Thoughts on the Week

It’s the Monday after we completed our week of volunteering and I wonder if the kids remember us. Over the course of a week, we played with hundreds of kids, picked up at least fifty each, and had countless endearing moments that only situations with children can produce. But, again, we were only there for a week.

It is perhaps difficult to justify voluntourism to some extent. Our trip leader was very open about the fact that this trip was, in many ways, more selfish than not. After all, we left each morning for the township from our beachfront hotel after a filling breakfast. Even my thoughts are selfish. I wonder if the kids remember us, not whether or not we affected them positively.

The one major benefit of voluntourism that I think me and my 16 tripmates have experienced is exposure. For almost all of us, it was our first time in South Africa. For all of us, it became a country we fell in love with and a city we will not forget.  Maybe we will end up back here in a few years – and this time to make a real impact.

- Shahla Naimi