Find out in advance to avoid the pitfalls of voluntourism

Find out in advance to avoid the pitfalls of voluntourism

You have identified your desire for discovery and want to bring meaning to your trip by making yourself useful.

In recent years, a large pool of mutual aid has been deployed, especially among young people, in very diverse forms to provide a little help where it is most needed. The will to invest can sometimes be blinded and we can then fall into a trap that will give a bitter taste to this experience.

Scams are everywhere. Unfortunately, the humanitarian and solidarity sectors are no exception. There are thus unscrupulous people who have understood that this current momentum of mutual aid could be converted into juicy profits. They then use a sometimes fictitious association to collect donations and fees from honest volunteers whose real beneficiaries will never see the color. On the internet, hundreds of “volunteer”, “volunteer”, “humanitarian aid” are offered around the world in all areas (ecology, education, health, etc.). But unfortunately many of them do not meet any real need.

How not to be had? Here is a list that can put you in the ear to detect scams.

Exorbitant costs to carry out a humanitarian project (1200 euros per week to give English lessons in Nepal… Yes we have seen it!), a local association with no history, a request to pay costs upstream, a website with very little content. There are things that we would rather not know but that it is better to have in mind to avoid falling into the trap of voluntourism.

The second advice is to take the time and not rush to find the association that suits you. You need to find out as precisely as possible about the context in which the local structure operates, its ecosystem and what your specific role will be. There is no shame in asking questions and once there it will be too late. We contacted around 400 associations and exchanged hundreds of emails with those we had chosen to help. However, at the last minute we had to cancel a project with one of them who had just changed direction and had become a real business.

In addition, we defined our itinerary once the associations had been selected so as not to be influenced by a destination that would force us to choose a "default" association. Let's be realistic, there are solidarity needs almost everywhere in the world so there is a good chance that you can associate your dream destination with an associative project.

If you want to know ways to spot serious associations, there are many:

Feedback from your friends, families: talk about your project!
Feedback from travel bloggers
Some tourist guides may indicate local associations
The lists of associations provided by the embassies of the countries
Attend the Forum of Associations and Foundations which takes place every year at ParisVoyage solidaire scolaire
Bring a personal touch to this solidarity trip

Again, whatever form of project you build or join, add your own twist! For our part, we have activated our entire network to find as many contacts, feedback and ideas as possible. It is this dose of nerve that has allowed us to bring together many partners who recognize themselves in our project and who have been able to expand it further and make it grow.

Adrien being passionate about sports and Ilana cooking, we wanted to integrate this data into the project without having networks in these sectors. This strong will has allowed us to count on the OGC Nice football club and the restaurant Guy Savoy La Monnaie de Paris – 3 *** in the Michelin guide, among our main partners. What does it consist of ? In addition to the projects carried out within each partner association, OGC Nice will, for example, provide footballs which will be distributed to Nepalese children. In addition, at each of our projects in an association, we have the opportunity to cook the signature recipe of our trip by Pastry Chef Matthieu Carlin: Clafoutis! We are delighted with them, and they bring an even more personal touch to this humanitarian and solidarity adventure around the world.

Our advice here would be to encourage you to think about what trace you would like to leave with these populations that you will meet. A book ? A photo ? An object ?

Halfway through, we already realize the benefits and the impact that this solidarity trip has had on us. Daily learning, encounters, discoveries, challenges and challenges encountered are an indefinable wealth. Everyone can make themselves useful in their own way and the solidarity trip