Have Volunteer Abroad Solution...Will Travel. For A Need!

Who among us have not wondered, at least once, if Voluntourism is doing good, or doing more harm than good?  I have even wondered, who is helped more on a Voluntourism project--the project or the volunteer?

You can't do this work and not wonder about these things.  Unless you're one of those senders of volunteers who is doing it for the money.  (If you are, please raise your hand so the rest of us can see what we're doing differently.)  I do not jest.  That is not meant to be funny.

I know what you're thinking…GeoVisions "sends" volunteers abroad.  Writing a post like this…what are you thinking?  Look.  I didn't say I agree.  I said I "wonder" from time to time.

So I happened to be wondering sometime ago, I came upon a Blog I really, really like.  There is content that makes me think critically about Voluntourism.  I always learn something, and the writer causes me to think really hard about our programs.

If someone is causing you to think, and if someone is causing you to be critical enough to examine the "what" you do and more importantly, the "why" of what you do…that's always a good thing.  In all honesty, reading someone critical of what you do can cause you to do what you do better, and with more meaning.

Check out Tales From The Hood.

One of the reasons I think GeoVisions has great programs, obviously, is we think critically and we don't pile on.  I've used the phrase "pile on" over and over in this Blog.  It is rare for me to see innovation out there with new volunteer abroad programs and it is rare someone pushes the envelope and engages in critical discussions about what good we are doing…where, how and why.

Do we, as Voluntourists, offer the solution and then search for a need?  Here is a quote from Tales From The Hood:

The way far too many amateurs want to do aid:

1. Have a solution (used clothes, volunteers, bunch of soccer balls, a gadget, etc…)
2. Find a problem that you can, with a little imagination, use the solution identified in Step 1 to partially solve.
   

In fairness, here is where that writer suggests would do the most good:

The way aid should be done:

1. Understand the need that needs to be addressed, the problem that needs to be solved.
2. Plan a solution based on that need, on that problem.
3. Implement the solution to meet the need, fix the problem.
   

See?  I started out this post explaining that I love reading this stuff.  How can you not be challenged?  How can you not learn?  Great stuff.

Here is another Blog I highly recommend: Good Intentions Are Not Enough. This Blog is for everyone who is going be a Voluntourist. Read and use for your preparation. It's great.

You can use the Comments section and tell us what you think.  I hope you will.  Are you a Voluntourist?  Can you share the work you did on a project?  Have you continued your work after your return?  Have you encouraged others to become involved?

Please Don't Call It Voluntourism If It Isn't

I admit that I'm critical of a lot.  We pride ourselves at GeoVisions on exacting standards.  And the older I get the less patience I have.  What I have not done over the years is use this Blog to attack anyone, especially someone who truly wants to make life better for others (and themselves).

Over the years I have weighed in on "voluntourism vs. volunteerism" and all the other "isms" of travel and volunteering.  I've taken a strong stand on VERY short-term volunteer projects vs. VERY long-term volunteer projects and the pros and cons of each.  I've entered the "not-for-profit" vs. "for-profit" debates and donned bruises I've worn with pride.

And I have, in fact, marveled at the Ritz-Carlton Group's Community Footprints program and how at many properties they are practicing voluntourism with their guests…with a great deal of success.  While others were taking shots at Ritz, Sue Stephenson (@RitzCarltonCSR) over there was winning me over because they actually thought out each and every project and focused on the results of their guests helping out locally vs. the length of the project.  I'm a huge supporter of their efforts.  When they write up a project, they actually write up the project and the goals and the results.

And so it is with a certain amount of hesitation that I write my first critical article of an organization entering the voluntourism arena: Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.  And I site a very specific article here: Guest Post: Craig Milan Introduces RoyalCaribbean's New Voluntourism Excursions.

Craig Milan, Royal Caribbean's CEO, writes that, "Voluntourism is a new and growing segment of travel…"  That just isn't true.  Voluntourism goes way back.  There isn't anything "new" about it.  Type "voluntourism" in Google and you'll find many organizations who have been incorporating this type of travel for more than 10 years.

Anyway, here are my issues:

1.  Royal Caribbean has partnered with select tour operators and the Mexican Chapter of the Red Cross in Cozumel. Who are the tour operators and what is this doing for Cozumel?  The article explains what the Red Cross in Cozumel does, but does not explain what the tourists do except plant some trees and shrubs at the headquarters of the Red Cross.  This is, and I'm using the company's exact wording, "…available for sale online as well as onboard through this summer."  I'm wanting to read what the tourists do besides beautify the Red Cross headquarters.  I don't see it.

