A
contradiction that has presented itself throughout my Global Studies undergrad
was the distinction between service learning and voluntourism. Ethics was
always a major point of reference when analyzing the benefits of travelling
abroad and offering our volunteer services. Are we taking away jobs? Why aren't
we volunteering locally? Are we really providing the help they need? Are we
taking advantage solely to use this experience to further our networking,
careers and resume lists? These are all arguments that have been brought up by
scholars and ones that I had to navigate throughout my Global Studies
Experience (GSE) placement in Ghana.
What Did I Do
and Why I Was There?
Two
years ago, while attending university, an opportunity presented itself to
travel to Accra, Ghana. The university called this opportunity an International
Service Learning (ISL) placement as part of the GSE program. This one paired with
the Queen Elizabeth II summer internship program in affiliation with the
University of Ghana. This partnership allowed me to travel to Ghana for 3
months and intern at the Child Research and Resource Center (CRRECENT). My
internship was primarily a research position in the Juvenile Justice Department
with their overall focus being to try and determine the potential factors as to
why children turn to delinquency and create programs and awareness to curve the
issue.
What Did They Gain?
I
found the placement pairing worthwhile and beneficial for both parties
involved. I was able to provide a new perspective and was able to access
resources, such as the University reserves, that they couldn’t. In addition,
because I was delegated to researching potential cause and effects of juvenile
delinquency, my findings can go on to support their programs or inform further
research. I was able to harness skills learned throughout university such as
academic writing and researching techniques in order to better inform the assignment
at hand. This gave me a sense of usefulness, especially during the final
dissemination of my findings where I got to share the results with the
organization and various community members that they invited.
What Did I
Gain?
Even
though this placement taught me that I don’t want a job focused solely on
research, the experience still provided me with a chance to develop my academic
skills and conduct critical research in a real-life context. It also
gave me the opportunity to increase my social skills, intercultural competence,
language skills, appreciation of cultural difference and a more experiential
understanding of complex global problems. I was able to witness the
inequalities, the structural barriers, and the way another country lives and
organizes itself, and I can now apply this new knowledge to the rest of my
schooling and life. It allowed me to harness social skills such as
collaboration with an organization, speaking with community leaders (principals
and teachers) and interacting with children. I gained a stronger sense of
self through my ability to establish independence and navigate a new country
and culture without my family and typical friends. And finally, I was able
to gather experience to put on my resume and I was able to obtain a reference
letter for future endeavors.
Service
Learning or Voluntourism?
In my
opinion, I think that this experience was both voluntourism and service
learning. This is because during the week my priority was going to my placement
and getting my work done, however on the weekends I largely removed myself from
that mindset and participated in more of the tourism aspects of the
experience. Although I would argue that both the placement and the
weekend trips lead to different forms of learning. It also helped that I was
immersed in Ghana for 3 months rather than only a week or two. I think the
ISL placement can be service learning but is largely dependent on one’s genuine
commitment to the experience. If one takes the tasks seriously and treats the
placement with as much importance as school or a job, then the experience will
be more fulfilling on both parts.
Overall,
I think that the GSE program is a great opportunity because it combines both
real world experience with the support of academic learning. I think this
pairing better prepares a person to get the most out of their experience and it
allows them to digest their experience upon return. In doing so, I think it
becomes less of a “vacation” or “voluntourism” type trip where as soon as you
get back you move on as though it barely happened. Actively having a space with
which you reflect on the encounters and situations that arose throughout the
placement is important, especially being able to do it with others who gone
through a similar experience. In addition, the second part of the GSE program required each student to volunteer locally as well, therefore, reducing the ethical contradiction of why people are willing to travel abroad and volunteer but not dedicate that same time in their own community. Ultimately, the more thought and exposure that is given to
the placement, the more likely it is for somebody to have a more meaningful
reflection.