Servicing the Service Trip
Service trips’ complexities and possibilities for improvement
By Laine Bottemiller, Culture Editorial Assistant
According to Merriam-Webster, service is defined as “contribution to the welfare of others” (Merriam-Webster). A service trip includes travels to a community abroad, usually in the Global South, for a specific amount of time intended to contribute to a cause. These groups hope to improve the welfare of the community. Yet when these trips neglect to consult local communities, hastily assuming their objective to be helpful, service trips can cause destructive outcomes, like interfering with native economies or patronizing local communities. Despite this, valuable service is possible as volunteers more broadly consider their role in these communities.
The White Savior Complex is the idea that white individuals from the Global North falsely believe they are better equipped to solve the problems of the Global South than the community itself (Murphy, 2021). Teju Cole, the writer who coined the phrase, describes the beliefs of this complex as, “We have to save them because they can’t save themselves” (Cole, 2012). Helping those less fortunate than you is admirable; however, “more fortunate” is not synonymous with “knowing better.” Service trips abroad, oftentimes unintentionally, can embody this complex as they prescribe solutions to a community without considering the community’s needs, desires or histories.
In their research, Dr. Rachel Bishop and Dr. James Litch, physicians at a Nepali Hospital, highlighted the impacts of doctors traveling abroad to opportunistically serve foreign communities (Bishop & Litch, 2000). They expressed concerns that these doctors often unintentionally disrupt the developing local healthcare resources, working without proper local certifications and operating with little regard for local medicine customs or follow-up medical consultations. The authors give a warning to these abroad-traveling doctors, “It is inappropriate arrogance to assume that anything that a Western doctor has to offer his less developed neighbor is progress.”
In Brazil, indigenous groups face the intrusion of evangelical groups. Brazil has a unique population of indigenous people who choose to remain isolated from the rest of the country, a right protected by Brazil’s constitution, yet evangelical groups look to bring the word of Christ to these untouched communities (McCoy, 2021). Have these missionaries stopped to consider what the communities themselves want? Eliesio Marubo, a member of and lawyer for the indigenous Marubo people, believes “they are invading [indigenous] lands without [their] permission.” The missionaries’ encroachments are so violating that Marubo has filed a lawsuit against the missionaries for entering isolated communities without pursuing official permission. The ruling on this lawsuit will be a precedent, possibly further restricting contact with isolated groups and limiting evangelists’ interactions with indigenous groups.
Service trips abroad aren’t free; in fact, the average cost of volunteering abroad is $688 per week (GOABROAD WRITING TEAM, 2019). Service trips inject money and labor from the Global North into the Global South, creating patterns of dependency and stifling local economies. This influx of money and industry sometimes interferes with local economies and communities, such as the orphanage dilemma. The orphanage dilemma occurs when well-meaning volunteer tourists spend time in orphanages and donate money to them yet fuel a much darker cycle of dependence and abandonment. As parents choose to move their child to these orphanages, often promised better food or education funded by volunteers, there arises a need for more volunteers and more money to care for these “orphans” (Lu, 2020). Cycles of poverty and dependency like this can be mitigated by service. Poverty is complex, caused by corruption, environmental issues, international trade laws, etc (C, 2015). By understanding their country’s effects on the Global South, volunteers can extend their role in service as voters, advocating for changes in foreign policy that promote these countries, whether through legislation on fair trade, environmental degradation or human rights (Eden, 2019). Volunteers can look to invest in organizations like the World Bank, which stem corruption and foster investments, jobs and growth (The World Bank, 2021).
As volunteers are brought into complete service work, they sometimes spend money less efficiently and take opportunities from local economies. Honduras provides an excellent example of service groups’ inefficiency. A study comparing houses built by North American short-term mission groups and local Honduran Christian organizations found homeowners were equally satisfied with the Honduran-group-built homes as the mission-group-built homes. Despite the equal satisfaction, the North American mission groups spent on average $28,000 more per home built as compared to homes built by the local Honduran groups (Van Beek, 2006). Would the money spent by North American volunteers traveling and building be more sustainable if used to stimulate the local economy? The answer is yes. Sustainable service trips empower and work with community members. By working within local power structures, alongside local workers and under local leadership, volunteers empower these communities and ensure they foster the communities’ ability to help themselves. This can appear in many forms, such as routing material donations through a local church, guaranteeing community members still have guidance when volunteers leave (C, 2015).
Regardless of the complicated nature of service trips, constructive, mindful service is possible. Volunteers must examine their role within the community and situate it in a broader context. Volunteers must check their privilege, recognizing the community knows itself best and consulting the community on how best to serve them. By doing this, volunteers find an opportunity to learn from the local communities, ensuring both groups serve each other.
Sources:
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Service. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary.
Murphy, C. (2021). What Is White Savior Complex, and Why Is It Harmful? Here's What Experts Say. Health.com.
Bishop, R., & Litch, J. A. (2000). Medical tourism can do harm. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 320(7240), 1017.
Teju, C. (2012). The White-Savior Industrial Complex. The Atlantic.
McCoy, T. (2021). U.S. missionaries have long tried to convert the ‘unreached’ in the Amazon. Now Indigenous groups are fighting back. The Atlantic.
GOABROAD WRITING TEAM. (2019). How Much Does It Cost to Volunteer Abroad? We Dove Deep to Find Out. GoAbroad.com.
Lu, J. (2020). Why There's A Global Outcry Over Volunteering At Orphanages. NPR.
Ver Beek, K. A. (2006). The Impact of Short-Term Missions: A Case Study of House Construction in Honduras after Hurricane Mitch. Missiology, 34(4), 477–495.
Eden, A. (2019). What to Ask Yourself Before You Go on a Service Trip. The Journiest.
C, M. (2015). The Problem(s) With Mission Trips. Intentional Travelers.
The World Bank. (2021). Combating Corruption. The World Bank.