2.  It gets better.  If you're headed to Europe with Royal Caribbean, you can buy a shuttle bus pass in Venice.  If you do, you'll get a Chorus Pass ticket for FREE ($13 value).  The "voluntourism" part of that, I guess, is that The Chorus Association in Venice will "reinvest" those funds ($13) for the upkeep of churches and art in Venice.  I'm not sure what you're volunteering here…the shuttle bus ticket?  No one on this "project" is doing anything to make Venice better for anyone.  I actually read this part of the article 5 times.

3.  Over in Turkey, if you will buy a "selected tour" when you get off the ship (or on board), you "will have a tree planted near the House of Mary in your honor and you will receive a certificate to this effect. This project is focused on the re-forestation of this critical historical site."  What is the project?  Riding a tour bus?  The tourists don't even get to plant the tree and have their photo taken?

4.  Lastly (I promise) is the Whales & Glaciers: Citizen Science Adventure tour.  Yes, tour.  I clicked the link and I hope you will too.  There isn't enough room for me to vent here on this project.

Words like

"You will play a significant role", "Get hands on experience", "you will work to identify, track and record", are unfortunately offset with:

"tour guarantees whale sightings/observations", "watercraft that provides a comfortable cabin", "A $100 cash refund is provided by the tour operator if whales are not sighted on the trip" ending with "All participants on this excursion are eligible to enter to win cash prizes in the tour operator's 2010 Capture Juneau Photo Contest."

Royal Caribbean…I tried.  I really, really tried to get it.  Here at GeoVisions we call this cashing in and piling on.  And we are not "anti-short term" projects.  I started out explaining that we love the work the Ritz Carlton group is doing, and they have short projects too.  But those are REAL projects.  Call them.  Tweet Sue (her Twitter handle is above) and get a clue.  Sue will help you.  They're nice folks over there and they can straighten you out.

There are other places who can help also:  voluntourism.org and voluntourismgal.com.  If you truly want to help other people and give back to the communities where you park your boats, get in touch with either one of those two organizations.  You'll have to prove to them that you're serious and if you do...they will help you provide state of the art projects that are meaningful and sustainable.  Even really short projects.  You might even be able to attract groups of people going on a cruise to volunteer in various communities.

And I'm personally inviting you to come to the WYSTC conference in Beijing, China this October.  No cruise ships there, but you can fly in.  Come for a few days and meet others who have been in this space many years.  Connect with them and learn more about this space.  I'm offering to send you a copy of WYSE Work Abroad Best Practices Manual for Volunteer Programs.  The manual is supposed to be for members only…but you really do need this manual.  And I want you to have it.  And use it.

I have to end this post by saying I write for myself and other staff here might not have chosen a similar tone.  So don't judge all of GeoVisions by this post.  And I also have to say that I don't write for WYSE.  GeoVisions is a member.  And we contributed to the Best Practices Manual and I do sit on the Volunteer Programs Working Committee at WYSE.  But I don't write for that committee either.

I just saw the article and took issue.  I've highlighted my problems with what Royal Caribbean is calling voluntourism.  And I've offered them people who would love to help them get it right, and I've offered materials that can help them also.

There are enormous resources for anyone wanting to enter the voluntourism space and for those who have been around a long time.  There are people dedicating their lives to making sure the space is strong.  Feel free to ask for help to get it right.  All of us in this space want it to be as good as it can be.  But we are only as strong as our weakest link.

Randy LeGrant
Executive Director
GeoVisions

 

 

A Conference That Includes A Day Of Volunteering Is A Good Conference

If a volunteer sending organization like GeoVisions is going to belong to an association, that association should support volunteering by including a volunteer project in the agenda.  And that is why GeoVisions belongs to WYSTC and WETM-IAC.  At every conference, we take a day to volunteer locally.  It's where the rubber meets the road.  It also provides conference attendees with an opportunity to get out into the community, to rub elbows with the locals and understand what it's like to live there.  So many times we attend a conference and we never leave the 4 or 5 star hotel.

During the WETM conference last week in Miami, I had an opportunity to volunteer for a day with , the Haitian Women in Miami.  FANM is 16 years old and has a rich past of providing counseling, outreach, education, access to care and advocacy services.

FANM sustains itself and it's programs through grants and donations.  Their greatest challenge is funding for their programs and the support of earthquake victims.  Many earthquake victims are sent to Miami for medical care.  These victims, often invisible once in the U.S., can count on FANM to become their voice and advocate for medical procedures, rehabilitation and housing after treatment.

