Voluntourism

I stumbled across a new word the other day - Voluntourism. At first I thought it was just a spelling error online, but was intrigued anyways, so I did a little research. Apparently I've been in the dark for a while now because this word really isn't really "new" at all.

Rather than taking a trip and just simply sightseeing and indulging in your surroundings, people are using their vacation time to give something back to the world. Indonesia, Cambodia, Kenya...these places haven't exactly been at the top of my list for the most sought after places to visit. A few years ago, I didn't own a passport and could only dream of visiting places like Paris, Rome, and London. Fast forward to now...I've visited all three and have also added places like Dublin, Wales, the Bourgogne region in France and Sicily. Don't get me wrong, I feel so privileged to have visited these places and would go back in an instant to any of them but I'm now interested in expanding my list to include more “off the beaten path” kind of places. Of the places I’ve traveled to, I really must say that I’ve appreciated the smaller towns more than the larger cities. But it’s now time to take this one step further.

I’ll admit that I’m still completely naïve about the world. I don’t know what it’s like to be without air conditioning or live in any other conditions that don’t include elevators or doormen. I’m happy I live like this, but I fully recognize that I don’t appreciate it as much as I probably should.

With all that being said, I’d like to see what this “Voluntourism” word I just discovered is all about. There is a bike tour through PEPY tours that takes you through Cambodia, stopping periodically to work for the local businesses or teaching at schools. There is another program in Africa that allows you to teach English at a school in Kenya or Zimbabwe for 2 weeks at a time.

You completely submerge yourself within the local cultures when you participate in one of these programs. You can understand these cultures better than any sightseeing tour would ever allow. What could be more rewarding?

Companies that offer these tours can be found on the blog below…
http://voluntourismgal.wordpress.com/