Lessons from a Non-Profit: What to know before your next volunteer trip abroad
A combination of volunteering and tourism, voluntourism offers young and passionate travelers an opportunity to partner with organizations around the world while giving back along the way. Simply put, it’s a great way to make a difference… or is it?
This new niche of volunteering has taken off in recent years. NPR reported that in 2014 more than 1.6 million tourists were spending upwards of $2 billion to travel the world and visit non-profit organizations, all in hopes of enacting change. These numbers have only continued to grow.
Just as with any other fad - i.e. social media, blogging, etc. - the market becomes saturated, often leading to a myriad of problems that comes at the cost of the consumer or, in this case, the volunteers. A simple search across the internet will uncover an emerging theme: quality programming from non-profit organizations is becoming easier to embellish as they make an effort to “keep up” with the demands of voluntourism. Unfortunately, these operations can often cause more harm than anything else within the communities they serve, even despite good intentions.
Image courtesy of Aya
In November of 2018, Reuters published an article about an Australian lawyer, Kate van Doore, who arranged to take over an orphanage in Nepal only to realize that the children she thought she was helping weren’t orphans at all. As it turns out, the kids were removed from their homes, provided a fake identity, and exploited for profit. All for the sake of creating a scenario where scammers could prey on the pockets of foreign volunteers. Can you imagine the thoughts that ran through Ms. van Doore’s head as a child came up to her and asked to go home to his mom?
The sad reality is that this is not an isolated incident. A quick Google search of “fake orphanage” will disclose the top 3 hits - Nepal, Uganda, and Cambodia. Unfortunately, as the rate of volunteers grows, so too will the establishment of these “orphanages.”
In a more recent incident that sent shockwaves around the non-profit world, ABC News reported on a case in which the founder of an organization, Renee Bach, is being sued in the Ugandan Civil Court for allegedly practicing illegal and unlicensed medical care, leading to the deaths of 105 children. The article cites her reasons for starting the non-profit in 2010: A 19-year old Renee decided that it was something she was “supposed to do,” so she picked up and moved to Uganda with no plan. This feeling of enlightenment quickly transformed into clouded judgment, going as far as serving as the primary caretaker for severely malnourished children, hooking up IVs, administering blood transfusions, and more - all without any medical training.
These heartbreaking stories are the unintended consequences of people yearning to “do good” in the world, unaware of the impact their actions have on those around them.
It’s clear that voluntourism is here to stay, so how can we, as travelers, evaluate the ethics of the organizations that compete for our time and money? It’s not easy, but it can be done.
We must first obtain the necessary knowledge that allows us to critically evaluate how these non-profits are accomplishing the “good” they claim. Only then can we begin to enact change.
Here are 9 lessons that I’ve learned through nearly a decade of working in Ghana with Aya. I hope they will help you to better understand, navigate, and critique the practices of any non-profit organization you come into contact with during all of your travels and volunteer experiences!
1. PEOPLE ARE NOT A CHARITY CASE
It’s easy to have our vision clouded by the desire to leave a mark on the world, but we must remember how important autonomy is to all of us as human beings. Would you be happy if someone you’ve never met showed up on your doorstep simply because they felt you needed help and they should be the ones to provide it? No, probably not.
Once you donate a dollar or volunteer your time, you become a stakeholder in the organization. Dig deeper. How are they treating the beneficiaries? Is it a case of westerners going into a community with a preconceived notion that their help is needed, or is it a “back seat” organization that tries to collaborate with locals wherever possible?
The greatest piece of advice I can offer is to flip the script and put yourself in the shoes of the receiver. If this non-profit was serving you, would you feel respected and welcome them into your community or would you shut your door?
2. NO ONE HAS ALL OF THE ANSWERS
If you’ve traveled at all, then I’m sure you realize just how diverse different cultures around the world are. This is a beautiful thing, but be aware that it creates unique hurdles that any solution to even the simplest of problems must overcome. Who do you think is better equipped to handle a multi-layered obstacle within the community - a local that has been living there for 30 years or a teenager from America that’s volunteering abroad for the first time? A non-profit must know their limitations, both as an organization and as individual employees.
