02 November 2009 ~ 8 Comments

What does “international volunteer” mean to you?

vol⋅un⋅teer  [vol-uhn-teer] –noun

1. a person who voluntarily offers himself or herself for a service or undertaking.
2. a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.

It would probably make a lot more sense if we stopped using the title “volunteer” for positions where people are getting paid.  The result is that I have met Cambodians who say “I want to be a volunteer when I grow up.”  Hmmm… do you think we are spreading the wrong message?  Volunteers in Cambodia are getting paid more than local staff.  I think we need to redefine this word.

Let’s get some misconceptions out in the open before starting to discuss “international volunteering” as there is a lot of confusion and sometimes a negative perception surrounding those words.

Some misconceptions are that:

–         “Volunteers” are people who are willing to give up any forms of luxury

–         Those doing international aid work can be equated with a martyrs and comparisons should be drawn to Mother Teresa.

–         Having the word “volunteer” is a title is a substitute for “not qualified to do my job”

–         Whatever a “volunteer” is doing must be adding social value by virtue of their title

–         Someone with “volunteer” in their title is not being paid.

As you can see from these assumptions, there seems to be two opposing camps of stereotyping surrounding perceptions of volunteers.  Many people react as if international volunteering is akin to martyrdom.  I’ve heard people say, “Volunteering abroad, that’s like Mother Theresa stuff, right?” There is an idea that international volunteer work can only be done by the rare type of person who is willing to give up all forms of luxury.

The other extreme reaction to the word “volunteer” in international aid work usually comes from people working somewhere within the spectrum of philanthropy work. Some people working in foreign aid see those volunteering abroad as naive, ego-driven or ineffective use of resources draining both time and money away from the “real work”.  Many look at those with “volunteer” in their title as if it were really saying “unqualified-to-do-my-job.”

These somewhat opposing views of volunteering abroad must be based on some truths for them to exist so strongly.  Those viewing the aid workers as if they are making large sacrifices might either have done some volunteer work in the past themselves which felt like a big sacrifice to them or perhaps work in a job they feel they “need” to do to make money to keep the lifestyle they are accustomed to and they view volunteer positions as opportunities which would require giving some of those things up.

Those working in development might have seen or had to work with volunteers whose lack of skills or short-term commitments had decreased the efficiency of their organization’s work.  They might have worked with one too many volunteers interested in the experience to “build their resume” who was less interested in doing the jobs that needed to be done and more interested in having fun in a new country.  These stereotypes might be based on individual’s experiences, but it doesn’t make them truths.

How we define “volunteering” is also now in question.  There are “volunteers” who get paid for their work, like the “UNV’s”, the UN Volunteers, who get paid a fraction of what they would normally charge, though often still make salaries which are multiples of that of their local counterparts.  Other payments also come in the form of post volunteering stipends, like in the Peace Corps.  There are “volunteers” who PAY for their experience, either through a volunteer placement agency or with a development program direction. And then there are “volunteers” who do work and don’t get paid, like the parents who volunteer to come to school and help set up for their children’s next school play.  As in all areas of life, one of the factors of the extreme sensitivity to the word “volunteer” is the money, or lack their of, involved.

Our economies are built on trade, and when we switched to using money as a standard means of exchange (perhaps thinking seashells or camels would run scarce some day) we might have also lost some of the give and take that comes with valuing a certain experience or good.  Now is seems that we too often rely on looking only at the price tag of something to judge its value.  When we think something is cheap, or expensive, we compare the item with what we would willingly pay for it, but rarely is our value comparison in terms other than money.  We might hear, “Wow! I love books about arachnids.  I would totally pay like $50 for that photo book!”  We almost never hear, “I want to buy that spider book from the family book shop down the street.  What steal!  I would wash their dishes and cut their lawn for 2 months to buy it.”

In many areas of life, talk of money causes a visceral reaction, so some of the issue people have with volunteering, could really be a money issue.  “Is having this person here good use of our money, or are they unskilled and taking more time than they are giving?” “She would have made MUCH MORE money if she was doing this job at home.”  “They are PAYING the company for this experience!  And the company is keeping a LARGE portion of the money, and adding very little value to their experience?  Don’t they see they are being sold something where they are making money for a tour company, but not necessarily supporting the local programs?”  These are all things I have heard, said, or thought while working in aid and educational and service tourism in Cambodia.

So, potential volunteers of the world, and potential critics/supporters of volunteerism, let’s remember that, just because people are volunteering abroad does not guarantee negative nor positive impacts.   Let’s start using the word “volunteer” as defined in the dictionary so that we can preserve the honor of those people who give their time willingly and for “free”.  They might not get paid in money, but they surely get a lot out of their experiences or they wouldn’t choose do them.  Good for them for remembering that not all payments come in the form of money.

