In this blog series, we hear from Isha, who studied Economic History with Economics and graduated in the class of 2023. She was also an Student Volunteer Ambassador. Upon graduating, Isha has embarked upon two major volunteering trips in Fiji and Brazil where she spent a month in each place volunteering within the local communities. She provides a short guide to volunteering abroad ethically. 

When deciding where I wanted to volunteer abroad, I asked myself: “is this project ethical?” This is a multi-faceted question that required a lot of research. The main things I considered was how the project funds were used, whether the project had a long-term outlook and that it avoided the voluntourism trap. I will delve deeper into each of these considerations and what they mean for ethical and sustainable volunteering.

Funding

Firstly, know where your money goes! Volunteering trips are notoriously expensive, but the amount spent can be justified given the charity are open about where their money goes. The money spent for volunteering abroad will be used in small proportions for marketing, staff salaries and non-project related costs. These costs are all necessary. Otherwise, how else would you find out about such opportunities and how else would these projects be coordinated? The most ethical charities do not hide where these funds are utilised, being upfront about these costs is of upmost importance. For example, the charity Think Pacific, who I volunteered with in Fiji, offer a cost breakdown of how your money is used- this is pictured below.

For me this was so important to justify the large expense of this trip. Whilst I was out in Fiji, I could physically see the use of this money and I felt happy knowing that my money was used in exactly the way I was told it was. This unfortunately was not my experience with the charity I volunteered with in Brazil which has made me pay extra attention to cost breakdowns like this before choosing to volunteer with a charity. When a charity is not upfront about their costs, this doesn’t always mean they are deliberately hiding them. Therefore, if this is not readily available, do not hesitate to reach out to the charities to ask for further information.

Sustainable Projects

Secondly- does the project have a long-term outlook. When you volunteer abroad, you go there for a temporary period of time to help a community, but what happens when you leave? It is crucial that the project you participate in is something sustainable in the long-term, otherwise your project may end up doing more harm than good which would defeat the entire purpose of volunteering. For example, if you’re undertaking a construction project, will that community have the resources to then maintain that infrastructure once you have left or will the infrastructure be left idle. If you volunteer for an educational project how does that learning continue and develop once you complete your project. These are the type of questions that are important to ask charities before you volunteer with them as this will indicate how impactful your project will be.

Avoiding Voluntourism

Finally- how do you avoid the voluntourism trap? Voluntourism is where people combine travelling and volunteering for a few weeks rather than going abroad for a long-term period to solely volunteer. As volunteering abroad in this way is becoming a popular way to travel, this in some instances has led to a decline in the value of volunteer projects. Whilst we do not intend any harm by volunteering abroad, harm can easily be avoided by making sure you do some key things.

One of the biggest ways to minimize getting involved in voluntourism is to volunteer in something you have genuine experience in rather than volunteering somewhere for the sake of volunteering. It is easy for us to believe that we can go and volunteer in anything however, the countries we choose to volunteer in are usually in need of skilled volunteers. By doing this the quality of the volunteering work provided is high which can leave a much larger impact on a community.

The other major aspect that I believe is the most important, is to make yourself culturally aware. To be able to have the biggest impact on a community, understanding their cultural values and being able to first hand understand the issues that face that particular community is key. When you volunteer abroad, there’s a huge cultural difference from the lifestyle we are used to thus, we need to be sensitive to cultural differences. Go in with an open mind ready to embrace the culture and the way things work there, research cultural customs before going to a place and be prepared to adapt to the environment around you.

I hope these tips help you to find a volunteer placement that is both ethical and best suits your skill base.

If Isha has inspired you to volunteer, check out one of our other ongoing opportunities or book a one-to-one with David Coles, the Volunteer Centre Manager if you have more questions. And why not follow us on Twitter, and Instagram to stay up-to-date with our events and opportunities and read our blog for more volunteering tips and stories.