Make sure any group that you donate or volunteer with isn’t biting off more than they can chew. How does their history equip them to handle their current projects? How do they approach their programs, more specifically, do they develop key partnerships with experts in a certain field or do they try to do it all on their own? These are important questions to ask. For example, no one within Aya is an expert in global health, but we, along with community members, recognize that improvements must be made to keep students happy and healthy. As a result we work towards partnering with other local organizations such as Days for Girls Ghana.
If you ever find yourself in a volunteer situation that you feel is beyond your skillset, don’t be afraid to speak up. By staying silent you may unintentionally harm the people you are trying to help!
3. INVEST IN COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS
We’ve already covered the importance of non-profits treating any human beings as an equal, but it’s just as vital for organizations to INVEST in these same people. The most successful programs are the ones with a sound framework of community members.
When people feel involved and empowered, great things happen. So, does the organization you plan on volunteering with have an infrastructure on the ground with whom they are working and communicating with regularly? Will you have the opportunity to work alongside local staff that are bettering their community? It’s important to learn the operations you’ll be a part of before booking your ticket.
Image courtesy of Aya
4. SUSTAINABILITY IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL
This is easier said than done and its complex nature is affected by most of the talking points made in this post. With that being said, it’s an important aspect of any evaluative process for every organization. Sure, a non-profit can bring in volunteers, make a quick buck with trip fees, and keep the cycle going. But what sets successful organizations apart is what they do AFTER volunteers work on programs and leave. How are they kept afloat? Who is overseeing them? Are they setup for sustained success - both internally as an organization and within the communities they serve?
Take the Uniformed Hope campaign I ran in 2011 with Aya, for example. Early on, we had identified accessible school uniforms as a major barrier to students attending classes. In Ghana, uniforms exude a sense of pride. If a family can’t afford one, it’s not uncommon for the student to skip school. Our team developed a simple solution: donors give $15 and we provide a school uniform for a child. Within a month we had raised enough money to purchase uniforms for every student at the village school, increasing attendance! We felt so much pride in the work we had done, but what we failed to consider was the future of the program. Donors had given one-time gifts, meaning we were operating on a limited budget that was quickly drained. What would happen when students outgrew their new uniforms and couldn’t afford replacements? As a result of our lack of foresight, enrollment decreased at the beginning of the following academic year. We learned that we had to think big picture - consider all options and all potential effects - to make the program effective. At the end of the day, the community worked together to create a “hand-me-down” program, recycling uniforms through the grade levels regardless of if it had been provided by our efforts.
The question that we always ask ourselves as an organization is how will our decisions either enable or inhibit the growth of those that benefit from our programs if Aya ever ceased to exist? Will our efforts continue transforming lives or will they fail? It’s important to keep this in mind as a donor. Sure, your money can make an immediate improvement almost anywhere, but it’s much more effective to ensure a LASTING impact.
5. LISTEN, EVALUATE, ADAPT, REPEAT
Many times when people learn of my work with Aya they commend my efforts and then get confused as to why I brush it off. The truth is, I’ve done very little on the ground in Ghana. Rather, 95% of my time is spent listening to parents, teachers, and our in-country volunteers, then re-evaluating our programs and adapting as best we can. It’s a constant cycle that never ends.
All too often organizations birth their vision with a fixed mindset, failing to create a platform for any collaboration and adaptation. This inability to morph ultimately prevents sustainable change, causing more harm than good in the long run. Listening is key, so make sure you understand how the organizations you work with incorporate this into their day-to-day work. It should be a major part of how they advance their mission!
6. NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF THE BENEFICIARIES
Organizations are constantly tip-toeing across an invisible tight rope. On one side is the volunteer experience, while on the other is the integrity and sustainability of their work at the ground level. Leaning too far in either direction can lead to problems.
Yes, I get it. When volunteers feel comfortable, connected and have a good time, they often return home feeling empowered and ready to spread the news about an organization’s work. Catering to them certainly has its benefits. After all, the volunteers are the same people paying the extra trip fees that fund the projects and programs on the ground. But at what cost? At what point does it actually take away from the people they meant to help?
