According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the word volunteer is defined as follows: a person who does work without getting paid to do it. I believe this to be a fair and accurate definition. What I find confusing is an agreement on what getting paid means. To some, getting paid involves money. For others, it might be getting some form of recognition, thus inviting praise and adulation. For others, volunteering is part of one’s corporate work culture. For example, 71% of Microsoft employees in 2015 had volunteered outside their job, which is something the company encourages.
Volunteering can be an extremely rewarding experience for both the volunteer and the beneficiary (community, individuals, etc.). When done correctly, with consideration, compassion and awareness, it’s a wonderful opportunity.The same can be said for “voluntouring”, or the combination of tourism with a short volunteer assignment, often times paid for by the individual volunteer. Merriam-Webster defines voluntourism as the act or practice of doing volunteer work as needed in the community where one is vacationing.
I bring up the comparison not to say that voluntouring is less helpful than volunteering. I bring it up to address the differences. There are highly capable voluntourism organizations and NGOs that provide genuine service to global communities.. I have had the experience of working with men and women who volunteered for medical and health care-related projects on their vacations. However, without the voluntourists’ relevant knowledge, skills and financial support, many of their beneficiaries would have suffered significant loss in quality of life.
I’ve heard stories about groups of good-hearted people who built schools in Central America with no previous construction experience, which lead to unsafe and unusable structures. Clearly, this would be an example of voluntourism gone wrong.
Here are questions you can ask yourself to differentiate between genuine volunteering and oftentimes ineffective voluntouring:
- Is there consensus among beneficiaries that volunteers are needed?
- Do you, the volunteer, possess the skills to help the beneficiaries based on their needs?
- Will your support have a sustainable, positive impact?
If your answer to each of these is “Yes”, then you’re well on your way to a successful experience. Beyond this, however, is the challenge of adequately preparing oneself for volunteering. It takes more than a great skill set to be an effective volunteer. It takes a pro-active learner and plenty of curiosity to investigate what it will take to interact effectively with your beneficiaries.
When it comes to giving and receiving help, there are many cultures where volunteers could be received negatively. Some cultures might be too proud to ask for assistance, and may find ways to stifle volunteering activities to curb any loss of face. Consider cultures that hold dear the concept of saving face: a value for avoiding behaviors that can cause humiliation or discomfort for others. For such cultures, explicitly requesting outside help might be seen as shameful (“Why can’t we take care of our own?”). Imagine how someone from the outside taking charge with a “We know how to fix it!” attitude would be perceived in such a culture. This obviously presents a general barrier to supportive collaboration, even when sanctioned by NGOs and their leaders.
Others might view the support as an ‘easy way out’, which is cause for concern when it comes to short term support, as it may not be sustainable to beneficiaries who will not be interested in learning from the volunteers. Think “Give a man to fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, from September 2014 to September 2015 more than 62 million people from the United States volunteered domestically and abroad. Culturally, most US Americans are transactional, egalitarian and individualistic when it comes to doing business. Imagine the cultural gaps between volunteers from the US who travel to countries like China, Thailand and Kenya, all of which generally value hierarchy, interpersonal working relationships and caring first and foremost for the well-being of the group, not the individual.
When it comes to volunteering or voluntouring, it is critical to be aware of yourself, the people you work with and the beneficiaries of your support. It is critical that you tailor your style to meet their needs. Good intentions are of course important, yet equally as important is the combination of cultural awareness and the ability to flex your style to bridge any cultural gaps that will undoubtedly be a top challenge.
What do you think? Have you participated in any type of corporate philanthropy or private voluntourism? From your experience, what are the positive and negative effects of intercultural volunteering?
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