Teen youth exchange trip

[FaithDustAndALittlePixieDust]

Has anyone else’s child done one of these international youth volunteering trips?
My teenager is due to go on one later this year and, if I’m honest, I’m having mixed feelings about it.
I can absolutely see the positives. They’ll gain confidence, life experience, get the chance to travel and it will probably look good on future applications.
At the same time, it’s been a huge financial commitment and a huge amount of stress.
As a working single parent with health issues and other commitments, I found the fundraising side incredibly difficult. There simply weren’t enough hours in the day. I attended fundraising events when I was already exhausted and there were times it affected other areas of my life.
My child is also quite shy, so they’re not naturally the sort of person who enjoys asking people for money or selling things. In reality, a lot of the fundraising effort ended up falling on me.
What I’ve found difficult is that fundraising opportunities aren’t equal. Some families have far more time, resources and opportunities available to them than others. Nobody is doing anything wrong, but it does mean some young people start from a much more advantageous position.
When we first signed up, we were reassured there would be support available and that funding opportunities would help. In reality, I found very little external funding and most of the cost seemed to come from fundraising and parents’ pockets.
Maybe I’m looking at it all wrong, but now we’re getting close to the trip I’m questioning whether these opportunities are really as accessible as they’re made out to be.
I’m genuinely interested in hearing from parents whose children have done similar trips. Did they come back feeling it was worth it? Would you do it again?
Right now all I can think is that it’s been a huge amount of money, time and stress that I really didn’t have to spare.

It's basically a scam. Run by very profitable companies. Usually the volunteering involves building something which is then pulled down for the next next batch of muppets to rebuild.
Why would the locals want unskilled British teenagers to help tjrm instead of providing work for local indigenous tradesmen. If your dc genuinely wamt to help then stay at home amd give the money you have raised to the cause.

Voluntourism. It's mostly a scam. DS's school do it in year 12, but it's not building, more general help. Fundraising is done by the students in the school sphere. Special tuckshop days, events, etc. I doubt DS will want to go when in year 12 as it's a 'working' holiday. He doesn't like work..... 🤣

It's a way of fundraising while giving some people the feeling that they are doing something positive and exciting in the world . After costs are covered , everything else is profit for the company. Personally I think it is a perfectly valid scheme .

The fundraising part by the participants is a social nightmare. I am sick of people putting pressure on me to attend events to give money so they can go have an adventure especially adults . Wish this companies would just tell people how much they want . But then people wouldn't get the charity buzz and probably unwilling to spend that much money .

Thank you to everyone who has replied. It’s been really helpful hearing different perspectives.
Just to clarify, she isn’t going out to build schools or houses. She’ll be volunteering in a holiday club for disadvantaged children.
I think my issue is that if this were simply a £2,000 school trip, I probably wouldn’t have questioned it. Schools take children abroad all the time for educational and cultural experiences, and I’d see that as part of the cost.
What I’m struggling with is that she’s 15 and will be working roughly 8am to 3:30pm for five days of the trip, with only two days off, after families have spent years fundraising and contributing significant amounts of money. I’m sure she’ll gain valuable experience and make memories that last a lifetime, but I do think it’s fair to question whether that balance is right.
Just because something operates under the banner of a well known organisation doesn’t automatically mean the model itself can’t be questioned.

Same idea as the fake building volunteers. You think they want 15 year old people who dont speak the language working with vulnerable kids for 5 days and then buggering off snd a new lot clueless lot coming? The school/orphanage or whatever gets paid by tbe company to put up with the teenagers, give them a 'volunteering experience' . Thats how they survive-on your money, not the teenagers "help"!