Who Are You Really Helping?

“It is easy to romanticize poverty, to see poor people as inherently lacking agency and will. It is easy to strip them of human dignity, to reduce them to objects of pity. This has never been clearer than in the view of Africa from the American media, in which we are shown poverty and conflicts without any context.”
 
These powerful words from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a prominent Nigerian author, make sense. Think about any time you see Africans, especially children, on television. The only sadder thing you’ll see on TV is Sarah McLachlan singing “Angel” while skinny dogs and cats stare into your soul. The line between motivating people with pathos and exploiting human children is small, but it’s important to understand, especially when we begin preparing our youth for mission trips and social justice activities.
I want to talk about voluntourism. A quick google search defines voluntourism as “a form of tourism in which travelers participate in voluntary work, typically for a charity”. Voluntourism, a word that has launched into the public forum recently, has divided people. Some say that any help is good help, while others see it as an attempt to pad resumes and see the world guilt-free. It’s a much more nuanced discussion than either side admits (welcome to America), but it’s important we begin to unpack the issue for a few reasons.
Social justice is the defining raison d’etre for this generation of youth. Whether it is in a secular or non-secular environment, this young generation has taken the world by storm when it comes to caring about the less fortunate. Much of this is due to the rise of social media, where ideas, news, and opinions carry faster and further than ever before. It’s also easier to become socially active. A quick google search reveals where and when I can help the community. Peace Corps applications are at an all-time high, an annual announcement. More and more churches boast of overseas ministries and spring break mission trips are gaining momentum across college campuses. At a recent youth ministry conference I learned that the best way to outreach to youth is to hold social justice activities, allow the youth to get their hands dirty and they will begin to see Christ in those actions. At a time it’s popular to bemoan the generation of smart phones and tumblr pages, it’s important to realize that they do have some things figured out better than we do. It’s important to give credit where credit is due.
 
We need to stop and ask:"Are the people we go to help actually benefitting?"
 
Those entrusted with ministering to the youth must feed this need for social justice and funnel this desire into positive action. Sometimes, with the best of intentions, we grasp at opportunities for the youth to jump into these life changing mission trips without much research. What could be wrong with spending a week in Mexico or even Africa? The youth are helping, the parish/church community is involved, and everyone walks away with a deeper appreciation for what they have. It’s a no brainer. This is true until we look at Mrs. Chimamanda’s quote above. We get so pumped up about helping others; we forget to see how we’re actually helping others. While the youth and chaperones and church community are obviously benefitting from these actions, are the people we go to help actually benefitting? That’s a question we sometimes don’t stop to ask.
I’ve heard countless stories about youth building something for a community, working hard all day, only to have the local population come in at night to fix the shoddy work. Maybe the youth aren’t constructing buildings but are instead building relationships with local orphans. Think about how tough it may be for the orphans to deal with a new round of volunteers each week, knowing that whatever relationships they do create will just be gone in a few days. I’ve also heard stories of NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) coming into villages, building a building in a few weeks, and the building never being used. Or irrigation systems neglected because no one knows how to fix them. Sometimes our best intentions aren’t what are best for those we want to help.
 
If we hope for our workwe leave behind to be substantial,it must be sustainable.
 
There’s a reason volunteers in the Peace Corps receive three months of training, which is at the short end of the spectrum for many aid programs. It’s tough to understand the complexities of local culture without experiencing the local culture for any length of time. If we hope for our work we leave behind to be substantial, it must be sustainable. For example, the best way to improve education is not to take a week or two and teach children how to speak English because those kids will only have learned two weeks’ worth of English. If we invest the resources into teaching the teachers to best teach English, then many years of student’s are affected.
Sustainability is the buzzword in development circles. Before we send our youth off to help in international programs, check to ensure the programs are sustainable. Is the local population better off than before your youth arrived, and will they be better off for a long time? Are your youth merely walking away with fuzzy feelings and Instagramable pictures of a weird, foreign world, or are they truly humbled and touched by the small difference they made? Could they be doing the same work locally, saving money and creating a sustainable model for the community in which they live, which I would argue is more important than flying thousands of miles to help those in need. There are many people that need help in all corners of our globe – let us pray for those we cannot directly affect and earnestly help those who we can.