Voluntourism

Traveling to the African continent from a “Western” country is a massive privilege. For the traveler it can be a confusing minefield of power discrepancies that is complicated to properly navigate. In 2012 and 2016 I was able to go to Uganda and Guinea Conakry with the Swiss NGO “Nouvelle Planète”, staying three weeks in a village alongside a small number of other Swiss youth. On this trip I reached Minyaya, the village I was in in 2016, six years later. This was a great opportunity to reflect upon that trip, and the phenomenon known as “Voluntourism”. Stuck in Ghana where I’m writing this, a country in which the amount of white “volunteer” groups is staggering, has also presented an opportunity to reflect upon the phenomenon.

There are many ways and situations under which a “Westerner” can visit and experience Sub-Saharan Africa. I think there is no right or wrong way which is set in stone. There are many things one needs to consider before, during, and after a trip, regardless if it is for a week long safari or a two-year diplomatic mission. The main way in which a trip from a “Western” country to the continent is problematic is by not reflecting on “positionality”, or how one’s actions can be construed and interpreted somewhere else. Basically, a lack of self-awareness on the part of the “Westerner” can be damaging, reinforcing already skewed power relations and perceptions.

One way “Westerners” travel to the continent is for tourism, which I have already slightly covered on this blog. I will go in depth into safaris in particular in another blog post, so I’ll not go too far into detail here. I’ll just say that being informed about how parks are created and maintained, also whilst thinking about who actually visits and benefits from them is an important consideration, even if one does decide to go. Another way could be for work. In the previous paragraph I imagined a diplomatic mission, and I’d hope that diplomats in particular would be very conscious of their actions in foreign countries and need to be extremely respectful as part of their job. Whilst it is likely a requirement for diplomats to be aware of realities in the country in which they work, that should be the case for anyone working in a new country, even if that country is not on the African continent. Being informed about where you are going, alongside the history and local realities of where you’ll be staying is such a basic but important part of respecting a place and people. In that case, I have definitely seen people who do not follow those rules, in particular in Senegal. I have seen people live and work there all whilst lacking any sort of respect for those around them. A friend I met accurately described these people as partaking in “colonialism cosplay”. There is however an interesting “in-between” phenomenon called “voluntourism” which is a very popular way in which typically groups of Westerners will visit Africa as tourists, but associated with a development project or with an international charity.

When traveling to the continent alongside Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) or as part of a project, it becomes easier to justify the trip. Not only are you able to go to a less visited part of the world, but you’re helping out at the same time! In this regard voluntourism is not so different from mainstream development, and as such inherits all its issues, which are numerous. It also suffers from a massive lack of awareness and preparedness by participants, who will frequently go along with these programs for all the wrong reasons, creating many more problems than actual solutions.

I joined a voluntourist program based in Switzerland, which has now allowed me to go to Uganda in 2012, and then to Guinea in 2016. Each time was for three weeks, though I stayed on for a total of 6 weeks in Guinea. Each time the group was around 12 people, mainly youths from Switzerland and France. The projects I was a part of were in response to a request submitted by village groups in both countries. These requests were made to a local NGO, who assessed if these requests were worthwhile and achievable in their contexts. They checked whether the village organizations were well run, and if the need was real. Projects can vary, but both that I was a part of were the construction of schools. The workers were from the village, and the organization (material costs, transport, architecture…) and welcome (to the visiting youth group) were done by the local NGO and three dynamic youths from the host village. The Swiss NGO was of course there for the funding. Whilst the projects are not the most interesting in my opinion, and I fear that “building a school” has become so prevalent that it has become “the thing to do in Africa”, it is what the local community asked for and that deserves respect.

Prior to departure for the trip we spent 6 months collecting funds for the project. We had a goal we were required to reach, and a lack of at least attempting to make money for the project could result in the expulsion from the group. Everyone needed to pull their weight by participating in the funding, usually by selling baked goods (again, very boring). I haven’t heard of cases in which the group truly failed to meet their objective, but I’m sure they exist. I think it is important that members were required to meet prior to the trip and work together, whilst still being held accountable if they failed to contribute. It was the first step which should help implement that this is not a trip to just go as neo-colonizers and bum around, but had people on the other side for whom the project was actually destined. This is where a first divide between the visitors and the hosts is very clear. In most cases, the visitors have very differing views of what they want to get out of the experience than the hosts. At best, it could be a way to meet some wonderful new people and think about these places in a different light, all whilst showing the hosts that there are faces behind the money. At worst it could be a photo opportunity with the village kids posted directly to social media in an attempt to gain clout.

