Opinion: Who Is Helped by Western ‘Voluntourism’?

The New York Times online Room for Debate feature tackles whether Westerners who travel abroad to work on health, education, and development projects are genuinely helping the poor in developing countries.

Short pieces by the five debaters, including a Pakistani writer, a South African academic, and three nonprofit activists, touch on whether such “voluntourism” does more for the volunteers than for the intended beneficiaries.

Some participants contend the trend exploits the world’s poor to provide good feelings and photo opportunities for relatively affluent tourists. Others say informed volunteers can make a real difference in lives abroad if they are willing to put in the work, and there is no reason they should not also derive satisfaction from the experience.