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Holidaying with a purpose
Voluntourism’ is a trend which is fast catching up with the youth as they opt for vacations with a humanitarian focus. BT explores ............MEERA MANEK
Have you ever thought of using your free time to teach in Africa, help those in Sri Lanka who were affected by the Tsunami, or do conservation work in Wales? There might still be more travellers lounging on the beach or going on shopping breaks in Dubai, but the trend of vacations with a humanitarian focus, now termed ‘voluntourism’, is quickly catching fire. For students, the idea of spending their summer months doing something useful, meaningful and fun has become increasingly popular and even fashionable. And it’s not just students who are beginning to think about responsible travel. People of all ages want to make a difference in a world where we are hearing of orphans in Africa, environmental dangers and natural disasters in our daily lives.
While there are those who want to immerse themselves in something undeniably altruistic and there are others wanting to mix purpose with pleasure, it seems there are also a lot of youth looking for a cultural or grassroots connection with the country of their roots. Alesha De-Freitas, a government policy advisor, spent a year working with an organisation in Tamil Nadu. She believes there are many ways to connect to India. “You can study it, visit family, take a tour or practice a language. For me, it was volunteering, which gave me the opportunity to really understand what it means to live in India today.” While this opened her eyes to the impact of social injustice, such as lack of education, malnutirition and discrimination, it also meant understanding the joy, hope and potential that the country teems with. There are many organisations offering volunteering opportunities all over India and you can pretty much pick and choose which part of the country and what kind of work you’d like to do. There are even week-long programmes such as Learning Journey, which allow you to get up close and personal with the vibrant voluntary sector. Laxmi Chhaya, a Research Executive in Social and Government Research, has always taken inspiration from her grandfather, who spent several years of his life dedicated to seva in an ashram in Talara. Motivated by this, she decided to take a four-month career break at Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad. From teaching classes full of information-hungry children to talking to rag-pickers who were managing to save 5 rupees a day towards their goal of becoming self-sustainable, Laxmi’s inimitable experience left her with one overpowering thought: “How can I make my role in society lead to the empowerment of others?” Volunteering seems to be providing an experience that is beyond the self, beyond the term ‘experience’ itself. It allows the individual to explore their own capacity, to challenge and change their own beliefs and to understand a country from her heart, from her people. Bhavisha Morjaria, who worked with various Mumbaibased charities says, “All of a sudden, being a successful corporate entity isn’t enough. The strive for success, often measured by money, isn’t always found in this corporate world and many seek to give a little back to those that need it, harnessing their talents and strengths to carry out their duties in their day-to-day jobs, but also to provide intelligent and smart solutions to the wider world.” Ultimately, volunteering is a two-way process, rewarding for both those being served and the volunteer. There is an innate satisfaction connected with serving humanity and though working in India might have proved quite challenging at times for all these volunteers, it is an experience which they will never forget and which will draw them back for yet another volunteering trip. “When people ask me what I did in India? What did I give in India?”, “I can only smile and say – nothing. Nothing compared to the love, inspiration and understanding that I left with,” says Laxmi. Volunteers share a meal with underprivileged children
You can express your concern for animals by volunteering to look after their health at the farms
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