In recent times ‘voluntourism’ has been the subject of criticism from some sections of the media, but The Voluntary Traveler blogger Nola Lee Kelsey argues that this negativity is unfair and over-generalises the industry.

According to Nola “painting all, or even most, of voluntourism with a negative brush is simply absurd…Every volunteer opportunity is different in some way, just as every person, every traveller, is also different in some way”.

Reports of international volunteers having bad experiences or volunteer projects that contribute little to the causes they claim to support are in the minority. Moreover, media sources claiming that people only volunteer “to feel better about themselves and don’t care about the projects…add insulting to their irrational blend of negativity”.

For Nola, the growth of volunteer travel can only be seen as a positive phenomenon and volunteer organisations and placements should be judged on their individual merits rather than blanket judgements.

Read the rest of Nola’s blog.

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