Volunteering Abroad

[s5260205]

This question's been on my mind for quite some time now. What's the reasoning behind volunteering abroad beside having the "experience of a lifetime"?

 

My friend recently volunteered in Ecuador. However, by going there, he had to pay for his own airfare (which is very expensive) and some miscellaneous expenses like food. Personally I believe this money could have been donated to local charities.

 

Anyone mind shedding some light on your own experiences or views?

 

Thanks

[thehumanmacbook]

It (may) provide all or some of the following for your med application:

 

- working with individuals of different cultures

- engagement in global community

- experience in a different society other than the university bubble

- volunteering for others of a lower economic tier

- running into ethical dilemmas and reflecting on them

- anything you really want if you can pay for it, including reference letter

[future_doc]

thehumanmacbook is entirely correct. Also, it is unneccesary for the reasons you stated.

[Robin Hood]

This question's been on my mind for quite some time now. What's the reasoning behind volunteering abroad beside having the "experience of a lifetime"?

 

My friend recently volunteered in Ecuador. However, by going there, he had to pay for his own airfare (which is very expensive) and some miscellaneous expenses like food. Personally I believe this money could have been donated to local charities.

 

Anyone mind shedding some light on your own experiences or views?

 

Thanks

 

Some do it show so it looks good on their med school CV. If their are rich, they wouldn't mind spending a few thousands.

[s5260205]

It (may) provide all or some of the following for your med application:

 

- working with individuals of different cultures

- engagement in global community

- experience in a different society other than the university bubble

- volunteering for others of a lower economic tier

- running into ethical dilemmas and reflecting on them

- anything you really want if you can pay for it, including reference letter

 

That's mostly benefits to the volunteers themselves. How about the benefits to the local communities? I know it's impossible to precisely evaluate these two options but which one do you think is better, going there as volunteers or donating the travel expenses?

[Diceroll2011]

Some benefit for local communities:

Increased understanding of other cultures (it goes both ways)

Volunteer support for community programs

Often financial support for volunteers.

 

There are negative benefits to international volunteering, as there are negative consequences to everything, and inherently some forms of international volunteering are worse than others. It's also a relatively expensive experience for most students, and that should be a key point of reflection for prospective trip goers. That being said, throwing money at global issues does not necessarily equate the best way of supporting developing countries.

 

I would question anyone whose primary reason for going on such trips is to help communities. It's not a realistic expectation that you can change the world in a week, but there are definite positive outcomes to more globally informed individuals who act and vote in a multicultural society. I would just suggest that people take a very disciplined investigation into the volunteer groups they are signing onto, and think about whether the footprint that you are having on the community you are visiting is justifiable.

 

Local volunteering is key as well, and should supplement international volunteering. Who could argue that having a mutually exclusive understanding of either one is beneficial?

[dblu7]

Do whatever floats your boat. I know lots of people in med school who paid a fortune to volunteer abroad and had an amazing time. I also know lots of people that didn't and still got in (myself included). Bottom line is if you want to and have the money; go for it. However, you still have a great chance if you don't have time or the means to travel across the world.