To think fundraising to send teenagers to Africa is for their benefit not the orphans they are going out to 'help'

[Batwomanrisesagain]

I'm probably being a complete cow but just left my local supermarket where I was asked if I wanted to have my bags packed in return for a donation to help send local school children to Africa. They were going to help the orphans apparently. When I asked the teacher how, she said they would learn about their situation, gain greater insight then come home to raise money for them. I heard another packer tell a customer they planned to build an IT suite.
I asked why not just send the money they were fundraising directly out there to charities that are already working out there, she just shrugged.
So AIBU to think the fundraising is really for the benefit of the English school children, to pay for an 'enriching' experience and that actually if they want to go their parents should bloody well pay for it?
Or am I a complete cow (as the teacher clearly thought I was?)
I did bung them a quid as I felt guilty at not just keeping my mouth shut and saying no Thankyou....

YANBU 👏

I quietly agree... also, for those raising money to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and the like in the name of "charidee". To me it just seems like a way of getting others to pay for their trip of a lifetime with a lot of the money raised going towards travel costs and no where near the charities.

Don't get me started about chuggers at the supermarket. My friend did it once, raising money for a children's charity. Regardless of how much she collected she only had to give the charity a set amount - say £40 or something. Some chuggers were earning hundreds a day, yet they still only gave the charity £40. What kind of charity work is that?!

My local supermarket had a local young dance group in recently. But instead of offering to pack my bags etc they just stood at the end of the till, put their bucket in the packing area bit and stared at me expectantly 😐. They didn't get a pound from me. I'm mean.

Didn't we have this thread just a couple of weeks ago?

YABU and YANBU.

It's down to you if you give or not. It's up to the people involved to raise the money to get there however they see fit but if people don't give then they will have to fund it themselves.

DD1 did a gofundme page at the tail end of last year to get her to America. She went as a volunteer with a British charity and was there to help British families with disabled children. She was working from 8am/9am until as late as 11pm some days. She had one day off. Don't get me wrong, she loved the trip but she wasn't 'on holiday'.

She fund raised half the money and worked to pay the rest herself.

Yanbu

I didn't realise there was a similar thread recently, sorry.
The teacher stood over me the whole time I packed, I really felt uncomfortable.

I agree. It's also rather self indulgent - look at us, how lucky we are, how charitable we are being etc etc. Raise the money and send it there.

YANBU - when my DCs participated in similar experiences to fill up their UCAS form they raised the money through Saturday jobs (although I think some bag packing was organised through the school .

YANBU , I don't give to any of these types of trips , I cannot see what benefit they are to the people who really need the charity . If young people want to volunteer there are lots of things they can do in this country that don't cost hundreds of pounds .

Giving to a cause is not compulsory.
Find a worthy one and donate then.

Pirate I thought on the last thread you mentioned your dd's trip on, that the consensus was hers was one of the few that was useful! Iirc she assisted people on holiday and performed a role that was free to the families and wasn't taking investment or funding or playing at teaching.

Yanbu dds senior 6th year (scotland) did this and tbh i felt the same as you from what i gather they painted a classroom wall went on safari and met some african children it cost a fortune fine take kids to africa but it seems like poverty tourism to me and it didn't sit right with me Dd didn't want to go

YANBU

Privileged children going to these countries won't help.

What will help is channelling the money into training local workers.

My friend works at a orphanage where we live in South America. Part of her job is to supervise these volunteers. My friend is actually a social worker but because she's the only one at the orphanage who speaks English her time is diverted away from the children. The volunteers are generally keen but have no experience so need a lot of handholding.

It's unethical and irresponsible to send your child on one of these trips.

I would have been on the fence about this until fairly recently until I read some of the reports from Lumos about the harm of institutional care for children (sometimes incorrectly) described as orphans. I've read various other research and reporting since and the practices of many of these trips are often very concerning.

I have heard that oddboots woman I knows mother works for a charity and hates these types of trips

It's all arse-backwards. If you want to give to worthy causes in Africa; give. But don't pretend this is one.

And there are utterly beautiful places in Africa that could do with some tourism, go on holidays there.

But pretending this is any kind of assistance... not really.

YANBU, far better the money went to the actual charity than fund people to go abroad.

I'd not give to dance clubs either, parents pay for lessons so if they can't cover their costs they need to up their fees.

www.barbiesavior.com/

I got a Janet and Roy at xmas that included a request for cash to send a child to Africa.

YANBU. It's usually a glorified holiday for the children who go to "help". They may benefit from it but i would rather give money direct to the orphanage than subsidise their holiday. Having said that it's better than paying for the local teenage rugby team to go on tour! In my local supermarket they give you a token to post, 3 charities to choose from etc, and one really was for a rugby tour, hardly a worthy charitable cause when there are children dying of malnutrition.

The teenagers in Dds year did fundraising raffles and home baking was in all the local shops i felt a bit guilty for not giving any money it isn't the teenagers fault they probably thought they were going to help

Exploded I don't think I ever went back to that thread, it got very long, very quickly and I probably got side tracked with real life the cats.

She did work her arse off though. She was carrying oxygen cylinders, bags, helping with wheelchairs, looking after siblings and generally being a family helper with whatever was needed (no personal care or first aid - they had paramedics and doctors on the trip too).

She would love to do it again but sadly she's at uni now and every penny she earns is keeping her in noodles and cider. :o

Having done one such trip myself I completely agree with you. We went out to learn about what a charity was doing out there & to help the locals with things like re-mudding a house, planting plantain plants & laying a concrete floor in a community building. It was painfully obvious in each situation that the locals were much more skilled & able than any of us & we were slowing things up. It was an amazing experience for those of us that went, but I really think the money spent on flights, food & board & protection for the complex that had to be employed to keep us safe... could've been used to do much more than a bunch of teens could ever have hoped to achieve in the week we were there!

Well of course yanbu, it's a mutual benefit. The African communities her some help with building/ care/ education and the student gets an amazing life experience from which they will learn enournous amounts.

I don't see the problem

Ah the days of cheap beer and Pot Noodles Pirate She sounds great!