This is a really special post to me, because I love the idea of creating an impact when you are visiting another country but there are always considerations to be made before you decide to do so. When thinking of 'voluntourism' it is always a nice feeling to know that a variety of things that you are doing can contribute to the betterment of the lives of those in the community. One challenge with this is that a lot of companies offering these types of trips are tourism based companies before anything else, meaning these trips are designed to give the visitors a sense of accomplishment and feel good about 'giving back', when it may not be an entirely genuine effort to be made in the community you are visiting. Your best bet if you are looking to volunteer overseas is to first find an established organization to do so, one that is creating long-term and sustainable change in a location, not just stopping by to help for a short period and leaving the area not really making dent in the issues of the area.
If your availability isn't fit to a project that requires a long term commitment, like many health and educationally based placements, look for an organization that fits in with something you are passionate about and see if they have opportunities for you. Many organizations will allow you to be a part of projects that can impact the health and livelihoods of the community and many generations to come as well. Always keeping in mind when looking at organizations, that some will require you to pay fees for in country support and registration practices, which is not necessarily a bad thing, it may be contributing to projecting any supplies or materials they need. I was fortunate enough to be paired with an organization that I feel very strongly about the root of their belief that all people deserve the freedom and right to clean and safe drinking water, and for me the opportunity to work with the in country individuals and make a rain catchment system to support 2 generations of a family was an experience I could never prepare myself for.
Upon my arrival in Tanzania, our first day out to the Mareu villages was eye-opening, we started off our visit at a small community which was centrally focused around the local school, as many are in this area. We stopped at the community where the project from the following year had wrapped up, and we discussed the issues from the community prior to the rain system installation and the changes since. The major issue in this area of Tanzania is the high content of fluoride found in the water (40 parts per litre) which has created huge detriment for the health of those living in the area. The fluoride builds up in the human body and will leach calcium from the teeth and bones causing them to deteriorate. So despite having access to water, at a walk of about 2 hours for most in the village, even after walking the distance, the water they're using is essentially poisoning their bodies. It also has an effect on the agriculture in the area, as high levels of fluoride in ground water causes greens to burn causing deficiency in diet as well. For pregnant women this caused a lack of folic acid, which raises the chance of spina bifida in their children to a dangerously high rate of occurrence, especially in an are where the nearest hospital is not accessible. During their work in the area in the year before my visit, they were approached by a man named Goodluck who came forward to Kelly, the operating director of the organization, and told him about his daughter. With little medical knowledge in the village when these children with spina bifuda were born, they would cut the external spine from the bodies of these infants leaving them paralyzed and incontinent. In this culture, disability was seen as a curse on the family and these children were hidden away. They recieved no exposure to education or even social contact from others on most occasions and Goodlucks' daughter was one of those children, and he reached out because his daughter only wanted one thing, to learn. Kelly reached a man who made wheelchairs by recycling old bicycles and many of these children have come forward and are no longer seen as a curse to their families. They've even installed ramps to each of the classrooms and they are now fully integrated in with the other children. We also saw the moringa trees on the lot which are used for student lunches and have incredible nutritional value for these students. Along with the water systems and permaculture classes the overall health and enrollment of students has skyrocketed as children are no longer pulled out of school to walk for water.
It is experiences like this, where not only can you see the effect the organization has on the community, but the change they are making on the lives of others is something that will greatly impact your life. I would never say to anyone that volunteering overseas is a bad idea, just make sure you do your research beforehand to ensure what you are doing will have an impactful change that you can continue to be proud of. For this, sometimes going and helping to groom stray animals can be an amazing experience for some, where for others going for a 6 month volunteer placement at an orphanage will do the same, you have to know what makes this so important to you and what you will feel comfortable doing. Sometimes it is best to go and do a short term stop with an organization, as I've heard from the heads of some grassroots organizations that they no longer take very long term placements, as many people cannot deal with the stresses of their new environment, no matter how much they want or feel they need to be there. If you are unsure, keep in mind organizations that may have a little bit more of a flexible timeframe for your visit, so that you know just what it is that you are looking to achieve, but if it becomes too challenging you can always change the duration of the visit.
Always keeping in mind that it may be a very difficult adjustment going to a place that is so different from what you are typically used to experiencing, so if you have never been to anywhere that is very different from your life, the idea of culture shock is something that can impact your experience. Openness and respect of the lifestyle and culture of the place you are visiting is always the top priority, and even having travelled to a number of places before, I had a few challenges along the way whilst on my visit to Tanzania. Seeing the complete variation of the life the people in these villages live was so vastly different from what we are used to, but I have never met more loving, wholeheartedly happy people in my life, and I don't know if that is what made it so challenging but I did have some difficulty dealing with some of the events that happened each day.