Front Lines: Volunteer Force

You can say many things about the Irish — and people do — but one thing we can all be proud of is our willingness to help those less fortunate than ourselves. The Irish have a long tradition of volunteering overseas, and have instigated and driven some of the most important and successful development agencies and projects across the globe.

If you have ever considered continuing this tradition yourself, then your first port of call should be the Volunteer Fair which takes place at the Printworks in Dublin Castle on October 12. The Volunteer Fair is run by Irish Aid and will showcase a huge variety of volunteering options from 26 different organisations. These include long-term volunteering with agencies such as GOAL and VSO, as well as short-term stints with the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation, Habitat for Humanity Ireland and Global Schoolroom, to name but a few.
Before heading off into the sunset to do some good, you need to consider a number of things such as what skills you have to offer, what do you wish to achieve, and which agency will be the best fit for you.
If you are a medical professional, teacher or builder then obviously you have skills that are in need across the world. However, students and others with less obviously useful skills can make great volunteers — but only as long as you are working with the right agency, and in a capacity where you can make a real difference.
This is very important. Over the past few years “voluntourism” has come under increasing scrutiny. It is easy to see why spending a few months or a gap year volunteering overseas is a popular choice for many young people. It is generally sold as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will give you wonderful memories and experiences, and something that will look good on that all-important resumé. However, agencies offering volunteer placements have been accused of engaging in a number of practices that damage the host country or community. These include placing unskilled volunteers in skilled positions, disrupting local development projects, exploiting the community for photo opportunities, and inculcating a “white saviour complex” in volunteers — and that’s before we get into the tales of drunk and rowdy volunteers misbehaving.
The unfortunate truth is that sometimes volunteering can do more good for the volunteer than the community they are supposed to be helping. This is not necessarily the volunteer’s fault. Volunteers pay for placements, which means unscrupulous agencies treat volunteering as a business, and volunteers are their bread and butter. For these kind of agencies, it doesn’t matter what skills you have to contribute — as long as they place you somewhere, they get paid.
Luckily, it is possible to volunteer responsibly and ethically, as long as you choose the right agency.
Comhlamh has been working with Irish volunteer agencies, host agencies and returning volunteers to develop a code of good practice. The aim is to make sure that all volunteer work revolves around the key principles of sustainability, solidarity and making a real contribution to development. Any agency that signs up to the code must be committed to ensuring that all volunteer roles are filled by people who can actually contribute to development. The signatory agencies also must have accounting practices and proper volunteer training in place.
If you can’t make it to the Volunteer Fair, Comhlamh’s website is a great resource to learn more about volunteering, find opportunities and responsible agencies and get a good sense of what to expect by reading about the experiences of previous volunteers. See comhlamh.org for more information.
If travelling to an exotic locale is what you really want to do, then go on holiday! You’ll be helping out the local economy and tourism industry that way. Volunteering is work, often very hard work, and it requires commitment. Choose wisely and you will indeed get valuable experience and incredible memories as well as doing some good in the world. By being a responsible volunteer and using a responsible agency, you’ll be keeping the Irish volunteering tradition alive — and that’s certainly something worth doing!