It’s important to know if the organization you choose to partner with takes precautions to maintain the integrity of the community in which they work, or if the programs they’ve created have led to a revolving door of volunteers. Sure, playing with kids in an orphanage for a month sounds fulfilling, but what happens when the children become attached, you leave, and they never hear from you again? It’s hard to think about, after all, you never meant to break someone’s heart, but it happens more than we realize.
Sometimes decisions from organizations are unpopular, but it’s important to consider them from both sides of the tightrope. For instance, The Senase Project rarely brings unattached volunteers on trips, let alone operates full-fledged service trips. This isn’t because we want to isolate the community or hinder the donor experience, rather we aim to protect the relationships and trust we’ve been able to curate over the past decade of work. They are essential to how we ensure sustained success.
Find an organization that consistently walks this line with grace and poise while keeping their eye on the ultimate goal: serving the people.
Image courtesy of Aya
7. HOW YOU GIVE MATTERS MORE THAN YOU THINK
As the saying goes, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. It often contradicts our natural instincts to say no to someone in immediate need, however, it’s important to understand how the specific way in which we give can lead to different outcomes.
Hypothetically, let’s say that John, a teenager that you met in a remote village during your travels, asks for $20. He says it’s for books for school. You oblige. How can you be sure that it’s used with your intent in mind? Maybe his parents took it for something else. Maybe he doesn’t even attend school and instead pocketed it for later. Oh well. What’s done is done. Once you leave the village, you’ve stayed in touch with John and when the next term rolls around he approaches you again. You struggle to say no. After all, $20 isn’t a lot to ask, so the cycle continues. Other people in the village take note of what John has done and now wait for the next foreigner to visit so that they can replicate the process. What once started as an innocent $20 has now quickly snowballed into something more.
I am in no way advocating for you to NOT donate to those in need. I am simply encouraging you to start to consider HOW you are doing so. Something that may seem insignificant can wreak havoc in the grand scheme of things. Before you write that next check, take a moment to learn how your money is utilized and dispersed on the ground.
8. YOU CAN’T HAVE A SOLUTION IF A PROBLEM DOESN’T EXIST
This lesson goes back to knowing your limitations and treating people as equals rather than a charity case. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for individuals to move to Africa and start a non-profit simply because it’s a place that’s portrayed as needing drastic amounts of help. But who are we to say what should be a priority within a community in which we don’t belong? Do we even have the right to determine who needs help and who doesn’t? I’m sure as hell not comfortable standing in front of a village of people that live on $1/day and forcing my own thoughts, ideas, and priorities upon them.
If an organization is truly going to help, they must first listen, collaborate, engage, and learn. It is during this process that they will uncover how best to utilize their skills. With The Senase Project, I have witnessed that over time, these relationships become mutual as community members begin to value what we have to say just as we do with them. This is when constructive solutions to complex problems are formulated and, in turn, become more sustainable.
Don’t jump the gun simply because an organization’s mission sounds good on paper. It’s much more pertinent to learn how they turn that vision into a reality; do your homework and make sure to keep your ears open along the way.
Image courtesy of The Senase Project
9. YOUNG & PASSIONATE IS NOT A QUALIFICATION
It might sound blunt, but it’s important to take a step back and remember that although helping others feels good on the inside, it can actually cause more harm than good if not done the right way. Before you go on your next volunteer trip, take a moment to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses. Consider what skills and passions you hold that people might benefit from. Use that information to find an organization that fits you, not the other way around.
At the end of the day, it’s important to realize that the communities in which non-profits work aren’t a place to “try something new” or boost your self-esteem; they are real people with real problems. Instead of trying to play the role of “Mr. Fix It”, go into each experience with a learning mindset. You might be surprised as to what the people can teach you!
The non-profit sector is expansive, but the more informed we are as investors, the higher the standards we can demand. This will ensure that the respect, sanctity, and autonomy of every community around the world remain acknowledged and protected.
It’s easy to see that all of these lessons are intertwined with one another. Collectively, they help to combat any negative and unintended consequences that may arise from trying to help others. I hope that they may help guide you in leaving your mark on the world in the most effective and sustainable way possible.
Thanks for reading!
What have been some of your experiences with non-profits? Have you ever volunteered abroad? Comment below and share your story!
Until next time, stay safe & happy travels!
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