Title – Help or Hindrance?
Source – Metro
Date – 2nd September 2008
It’s a question we have discussed before on this blog, is the Gap Year volunteering on projects round the world a positive benefit or not?
There is no simple answer;
In the worst cases it costs thousands of pounds, is disruptive to the host community, destructive to the local environment, embitters local communities and the volunteer themselves who return disillusioned, disappointed and reluctant to travel more extensively and further broaden their horizons.
In the best cases, volunteers provide essential life changing improvements to local communities which they would never be able to afford or have the ability to complete on their own. It helps volunteers develop skills and knowledge that they could not gain anywhere else and opens them to cultures that broaden their horizons and literally change their lives for the better.
The trick is to make sure you get the right outcome from your experience.
The two ways to achieve this are; to get a recommendation from someone you trust (not only from someone provided by the company you choose, they are employees often with a different motivation for ‘recruiting’ you) or to do your own research.
The first step is to know what interests you and what motivates you, volunteering is a very personal thing and you must really want to take an active part in the activity you choose. Avoid peer pressure, avoid the feeling that one project holds more ‘merit’ than another. Is it morally better to spend time teaching in a school or looking after elephants? There is no moral judgement to be made here; if teaching will inspire you, then teach; if elephants inspire you, help them; it has to be your personal choice.
At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Working and Volunteering Abroad as part of a gap year. We examine issues of Travel Safety, Travel Equipment and Travel Health and which must be serious considerations when you are deciding where to travel to and what activities to undertake.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.
For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.
Source – Metro
Date – 2nd September 2008
It’s a question we have discussed before on this blog, is the Gap Year volunteering on projects round the world a positive benefit or not?
There is no simple answer;
In the worst cases it costs thousands of pounds, is disruptive to the host community, destructive to the local environment, embitters local communities and the volunteer themselves who return disillusioned, disappointed and reluctant to travel more extensively and further broaden their horizons.
In the best cases, volunteers provide essential life changing improvements to local communities which they would never be able to afford or have the ability to complete on their own. It helps volunteers develop skills and knowledge that they could not gain anywhere else and opens them to cultures that broaden their horizons and literally change their lives for the better.
The trick is to make sure you get the right outcome from your experience.
The two ways to achieve this are; to get a recommendation from someone you trust (not only from someone provided by the company you choose, they are employees often with a different motivation for ‘recruiting’ you) or to do your own research.
The first step is to know what interests you and what motivates you, volunteering is a very personal thing and you must really want to take an active part in the activity you choose. Avoid peer pressure, avoid the feeling that one project holds more ‘merit’ than another. Is it morally better to spend time teaching in a school or looking after elephants? There is no moral judgement to be made here; if teaching will inspire you, then teach; if elephants inspire you, help them; it has to be your personal choice.
At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Working and Volunteering Abroad as part of a gap year. We examine issues of Travel Safety, Travel Equipment and Travel Health and which must be serious considerations when you are deciding where to travel to and what activities to undertake.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.
For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.
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