Voluntourism and the 'Hero' Complex

Volunteering while you're traveling is good, it helps you save some money, lets you stay in a place for a while and gives you the chance to live the lives of the locals. There are many types of volunteering and it can be like teaching, gardening or helping local families in their farms. I had done some volunteering myself and my main motive was just to save money to prolong my travel, and honestly, I had learned a lot of things too, such as gardening and farming. That time, there were many other volunteers from other countries so my presence was not such a great impact and besides, it was more of a sustainable lifestyle community with people from all over the world living together. I was not really helping a poor community or something, and the experience was more for myself.

Voluntourism is doing more harm than good these days probably because of the rise of the bored, young travelers coming from the same parts of the world who have little experience in the type of work they are going to do. If you are traveling in the developing countries, some of the agencies or organizations are looking for volunteers to build some structures like houses, libraries, schools and other community buildings. Take note that these are agencies that can also make some money from travelers, so some of them don’t really care if you don’t have any building, construction or carpentry skills. The result is that the volunteers make unsound structures that could put the lives of the locals in danger. The worst thing is that there are even some locals who would have to take down the unstable structures and not make the volunteers aware of their failure. In this case, it is important to take volunteering opportunities not for your personal desires but more for projects that suit your skills.

Make sure to ask yourself these questions - would you trust yourself to do this job in your own country? Would the people in your own country trust you to build their houses, schools, and other community buildings?

There are so many volunteering programs these days that cater to the highly educated and entitled young people that give them the opportunity to travel to the developed countries. These agencies charge a lot of money for these packages and some of these organizations use the ‘poor country’ stereotype to promote their programs to make more money. So believe it or not, there are some companies out there that can make a lot of money from the poverty and hardships of others. Travelers are not probably aware of these things because they have different realities, all they need to do is pay, get some experience then post the photos on social media. It would be more helpful if the volunteers also check the agencies they are working with and if they have the right values and intentions. If you really want to do something good then make sure to check if these are ethical volunteering agencies or organizations before handing them your cash.

You cannot deny the reality that most of the travelers or the so-called backpackers don’t really have a problem going through the police check and not be mistaken for a terrorist, cocaine smuggler from Colombia or an illegal immigrant just because of their physical appearance. Most of these travelers usually carry a backpack full of special privileges and are usually predispositioned for success. I had seen this Finnish traveler hitchhiking and traveling without money, and yet he was still fine in most parts of his journey, even if he tried to look poor and act poor, it just wouldn’t work. His background and looks alone would save him from interrogation and starvation.

Most of these travelers also carry this ‘hero’ complex anywhere they go, they portray the ‘savior volunteer’ image leaving the locals worthless. I will not judge those who are volunteering for selfish reasons because like I said above, I did the same. You can just pretty much be honest about it by asking yourself these questions - are you going to volunteer to feel good about yourself, to let the whole world know that you are doing something good, then come back home and be proclaimed as hero? Aren't the television programs and reality shows already full of heroes?

The only thing I don’t like are the ones who are claiming that they are creating such a big impact in the world without personal motive, the typical hypocrisy I had seen as I traveled. Like posting a hero photo of you surrounded with children from the orphanage would be such a great proof that you did something good to humanity for selfless reasons. Before taking any volunteering opportunity, it would be better to be introspective about your motives, and if your intentions are in the right place.

If you are really volunteering to help, then ask yourself these questions - can you go to this community without a camera? Can you stay in this community without internet for a while? Do you really want to help or do you just want to show the world that you are helping?

These volunteers would come to a place for a short while then write or post about how they had this life-changing experience and saved the whole community while leaving the locals not part of the scene. I have seen this typical scenario myself, the locals are usually doing all the work and sometimes even double the work if the volunteers are inexperienced with the project. They are just there asking questions, working for a few of hours, and in the end, the locals are the ones who can get the job done because the volunteers cannot speak the language. Don’t forget that the volunteers don’t get paid, so in reality, these jobs are supposedly for the experienced local people looking for work.

In conclusion, volunteering is indeed a life-changing personal experience, but it can be good or damaging to the local community and economy. Voluntourism these days has become a greedy corporation, serving only a few individuals who are shamelessly benefitting from the poverty and hardships of others. You might not even realize that by participating in voluntourism in the developing parts of the world, you might be promoting and perpetuating this ‘poor country’ and victim stereotype through this neo-colonialistic attitude and heroism on social media. It is a very sensitive issue and there seems to be no escape from this anymore, and that some of the travelers’ actions just worsen these stereotypes. Don’t forget that volunteering is usually just a temporary activity, it means the local people would go on with their lives when you leave, and some of them would just become dependent on voluntourism even more. If you are going to help, it would be better to have a long-lasting impact on a community by creating long-term solutions. Before taking any volunteering opportunities in the developing countries, make sure to analyze beforehand if you would be doing more good, otherwise, it would be more helpful not to volunteer anymore.