers who also were paid extremely high hourly wages. And im talking WAYYY higher wages then would ever have been approved by any other captains) were doing there, and how they were treating innocent people in need in the store. and literally NOTHING happened. I was assured it would be once though. By some lady, i wish i had gotten her name. She was astounded and grossed out as i was telling her this stuff.. Yet nothing. So, as far as im concerned, the Salvation Army is as bad as Second Harvest Food Bank and Goodwill, and all these voluntourist organizations. Smdh. Really makes you wonder how in a world full of lying crooked thieves and greedy jerks manipulating charity and peoples kindness and generosity, how any of the TRULY good charity's survive.
I used to work at one of the largest homeless shelters in NYC. I got to see so much of the money meant for the shelter pocketed or spent on worthless stuff like buying 400$ chairs for the main offices. It's a good system in theory, but horribly corrupt because nobody dares to try and expose the corruption because if you do you're branded as not caring about improvised people and face a crazy moral backlash. Everything is about appearances.
I've been saying this for decades but would get atracked with the same rebuttal: oh they are doing good work for charity. How can you be against that?'
Well then expose them. Dafuq you doing posting it in a UA-cam comment section?
@@afrodemon8629 exposing them.
@@jenniferstewart9012 Ain't nobody getting "exposed" in a UA-cam comment section. Might as well post it on myspace. Basically has the same impact.
@@afrodemon8629 lol valid point.
Have great day
I wanna commend her for caring so much to share this story. For doing research and sharing her findings as well. She is so well-spoken and I wish more would be done about this than just shedding a bit of light on it. I’m sure she feels very compelled to do something but feels very limited in her capacity to change things
I went to Uganda for 2 months between my junior and senior years of college and although I had a really really great experience, I'm a little bit embarassed looking back about how I spoke about it and how underqualified I was to be doing the work.
@@elesstdig4768 ?
I went for an internship program through my school. nothing at all about wealth.
I always suspected that volunteering was for white people to feel good about themselves, under the delusions of making a change. Funny how they/you wouldn't interact with the same people back home.
While this is the reality for a lot over volunteering.. I started to volunteer when I was 16 at an organization, where we prepared the meals together and went out to give them homeless people and chat while having some tea together just to make their day a bit better(this in Russia). During winter we would look for homeless people sleeping outside and let them know and lead them to locations of warm places where they can rest. The food was always prepared by one handicapped lady who made it her goal to provide homeless people with good nutritious food. We organized trips with the homeless folks that have become friends to the volunteers, and other volunteers helped to retrieve bodies of those who died in the streets back to forgotten families. Another friend of mine from there spent many years by now helping Romani kids who grew up in Russia and usually beg for money in the train stations, teaching them math and Russian and getting them back on track to study. Others help in the mental hospital for the elderly because those are left abandoned in Russia. There are still some good organizations out there. Just make sure you talk to people you are helping and really get to know them. You can meet hear many impactful stories this way and do a little good
Yup. same story here in NA.
The people that brag about being a good person, are sociopaths.
You’re an amazing girl!
You are different 🙏❤️
yes, there is definitely normal orphanages in Russia and Ukraine run by people who are just there to help the children who are homeless or abandoned.. but then also we had a rich relative whose parents had an orphanage business and they would profit from the donations sent to their orphanage form Germany to Russia..
@CatRat the white savour complex stem from colonial times during the height of the European empires namely British empire. After many countries had gotten their independence it transformed into “charity work”. People are not unaware of the issue, it’s a matter of balancing the scales. Are we collectively comfortable moving into a world where racial superiority does not exist or dampened. Collaboration doesn’t consist of one group dictating to others but coming to the table as equals to make the world a better place?
Or do we need the ego boost of impoverished countries to maintain status quo and for some people to feel more important than they are?
Oh my gosh, I had almost the EXACT same experience doing work in Peru, similar to the point where it was nerve-wracking hearing this. We "worked" hard for an entire day trying to build a kitchen for a school, and what we had done was such a shoddy job the workers we didn't know about completely re-did everything when they thought we had already left. Major welcoming ceremonies showing appreciation to the point where the school we were working in was allowed out for the day.