  • http://planningtheday.wordpress.com Meg

    Daniela, thanks for this post! I have worked as a volunteer in tons of different settings with a variety of financial arrangements over the last few years (most often receiving money from my university to study/do work overseas). Currently, I'm an unpaid staff member (volunteer?) at a community center in Battambang. I'm always very wary to tell staff at other NGOs that I don't receive a salary, for fear that they will immediately assume that I'm “not qualified to do my job,” but from people at home, the idea that I'm volunteering means that people assume sainthood/martyrdom. Just like you said, the “volunteer” label is ambiguous at best. Thanks for taking the time to deconstruct it!
    -Meg, planningtheday.wordpress.com

  • Meg

    Daniela, thanks for this post! I have worked as a volunteer in tons of different settings with a variety of financial arrangements over the last few years (most often receiving money from my university to study/do work overseas). Currently, I’m an unpaid staff member (volunteer?) at a community center in Battambang. I’m always very wary to tell staff at other NGOs that I don’t receive a salary, for fear that they will immediately assume that I’m “not qualified to do my job,” but from people at home, the idea that I’m volunteering means that people assume sainthood/martyrdom. Just like you said, the “volunteer” label is ambiguous at best. Thanks for taking the time to deconstruct it!n-Meg, planningtheday.wordpress.com

  • Meg

    Daniela, thanks for this post! I have worked as a volunteer in tons of different settings with a variety of financial arrangements over the last few years (most often receiving money from my university to study/do work overseas). Currently, I’m an unpaid staff member (volunteer?) at a community center in Battambang. I’m always very wary to tell staff at other NGOs that I don’t receive a salary, for fear that they will immediately assume that I’m “not qualified to do my job,” but from people at home, the idea that I’m volunteering means that people assume sainthood/martyrdom. Just like you said, the “volunteer” label is ambiguous at best. Thanks for taking the time to deconstruct it!n-Meg, planningtheday.wordpress.com

  • Meg

    Daniela, thanks for this post! I have worked as a volunteer in tons of different settings with a variety of financial arrangements over the last few years (most often receiving money from my university to study/do work overseas). Currently, I’m an unpaid staff member (volunteer?) at a community center in Battambang. I’m always very wary to tell staff at other NGOs that I don’t receive a salary, for fear that they will immediately assume that I’m “not qualified to do my job,” but from people at home, the idea that I’m volunteering means that people assume sainthood/martyrdom. Just like you said, the “volunteer” label is ambiguous at best. Thanks for taking the time to deconstruct it!n-Meg, planningtheday.wordpress.com

  • Meg

    Daniela, thanks for this post! I have worked as a volunteer in tons of different settings with a variety of financial arrangements over the last few years (most often receiving money from my university to study/do work overseas). Currently, I’m an unpaid staff member (volunteer?) at a community center in Battambang. I’m always very wary to tell staff at other NGOs that I don’t receive a salary, for fear that they will immediately assume that I’m “not qualified to do my job,” but from people at home, the idea that I’m volunteering means that people assume sainthood/martyrdom. Just like you said, the “volunteer” label is ambiguous at best. Thanks for taking the time to deconstruct it!n-Meg, planningtheday.wordpress.com

  • Meg

    Daniela, thanks for this post! I have worked as a volunteer in tons of different settings with a variety of financial arrangements over the last few years (most often receiving money from my university to study/do work overseas). Currently, I’m an unpaid staff member (volunteer?) at a community center in Battambang. I’m always very wary to tell staff at other NGOs that I don’t receive a salary, for fear that they will immediately assume that I’m “not qualified to do my job,” but from people at home, the idea that I’m volunteering means that people assume sainthood/martyrdom. Just like you said, the “volunteer” label is ambiguous at best. Thanks for taking the time to deconstruct it!n-Meg, planningtheday.wordpress.com

  • Meg

    Daniela, thanks for this post! I have worked as a volunteer in tons of different settings with a variety of financial arrangements over the last few years (most often receiving money from my university to study/do work overseas). Currently, I’m an unpaid staff member (volunteer?) at a community center in Battambang. I’m always very wary to tell staff at other NGOs that I don’t receive a salary, for fear that they will immediately assume that I’m “not qualified to do my job,” but from people at home, the idea that I’m volunteering means that people assume sainthood/martyrdom. Just like you said, the “volunteer” label is ambiguous at best. Thanks for taking the time to deconstruct it!n-Meg, planningtheday.wordpress.com

  • http://planningtheday.wordpress.com Meg

    Daniela, thanks for this post! I have worked as a volunteer in tons of different settings with a variety of financial arrangements over the last few years (most often receiving money from my university to study/do work overseas). Currently, I'm an unpaid staff member (volunteer?) at a community center in Battambang. I'm always very wary to tell staff at other NGOs that I don't receive a salary, for fear that they will immediately assume that I'm “not qualified to do my job,” but from people at home, the idea that I'm volunteering means that people assume sainthood/martyrdom. Just like you said, the “volunteer” label is ambiguous at best. Thanks for taking the time to deconstruct it!
    -Meg, planningtheday.wordpress.com