This is a fascinating subject. I was always a big believer in foreign aid, volunteering, etc. Until I went to Africa for 6 months. I was literally the only American that wasn't doing volunteering in some way. I met soo many people who had done these two week volunteering gigs, and every story I heard got me closer and closer to thinking these were bad ideas.
Two examples.
1. I met a very nice couple from Canada who volunteered at an orphanage for two weeks in Uganda. They had nothing but wonderful things to say about their experiences. All I kept thinking was, "these poor kids. they lose their parents, their families, and now every two weeks they meet new people, only to have them leave them again, over and over." I think its maybe fine if the volunteers make it easier to help out the actual orphanage workers do their jobs, as they are usually very understaffed. But all I kept thinking was the effect that these volunteers would have on the kids as they floated in and out of their lives.
2. I met two Irish guys, also in Uganda, who said they were there to paint a school for a week. Now, I was thinking, wow, they are artists or something painting murals or something cool like that. Nope, they were literally just painting the school walls. Now I ask you, why can't a local do that? They paid money to go and paint this school, when they could have donated a bit of money to pay a Ugandan to do it, who would then have some invested interest in maintaining that school. I don't get it.

I will say, traveling in Africa with a South African friend of mine really changed my opinion of aid organizations, volunteering, etc. I definitely think that sometimes, not always, that they can do more harm than good. Ethiopia for example. After the big drought, tons of aid flowed into the country. That is great, help people during a temporary problem. But then get out. AFter the drought and famine was over however, no one left. It became profitable to be an aid organization. Now there are hundreds there, even though there is no longer a famine. Ethiopia, esp southern, was lush and green and crops were plentiful.

If anyone has read Paul Theroux's Dark Star Safari, his opinions on aid in Africa are interesting. I just think that things aren't working how they are. I don't think we should stop aid completely but it needs to be done in a different way. I think the short term volunteering usually just makes the volunteers feel good, and less guilty about being a comparably rich person touring around these poor countries. Hopefully it does open their eyes more and maybe will help them make more informed decisions about other things in the future and the world.

emerald eyes said If anyone has read Paul Theroux's Dark Star Safari, his opinions on aid in Africa are interesting. I just think that things aren't working .....

I read his book and it was hard for me to accept what he was saying at first, i didn't know who he was and didn't want to believe that all the good intentions we have often go for nought, but I'm thinking most of it is a big waste of time and money.

In my Rotary group I am surrounded by do gooders traveling all over the world, also setting up local food banks, clinics, and I think the poor and needy is like a bottomless pit and the more you throw into it, the deeper it gets.

An attorney once said to me "no good turn goes unpunished" It sounds so heartless, yet I have found that when i try and help people, so often they take it wrong or in the case of loaning money, i lose not only the money but also the friend.

Traveling down to Guatemala, it seemed like half the plane was filled up with missionaries going to build houses or schools or churches.

But I will say this, the people on the way back all felt good about what they had done, so it can't be a bad thing if it makes people feel good about themselves and closer to their fellow man. Whether they accomplished anything positive for the people they were trying to help, that's another question. I really doubt it.

If people don't dream up and construct the tools and systems that make their lieves better, if they can't figure out how to do that and take ownership of it, it will probably be doomed to failure once the tool breaks down they were given, or the pump loses a bearing, or whatever technical failure eventually occurs. If they can't figure out how to fix it, if it's not endemic to their culture, it will have a tough time working.