I will NEVER advocate or recommend doing something like this. Tourism in and of itself is almost better because you give people jobs to take care of you (generally paying much more than local jobs, for relatively little work on their part.) Honestly, you also tend to enjoy it a lot more as you learn about their history, culture (admittedly exaggerated at times for foreigners,) and see other ways of life.
I am from Peru, what organization was that may I ask?
@@daiishi_kinyoubi I actually don't remember at this point as it was years ago
@@jamestaylor726 cap
Tourism IS better because it’s an industry that employs local people. Charity is just a temporary bandaid. Also why would any community need a bunch of teenagers to build anything? Since when do kids have construction skills that locals don’t have? I’ve never quite understood that.
I went on a trip like this to build a house for an orphanage with the amount of money we spent local workers could have been hired to do the job 10x better than a bunch of teenagers messing around
As someone who has grown up in Africa (South Africa). This is something that's really close to me. It is sooo dangerous because not only it more often worsens situations than at least be neutral.... it also perpetuates the narrative of African countries as inferior/exotic and needing of teaching. I mean how bad can a country be that they need someone completely inexperienced to fly in from extremely far away to do something they have no knowledge about (eg. teaching about farming, construction...)
You mean like volunteer to drill a well for water? That happens quite a lot. Sure seems better than having no water. As for Africa appearing inferior to the rest of the world …… sorry but that ship has sailed.
@@OM-sb2bd I don't understand your reply. Are you agreeing with the her that volunteering to drill for water in SA sounds demeaning or are you saying you really believe if this "volunteers" didn't come drill for water, the whole village or town or whatever would die from drought or something.
Because they were obviously all surviving before that and human beings become creative where there is a necessity. Besides what are the chances that African countries still need people to drill wells for them?
@@japanpanda2179 who would you be paying exactly?? Having money to provide for your own amenities anywhere is good. Charity is amazing but handing money to a "village leader" or some such doesn't sound smart. They might misunderstand and feel insulted, or they might just pocket it and that's your money gone especially if they didn't request for any aid.
I'm not against volunteerism especially when it's just trying to make people's lives better even in a small and obvious way but with that particular trend, I'm against the idea of pretending if you didn't do it, the people would perish from thirst. They were obviously drinking something to survive long enough to meet said volunteers. And when people need something strongly enough, they hardly sit around idly, waiting for someone else to provide it.
If you want to volunteer in that way, please don't let me stop you. It can have positive effects and create lasting impact. But if you just want to visit and experience 'Africa' then do so openly, don't look down on the people and if there is a need you see and think you can help meet then by all means, please do so.
It is almost always more effective to do something in your own home country-even better your own joke community. If you are wealthy and you think no one you know needs help, rethink your definition of help. If you can talk to your parents’ wealthy friends and help them reallocate their donations from extractive organizations to ones that actually do the work-You’ve made a big change. If you advocate for policies to find title I schools in your state, you’ve made a huge change. It doesn’t look cool or exotic, and that the point. It’s not about you.
The problem is a lot of these ppl with money don’t want to give “hand out” when in reality it’s proven that financial support is the most effective way to help someone. They are twisted and greedy.
@@rosebud0391
I don’t think that’s true at all. What they want is for their kids to roll up their sleeves and become directly involved with helping people in need, rather than tossing cash at them from their castle.
So people just shouldn’t help others that don’t have as much as them? Okay.
@@rosebud0391 many just don't like the poors near them, but are ok with developping countries poverty for various reasons. It's very annoying. If you can't even help your neighbour maybe ask yourself what are your motives.
@@tomcat8662 that's totally stupid. So tell your kids to go volunteer at a local charity. Or to do groceries for the elderly next door. If you want them to work on particular fields/project it's called an internship and you can find them everywhere🤷♀️
This is the exact same reason why short-term missions trips have always sat wrong with me, as a Christian. It's one thing to totally uproot your own life to actually *live* amongst a certain people group and to learn their language and adapt to their culture and to teach them actual life skills that can help them thrive on their own. It's a very different thing to just show up for two weeks, build some shoddy library, and spend the rest of your time sightseeing or on a safari. That feels extremely self-serving to me and I really cannot stomach the idea of that. If you want to see a certain part of the world, just take a trip there. Don't combine it with a church event to make yourself feel good even though you're really not doing much to benefit the people you're supposedly going there to serve.