I’ll give the Swiss NGO some praise as the people working there were very clear in explaining that we are not going there to build a school, because we’re not masons. We’re not actually building a school, the construction workers are. Our “help” was symbolic. However, the reality is many participants have a “white saviour” mentality, where they’re persuaded that they need to save the helpless Africans and the best way to do that is through a school. “If only they had decent education, they could lift themselves out of poverty!” These participants are very quickly disillusioned when they get to the site, and realize that of course they’re useless and contribute nothing in terms of manpower, and will question why they came in the first place. From my experience there are two ways that people cope. One is that they get very frustrated and emotional, and cut themselves off from the hosts, spending their three weeks complaining. Usually this happens to those with big egos. The other possibility is that they have the self-awareness to realize their prejudice, and grow and accept that the people that they are in contact with are providing an incredible experience and are able to create strong bonds, all whilst coming to terms with what their position within the trip actually is. This does happen frequently, and is one of voluntourism’s redeeming qualities. The absolute worst participant is the narcissist who might not have been disillusioned by the actual manual work, but went to appear like they cared, or appear like they’re more interesting than they actually are. They’ll usually do this by posting an image of them the one time they picked up a shovel, or (as I’m sure everybody reading knows of at least one person like this) with a group of kids. This is the worst a voluntourist experience such as mine can get. It can be very dehumanizing towards the hosts, with them only being the props to the “white experience in Africa”.

It is much easier for me to speak to the experiences of the Swiss participants, as I was one. My memories of Uganda are now a bit foggy, and even Guinea was over 6 years ago. However I was lucky to be part of groups where the majority of participants were not driven by their egos and willing to keep open minds.

For the hosts, the idea that having some brain-dead youths (a categorization in which I firmly place myself) can appear pointless. Wouldn’t it be better that the money they spent coming over be used to do a lot more? They’re no help as workers, so what benefit does it have for the host community? The rationale given is that all too frequently mainstream development “parachutes” down aid and projects, with funds coming from white people with too much money. Parachutes are a good metaphor, as this aid comes seemingly from nowhere, completely disconnected from those who receive it. This then strongly enforces a worldview that white people and European countries are all unbelievably rich (which, relatively speaking is not wrong), and you either need to get there to make money or hope that a project comes your way and you win the lottery. This is where I believe the argument gets a bit flawed. On one hand I have been told so many times that I must be crazy to do my bike trip here, as they all dream of going to Switzerland to find work, as they’re super motivated to get there a become a welder/construction worker/literally anything that pays and live the good life and send money back to their family. I have decided not to really respond when people tell me this for a few reasons. In Switzerland institutions are strong enough to guarantee employee safety (at least more than in most countries) such as being paid on time and in full (which rarely happens here). It is also true that the purchasing power in Switzerland is much higher than in most of Africa, and as such even making small amounts of money in Swiss terms means a lot of money in Guinea for example. In this regard what they tell me is not wrong. If they get to Switzerland and find a paid job, yes they would definitely be better off financially. However, strong institutions come hand in hand with a million administrative hurdles, meaning that most people, even of capable and willing, probably won’t be able to find legitimate work. I also refuse to tell them that “in Switzerland there are also poor people”, even though it is a fact. Firstly because usually I’m not believed, but secondly because they’re convinced that the poor people are just lazy, and that they’ll work themselves out of poverty. I might say something along the lines of “if you make it to Switzerland, you may find the administrative hurdles to finding a job and actually making money more difficult than the trip to get there”, but I do it more as friendly advice as to what to watch out for rather than as a deterrent. This brings me to the main reason I’ll not tell someone to not migrate.

The main reason I’ll refrain from telling someone to not try to go to Switzerland (or Europe or the US or whatever) is because that is what our countries governments want us to do. One of the main purposes for the DDC (Département de Développement et Coopération) is to dissuade illegal immigration in Switzerland through the promotion of projects and investments in “poor” countries. Thinking that our governments have foreign-aid offices because they genuinely care and are selfless is short-sighted. I have a Guinean friend who has a project targeting youths who had attempted to emigrate to Europe. It was funded by GIZ (the German development agency). The whole purpose was for them to carry out meaningful activities in their home country and to advocate against emigration. I find this extremely two-faced, as development is presented as this altruative thing, as a collaboration, when it is actually part of a soft-power strategy by strong governments to lessen immigration and promote their image across the world. Switzerland is quite adept at this, as everyone has heard of Switzerland (unless they confuse it with Sweden) because it is the home of the World Bank. Furthermore, Switzerland has close ties in the DDC with countries who are more likely to emigrate to Switzerland, and the reasons for this are plain.

To swing this back to voluntourism, whilst I think that both hosts and visitors can create meaningful bonds, humanizing both parties, I also think that it is important to keep a critical eye on it. Whilst a parachuted project can maintain the perception in people’s minds of “rich Europe poor Africa”, a project like the one I participated in can mitigate that by “humanizing the money”, so to speak. Even in that case, power discrepancies between hosts, beneficiaries, and volunteers are omnipresent.

I’ll also state that I fully support migrant workers in Switzerland and deplore the crap that they have to go through. I think that emigrating for economic reasons should be respected. The economy is the reason our governments justifies literally everything, such as not actually caring a wink about the planet. But when people could actually change their lives whilst also contributing meaningfully to society, “for economic reasons” is not a good justification anymore. Its a good reason until its a non-white person who could benefit. I know this first-hand, my family immigrated to Switzerland when I was 9 for a new job, i.e. an economic opportunity. I know I must sound very cynical, but this is a subject which can really anger me. “But the economy!” is a justification to not do anything meaningful in regards to the planet, for not enhancing the lives of thousands, of or for actually giving workers living wages, but somehow in this case its not good enough. Therefore I don’t want to help out my government by dissuading potential migrants.

