There is a very large and rapidly expanding market offering students a chance to do good through volunteering in low and middle income countries... but are these service learning experiences actually helping poor communities? In this talk, I combine the fields of international education, effective altruism, and international development to offer a critical view of who is served by service learning and how we can help our students do good better.

1. DOING GOOD
BETTER IN THE
WORLD
Jennifer Klein
International Education Consultant
Twitter: @KleinJenK

2. Lesson 1:
Good Intentions ≠
Doing Good.

3. $2 Billionmarket for global volunteer experiences in
2008
1.6 million volunteers/year.
Source: Tourism Research and Marketing (TRAM). 2008. “Volunteer tourism: a global analysis”

4. Army of Amateur
International
Development Workers

5. There are limited resources for
doing good.
Let’s use them
effectively.

6. Lesson 2:
Identify the need.

7. Let’s Talk
Fishing…

8. Giving Stuff ≠
Sustainable Solution.

9. Culture of
Dependence
vs.
Empowerment,
Livelihoods, and
Sustainability

10. The need in many cases
may be the development
of systems:
• Education
• Health
• Infrastructure
• Social protection
• Land ownership
• Environmental protections

11. Lesson 3:
Use research/data to do the
most helpful and efficient
intervention.

12. Source: SMBC via https://80000hours.org/career-guide/high-impact-jobs/

13. Source: SMBC via https://80000hours.org/career-guide/high-impact-jobs/

14. Source: SMBC via https://80000hours.org/career-guide/high-impact-jobs/

15. Source: SMBC via https://80000hours.org/career-guide/high-impact-jobs/

16. People want to
follow their hearts
and don’t want to
take time to do the
research…

17. Bad people in our world
are exploiting the
empathy of good
people…
…and producing terrible
consequences.

18. Lesson 4:
Volunteering Free Labor
can help. Sometimes.
[And sometimes not.]

19. Labor is cheap. Unskilled volunteers can
insert free labor into an already difficult job
market for locals.

20. Volunteering Free Labor Spectrum
Unskilled Free
Labor
Mutually
Beneficial
Free Labor
Skills in High
Demand

21. Unskilled Free Labor
What it looks like:
 Volunteers pay to travel to a country to see the
country; meet locals; and do activities that locals
already have the skills to do.
 Short Term
 Volunteers may have no local language skills.
 Driven by volunteer interests rather than by
community needs.

22. Unskilled Free Labor
Examples:
Flying to other countries and distributing
stuff (toys, books, etc.).
Volunteering with children
Building schools/health
clinics/libraries/houses

23. Unskilled Free Labor
Examples:
Building Stuff.
If you wouldn’t be qualified to do it at
home, you shouldn’t travel abroad to do
it.
Staffing

24. Let’s do the Math…
1 Week Volunteer Program with Habitat
for Humanity in Nicaragua:
$2200 – Accommodation,
meals, local transport, fees
$800 – Airfare
$3000 – TOTAL
X 10 Student Volunteers
$30,000
No Free Labor from Volunteers:
$30,000 Donation to effective local
organization
$1940 – Average annual income
15 Livelihoods Created
Source: World Bank, 2015. GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$); Picture Credit: http://endhumanitariandouchery.co.nf/

25. WHO IS SHORT
TERM,
UNSKILLED
VOLUNTEERING
BENEFITTING?

26. If unskilled volunteering doesn’t
usually benefit locals, why do
they keep accepting volunteers?
They need:
• money.
• advocacy.
• fundraising.
• connections to the outside world.
• ??

27. Volunteering Free Labor Spectrum
Unskilled Free
Labor
• Focus on
Volunteer: Cultural
Exchange
Mutually
Beneficial
Free Labor
Skills in High
Demand

28. Mutually Beneficial Free Labor
Reciprocity. Partnership.
Volunteers are meeting a need expressed
by the community/organization.
Stay longer term
Service Learning?

29. Mutually Beneficial Free Labor

30. Screening
Volunteer
Organizations/
Placements

31. Volunteering Free Labor Spectrum
Unskilled Free
Labor
• Focus on
Volunteer: Cultural
Exchange
Mutually
Beneficial
Free Labor
• Focus:
Reciprocity
Skills in High
Demand

32. Skills in High Demand
What it looks like:
 Meeting local needs with skills that aren’t
locally available.
 Candidates are screened based on skills.
 Location is less important than the task.
 Lower cost to volunteer
 Longer term

33. Skills in High Demand
Examples:

34. Skills in High Demand
Hard Skills:
• Grant writing
• M&E + data analysis
• Web development
• Water/sanitation
systems
• Advocacy/Marketing
• Accounting
• Entrepreneurship
• Agriculture
• Healthcare
• Legal skills
• Graphic Design
Soft Skills:
• Cross-Cultural
Communication
• Flexibility
• Teamwork
• Ability to work
independently
• Patience
• Creative Problem Solving

35. Success
=
We don’t need you
anymore.
Work yourself out of a
job.

36. What if I don’t have the
skills yet?
Volunteer locally. Find an organization,
internship or job that helps you develop the
required skills here.
Document proof that you have the skills.
Find a mentor.
OR….

37. Online Volunteering +
Advocacy

38. Homework Assignment:
1. Would you volunteer abroad if you could
not post photos to social media?
2. Do you want to do good or feel good?
3. What do you hope to gain from
volunteering personally and professionally?
4. What impact can you realistically have
given your skills and time constraints?

39. Lesson 5:
Travel Responsibly
for Poverty Reduction
and Job Creation

41. 190 182
286
182
400
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Global Youth Travel Market Official development finance (ODA)
to all developing countries
2009 2014 2020
Travel as a Resource
Sources: UN World Tourism Organization Global Report on the Power of Youth Travel and OECD DAC
USDBILLIONS

43. Sustainable Development
Target 8.9
By 2030 devise and implement
policies to promote sustainable
tourism which creates jobs,
promotes local culture and
products.
+ Goals 12.2 and 14.7 (for coastal and maritime tourism).

45. The 5 Lessons
1. Good Intentions ≠ Doing Good
2. You have to know what they need in order to
fill the gap.
3. Act based on evidence/research.
4. Free Labor can help if you have skills and
time.
5. Sustainable travel can create livelihoods and
reduce poverty.

46. 5 Lessons
+
Good Intentions
+
Time, Resources and Skills
=
Better Volunteering.
Better Travel.
Better Work.
Doing good better.