Inspired by a post from RL, what do people think about visiting groups of do-gooders who spend their money to travel to Guatemala to build things like community centers and houses? Once again this summer the region will likely be inundated with large visiting groups of white faces in matching T shirts who publish Facebook photos of themselves passing concrete blocks and holding shovels. Is it that they think they possess more or better skills and willingness to build things in the communities of the indigenous people than the locals themselves? Is it that they are unaware of Guatemalas very high poverty and unemployment rates? Or that they think these things happen because the natives are lazy and dont want to work? If these well financed groups of visitors feel so strongly about these construction projects then why dont they really help the indigenous by paying them to do the work? This post will likely offend some. But Im so damned tired of reading Google Alerts about continuing streams of visiting volunteers and selfies of them doing Guatemalan construction projects in the faces of indigenous people who ought to be doing that work, but dont have the money. Maybe somebody in the know can explain how the Look what Im doing trip photos are better for the people they say theyre here to help vs. channeling their benevolent funds towards paying Guatemalans to instead do that construction for themselves. A wise man once said to me that you dont teach someone responsibility by taking it away from them.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 18:28:29 +0000
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