Volunteering in Africa: Voluntourism

Voluntourism: What is it?

What does "Volontourism" mean?

Volontourism is a combination of the words "Volunteer" and "Tourism"

If you are planning on volunteering in Africa during your gap year, chances are you have already run across the term “Voluntourism”. As you may have guessed, voluntourism is a combination of the words “Volunteer” and “Tourism”. It refers to an ever-growing branch of tourism in which travellers dedicate part of their time abroad to volunteering for people, the environment, or wildlife in focused gap year projects.

Voluntourism is:

  • An opportunity to help people as you travel abroad
  • Your chance to experience more than the average tourist

Gap year projects in Africa will give you the chance to help people directly as you learn first-hand about their land, language, and culture. Many African volunteer projects provide accommodation with a host family, an excellent way to immerse yourself in a foreign culture, and an experience which regular tourists miss altogether.

Voluntourism: What ISN’T it?

Many people interested in volunteering in Africa feel very ambitious, and are disappointed when their efforts to help do not result in major changes. This is mainly because they do not fully understand the aims and scope of voluntourism. Before you dive into gap year projects in Africa, it is important to note what voluntourism is not.

Voluntourism is NOT:

  • Going to solve all the world’s problems
  • An attempt to “improve” the local culture

Most important:

Keep an open mind, and try to understand your host country’s cultural differences.

Before you start volunteering in Africa, try to be realistic about what you will accomplish there. The major problems facing your host country are going to take longer than a few weeks or months to fix, and no one can do it alone. Even if you do not see major improvements result from your volunteer work, you can be sure that your commitment is greatly appreciated by the local people you are helping.

One last note: Although the culture in your African host country may seem unorganised or inefficient, keep in mind that you are not there to change the local culture to fit your standards. Just imagine if someone went to your country and tried to change your way of life! Keep an open mind, and try to understand, or at least to accept your host country’s cultural differences.