DEVON BUTLER
The Cord – Wilfrid Laurier University

WATERLOO, Ont. (CUP) — It has become an unwritten rite of passage in North American society for today’s young humanitarians to engage in the ultimate act of charity: travelling to a developing country to volunteer.

However, not just any developing region will do. To obtain that awe-inspiring reputation, Africa has become the continent of choice.

Students on the brink of those four glorious summer months are faced with making decisions regarding how to spend this time.

For most, it’s a simple matter of working in order to pay for another year of education. For the luckier few, it’s a time to travel, explore and do some good in the world.

Before I sound too cynical, I both support and engage in charity work locally and internationally. In fact, I have considered it a probable summer option.

However, I couldn’t ignore the seemingly questionable motives of volunteers and the marketing techniques of organized volunteer trips as a means to gain credentials to succeed later in life.

An emphasis on volunteering is a welcome change in student life. But while it appears heroic on paper, it is possible for some that it only perpetuates the need to keep to the latest trends while acquiring a well-regarded status in society.

This is probably the most disturbing development: Volunteerism has become just another product to be branded, marketed and exploited.

Non-religious volunteer organizations no longer promote their trips as a way to help others but focus it as a way to “find” oneself, gain real-world experience and build up one’s resume; coincidentally, these reasons are also entirely self-serving.

In looking at the act of international volunteerism as a product, we can see the privileging of some locations over others.

Just like in marketing, one product label is often viewed as more prestigious — and, sadly, Africa has become the Gucci of the volunteer world.

In our quest to spread charity to the developing world, we have instituted a hierarchical system among those whom we have decided are the most in need, the most prestigious and perhaps even the most deserving. A summer spent in Africa, for instance, seems to be held in higher regard than one spent in Romania or Central America.

Overseas volunteer work shouldn’t be discredited, as there are many who want to better the world. But for those who see African nations as a place to develop self-confidence and a means to pack your grad school application, perhaps the money spent on the trip would be better spent donated to charity.

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photo: The Cord – Wilfrid Laurier University