It'd be great if any time we took ourselves travelling and volunteered somewhere that it was a purely good act. The problem is, of course, that we are now getting to understand just how damaging some kinds of volunteer tourism can be. Is it all bad, though? I don't think so! But we definitely have to be very, very thoughtful any time we sign up for voluntourism.
In Episode 288 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with three travellers about their thoughts and experiences with volunteer travel. First up, I speak with Eliza Raymond of Good Travel, who has a very telling story about an experience she had volunteering in Guatemala at just eighteen years of age.
Next, I talk to Jonathan Coleman from the Reset Tourism Fund at the UnTours Foundation. After working with NGOs hosting volunteer groups, along with various other tourism experiences throughout his career, he's very sceptical about the ability of almost any travel volunteer experience to be a truly worthwhile one for every party involved.
Finally, I chat to Kayra Martinez of Love Without Borders For Refugees. Kayra was living in Germany when she saw an influx of refugees on the news back in 2015, and tried to find out what she could do to help - this led to a seriously big commitment to voluntourism in Greek refugee camps.
Links:
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
323 Language Learning Through Travel and Immersion
322 Life-Changing Study Abroad Experiences
321 B Corps in the Travel Industry
320 Thanks for the Travel Bug, Mum
319 Homestays When You Travel
318 Gevorg Babayan: Deep Dive into Experiential Tours in Armenia and Beyond
317 Border Crossing Tales
316 Fathers on Travelling with Kids
315 Meeting Locals When We Travel
314 Paul Christie, CEO Walk Japan - Deep Dive into Revitalising Rural Japan
313 Train Travel in Australia
312 Giving Back When We Travel
311 Micah Kamohoali’i - Deep Dive into Hawaiian Culture and Tourism
310 Fukushima, Japan - Hope Tourism, not Dark Tourism
309 SXSW Sydney: Why We Need Travel More Than Travel Needs Us
308 Walk Japan: Following Basho’s Road to the North
307 When Things Go Wrong At Sea
306 Eco-Accommodation
305 Accessible Gold Coast Travels
304 Bangkok Travels with Friends
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