Volunteering abroad

[Invincible Summer]

So I know a lot of people who are social science/social work students that aspire to volunteer abroad and teach English/build schools/etc.

I understand that they mean well, but I can't help but think that this is a form of Western hegemony. I can't help but wonder what the sponsor organizations deem as "proper educational material."

Instead of providing some other means of assistance to improve their situation, teaching English and showing them that Westerners are their only source of help doesn't seem to me to be the best method of doing things.


I'm tired, so if this isn't coherent I apologize

[NecroCommie]

Well, you are ofcourse right if things are so, but I don't really know what it is that they teach there. Second of all, I myself am planning to volunteer to the WWF, which ofcourse has nothing to do with teaching anybody but the volunteers.

[Pogue]

I'd feel uncomfortable being the rich white man going to solve the problems of poor black people like so many people, its like a crusader thing designed to make yourself feel better, its so cliched and completely ignores the real easons for the problem, I think its fine as long as you achknowledge its self-serving largely, i.e. your doing it for yourself, theres nothing wrong with it per se.

I distinguish between students doing it and medical proffesionals by the way, medical rpoffesioanls doing it to share skills is fine but students just annoy me, the third world is not a playground for adventurist fantasies.

[Spawn of Stalin]

Although it's mostly liberals and students who go abroad to volunteer, I think it's alright if you genuinely mean well and you know and accept that you're not making that much of a difference just by being there. If I had a specific skill like in construction or medicine or something I'd probably do some volunteering myself, but I wouldn't do it to make myself feel more revolutionary, I'd do it because I'm interested in learning about other countries, and you can't learn about another country by going there as a tourist.

[Proletarian]

also you have to pay around 900 pounds to go on these voluntary trips abroad, its like they are soley for white middle class self involved brats