Avoiding the pitfalls of short-term missions or volunteering

Most people who volunteer in another country or who visit as part of a missions or educational trip, are doing so with the best of intentions, seeking to love, care for and serve the communities they are visiting. For many this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to give back or to make a difference.

Yet research has shown that many forms of volunteering and many short-term trips actually do harm to the very communities they are trying to serve. In this session we explore this research and look at why some of the common volunteering or service trip models are at best ineffective, and at worst, damaging to local communities. We also look at what the research says about the effect that these trips have on volunteers themselves. We must warn you though – this is one of our most confronting courses. We encourage all course participants to sign up for the online discussion so that you can ask questions and learn from others.

This course is designed for people who are seeking to understand more of the Rok Kern model, or who have existing short-term mission trips that they are seeking to improve. It is recommended for any education staff or church or ministry leaders who are considering bringing a group on one of our study tours to understand our model more fully.

Participants of these sessions are invited to join an online discussion group once a month to discuss with our staff and others in a peer-learning environment, about how you can make your short-term trips more ethical, responsible and effective.