This needs to be shared far and wide - and more documentaries like this should be screened on as many platforms and channels as possible.
As a Latin Amaerican, it always baffled me to see rich kids volunteering in places like Thailand or Malaysia when there are lots of impoverished communities so close to home. Of course it all reeked of a chance to elevate their own ego while traveling cheaply
It baffles me that then Latin Americans move to the USA and become rich, they're not part of the ones volunteering. Why don't they foster or adopt children? Just wondering.....
Nail on the head. It's only ever been about ego cause helping out in your own local community doesn't garner as much attention/praise or benefit you like getting a cheap vacay
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
This needs to be pinned to the top 💯
I also know those Latinoamericanos
This woman’s presence is powerful. She’s like a truth laser.
She's just telling us what we already knew (or should have known if you're not a dumb@ss)
yeah don't need to see her face at all I was just locked in listening to her voice, very clear and strong
Do you make a habit of taking anonymous statements at face value with no verification or credibility? How can you call that truth? the ignorance of you people is astounding. zero critical analysis of her claims.
Why do this anonymously? Why not name the specific organization when her claims are so scathing? Why not go to authorities, or at the very least, provide some evidence of a specific organizations crimes so others can avoid it? She has no credibility.
That being said; I'm sure a lot of what she says DOES happen. But that doesn't mean everything she said was true. Her being anonymous and refusing to name names destroys her credibility. The international volunteering organization/grift isn't going to send international volunteer assassins' after her.
think critically.
@@GomulDart you do live in a fantasy world
@@yair.salgado what are you saying
The heaviness of evil is overwhelming sometimes…
Nearly everything in this world is a complete LIE. Let there be light.
Should definitely have a pt 2 on "mission" work. I grew up surrounded by churches (usually megachurches or bigger non-denominational ones) that would fly whole groups of white kids out to South America and Africa to do volunteer and mission work at a similar price point and I'm sure the exact same thing happens. I'm very thankful my church focused on our own community and the furthest out we ever went was to Alabama (literally a state over) and you can still find the community garden we planted and the habitat for humanity house WE built ALONGSIDE HH's supervisors over there. We helped out a summer school too but our job was only to help when children asked and to have fun with them, we weren't asked to evangelize or solve their problems because we too were kids.
Totally. Plus there's the extortion aspect: "we can feed and clothe you, but you must first accept Jesus as your lord and savior." It's manipulative and gross.
What church is that now, that's so good at the missions?
@@HTSS8 Im not comfortable giving out the actual name as it’s a smaller one but it’s an episcopalian church
@@marcaronincheese That's OK, it was only a technicality. It was already evident through True spiritual discernment that you're in a Works Based church. God had you expose the denomination so that you could be corrected/rebuked from your Sin and error of Lukewarmness. You know what He said He does to the Lukewarm right?
Doing "good deeds" in your home country that is already more than evangelized is Not "missions". It is just good Samaritan works. Missions is to tell people the Gospel, which only includes the Bad News first. And has Nothing in it about any deed of a person to be Justified.
Episcopalian religion is only a week off shoot of roman catholicism, which is damnable herecy itself. Infant Baptism, Sacraments, and many other man-made religious Works, are not required for Salvation/Justification as purported by roman catholic and episcopal statements and practices.
It's MoRe than likely you still need to be Saved/Justified if you align yourself with episcopal religion and will not rebuke roman catholics to defect as well and Repent.
'We too were kids' How old were you? 16-20?
When I was a teenager, I was *OBSESSED* with the idea of such “volunteering”. Was saving a bunch of groups on our local social media, planning out the trips in my head. It was the primary goal of my life at some point.
Thanks to videos like this one, the truth about voluntourism being this massive and destructive scam got revealed to me.