So how did our work for the day actually help?  We

• assembled 150 emergency medical kits to be distributed in Haiti;
• assisted FANM's staff at their shipping warehouse by organizing donations;
• labeling boxes of food and clothing for transport to Haiti;
• loaded school buses with domestic goods;
• and filled a truck trailer with thousands of bottles of donated water.

We were able to do all of this work at the International Port of Miami, which is administered by Homeland Security.

Here are a couple of very short videos from the day:

 

 

What conferences do you attend that provide opportunities to get involved locally and volunteer?  Do you agree that it also provides an opportunity to get to know the locals better?

GeoVisions To Miami To Volunteer With The Haitian Womens' Org

GeoVisions belongs to WYSTC and WYSE.  Why is that important to you?  Because they are global organizations, accepting members from all over the world.  And that means senders of volunteers and receivers of volunteers.  The alternative is an organization that allows only U.S. members and that makes no sense to us.  Someone has to receive our volunteers!  Duh.  We should meet with them and learn from them.

When you are looking at web sites of organizations who send volunteers and looking at "affiliations", be sure to notice if the sending organization belongs to a global association or just a U.S. association.  It is very important to include the communities where volunteers go as part of a membership.  Otherwise, how can there be meaningful best practices and an understanding of sending and receiving?

Each September/October we meet and then again in March.  So next month I'll be bringing you updates from sunny Miami where we will meet for 4 days.

One of the activities is on March 17, where the WYSE membership will contribute to the relief effort for Haiti working alongside FANM, the Haitian Womens’ Organization of Miami, volunteers who will be organizing and sorting donations such as clothes, tents and hygiene kits to send to Haiti.

FANM is in desperate need of tents to provide shelter in time for Haiti’s imminent rainy season. WYSE Work Abroad will be donating a tent for each volunteer participating, up to a total of 25 tents.  GeoVisions will be Blogging and Tweeting from this volunteer project the morning of March 17.

WYSE Work Abroad would like to thank Roxana O’Harra of Volunteers for International Partnership and the Educational Resource Development Trust (ERDT) who has been invaluable in arranging this project.

When I look at the agenda for the U.S. only organizations, I never see volunteer projects as part of the program.

If you are attending the WYSE conference, you can contact GeoVisions and we will put you in touch with the department who is coordinating this volunteer project.

To find out more about WETM-IAC (held March 17-19 2010 in Miami, USA) or to register for the event, visit the WETM-IAC website.

WYSE Work Abroad is a member association of WYSE Travel Confederation www.wysetc.org

What do you think?  Have you looked at the "affiliations" pages of sending organizations' web sites?  Are your favorites members of U.S. only organizations or are they active globally?  Is this important to you?

The "T" In Voluntourism

It's hard to find a letter so manipulated as the "t" in Voluntourism.  Or the "t" in Volunteerism.  Poor thing.  Maybe we should spell it this way: volunT__, as in, "Hey…I'm off to Cambodia to volunT__."

Back in the day, (1974), John G. Cull and Richard E. Hardy wrote a book entitled Volunteerism: An Emerging Profession.  In their book, Cull and Hardy assert that volunteering is done on one's own volition, with personal commitment or concern.  Since volunteers are not motivated, presumably, in the same way as they are in relation to life-support systems, such as employment, their reasons d'être are grossly inconsistent, and elements of cohesion are frequently nebulous.

In 1974 Cull and Hardy's book cost $5.95.  You can buy it on Amazon but it now costs $15.00.

In all honesty, I don't think the general public really cares about that poor little "t" as long as they experience a new culture and experience what it is like to help other people or the environment.

The 2008 Voluntourism Survey Report issued in October 2009 indicated that people who volunteer abroad want to (in rank order):

1. Experience something different
2. Learn new things
3. Gain a new perspective on life
4. Explore the unknown
5. Experience a different culture 

You can hardly make a case that these people are focused on volunteerism or voluntourism over the other.

The same survey indicated, when asked about length of stay,

• 34% looked for a 7-14 day obligation
• 22% looked for a 7-day obligation
• Interestingly, these 22% were interested in volunteering their time an average of 7-8 hours each day

This is a statistic that is counter-intuitive to sending organizations (those companies who send volunteers abroad on programs).  I can't count the times I've seen providers rail on about the quality of the experience = the number of days abroad.  Yet, from this survey, of those seeking only a 7-day experience, they are motivated to spend 8 hours each day working and not traveling.  Makes you wonder where those multi-month-long providers came up with those stories, doesn't it?  I even wrote a Blog post in support of short-term volunteering sometime ago.

