Once in a lifetime trip disguised as fundraising for Charities

[staveleymum]

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for people raising money for Charity. People asking for sponsorship for things like Marathons, 1000 miles walked in a year, midnight walks, etc. I'm also on board with Red Nose Day, Children in Need, PTA fundraising, kids clubs fundraising and everything else that seems to constantly need money to run.

BUT I just don't get fundraising for things like hiking up Kilimanjaro or funding a trip to Borneo (for a 16 year old) to build a school or some such similar. Both these events need to raise £4,000 so they are on facebook, justgiving, etc trying to raise the money. My issue is that of the £4,000 needed how much will actually go to charity. This covers flights, accommodation, food, guides, etc - surely this is just something that they want to do as a personal thing and wrapping it up in Charity and getting others to pay for it?

I'd love to walk over Sydney Harbour Bridge but I wouldnt dream of masking it in Charity and hoping others will pay for it with perhaps 5-10% of the money raised actually going to the Charity?

I know I don't have to sponsor but I'd rather just give the donation directly to the Charity. AIBU?

Charity shouldn't be a negative for the receiver though, which is what some of these for profit voluntourism holidays are, a negative for the local community.

that does not benefit the donor

absolutely it does!

Charity shouldn't be a negative for the receiver though, which is what some of these for profit voluntourism holidays are, a negative for the local community.

of course it shouldn't be negative for the receiver, and mostly with this trips, in my experience it isn't.

Buildings/ sewers/ infrastructure gets built, which other wise would not happen, because the uk kids are doing it for free, and there is no money to pay anyone to do it.

Conservation work and ecological research, ditto.

School lessons, i understand that there may be some concerns and bad practice, but in my experience these have been AS beneficial to local children AS volunteering in the uk is to british children ( although in the uk too, there are sometimes concerns and bad practice)

and there is also a benefit to the uk teens, A huge benefit, they possibly benefit more than the local people they visit, but that is not wrong or bad!

Buildings/ sewers/ infrastructure gets built, which other wise would not happen - they would get built, but why is anyone going to pay local workers when they can get paid to let tourists do it? That is harming the local economy. Locals repair and build infrastructure all over Tanzania, but in places where world challenge et all come out, moshi, arusha, zanzibar, its damaging for local tradesman as they are never going to get chosen over westerners who are paying to 'help'

I don't think there is a question in these developing countries, where the answer is unskilled western teenagers.

I'm guessing you speak kiswahili as you've volunteered and taught in the country multiple times I think you said, too far back now. Have a read of jamiiforums for some alternate views on what they think of western unqualified tourists teaching in schools/building and taking away jobs from locals.

With all your talk about charity are you honestly unaware that many people struggle for money? What "benefit" do they get from a charitable donation?

absolutely, and I have struggled for money as much as anyone else. Of course giving benefits the doner, but I can't really articulate it any more than I have done.

Racking up brownie points is a crude way of putting it, because the points don't add up to anything outside of your own head, but yes, if you want to put it that way.

You feel you have achieved something, you feel that you have done something for someone, you feel worthwhile. Your self esteem may go up.

That is what is meant by the recipient blessing the giver by accepting.

To give freely, out of love, even at some personal cost.

but then you think "i am someone who gives freely, out of love, even at some personal cost" and that is your benefit

Have a read of jamiiforums for some alternate views on what they think of western unqualified tourists teaching in schools/building and taking away jobs from locals. I've looked, i can't find anything, do you want to send me a link to a specific thread?

Here are some concerns, all from the first page of googling voluntourism.
www.independent.co.uk/news/people/jk-rowling-twitter-voluntourism-volunteering-in-orphanages-risks-a7204801.html
www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/13/beware-voluntourists-doing-good
www.huffingtonpost.com/pippa-biddle/little-white-girls-voluntourism_b_4834574.html
www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/magazine/the-voluntourists-dilemma.html?_r=0
www.wanderlust.co.uk/magazine/articles/destinations/is-voluntourism-doing-any-good-no?page=all

On my phone so will send in the morning (there's a search function on top side i think on desktop browser) do you speak kiswahili?

yes, its rusty, but I warm up when I get there. Thank you. ( the schools we go into are English medium though)

It is strange when volunteers teach in Tanzanian schools with no language or only basic. Likewise I always wonder how they communicate with the community they are supposidly "helping".

The schools we visit are English medium

The other side of this is (an example of a not untypical trip one of my DC did) take 2 weeks precious leave from work. Spend week 1 building a new medical block in an African camp and week 2 climbing (not strolling) up a mountain. They paid their own travel and expenses - most of these groups do - and raised several k for their charity, most raised more than target. Yes these things are an experience of a lifetime but the OP's post was very one sided.

You've said and you also said you speak it I presume fluently, so my point was for all volunteers not to you, but the point still stands even at English med as it's notnfirst language and not what the rest of the community will be necessarily fluent in. To go to volunteer in a country but not speak the language is bizarre.

Chat - how on earth are your kids qualified to build a medical block? Surely they could have raised the money & given it to the community to build it with experienced builders??

User148 - essentially you are dismissing the research. Not sure why.

Secondly, please do point out these countries where children's homes are better than UK foster care.

I am not arguing that all children in foster care will form family attachments. But in children's homes staff turnover is very high, and the impersonal nature of the care + safeguarding concerns make it very difficult to form family like attachments.

Re UK & volunteering, you are not comparing apples with applis. In the UK volunteers in schools will probably be CRB checked, or be with teachers while they help out. And these children are at school, not in residential care so the effect is not as great as introducing new people every two weeks.

The effect of introducing new people every two weeks is having kids who clamour for attention and aren't shy of strangers, enabling you to get your nice pics. As they get older these behaviours of desperately seeking love and attachment make children very easy to abuse and exploit, leading to huge numbers ending up in prostitution.

AND, finally finally, foster care does not cost more than residential care, it is actually substantially cheaper: wearelumos.org/sites/default/files/Lumos%20USG%20Report.pdf

They reference an American paper - in the UK orphanage care is also much more expensive than fostering.

I'm not dismissing the research, i just know a lot more about the research than you do, and btw, foster care is by a long way the most expensive option

But in children's homes staff turnover is very high not necessarily, a child brought up in a children's home may very well have far fewer carers over the course of their child hood than a child brought up in foster care.

Not only that, but even if carers change, their home and peers remain stable, in stark contrast to foster care, where a child can easily lose their carers AND their home AND their friends AND their school many times a year.

Hi Bubbles again, do you have that link for me? I've been asking my charity about some of the building work, and considering maybe missing that out this year, and seeing what happens.