Responsible Travel Boss says “Voluntourism Must Meet Local Needsâ€
Speaking on the BBC’s Today Programme, Justin Francis of Responsible Travel advocated basing volunteer holidays only on real local needs.
During an interview with Evan Davis on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Justin Francis, Managing Director and co-founder of responsibletravel.com called for volunteer holidays to be based on a strong and real local need in the community concerned.
Discussing the recent proliferation of volunteering projects, Francis said: “I am concerned that some volunteer projects are inspired more by the marketing departments to exploit a growing trend rather than a real local need and so that means that in some cases the volunteers are left wondering whether they are making a difference and the communities that live there are left wondering why the volunteers aren’t addressing the real issues.”
Commenting on the growing popularity of the volunteering holiday, Francis explained: “I think that volunteer holidays have become much more accessible for people from all walks of life. In the past you needed to give up six months or even up to two years to go and volunteer. Now with ten days or two weeks you’ll find something for you. I also think something changed since the millennium. Suddenly we all want to go and make a difference and it’s fantastic to see.”
However, the company urges potential volunteers to do as much research as possible and ask plenty of questions of any potential volunteering company. Here’s responsibletravel.com’s five-point checklist:
1. Has the project been inspired by a real local need?
2. Is the project run in joint partnership with the local people?
3. Can you see an independent report on the benefits of the project to local people/environments?
4. Is there transparent information around costs and where the money goes?
5. Does the organisation take steps to match your skills to the needs of the project?
responsibletravel.com
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