Also, working through some personal issues and self-esteem things really helped out as well. As it turns out, apparently you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to go to Africa to pretend to build something to prove yourself😅 (not even mentioning how plenty of local shelters, orphanages, hospices and etc need your help here, locally, not in some distant “paradise”)
Upd.: some people here thinking that I still want this or that I don’t know how to help out at local places, huh…
Get a useful skill that takes years of hard work to acquire. Then volunteer. Millions around the world do. I personally know someone who is alive today because of a skilled unpaid volunteer, and you probably do too
Respect the people that volunteer at their local shelters or food banks, not these voluntourists who need some "exotic" experience abroad.
Try doing at the place you live, you can help a lot of people
I think it can still be done, but you have to do the research. I went to Bolivia, and there you had to stay at least 3 months in order to be eligible. On top of that, you had to spend one month learning about the language and the culture. There was a lot of oversight, and we didn't pay thousands, we merely donated and paid for our trip and our stay. When working with children, the children weren't orphans. It was basically an after school program, where we would help younger kids who fell behind on their homework with that, so the emotional bond wasn't thát strong. Their parents were still in the picture. The classes were just too big for the staff to be able to pay attention to kids who had trouble. So yeah, we were qualified enough to help kids with math and English, and do chores around the house (clean, help kids brush their teeth etc). Yeah sure, we weren't changing the world, but you can't really do that as a young adult with barely any experience. But we did often buy supplies for the program ourselves. Like, we'd notice that they didn't have any colored pencils, so we just went out and bought some from a local market place. Stuff like that.
A friend of mine is a teacher at a high school. Every year, he goes to Romania to build schools for kids there. However, the difference is that one, HE knows everyone in Romania, the connection is direct and he manages the money. And also, the kids are a combination where at least half of the group is actually in trade school for contruction, guided by a teacher, so they know what they're doing.
“The kingdom of heaven is within”. I learned the same. We have to see the beauty of what’s available locally = the nature, the trees, the birds. And by the way, some kid near me may need the same kind of help as a kid far, far away.
I’ve been at the orphanage for 4 years, everything she’s saying is completely true, when I was at the orphanage we would get some toys and some candies for Christmas and that was all. We had many volunteers coming to us to take pictures of us I didn’t understood, ever, why would they take pictures of us, volunteers would bring BIG sacks of many toys and clothes, most of these weren’t given to us. I don’t know about the sexual abuse but we were definitely physically, verbally and mentally abused so much for barely any reason at all, like when we would be watching tv and if someone flinched or made any noise one of the educators would hit us with the stick on our backs. I’m glad this woman spoke up about this, because many people believe that kids are the orphanage are doing good which is a big f*cking lie.
Oh my GOD..! This lady is speaking plain facts!!
I am from and currently located in Africa - the Horn of Africa to be exact - and yes, I have witnessed some similar conditions concerning the horrible conditions that those poor kids are exposed to day in and day out!
These kids are mostly collected from the countryside where there is a lack of hospitals equipped to receive maternity cases, and where also extreme poverty prevails to the point that parents could literally sell some of their kids to rescue the rest from starvation!
I later learned that the real reason behind these so-called Orphanages targeting kids with no birth certificates is to be able to sell them to human and sex traffickers without solid proof that these poor souls had ever existed!!
Hey do you know the names of these orphanages, or where exactly they are? Or do you know an organisation who I could contact to get more informations? I wanna do some research about it
I don't need a video to know that spending $2k to send an unskilled kid to "volunteer" is extremely narcissistic and inefficient compared to even just donating $100. Kids who think their labor is more useful than the money they spent going there are delusional. Even if they were extremely good at their job, it would be cheaper to just donate and have a local do the job
If you donate 100 dollar’s how much do you think ends up at the orphanage. I think these kids have the right intentions there emotions and conciseness is just being exploited.
While also stimulating the economy with those cash donations. A bit of research on reputable charities with decent reach and you can make sure you're actually helping
That goes with almost every organization, where there's money there's evil and that is the truth. 💪🏻
@@PhoxxWon nothing of the money is going to the cause. it`s the same in church. There is a reason the pastor lives in a big house.
When the working man is broke he go to the preacher and ask for advice. The preacher tell the working man to pray to God for help.
