To think voluntourism needs to be called out?

[icreaminbarnsley]

I've had numerous requests this year by parents of teen dc who are going to various African countries to contribute to their crowdfunding "to help the people in [insert country]". They further explain that said child will be building schools/wells, teaching English, designing sanitation projects....but the latest I received was that their child would be "advising locals on how to set up a business". This in particular has really annoyed me, as the child is doing A Levels, has no business of their own, and no business acumen that I'm aware of. How can you be so brass necked and unaware to be spouting stuff like this? I totally get going to a different country is going to be a fantastic experience for the dc, but who is dressing it up to make it sound like these teens have something important to offer and are needed abroad, in areas that they have absolutely zero experience? I also get that the locals might benefit from the money that the dc need to pay to undertake such an experience, but is it really the locals who benefit, or is it the mainly the 'charitable' organizations that are based in the UK?

AIBU to feel we need to call this a unique opportunity to experience life in [insert country] and not delude ourselves into thinking the locals are benefitting from groups of western teens, who are not builders, engineers or business advisers?

All of them ?
So just to be clear, the British teenagers aren’t able to remember their own passwords but the whole of Africa does not require any further assistance with social media. Internet.
growing their online business.

That’s your position is it?

Schools have to realise it’s not charitable, it’s a money making company , and that’s all they’re interested in.

Valuable support is given via VSO and the Peace Corps, where professional agriculturists, economists, IT specialists, builders, teachers, nurses, midwives, dentists etc work alongside local colleagues. The first rule is you don’t go in telling anyone what they need or what to do.

Out main boss at work (she's not a teen,she's an adult) was going on something like this-slumming it and building a school or something

She had the neck to ask us for donations ('only £50 folks!')

The wrote down the names of anyone who donated (it was a short list-only the managers gave anything) and kept nagging at us ('come on guys!she's doing something for the greater good!')

She's worth 25 million,I'm on minimum wage

She can pay for her own bloody holiday!

How can you be so brass necked and unaware to be spouting stuff like this?

It's very very common in the middle-upper classes to do this sort of thing.

The privately school darlings have been taught that they will be the nation's next leaders. They come from people who are leaders in the corporate world or in the upper echelons of society, so naturally, why wouldn't Henry, Deliah, Caspar, or Arabella be qualified to give business advice?

Although I think that many do want to help, my opinion is that it's much more about putting an additional class marker on their C.V. It's like putting 'Secretary of student Classics society' or 'Lacrosse Captain'. It's not quite a holiday, but yet, I would bloody object to being expected to pay for this type of volunteering.

Of course going to Tanzania is much more interesting than helping a project in Blackpool or Stoke

@SchoolDilemma17 I agree. I see this in my own workplace where there's a disproportionally high amount of people from plummy backgrounds.

A lot of general volunteering does go on, but one or two are also particularly keen on helping refugees & illegal immigrants as that comes with a particular political stamp of approval. I really doubt that hardly any of my colleagues have stepped foot on a Council estate before, or actually been inside a Council house. They live in a soft different world.

A lot of them seem to loathe poor white people, especially poor white boys.

Presumably you meant ‘they’re’ - and you have totally misunderstood what I meant.

It smacks of it, yes, by suggesting local people aren’t perfectly capable of doing these things themselves and need middle class western youths to show them the way.

I wasn’t suggesting that they are. You’re another who has totally misunderstood what I said

This sums it up nicely.

I remember a few years ago David Lammy calling out Comic Relief for doing the exact same thing.

I’m not sure this is necessarily true. Most people these days have an agenda for anything they do. Personally I think these types of parents are well aware of the limited capabilities of their little darlings lol. It’s just that it’s an excellent addition ti your child’s CV at such an early age especially where there is greater competition to even get onto certain HE courses never mind an actual job. So yeah I bet the DC does stand out with examples such as ‘facilitated building of this or that’ or ‘left a whole group of kids with an ability to now converse fluently in English’ and also shows ability to be independent at a fairly young age away from parents and understand issues like infrastructure, economics, urban/rural planning etc. And of course to have this life altering opportunity funded by others - well, what’s not to like?! 😅

Imagine being an adult with lots of life experience and knowledge of the place you’re planning on setting up a business and some inexperienced British kid comes along with 5 minutes training and tells you how do it?! That’s ridiculous!

Personally I'd ask (and have) why they're not donating the cost of the trip directly to the "cause", where it could support local workers who know the issues best, and who'll be around to support it a lot longer than some teens breezing in and out

A student midwife early in their course will not have the experience or knowledge to be able to intervene effectively in any kind of complication.
It’s also unfair on the student, because if something goes wrong, they will be unable to assist, but will have to cope with the aftermath and trauma of complications.
Repeatedly sending virtually unqualified people to act as midwives also means that the government of the country in question have less of a reason to provide decent healthcare.
There are far better ways to support women in the developing world. Fundraising or support to train African midwife’s etc
Its really just a misplaced jolly and highly unethical.

They can’t do anything too useful or else they would be taking jobs from locals. It is a pretty harmless form of tourism. It will create jobs for all the people providing the food, transport and accommodation. It is slightly patronising to ‘call it out’ on behalf of the host countries. They are perfectly capable of putting a stop to it, if they don’t like it.

I'm very amused by the notion that African teenagers can't navigate social media without help 😂

If it makes you feel any better, Americans come over to Europe to volunteer in order to boost their college applications. Greece, Portugal and Spain all have schemes. There is a gap in the market for setting something up in the UK. We could get some wealthy American teens to come and do litter picking or classroom support.

This.

After the African teenager has been taught to use TikTok by the British teenager how are they accessing TikTok?
Who’s providing the device?
Who is funding the mobile data or internet access?

I teach in a school in rural Tanzania.

We have scholarship students from African countries. The majority have their first device when they get here. A Congolese student was asked if he had used a computer before he said “we saw one in a geography class once”.

We have donated laptops to local schools - they get used in the office not just by students.

Our students do volunteer in the local community but it is always long term and working with the community not for them.

I feel nearly qualified medical, nursing or midwifery students going to other countries is a good thing - they can do a lot of good in some rural areas where there is a shortage of trained healthcare workers plus will return with an understanding of how to think about any patient they will be treating in the future.
A bunch of sixth formers going to Africa to build schools, toilet blocks and hospitals is just a money making exercise and something to put on the UCAS personal statement. Would rather see was a member of guides or scouts for ten years and have been a junior leader since the age of 14.

Better to have schoolchildren the opportunity to:

travel to XYZ country for opportunity to live in poverty with poor sanitation with potential for disease. Attend a school without a gym or science facilities!

those trips and gap years are 100% scammers - the orphanage donation buy cars and overseas properties for organizers. Doesn’t help at all to ruin money maker poor orphanage by making it a rich orphanage.

It's not a good thing. Africa has more than enough medical students of it's own. Not remotely close to a shortage. So many that there aren't enough jobs to go around. A huge portion of them leave to work abroad. Africa really does not need British medical students.

That would probably mean confronting our own social issues.

It's better if these type of issues are witnessed far away and unrelated to oneself.
-'Sarcasm of course--

YABU. Just don’t contribute.
Each to their own. I never contribute to these things, but know lots of people who do.

16 year old was going to solve Ugandas santitation issues

😆😆