Is there value in voluntourism?

No doubt volunteers are valuable in the non-profit sector. In the youth development sector, the “volunteer” model is one of the most common. Often volunteers are welcomed as a way to raise money (voluntourism¹) and as a way to cost-effectively deliver services (usually in the form of volunteer mentoring).

In most cases these are short-term solutions and have inherent risks. Lana Rolfe, the MEL Manager at Waves for Change (W4C), a non-profit sport for development organisation in Cape Town, South Africa, that uses mentors to deliver #surftherapy sessions to vulnerable children, explains the risks and the ways in which W4C has sought alternative solutions.

Often the need for volunteers is so great that organisations forego in-depth background checks, placing the safeguarding of children at risk². In addition, the high turnover of volunteers means that vulnerable children repeatedly have to create new bonds with different caregivers. When the volunteer leaves, the relationship/bond is broken and the child feels abandoned. This does not promote a secure attachment style in the already vulnerable child. The short-term contact also reduces the time the organisation has to share its ethos with the volunteer mentor, potentially leading to diluted intervention effects. A further risk is a reliance on the seasonal nature of ‘voluntourist’ funding.

Research suggests that access to a consistent caring adult is a vital component of successful mentoring interventions³. Therefore, W4C does not rely on volunteering or voluntourism to deliver its #surftherapy intervention. In an attempt to minimise the risk to the children and to address South Africa’s NEET problem (the high proportion of young adults not in employment, education or training) W4C recruits, employs and trains local young adults as youth mentors.

Where W4C finds the greatest use of volunteers is in skill development. W4C welcomes and benefits from individuals offering their expertise in areas such as accounting, human resource management, and monitoring and evaluation.

In an attempt to accommodate individuals who specifically wish to volunteer their time with the children, W4C is trialling a “volunteer day” in the near future. This will give volunteers the opportunity to engage with the children alongside the W4C mentors, thereby minimising the aforementioned risks.

• Visit the Waves for Change website for more information.

1. Voluntourism generally refers to Westerners who wish to visit a developing country and “do good” whilst seeing the world. They often pay large amounts of money or “donations” to the non-profit organisations they are visiting.
2. DoCarmo, Smith-Brake, & Julia Smith-Brake (2013), “The dangers of Voluntourism”.
3. Rhodes & Lowe (2008) “Youth mentoring and resilience: Implications for practice”

[This article was written by Lana Rolfe - W4C MEL Manager]