Episode 06: Voluntourism, Mission Trips + Dismantling the Savior Complex

In Episode 06 of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kalra is joined by Neha Sharma, Lindsay Woodruff, and Austin Miller in a conversation deconstructing the complexities of doing good in an unequal world. They explore ways in which voluntourism, may it be faith based or not, is a manifestation of colonization, reinforced by power structures rooted in imperialism. Together, they break down what sustainable change looks like, dive into elements of the savior complex, and critically analyze ways in which do-good travel can be sustainable.

Exploring Guilt Trips

Why does helping people who live far away feel different than helping those who are closer to home? From mission trips to building homes in remote villages, at what point does volunteering abroad do more harm than good? Anu Taranath says it best in her book Beyond Guilt Trips when she writes:

"Our travels to culturally and economically different locations often turn into guilt trips precisely because we have little practice navigating the unequal power dynamics and different-than-me-ness we find. We're not always sure how to think or speak about the differences we notice, even though these differences might have fueled our desire to travel in the first place. Those of us with more privileges and social advantages, in particular, might be even less practiced in recognizing and saying aloud what it is we are noticing and feeling about identity, race, power, and hierarchy. Simmering in our guilt and discomforting feelings about systems we have not created but continue to participate in and perhaps benefit from does nothing for justice."

I recently spoke to a group of business school students about anti-racism and social impact. During the conversation, I noticed how most of them thought about addressing issues abroad when thinking about incorporating "social good" into their business models. This idea that those abroad are more in need of help than those living nearby stems from colonial power dynamics rooted in systemic racism.

Episode 6 comes out of an Instagram Live conversation I recently co-hosted with Neha Sharma, an embroidery artist who creates South Asian and social justice-inspired art with a background in economics and public health. During the live, we discussed how voluntourism is built on a white savior complex and how it truly isn't as altruistic as it seems, which sparked some interesting conversations with our listeners.

The Global North vs Global South

The term "Global South" is the new acceptable term used to describe "third-world or developing" countries. However, by nature, it implies a problematic top-down power structure to the way we approach difference on the global stage. In 1980, former German Chancellor Willy Brandt proposed the "Brandt Line" which is an imaginary line that divides the world map into the "Global North and "Global South" based on GDP per capita. The visual of the map is almost comical as it goes across the map and then loops down to include Australia and New Zealand.

When looking at the countries that make up the Global North, they are almost all countries that we historically consider to be "white" majority, ignoring indigenous communities on whose land we reside. Global South countries, on the other hand, are often tied to "people of color."

All too often, “do-good travelers” from the Global North travel to previously colonized countries in the Global South that are still struggling to rebuild as a result of years of extraction, which continues today in the form of capitalism and self-serving guilt trips. There's a lot to be gained that is oftentimes one sided and not two sided, keeping power in the hands of those who have it and taking advantage of those who don't.

Ask yourself: "Why are you coming into a community that are completely unfamiliar with, to a culture you have no ties to, and taking over whatever it is that they are doing? Any sort of initiative to improve a community needs to be led by that community." - Neha Sharma

Colonization, Mission Trips + Heropreneurship

"I went on a three month trip, and it was sort of exploratory to see if I'd want to work in Bangladesh. And I was very inexperienced...I was not in any way educationally prepared to offer anything that to Bangladesh, except Jesus." - Austin Miller

Colonization historically was built on the idea to conquer and convert. You conquer a country and then impose your understanding of religion, culture, and living. And we see these similar ideologies manifest in t...