Volunteering abroad is great. Not only do you travel to an exotic country, you also meet like-minded people, and at the end of it all you have something to put on your CV to impress employers with. But did you ever stop to think about how great it is for the people on the receiving end? In this context, Daniela Papi has a point---foreigners rushing heroically to volunteer in a country they've never heard of are unlikely to make a difference. But turning volunteering camps into classrooms, as Papi seems to advocate in her article, risks throwing the baby out with the bath water by putting people off of volunteering. Rather, learning should be a natural part of the experience, and the key to creating such an environment is positioning everyone as equals. In order for _ to happen, volunteers need competent leaders who create an environment of equality: When, a few years ago, I joined a group of international volunteers to help a small farming community in the Swiss Alps, we were all quite ignorant about the local conditions. But thanks to our group leader, it was both a helpful project for the locals and a fun and eye-opening experience for us.Before we had even traveled (at our own expense) to the mountaintop village, our group leader had spent time with the villagers preparing the project to make sure it would be of benefit to them. She arranged for us to help in different areas, ensuring that we always worked alongside locals rather than for them. It was never "us" and "them", but always "we", like a big family. As a result, conversation flowed and we learned a great deal just by casually talking to the locals as we worked.At the end, we left with a deep appreciation for the labor of love that goes into producing the food we eat every dayan appreciation we could treasure ourselves and share with our peers. Volunteering isn't about saving someone's life, or even about changing it. It's about touching a different world and reminding ourselves that there is much, much more to life than the daily routines we take for granted.With that knowledge, maybe, just maybe, we can go on to really change the world. By Lukas Thibaut From the author's viewpoint, what should international volunteers avoid?
Placing themselves above the locals. Taking food for granted. Disrespecting others' labor. Being proud of volunteering.