How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas
by Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega, Zahara Heckscher
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Book Summary Information
Author: Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega, Zahara HeckscherForeword: Frances Moore Lappe
Foreword: Anna Lappe
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-12-31
ISBN: 014200071X
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: Penguin Books
Book Reviews of How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas
Book Review: Exercise Extreme Caution with This Book
Summary: 3 Stars
The bad air surrounding this particular book needs clearing, as it has a number of problems, though a few less than its erstwhile predecessor, Bridging the Global Gap, by Medea Benjamin and Ann Freedman, which first laid out the philosophical reasons for overseas volunteering, among other things. Whereas Bridging the Global Gap crossed the line of irresponsible action at several points, this book comes close, and at times engages in a level of intellectual dishonesty that I found both off-putting and bordering on criminal. Throughout the book, the authors walk a fine line between tactful encouragement and honest, blunt truth-telling, and at times, they eagerly sacrifice the (blunt) truth in favor of tact and encouragement.
On the one hand, the book does provide alternatives to volunteering overseas, and it does cover the mechanics of overseas volunteering- before, during and after, very well. Both issues are discussed fully and copious resources for further inquiry are given. These points qualify as the book's chief merits. However, the book has a number of glaring demerits, several of which require an extended explanation and discussion.
The authors have clearly stated biases but an opaque agenda. In particular, they appear to possess some legitimate objections to US Foreign Policy and the way such policy has been and continues to be implemented. While I concede that volunteering overseas can do much to open the eyes of the volunteer, build bridges between people, especially those from the First and Third Worlds, and agree with their position that volunteering overseas may not be the most appropriate thing for many to do, I do not entirely agree with their methods and approach to overseas volunteering, and I have strong objections to their chosen presentation style. A careful and critical reader can see quite clearly the hidden motives for this book, as well as its true, target audience.
First, there have been a number of problems associated with the whole notion of overseas volunteering, from the organizations involved in the scene to the type of people that elect to volunteer. The authors deal with the organizations issue squarely, clearly and forcefully in the fifth chapter of their text, and list in an extensive Appendix detailed information about organizations that they believe are on the level(that, however, doesn't mean they truly are, however). In the authors' defense, they do provide the reader with the key defining characteristics of those groups, organizations or institutions that are not on the level or are somewhat less than credible, conscientious and stable.
Second, the real motivation for the book, reading between the lines, was to address the issue of 'problematic volunteers'. Chapter Two of the book does an admirable job of addressing some of the more glaring and persistent problems due to the type of people that elect to volunteer, in the most tasteful and least off-putting way. To say that the typical overseas volunteer of the past (and present) was clueless, idealistic, ignorant about world affairs and history and generally flaky doesn't quite do the issue adequate justice. It would be more appropriate to say that overseas volunteers continue to be White or Western European, more typically female (about 70/30 in favor of women) and very much ignorant about more detailed manners, customs and historical background of the people he (or more typically she) will assist- facts that are widely known, but somehow the authors failed to include. As such, this book addresses people, and not institutions, and represents the first and most glaring bias of the authors, as the two are inter-related in the following way.
Third, the authors profess a strong willingness to see more non-whites participate as overseas volunteers. Unfortunately, that sentiment is not shared with the vast majority of groups, organizations and institutions. While the authors appear to lament the traditionally low participation rates and the apparently low level of interest in overseas volunteering among non-whites, they generally adhere to the universal line that the former is the cause of the latter. Although it is true that participation rates are and have been low, it does not stem entirely from a low level of interest or lack of any interest by non-whites. If one looked at on-the-ground participation, then one would come to the same conclusion as the authors erroneously did. Rather, the low levels of interest and participation among non-whites reflects the fact that the organizations to which they apply consciously, selectively and intentionally filter them out of the process- before, during and after recruitment, application and final selection. This is the real reason why both interest and participation rates are very low, and I must wonder why the authors did not address this in their book.
Fourth, although the book talked about the reasons why some choose to volunteer overseas, it falls short of being blunt, principally out of fear of alienating a particularly desirable demographic. Having done some volunteer work overseas, and interacted with both aspiring and seasoned volunteers, I can say bluntly that many if not most individuals gravitate to overseas volunteering for one of two reasons. If they are young and preferably white and female, they are typically trying to kick start a career of some sort, often after having failed to land a post at one of the high-profile, name-brand organizations such as the US Peace Corps, the State Department or the UN. Less often, they are following a charismatic young male bent on Saving the Whales, the Birds, the Amazon or the Planet(or whatever may be fashionable to 'save') like a starry-eyed puppy. I believe we know what eventually comes to pass for the latter, but for the former, they usually tend to fall into something close to what they originally desired after an extended period of struggle and difficulty. If, however, they are white and male, no matter their age, they tend to look upon the opportunity as a chance to pursue a series of exotic amorous (mis)adventures, often with disastrous consequences. As a result, when it comes to the males, many organizations have become good at filtering out such knaves, but at the expense of losing some good, highly qualified men, for the knee-jerk reaction is typically to exclude all males. However, these same organizations have done little or nothing to address the same problem among their female recruits, under the erroneous assumption that women don't engage in their own destructive forms of 'romance tourism', ultimately with often tragic results.
Therefore, the authors' opaque agenda is simply this: they want to continue the endless stream of desirable recruits (preferably young, white and female) but at the same time make them aware of some things that quite frankly they really ought to be aware of already. As such, I have to call into question the basis for calling such individuals 'desirable recruits'. The book was not so much written to help people volunteer in an appropriate fashion as it was to warn the most desirable demographic of overseas volunteering about the real but wholly avoidable pitfalls.
I give the book three stars for two very important reasons. First, the text neglected to address the very real possibility of overseas volunteers getting killed. Deaths among overseas volunteers have occurred, for a variety of reasons, and those electing to go to any Third World country should know the exact lay of the land and political situation before embarking. Second, the book does not firmly rebuke going abroad alone as a volunteer, without a plan, program, sponsor or support. I found Chapter Six, which discusses this option, to be both egregious and an exercise in stupidity, and I really can not understand why the chapter was included in a book on 'sensible' overseas volunteering. If one thinks about it for a while, one will clearly see the very real problems and risks that are associated with going it alone, and electing to do so merely serves to raise the chances of mishaps and tragedy to near certainty. Additionally, such a course of action is not only foolhardy, but also arrogant, for it tacitly assumes that the downtrodden of the Third World will accept some clueless but wealthy First Worlder with open arms. Finally, I was extremely dismayed by the authors' choice to highlight and showcase only the successful instances of overseas volunteers who went it alone, even though they (should) know full well how often tragic and unsuccessful instances have come to pass.
Those readers mulling the idea of volunteering overseas should exercise extreme caution with this book, as it openly sacrifices hard, blunt truths in favor of deceptive tact and bubbly encouragement.
Summary of How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas
More than 100,000 people contact the Peace Corps every year, but only 3,000 are placed overseas. To help more Americans find volunteer opportunities abroad Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega, and Zahara Heckscher-all founders of respected volunteer organizations-have written a guide that provides all the necessary information on volunteering in Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Presented in a user-friendly format that includes case studies, worksheets, and quotes from international volunteers, How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas provides college students, senior citizens, and everyone in between with information on:* How to decide if volunteering overseas is for you
* How to choose the right program
* What to do before and after you go abroad
* Fundraising and financing
* How to be an effective volunteer
* Political and social contexts of Americans volunteering abroad
* The Peace Corps
* More than one hundred volunteer organizations
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