It was also during that trip that we became hyper-aware of the detrimental effects of “voluntourism,” and the deep-rooted Western belief that people of the developing world need our help—more specifically, that they need us to “save them.” As we began exploring volunteer opportunities in Nepal, we realized that so many projects were unsustainable, and that more often than not, relying on foreign aid was doing more harm than good for the local communities, and for the country as a whole.
Someday, Josh and I dream of starting our own nonprofit organization, which we hope will marry elements of international and local community development. But we aren’t quite there yet, and we still have a lot of work to do. Nonetheless, as we move further and further down this road, I know that it’s going to be of the utmost importance for us to remember the dangers of the single-story—especially the “white savior” story.
These places that we travel to, the people and the communities who so often welcome us with open arms, they don’t need saving. Rather, they need us to recognize their humanity and our equanimity. More than anything, they need us to give them the power, the space, and the freedom to write their own stories.
