“Volunteerism – the policy or practice of volunteering one’s time or
talents for charitable, educational, or other worthwhile activities, especially
in one’s community” – that’s what volunteerism is all about according to
the dictionary. What happens, however, when we take the ‘worthwhile’ out of
‘worthwhile activities’? The Ph.D. student in sociology and volunteer Ian
Breckenridge-Jackson asked the same question in his presentation ‘Getting More Than We Give – Realities of Volunteerism’.
Back in 2006, Ian became one of the many tourist volunteers who went
to New Orleans with the plan to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. However,
it turned out that volunteering turned out quite different than what he
expected. Instead of helping the victims settle back in their homes in the
historical neighbourhood Lower Ninth Ward, Ian and the other volunteers had the
task to demolish what’s left of their houses, leaving people to wait for the
government to rebuild it and give them some financial help.
This experience changed Ian’s
life. Expecting to go and give his time and efforts to the people, he ended up
getting a free trip to New Orleans, an award, a valuable entry in his
CV, recognition and the feeling that he did something good. This volunteering
experience completely changed Ian’s life. The simple calculations he made
helped him see that volunteer tourists, although driven by good will, are mostly
a waste of time and money.
Ian found out that if the funds used to get
volunteers to New Orleans was used to build new houses instead, it would have
been enough to rebuild a neighbourhood twice the size of Lower Ninth Ward (for
reference, so far only about 1/5 of the houses in the neighbourhood have been
rebuilt). So Ian decided to contribute to the victims in a different way.
Firstly, he partnered with another volunteer – Caroline Heldman – and together
they co-founded the Lower Ninth Ward Museum where everyone can go for free and
learn the story of the neighbourhood’s inhabitants. Secondly, he focussed his
Ph.D. dissertation on the impact of volunteers who flocked to New Orleans after
Hurricane Katrina.
And while we are waiting for the
results of Ian’s dissertation, we can’t help ask ourselves some of the
questions bothering him. When is volunteerism turning into a pointless and even
a detrimental activity? Before taking part in a volunteer project, you need to
find out if your efforts will actually help someone. Volunteerism exists to
help people in need, but it often takes an unfortunate turn which helps no-one.
There is nothing bad in getting something back from volunteer work –
experience, new friends, new connections, knowledge etc., however, for it to be
worthwhile, you need to give more than you get.
Ian is not the first one to doubt
the usefulness of volunteer tourists. Many specialists are of the opinion that
a worthy cause could do better to invest the money for volunteer tourists in
local specialists and companies (depending on the situation), who will be able
to do much more for the people in need than those coming from all over the
world. Some people even think that volunteer
tourism is becoming a whimsy, a sort of amusement for some people.
We know it is the volunteers, not the tourists, devoting their time and efforts with good
intentions. However, before you choose a cause to volunteer for, ask yourself
what you will be doing, why you will be doing it and who you are really
helping. If the answers to these three questions are satisfactory – go for it!
If not, maybe you should consider another cause or project.
Good luck!
