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International travel, while helping more people than ever discover the world around them, has also proved to have some negative side-effects. Air travel causes pollution and noise. Seasonal tourist traffic leads to lopsided development. Infrastructure is built to serve foreign visitors and not locals. Shantytowns and slums exist in the same cities as four-star resorts. Communities are forced to adapt their social standards and structures to pander to tourist revenue that is fickle and sometimes fleeting. Some do their part by offsetting their carbon footprint or consuming fair trade products and encouraging more equal development. We do our part by helping you do yours. By volunteering abroad you are not just a simple tourist, following group leaders with coloured flags around. You become a responsible traveller, someone who is not content with just taking that picture and buying that souvenir. Staying long enough to do more than just eat, shop and gawk, you become a member of a society, a neighbourhood and a family. You learn about the habits and daily lives of real local people, you discover their joys and troubles and you demonstrate that someone cares enough to visit their country and try to change a thing or two. As a volunteer abroad, you take the time to get to know locals, to learn how to speak their language and to help them build a better existence. This is how you can help bridge the gap between rich and poor and establish sincere friendships. Being there yourself, working with your own two hands, you help in the most direct way possible, and reduce the reliance of communities in need on foreign aid and political manipulation. For a great organization that aims to make travel more responsible, visit http://www.tourismconcern.org.uk/ |
