When Kimberly Lucht volunteered with Panama-based dance service nonprofit Movement Exchange in 2012, the experience of teaching dance to at-risk youth inspired many discussions relating to race and racism in dance among her fellow volunteers. For researchers Zoe Luba and Dr. David Thomas of Mount Allison University in Canada, those are exactly the type of […]
In 2004, Justin Francis decided to visit Phuket on vacation. It certainly wouldn’t seem out-of-the ordinary for a Westerner to holiday in Phuket – after all, a little less than 3.5 million non-Thais visited the island in 2004. But his excursion to the popular tourist destination didn’t come at the best of times. Phuket – […]
Goodbye Benevolent Savior; Hello Flawed Altruist The narrative of a brave white savior swooping in to the developing world and saving the needy is dead. Or, at least, it’s no longer welcome. Take Louise Linton’s recent account of her gap year in Zambia, which appeared in both book and article form this last spring. Linton’s […]
This story was originally published on Medium by The Development Set. I recently came across a grainy photo of myself from a Habitat for Humanity trip to El Salvador nine years ago. I’m grinning in a plastic chair a few feet from our work site, oblivious that two local masons are making bull horns — El Salvador’s answer […]
Since Cambodia’s return to peace in the 1990s, tourism has boomed with more than two million visitors every year. For many of these travelers, a visit to an orphanage has become an essential part of any Cambodian tour. The directors of these orphanages warmly welcome visitors, and in particular their money. Yet increasingly, abuses have […]
The traditional image of a honeymoon involves relaxing on a pristine white sand beach, sipping on drinks with umbrellas in them while gazing out at the crystal blue waters. But more and more newlywed couples are choosing something radically different on their honeymoon trips: joining a volunteer program. On this new style of honeymoon, sometimes […]
Is it actually possible to travel for – gulp – free, even in these dreary economic times? On the Other Guy’s Dime: A Professional’s Guide to Traveling Without Paying, a how-to guide written by professor G. Michael Schneider, promises to teach the reader how to accomplish just that. Professor Schneider arranges working holidays in different […]
Performing short-term volunteer work abroad is “potentially exploitative” of vulnerable populations, according to a recent study of “voluntourism” in African orphanages. Authored by researchers from South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council and Queen Mary, University of London, the report found that foreign volunteers who came, bonded and left harmed the emotional and social development of […]
