If you are planning to travel to South Africa; on a volunteering trip, gap year or service learning program – the first question on your mind, and the minds of your friends and family, will probably be: Is South Africa safe? Is it as dangerous as the media says it is? If it isn’t dangerous, why do the crime statistics say otherwise? Will I be safe travelling alone in South Africa?
We all know of the horror stories highlighted in the media over the last years about volunteering with children. One particular opinion seems to be the most accepted at the moment: that volunteering in an orphanage or children’s home is harmful to the children and should not be supported.
Volunteering abroad is quite a big decision to make – and has a number of issues to consider. You have to choose your volunteer organizer or placement provider just as carefully as you choose your destination, and the type of volunteer project you want to work at.
Travelling overseas can be an exhilarating prospect, and provide some exciting times - but you’ll need to put careful thought into both your packing and your mindset, depending on where you’re going.
Many visitors to poverty-stricken countries - whether tourists on a holiday, volunteers supporting local non-profit organisations, or students partaking in an internship abroad - feel they want to do more than just being there and offering their temporary physical support.
I always knew I would not stay in the Netherlands, the country where I grew up and lived quite happily for many years. My mind was somewhere else from a young age. As a child I could happily spend hours going through the big atlas we had at home - looking over maps and countries and dreaming of all the places I would go to.
There is much to say about volunteering, and the pros and cons of such interaction by mostly young international volunteers. Gap year experiences or volunteering abroad have been around for quite some time.
I'ts a dog fight out there with the vast selection of gap year and volunteer providers available. The amount of options and slogans being thrown around such as"cheapest volunteer placements", "best provider" and "most ethical agency" doesn't make it easier to choose the right provider for you.
Volunteering overseas or taking a gap year is not an easy decision to make. Many are afraid of taking such a leap, with the concern of whether they will find paid work after such an adventure at the forefront of their mind.
While travelling, we have all come across possibilities to visit the “other” side of a country - to see, for example, what the REAL Africa is like. As I have found from working and living in South Africa for the last 11 years, this subject comes up with many of our volunteers. It remains an ongoing discussion and should be addressed on an ongoing basis. What is ethical and responsible when dealing with tours or experiences of this nature? A big question indeed – and no one answer completely covers it. I will share my opinion, however, of how I see this kind of tourism.