So after reading the entire survey, I wanted to write a piece about that poor little "T" in the middle of a controversy it never started and cares nothing about.

How about you?  Have I over-simplified things?  Do you really choose a program based on the "T"?

 

Volunteer Abroad In A Best Value Destination

Information in this Post comes from Travelmole.

If you are thinking of a volunteer abroad or teach abroad destination, check out this list of best value destinations for 2010, which was reported recently by Travelmole.  GeoVisions supports volunteer projects in four of the ten: Mexico, India, South Africa and Thailand.

Best Value Destinations in 2010   

Iceland and London have made it into Lonely Planet's new top 10 list of best value destinations for the first time.

The economic collapse in Iceland means the island is no longer punitively expensive, said the "Best in Travel 2010" guide, putting the beleaguered country in its best-value list. "Have you always wanted to discover this magical, mysterious country, to explore ice caps and volcanoes, and wallow in hot springs? Been put off because of the prohibitive prices? Well, 2010 is your year."

Meanwhile London's days as a costly destination are now over, Lonely Planet said. "Long ludicrously expensive, London has become much more affordable for visitors from abroad, if not for its residents," said the guide.

Lonely Planet travel editor Tom Hall said: “It may seem a surprising inclusion but as a direct result of the economic crisis London has become much more accessible to foreign visitors. “The tables have turned and London’s reputation as one of the world’s most expensive cities is over. The favourable exchange rate means that travellers will often find hotels and meals up to half the price they were a few years ago."

Elsewhere in the top 10, Thailand remained "perennially good value", said the book. "It's one of the cheapest long-haul holidays for European holidaymakers... visitors are always spoilt for choice regarding accommodation."

Malaysia "is a clever choice for travellers on the lookout for a bargain", while in India "your money stretches almost as far as the infamous Indian 'stretchable' time".

"South Africa is not only about an amazing climate, vast unspoilt scenery, balmy sandy beaches, extraordinary wildlife and adventure activities, but the cost of living is low, so it's also excellent value for money."

Lonely Planet's annual guidebook captures "the world's hottest travel trends, destinations, journeys and experiences for the year ahead."

2010’s Best Value destinations:

Iceland
Thailand
London
South Africa
Malaysia
Mexico
India
Bulgaria
Kenya
Las Vegas

(Note: the destinations are not ranked)

Volunteer Abroad and Work & Travel Up In Southeast Asia

As a member of the WYSE Travel Confederation, our Executive Director sits on the International Volunteer subcommittee.  WYSE is a global not-for-profit association for the youth and student travel industry and they see a bright future for youth travel, most especially in Asia.

GeoVisions has a full time office in Bangkok, Thailand and our CEO who works from there has reported similar findings.  Our Asia office handles volunteer projects as well as recruitment in all of Asia for U.S. Work and Travel.  GeoVisions is a designated J-1 Visa sponsor from the U.S. State Department.

From today's Blog Post from WYSE:

Demand for international education, backpacking adventures and cultural exchange has remained high throughout the recession as more young people continue to travel, study and develop new skills until the economy recovers, WYSE says.  For the original posting click here.

“The social benefits of youth and educational travel – combined with its resilience to the financial crisis – have led national tourism boards throughout South East Asia to focus on the youth sector,” WYSE added.

“The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is promoting 2010 as the year of ‘Youth Travel’ with global branding and promotional efforts focusing on attracting young travellers from all over the world.

“Singapore is another example of Asia’s immense inbound and outbound market opportunities. The Singapore Government has focused on promoting work and study abroad opportunities to improve the language and cultural skills-set of its students.

“The Ministry of Education is busy establishing satellite campuses in cities such as Beijing in order to achieve its goal of sending 50 percent of Singaporean students abroad on educational exchanges.”

WYSE said Singapore Education has also embarked on a new initiative across western markets aimed at attracting foreign students from Europe, North America, and Oceania interested in Asian business and language courses.

In Thailand, a government campaign will promote Thailand as a regional hub for international education by focusing on attracting foreign students.

The education sector in Thailand is projected to grow at least 10 per cent annually due to the implementation of the government’s new ‘Strong Thailand’ campaign.

Hosting a strategy session last month at the World Youth & Student Travel Conference – the industry’s annual global conference – WYSE Travel Confederation confirmed that 60 percent of tourism boards view youth travel as vital to the future of their industry and anticipate huge growth in this sector over the next five years.

Over the next year, the confederation will host a series of events to promote youth and student travel throughout Asia.

Beijing will be host city for the World Youth & Student Travel Conference in 2010.

Source: Travelmole.com