Is this Voluntourism?

[ChymeofPassion]

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[desidoc_]

I personally think so, but that's just one person's opinion. I went to a school where lots of students went on spring- and winter-break trips to low-income or impoverished communities (locally and internationally) to gain clinical experience for med school.

Is the organization funding the trip religious? What kind of volunteering will you be doing? What types of students normally go on the trip? Is the group diverse along racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic lines or is this mainly something that middle-class, Christian students participate in? Are community members generally happy that students come and volunteer (are they openly, full-heartedly welcoming?)? Are people going to be taking pictures with community members (a la the white student surrounded by children of color posted all over social media)? And what are your personal motivations for going on the trip, do you feel you are doing it as "voluntourism?"

Btw, I'm not asking you to answer these on this thread. These are just all important questions for you to consider, imo.

 

[Pusheen]

What exactly are you doing on the trip? If it is long-term partnership providing education, training, or advancement to a community that needs those things, I can get behind it. If it's a one time show-up-pass-out-aspirin-and-take-pictures thing, then I think that is problematic.

 

[iliketodrinkcoffee]

Nah dude, you're good. Serious. It's volunteering.

 

[Mansamusa]

No. Voluntourism is when you do a trip that is more about seeing an exotic locale than helping or where you are helping in a capacity outside your scope of knowledge by taking advantage of the fact that poorer countries have less regulation.

This is neither of those things and sounds like an interesting experience. And this is a US underserved pop, so hopefully it does help recruit people to the area in future.

And I've never done an international pre-med health mission, but I've met plenty of adcoms who love when applicants have done them. The adcoms on sdn would be the first to admit that their opinions do not represent all adcoms. Even if you want to do an international trip, go ahead, just write about it tastefully and don't do anything that you ethically shouldn't be doing (and have other US experiences)

 

[ChymeofPassion]

It isn't specifically a pre-med volunteer trip, primarily responsibilities would be working to build high-quality houses for families so they can move out of FEMA trailers/cluster housing where alcoholism and poverty persists.

 

[candbgirl]

Well that's like Habitat for Humanity, just not in your home town. I think it would be cool. It's not like young are swooping in, spending a bit of time with the residents and then traveling around. You'll be working hard.


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[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Well that's like Habitat for Humanity, just not in your home town. I think it would be cool. It's not like young are swooping in, spending a bit of time with the residents and then traveling around. You'll be working hard.


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True. But students are swooping in and then swooping right back out. Personally, I think sustained volunteer experience that actually shows commitment to one place/community is preferable to these kinds of quick trips.

 

[JustAPhD]

True. But students are swooping in and then swooping right back out. Personally, I think sustained volunteer experience that actually shows commitment to one place/community is preferable to these kinds of quick trips.

I think you would be in the majority that thinks sustained volunteering beats transient volunteering any day of the week.

 

[piii]

Don't live your life based on what SDN adcoms think. If it's something you care about, do it.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

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[Mongoosie]

You're building houses for URM's in SD, not touring Fiji with the natives. Although it's only a short trip, you can focus on "quantity over quality" and really make the experience meaningful for yourself.

 

[RogueBanana]

Cj_Gregg said it best.

I recently read an excellent article on why most mission trips are voluntourism and harmful to the destination community.

Basically:

-Anything involving orphans is bad. By giving them love and affection for a day/week/month, they bond with you. Only for you to leave them alone again a few days later. This is selfish for many reasons. For the love of god do not take a selfie with an orphan and post it on social media.

-Bulding schools/churches/houses is also bad for the locals. They could be hiring people within their own community, and those jobs are now lost to privelidged white kids.

-People have levied claims of cultural appropriation. I know students who volunteered on a Native Reservation and were given a bogus "you're part of the tribe now" which the trip organizer asked the tribe to put on. Now they claim to be tribe members and speak on issues facing reservations as if they know anything about growing up as a native.

The only way I could see this being reflected positively on you would be if you:
-are actually a native and want to help other tribes
- you have some kind of record of service to the native community
-you have otherwise demonstrated a long-term commitment to serving the native community
-you spend more than 30 days there and make a measurable positive impact on lives.
I.e. You taught at an elementary school, volunteered in a clinic on the reservation etc..

-you actually know the issues that plague Native American reservations. Such as rampant alcoholism, extreme poverty and high-crime rates. The US Government was, and is not kind to the native populace.

Just be sure you're doing this for the right reasons. If you truly care to help native culture then go. If it's just something to check the "volunteering" box. Avoid it like the plague because any half-decent ADCOM member who grew up near a reservation will see right through you and cut your throat.

 

[deleted480308]

If you want to go build houses and someone wants you to build them a house, go do it. If you think adcom should don't like it but you want to do it, don't mention it in the app.

I reject the notion that your volunteer hours are what's making those workers unemployed. If that community had money to build something and you build it for free, the workers can be paid to build something else. The fact is you are being asked to volunteer because they aren't paying people for that work and community doesn't have a ton a skilled workers hanging out with tools just begging for a job.

 

[sharpstickie]

I don't think so. No one in their right mind would go to SD "for fun".

 

[ChymeofPassion]

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