Oasis statement on 'Voluntourism'
While Oasis understands and agrees with VSO’s concerns about some Gap Year providers as expressed recently in the national media, we feel that warning students to “not to take part in gap-year aid projects overseas which cost thousands of pounds and do nothing to help developing countries,” paints an inaccurate picture of the many reputable gap year providers that exist, that do bring benefit to the communities that the students are working amongst, as well as to the students themselves.
Oasis UK has been sending young people to work overseas as part of their gap year for 20 years. We provide volunteering opportunities for both teams and individuals in nine locations worldwide, where we are involved in sustainable and community-based housing, healthcare and education initiatives.
We have a thorough selection and training process, including individual interviews and a residential training programme before the volunteers leave the UK as well as in-country orientation and training. At the initial interview we explain what the volunteers can expect of their time overseas and go through our own code of conduct, to which all volunteers have to agree before being accepted. We would thus welcome VSO’s plans to draw up a Code of Good Practice for Gap Year providers.
Overseas placements are carefully researched and selected by UK and local staff with the aim of working in sustainable, locally run community-based projects. Careful thought and planning is put into the making up of teams and of each individual’s placement. Once the volunteer is in country, each team and individual placement also has a locally based coordinator who provides support throughout the placement. Teams are supported from Oasis UK before, during and after their placement.
We appreciate that it can be expensive to take part in our programmes, but we try to keep costs to a minimum and have been fortunate to be able to offer some bursary places for those who otherwise would not be able to go overseas. Our fee covers training, flights, Insurance, visas as well as food, in country travel, accommodation and other living costs while in the country.
We agree with Raleigh International that “Students should be very careful about the voluntary work they choose.” From the outset we are very clear about the type of work that our volunteers would be expected to do and about confronting romanticised ideals of going to work overseas whilst explaining the challenges and realities that they will face. This includes thinking carefully about the intentional and unintentional impact that they will have; both on the communities and cultures that they will be working with. Of course we recognise that the volunteers themselves will greatly benefit from being overseas by learning about themselves and from the experiences that they will have.
One volunteer who has recently returned to the UK said that the experience had “Changed my life. It has made me grow in confidence, in cultural awareness, in my faith and in maturity”. Volunteers also have a genuine and positive impact on local communities and projects. One such project in South Africa recently wrote to say of the team of young people that are currently with them that “each year we say we can’t get a team as good as this year’s one - and every year we get as good if not better. Oasis Teams have been such a blessing to us all.”