to refuse to sponsor this young person

[EmmaGrundyForPM]

An acquaintance has sent out a mass message asking people she knows to sponsor her son to do a 10k run in the New Year.
Son is 17, Y13, and next summer is going to Uganda to build a playground in a primary school. He's raising funding for this with a target of £2500.

AIBU to think that, if the tables were turned, we wouldn't accept this? If I was told that a group of young people, with no experience, were coming to install playground equipment in my child's primary school, I would be outraged. As would other parents. And yet children in less wealthy countries are expected to be grateful for inexperienced people pitching up at their school.

When DS was in 6th form, there was an "opportunity" to go to Malawi for two weeks and volunteer in a school. I told DS I wouldn't support this, and he didn't go.

Why do schools and colleges run these trips, supposedly to "help" less fortunate children, when in fact it tends to be middle class children who go, because it looks good on their CV.

AIBU?

I can top that. I know of a Christian children's home that accepted a convicted sex offender from the UK as a volunteer because he told them he had repented and wanted to volunteer at a children's home to make amends...

That's interesting. I've had conversations with people who struggle to get any take-up of payroll giving schemes by staff because of the mindset that people don't want to give cash to charities as "it will just go on CEO salaries", but will support activities like those you've shared because they feel useful.

Even if the activities actually are not useful and though cash would have been far more effective (and if you want a charity to deliver projects effectively, responsibly and safely etc they need staff and administration!). I often see this sentiment posted on here of people wanting to donate useless tat to charities instead of cash that could be put to good use (and cash is worth more if you can gift aid it).

I guess whether we're talking local or abroad, people tend to get involved with charities because they want to feel good/useful. And what feels good to them isn't necessarily what's most effective in delivering the charity's objectives.

DH has probably spent a month over the last couple of years in Africa.
As a teenager he worked in a garden centre.
Got a degree
During an MSc ran a project still running today in a very run down city, trust me his field effects everyone, everyday.
Got his PhD.
He's now 50, works for a Russell Group Uni, writes the proposals that brings in millions of pounds of research money and pulls together great people.
He's embarrassed by his trips, he stands at the back, is introduced as a friend and let's the local Academics and Health workers take the lead. He brought back a shirt and probably ten photographs because it wasn't appropriate to take more.

He also gets roped in to interview would be student doctors, probably a target audience for these trips. He hates the volunteer teen tourism and if he can mark those kids less generously he will.

I'm very proud of him.

I specifically asked the question what would we get back if circumstances led to us not being able to raise the money and this was with 6-9 months notice and I was told that as the money given was a donation there would be no refunds. I asked what if we pay as parents rather than getting sponsored/donations and was told that it made no difference, even if you took out insurance they keep the money.

But if those countries / schools are accepting the help, it means they dont have enough resources. I see no problem this. In fact, it is good to expose kids to other culture early on, maybe this will also increase awareness about underprivileged kids in those countries.

Op, YABU. I see it as win win for the kids who travel to those countries to help and those who benefit from help.

But if those countries / schools are accepting the help, it means they dont have enough resources

With the voluntourism companies it can more often than not mean the company has paid someone to allow kids to play at teacher or paint a wall, not necessarily related to actual need or lack or resources.

@Sigma33

This has really upset me. It’s like they don’t even see them as children. It’s like they are lesser than British children, they don’t matter. Who cares if they are abused or have trauma. They can just be props for rich Western young adults to see some poverty porn.

Are they fundraising for his flights?

Surely it would make more sense to raise the money and just donate it to the school and the boy stay at home. Rather than to pay £2.5k for somebody with no construction skills to have a holiday.

I would not donate to that if I have understood it correctly.

YANBU

First world saviour syndrome is tiresome and ridiculous. Surely if people truly wanted to help they'd buy the equipment and send any remaining money to people there to be employed to do the work.

For 'charitable' trips (jollies) to countries where teenagers 'build houses', I've heard numerous stories of how people who actually know what they're doing have to go in and fix everything at the end of each day for these job sites...

@Usernamesarboring.

Increasing awareness is useless. After their trip they are just going to return to the UK, write about how inspired they were by the plight of the impoverished kids in their uni application, and then get on with their lives.

Jesus wept.

Oh for fucks sake. You’re SO close to getting it.

100% this.

At least they’ve stopped showing the white saviours for some charity fundraising. I can’t wait for things like this end too.

if they actually care, they could send the money instead of wasting it on flights. What is he going to add apart from having ego inflated by locals who probably hardly see any white people.

I think their priority was a white Christian being 'redeemed' was more valuable to the poor black children in their care. They would not have let this volunteer babysit their own children of course

Oh Jeeze. I read the Tanzania trip details. Among other things, those kids are apparently going to EMPOWER A WOMEN’S CO-OP.

It's actually made me nauseous.

@Sigma33.

There’s a racist phenomenon that is known to happen to black children. They are often mistaken for much older than they are, and not as considered as vulnerable and needing of safeguarding as white children. I wonder if this explains a lot about why these charities (sorry, businesses) enforce no safegaurding policies at all. They are exploiting these children.

to them than the poor black...

it fitted their narrative which led them to start a children's home in the first place, with no skills or prior expertise.

They said, commemorating their 10 year anniversary, that SA was so amazing because in the UK they would not have been able to open this children's home despite being led by God.

Read the full thread, the countries they visit are rarely ‘benefitting’ from them going there

Yes, sadly.

Black children, especially those living in poverty, are play things. For wealthy teens from the UK (and elsewhere) as well as for paedophiles.

“Leave their legacy”. Jesus christ. They aren’t even trying to market it as anything different. Very insensitive langauge. It makes them sound like the volunteers have come to colonise the village

Another children's home, also started in SA by overseas Christians, commenting on our programme to provide temporary residential care in a crisis but then looking to place children then looking to place children with extended family/foster families if their parents could not be supported to have them home again - 'oh, we couldn't let them go, we love them too much'

The implication being that we didn't really love these children.

The reality being we 'loved' them too much to keep them to satisfy our needs. We knew they needed a long-term, personal family who would be there for them when they weren't small and cute any more. When they were difficult teens, possibly drinking, taking drugs, rebelling and responding to their early trauma.

When they were young adults trying to get things together, messing up, needing a family to turn to for help.

100% yes to all of this.