Community and Service

Voluntourism

From time to time articles emerge lambasting the short-term visits made by young people from wealthy countries to facilities and communities in less developed regions of the world. Certainly there have been exposés of unscrupulous operators who exploit children in bogus 'orphanages' in countries like Cambodia. The claim most often made is that the visits in general do more harm than good. Scotch offers three service trips - to India, Cambodia and Tanzania. All are short-term in nature and visits to orphanages do occur.

The authors of articles on 'Voluntourism' describe how individuals and groups leave in their wake distraught, confused or angry individuals whose trust has been betrayed. This may be the case for the Contiki-style of trip where the operator offers brief 'exotic' local experiences to well-meaning but gullible and mainly young travellers. The Scotch trips are very different.

All three overseas service trips have been carefully built on genuine partnerships developed over a long period of time - and often through personal contacts of the members of staff who initially proposed the trip. The emphasis is on forging a means to improve over a long-term the quality of life for the members of the communities served. At the same time, the trips provide an insight for our students into what inequality of opportunity really means. Education is the focus of all three trips and over time, our partner communities have benefited greatly from the direct action involved. Each group travelling raises considerable sums of money - all of which goes into the community being assisted.

Aside from the direct - grass roots - assistance provided, the young people who venture on these trips to India, Cambodia and Tanzania return with an altered perception of their place in the world. They feel empowered and less inclined to squander the opportunities they have in Australia. They understand that privilege and service are intrinsically linked. Further they are more likely to spend of their adult professional life in the service of others less fortunate.

I sometimes wonder if authors of articles critical of school service trips or Gap years by young people spent in less developed countries around the world really understand the depth of need in the world. For many less fortunate ANY support - no matter how transient - is better than none. Even if the support does not involve money - just friendship - it is a comfort. Despite the criticism, it is surely better to jump in and do SOMETHING than to debate the issue from afar. Young people can work it out if given a chance and we need more 'service action' in the world from this generation - despite the risk of failure involved.

Mr Bill Cordner

Director of Community and Service