The Dark Side of Volunteering

"Do-gooders on vacation call it voluntourism. But is it doing anyone any good?"

J.B. MacKinnon is Malawi projects coordinator for I Live Here (www.i-live-here.com). His writing from Malawi is published in the book I Live Here, and he is also author of Dead Man in Paradise.  His article, The Dark Side of Volunteer Tourism is a great read.

"Some dismiss volunteer tourism as 'a morally seductive adaptation of modern mass tourism,' as it was called in an international studies conference earlier this year. Many volunteer projects serve the egos of the tourists more effectively than they serve the locals. Even the idea that it creates a pool of people committed to ending global poverty is questionable. At least as many come home with their optimism in tatters."

We think it is important for you to read Mr. MacKinnon's article in full.  It's great.  And when you finish, please check out i-live-here.com, which we provide a link to above. It is an amazing site and an amazing project.

Mr. MacKinnon's article is Excerpted from Explore (June 2009), Canada’s outdoor adventure magazine. www.explore-mag.com.  You can read it here: The Dark Side Of Volunteer Tourism.