Volunteering in Third World Countries

Ghostt
Sun, 24 Feb 2013 04:20:08 +0000

The first thing you need to do to “make a difference in this world” is remove the phrase “third world” from your vocabulary. It is offensive, condescending and anachronistic.

American college kids volunteering for the sake of volunteering very often benefit more from their activities than does the country they’re in. What difference, exactly, do you want to make in the world? What region or country are you interested in? Or are you simply working toward a nebulous vision of your shirtless, tanned self building water pumps with your bare hands somewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa and teaching English to malnourished children?

Unqualified 20-year-olds with a savior complex can have a great time “in the third world,” but they’re very unlikely to help it move forward. Policy-makers, investors and experts are the only Western people the developing world actually has use for. I agree with everyone above that you need to stay in school.

I hope this video will give you something to think about:

[Africa For Norway - New charity single out now! Official christmas video - YouTube](Africa For Norway - New charity single out now! - YouTube)