Voluntourism, as I mentioned before, is in essence very close to mainstream development. As such it relies on maintaining a perception of superiority and inferiority. Of saviors and those who need to be saved. This is paternalism, and is a driving force behind why people donate to and participate in these projects. Where “Save the Children” will show a small child with flies in their eyes and say “with 5$ you could change their life”, they reinforce stereotypes whilst dehumanizing huge amounts of people. Because of campaigns such at these and the focus of most media outlets to focus only on negatives, there is a very skewed perception of Africa. This fuels voluntourism, which in turn frames how interactions between “Westerners” and Africans must play out. Voluntourism is definitely a cog in the machine which maintains such an imbalance between places.

Another fact which needs to be mentioned is that the cost of sending a group of 10 or more youths on a plane, to stay for 3 weeks in another country is high even for Swiss standards, but astronomical when viewed from a Guinean perspective. These are sums of money with which one could use to build and furnish a large modern house, which are being used for some bozos to eat well for three weeks and see some sights. This can be a source of frustration to some, especially those working for the Guinean NGO. I’ll preface this next part by saying that I think the Guinean NGO is extremely professional and go above and beyond their requirements when our group was there. However, one person said to me, whilst firmly establishing that this was not them speaking as an employee but as a human, that “I don’t want to go to hell and die from cold.” What they meant by this was that they’re working with, and budgeting insane amounts of money, which is spent on things which they sometimes consider frivolous, while they themselves don’t make enough money in that job alone to sustain their family.

This post is probably quite tedious to read, but this is what I think about when I ride along, and voluntourism needs to be considered in multiple ways to do the subject justice. What I have described is very negative, and in a way I had decided that I regretted participating in these projects. However on arrival in Minyaya, six years later, I was met with familiar faces who remembered the names of every participant. I saw the school which was not only in good condition, but which had been improved upon with the drilling of a well. At that point I felt that, despite all the horrible things which surround this form of voluntourism, it did have a meaningful outcome not only in the end result (the school), but in terms of personal connections. I was reminded of how much I enjoyed my time in Guinea six years prior, and of the amazing people with whom we created strong bonds. I think that, if done correctly, a trip such as the ones I participated in can be mind-opening experiences for both visitors and hosts. While it is very far from perfect, a well thought out and prepared trip like the one to Minyaya, where I had no disillusions of my uselessness, can create lasting connections and bonds, which I think is something very important and is probably too frequently disregarded and overlooked.

With that being said, I’d not recommend someone to participate in a voluntourism project without really thinking it through and making an informed decision. Firstly, its important to consider the structure of the project and organizations. The structure needs to be “bottom-up”, where its the beneficiaries who collectively decide on a course of action to take. It is one where the donor has a limited role in the field, besides (as is normal for all donors in any situation) going over the project usefulness/feasibility and its budget. It is one where the project is just one in a larger picture for a continuous involvement in a region. It is one where participants are coached on recognizing their position within the larger picture. It is one where the project is followed up upon, even years later. It is one where interpersonal connections are at the forefront.

For me, these boxes are all ticked for my experience, and yet overall I still don’t think that voluntourism can ever be perfect. The entire concept is inherently flawed. In that case, why even participate in the first place? I joined these groups because, having been to Burkina Faso twice before in more of a “work” environment, I became super interested (basically obsessive) about the continent. The histories, geographies, realities… and this was a way which I could justify to my parents to let me go. One should be very sure about why they want to participate in voluntourism, and if the answer isn’t truthfully about learning about a new place and meeting new people, whilst being open to not framing “Africa” as it is usually in mainstream media, then that would raise some red flags. Even my reasons are rather selfish, and my participation in these projects could still have an overall negative impact. I have decided that almost nothing one ever does is exempt of critique, and if this was the worst thing then its not truly that bad.

I’m not trying to be a gatekeeper here. I’m not saying who has a valid case to be able to travel to sub-Saharan Africa and who does not. On the contrary, I think its great that people want to experience what life is like in places that might be best known for military coups. The more people who want to think differently about the world and see these fantastic places the better! What I’m trying to do is instill the fact that actions have consequences, and the concept of development is not always positive. Considering these facts, taking the time to think about what you’re accomplishing in the grander scheme of everything is essential. Traveling anywhere from a place of privilege demands reflections upon one’s position, and to be open, respectful, and polite.

I believe that the projects I was a part of were “as good as it gets”, and I also believe that they are inherently problematic. However, projects can be much worse. Cases of fake orphanages kidnapping kids to receive funding from Western donors, or projects which rely heavily upon the imagined realities of beneficiaries to reel in more money are extremely damaging. Remembering that when you partake in a voluntourism trip, you’re more likely helping yourself by seeing the world in new ways than actually improving other’s lives is key, but still do enjoy the warmth and welcome you will receive when you come. Do make the most of it, and meet some incredible people.