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A long-time staple on college campuses in the form of "alternative spring breaks," voluntourism has become popular with individuals and families alike.
Voluntourism benefits the visitor and the locals - locals receive services such as assistance with manual labor projects, educational help, and health services; visitors get the experience of being completely immersed in another culture through communicating with locals, sharing meals, and using locally-crafted products.
As voluntourism grows (approximately 5 million Americans volunteered more than 120 from their homes in 2007; 1.1 million of them volunteered internationally) so have the number of agencies that coordinate these experiences. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company created "Give-Back Getaways" in response to the increasing number of requests. Via International coordinates hosts Catholic, Jesuit, and Franciscan volunteer groups working on projects in Mexico.
Health and safety precautions can be a challenge for voluntourism vacations. Help is often needed in areas of poor sanitation, disease, or high crime and violence. It is important that volunteers be prepared for these challenges, said Bob Wurmstedt, former country director for the United States Peace Corps in Kenya. "The first part of risk management overseas," said Wurmstedt, "is risk assessment and identifying risks and hazards and the impact they might have on volunteers."
Resources such as Voluntourism.org (a collaborator with Catholic Digest on this article) can help prepare travelers for what they may encounter on a volunteer vacation. Through articles, webcasts, and video, voluntourism.org educates visitors on the various types of volunteer vacations, challenges travelers may encounter, links to resources, and comments and reviews of volunteer vacations taken by visitors to the site.
Though there are challenges to resolve in the industry, voluntourists continue to speak of the benefits of traveling with others who also feel passionate about the type of work at hand and the need to do it.
“I feel very lucky and privileged to have had the opportunity to see the great work that is being done in Haiti and to have had the opportunity to share the experience with such a fantastic group of people,” says Jon Myers, a Notre Dame alumnus who recently traveled to Haiti with his wife and high-school age daughter to help doctors in a local clinic.
“[My wife] and I have made great efforts to teach our children that with their blessings come even greater obligations to their community and the wider world,” Myers says. “Being able to spend a week with a group of people who understand and practice that worldview on a daily basis is an experience that will benefit [my daughter] for the rest of her life.”
Catholic Digest (catholicdigest.com) is America’s most popular Catholic magazine. Since 1936, Catholic Digest has used the stories of real people to demonstrate that a life guided by faith can be exciting, challenging, enlivening, and joyous. Catholic Digest is owned by Bayard, an international publisher with more than 100 periodicals in Europe, Africa, Asia, and America.
Note: Excerpts and quotations permitted. Credit Catholic Digest and original source, if applicable.
For more information, call or e-mail Dan Connors, 860-437-3012 x121; dconnors[.]catholicdigest.com.
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