When the Church is broke, they first go to the working man and ask him for money. If the working man is broke they go to the government. If the government is broke. They go to the Mafia
That is true assuming the cost is not a factor but I knew kids from working class backgrounds who saved their own money from summer jobs and other minimum wage endeavours to do this type of thing and while it would be more efficient to use that money to pay local workmen, if the money was to be allocated and spent properly, your labour is costing them nothing and I’d in addition to the money, not subtracted from it (unless guys are ripping out and replacing your work in the middle of the night.)
Sadly this often isn’t the case.
I don’t want to discourage anyone from doing this sort of thing. It is a humbling and noble thing to do that can be a great experience but I urge anyone considering it to do a LOT of research and do so only through somewhere reputable.
Packaged deals that take you from the US and other westernised countries with a high cost of living that organise all this all for you will 90% of the time be extremely inefficient use of your money, if any of it goes to where you think it is going.
Really use you head and think.
If you have to pay to volunteer, then your labour isn’t worth much.
If the money is for “flights, food and accommodation”
Then someone is booking it, cooking it or organising it on your behalf and who’s paying them I wonder?
Because this is SO broad I don’t have any specific advice except be careful and perhaps try to connect some bi-lingual expats who have lived in that specific region for 5+ years, and not just one person but multiple.
Embassies are your friend as are some travel writers and the authors of reputable and highly specialised “guide books” at which point they’re not really guide books any more.
Before you leave your country, local university and colleges may have useful information, people and resources but steer fairly well clear of any “programs” you’re being offered.
Spend some time learning fundamentals of the skills you expect be using, because as soon as you start to think, hey I’m learning this skill you will cross the threshold into knowing that you know NOTHING about it and once you’re beyond that point you will be much better equipped to identify when you or others are being conned.
Steer somewhat clear of things being advertised where tourists gather.
Seek knowledge from places that local people frequent.
Your on point ! I worked in Africa ,Nigeria,Congo,and Mozambique. I agree with your testimony. I have seen the game and how it’s played . Corruption is rampant. We don’t really effect change that lasts and definitely can’t understand the social customs ,beliefs ,and morals . Our worlds are very different. I would advise against doing this type of travel to “help” .
Ok so where and how can someone start to actually help?
@@1rstTry you might not like the answer. It’s the same place many have asked for hundreds of years. It has to start within the government of that nation to assist. Then there has to be support from the population. Expect things could get prohibitively expensive and political. Pray there are no civil disputes over ,tribal groups,religion, race , politics. Example pirates if on the coastal states . Bokuharam , Islamic terrorist organizations,and guerrillas. Expect set backs but be ready to bug out !Keep your exit plan ready for all involved. Kidd napping for ransom should be a great concern . In Africa , pandemics are a constant treat . I found myself in a very dangerous position in Nigeria,during The Ebola outbreak .Yellow fever , is shaken off like a flu for the locals,but for westerners it’s still extremely dangerous even with the vaccines. You will have Need of interpreters , security personnel and work with immigration officials for work visas . If you can afford all this then I would advise to invest that in your own country where the poor , would benefit greatly and Your safety and health will be assured.
you have worked in africa. thats it. not Africa,congo,Mozambique,nigeria
@@1rstTry research and monitor where your funds go. Also work with people who are hands on . You can tell from one interaction if someone is really good and about their organization or if its just an excuse to make money
@@floridahuntsman7915 thank you and well said. I have never understood the need to go to the other side of the globe when there are plenty of people in need right where you are.
greed is the route of all evil
Irrational greed is is one of the roots of evil. rational and non-predatory greed is the root of all good.
@@Virtueman1
There is no such thing as good greed.
Greed is by definition egotistical.
root
Mf said route lmao
Thats sooooo deep
That is so sad. If I had money, I would definately save and adopt as many kids I can from the orphanages especially if they are being abused.
I can confirm this. I was not rich but i had an opportunity to go to Peru to build “showers” for indigenous folks near Machu Picchu through a program called Summer Search. The program paid me to go since I was low income. I am not sure what was the program that worked with summer search, but we didn’t even build showers the local town people did. It was basically a vacation.
then why take someone and pay them money for not doing anything? Doesn't make any sense