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GadlingTV's Travel Talk 009: Children for Children's Future
GadlingTV's Travel Talk, episode 9 – Click above to watch video after the jump
This week we're breaking from our usual format to bring you a special episode about voluntourism, foreign aid, and an outsider's perspective on the importance of sustainability in the developing world.
If you've ever had thoughts about volunteering in a foreign country, then tune in to find out why foreign aid can be so much more complicated than good will and generosity.
If you have any questions or comments about Travel Talk, you can email us at talk AT gadling DOT com.
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Links
Interested in volunteering? Check out idealist.org
Read more about Arusha!
Hosts: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea
Produced, Edited, and Directed by: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nick Apr 14th 2010 2:25PM
Stephen -
Your Arusha orphanage story serves as a good reminder of the fact that merely throwing money at a problem is almost never the best solution. Unfortunately, many well-intentioned people in the Western world have had that mentality for a long time. But with a growing understanding of global issues and great new opportunities to experience those problems first-hand, our thinking is now changing for better. As for me, I like to contribute to only those NGOs that have good accountability, focus on understanding local perspectives and create lasting livelihoods.
Good work!
Christopher Hill Apr 14th 2010 4:57PM
Stephen - great piece. Sadly your experience is not unique, and it is, as you say, understandable, especially when corruption is rife, almost a cultural norm.
Your final words of advice are poignant: volunteering can be beneficial, both for the participant and the host community, but it is vital to research thoroughly to determine that the organization you volunteer with is genuinely benefiting the vulnerable, be it orphans, the elderly, disabled, etc.
At least with volunteering or philanthropic travel, you can go and see for yourself what is being done, which, whilst not foolproof, does help make the people on the ground be more accountable than sending money to a project without experiencing it personally.
Thanks again.
Christopher Hill
Founder
Hands Up Holidays
Daniel Apr 14th 2010 5:37PM
Thank you for sharing the story of CCF, and opening up dialogue on gadling of good NGO practices and volunteering! You speak with wisdom that most people will never achieve while traveling... thanks for sending such a positive message despite understandably difficult social situations.
tom kelly Apr 16th 2010 2:09PM
Uh...going to Hell?
Oh, wait...Jews wisely don't believe in Hell.
Maybe his mother will make him feel so guilty, he'll THINK he's in Hell.
Hahahaha.
tom kelly Apr 16th 2010 2:11PM
Oh, NOOO! Ignore that last comment. How did it get on THIS site? I was replying, tongue-in-cheek, to a comment on the Andrew Zimmern interview.
Sorry!
Laurie Connable Apr 18th 2010 10:03PM
Hey Stephen,
This site is AWESOME! Great photography and journalism.
Big hugs and aloooooooooha from the Big Island.
xoxolaurie:}
Tania Apr 22nd 2010 1:04AM
VERY true, whether you are giving money to an organization or wanting to visit, I think doing some preliminary research is essential. However, probably in most cases, corruption must be exposed before it is fixed, and to do that, first-hand accounts are always best. As in the video above, if Stephen had not visited this orphanage, it's unlikely that they would've found out what was really going on. I agree with the comment above, visiting, interacting, donating time creates a degree of accountability...
I actually work with Off the Radar, travelofftheradar(dot)com (it's an online magazine for adventure travelers), and we only feature tour operators or voluntourism programs that either we can vouch for or personally know someone who can verify their program is legit, speeds along the research process a bit