Kony 2012 and the Consequences of Voluntourism
Tourism has opened up the world to new experiences, cultures, and ways to create meaningful impact. Travel is essential in providing the ability to understand different people, traditions, and customs, while transcending borders. Travel is an important tool to build a more peaceful, stable, and secure global community, but it also has the potential to be extremely negative. From destinations overrun with tourists, to harmful effects on the local community and natural landscape, travel can build connections or create lasting consequences. It all comes down to how people travel and whether or not they travel with the key to beneficial tourism: respect.
When traveling, many people attempt to create meaningful impact, whether through supporting local businesses or going on volunteer trips. While the former is essential to a thriving local community, the latter can create devastating issues within this community. This was highlighted in the case of the Kony 2012 campaign, which brought to light many of the negative consequences of charities and voluntourism. Stemming from a documentary by American charity Invisible Children, the Kony 2012 campaign’s goal was to hold a Ugandan warlord accountable for his crimes by making him famous. The campaign became incredibly controversial with many critics highlighting how the charity ignored the actual issues faced by Ugandans. Timothy Longman called Invisible Children “naive”, stating that “If Invisible Children really wanted to make a difference, it would use its media savvy to help raise money…” Moreover, Boston University wrote that the charity “failed to engage with Africans to find the best outlets for its efforts.”
Kony 2012 was a valuable lesson on the dangerous effects of charitable and voluntourism on Uganda, and more generally in Africa, displaying the ugliness of white savior tourism and how many charities and volunteers forget to listen. This begs the question: is tourism beneficial?
“Kony 2012 was a valuable lesson on the dangerous effects of charitable and voluntourism on Uganda, and more generally in Africa, displaying the ugliness of white savior tourism and how many charities and volunteers forget to listen.”
And the answer is yes, if travelers are able to work on truly making a difference by learning and understanding the destination they are visiting and to, above all, be respectful. Kony 2012 is an important lesson in the issues of tourism, but there are ways to solve these issues, allowing tourism to have the beneficial effects of better communication, understanding, and respect.
The Case Study: Kony 2012
The Kony 2012 campaign was an attempt for an American charity called Invisible Children to “do good” in Uganda. The campaign was a documentary which highlighted the crimes of Joseph Kony, a Ugandan warlord who groomed children to be soldiers. Its goal was to gain enough awareness to have Kony arrested, demonstrating the disgusting nature of Kony’s leadership and unfortunately painting Uganda as a dangerous and crime ridden destination.
The campaign generated a lot of negative imagery of Uganda and Africa as a whole. At the same time, Lonely Planet named Uganda as the best country to travel to for that year, but the violent imagery highlighted in the Kony 2012 documentary overshadowed this announcement. It ultimately became Uganda’s worst tourism year, destroying an important source of revenue and solidifying Uganda as a dangerous place in most tourists’ minds.
“At the same time, Lonely Planet named Uganda as the best country to travel to for that year, but the violent imagery highlighted in the Kony 2012 documentary overshadowed this announcement.”
While this documentary was an attempt to help stabilize a conflict within Uganda, call awareness to the crimes committed by Kony, and gain international aid in removing Kony from any position of power, it, instead, had a completely different effect on Uganda. The documentary might have highlighted the issues Kony posed to a small part of the country, but it destroyed the positive tourist destination coverage. Not only that, but Kony was not caught nor tried for his crimes.
“The documentary might have highlighted the issues Kony posed to a small part of the country, but it destroyed the positive tourist destination coverage.”
Some are supportive of the documentary and its goal of getting rid of an evil Ugandan warlord. Human rights organizations and NGOs have highlighted how the campaign helped spread awareness on the issues within Uganda while creating an international response to try and detain Kony. The campaign’s critics, however, called attention to how it spread misinformation, offered no concrete solutions, and created a negative image of Uganda as a country ridden with war. The critics stated that the campaign patronized Uganda, and made it seem as though it could not handle its own issues. Ultimately, the campaign did create social outcry and rallied people together, making Joseph Kony infamous and partially aiding in the breakdown of his regime, but unfortunately, Kony still remains free to this day.
“Ultimately, the campaign did create social outcry and rallied people together, making Joseph Kony infamous and partially aiding in the breakdown of his regime, but unfortunately, Kony still remains free to this day.”
This produced many conflicting opinions on the Kony campaign, with wider implications on whether or not the idea of western countries “coming to the rescue” of poorer countries is truly helpful. It also held implications for tourism and those who visit destinations in an attempt to offer help or to fix the destination. While attempts to do good often stem from a place of good intentions, they can ultimately create negative consequences for the destination, with those involved ignoring the real issues of the communities they want to “help”. You cannot expect to solve a community’s issues if you do not listen to what those issues are. The Kony 2012 campaign serves as an important lesson on how attempts to do good can lead to more harm, highlighted here by the destruction of Ugandan tourism.
Voluntourism and the false idea of “doing good”
The idea of charitable or voluntourism has often allowed tourists to feel good about themselves while traveling, thinking that they are “doing good” and “giving back”. However, it often leads to a variety of issues within the destination. While many charitable and voluntourism organizations claim to be going good in Africa and other non-western continents, they can ultimately spread harmful consequences with local communities paying the price.
Many of these organizations advertise themselves to well intentioned tourists as a way for these tourists to give back. These organizations rely on negative imagery, painting an image of an underdeveloped African continent, constantly advocating for how these African nations need our help. Not only does this ignore the diversity of African nations, but it also is not the reality of many of these different countries.
Western tourists are fed lies that play into their desire to benefit other countries and communities, and this contributes to and creates more issues that have harmful consequences. The idea that poorer communities cannot help themselves is a condescending lie which generates more harm than help. In his book Africa is Not a Country, Dipo Faloyin writes that “until organizations stop relying on negative imagery, Africa will remain a place widely considered to be worthy of handouts and very little else.”
“Western tourists are fed lies that play into their desire to benefit other countries and communities, and this contributes to and creates more issues that have harmful consequences.”
Non-western countries do not need charity and they do not need the negative imagery which stops tourists from either traveling to these destinations or which motivates tourists to volunteer for the sake of the destination. Ultimately, patronizing ideas and negative consequences for local communities are hidden behind the facade of “doing good”.
“Non-western countries do not need charity and they do not need the negative imagery which stops tourists from either traveling to these destinations or which motivates tourists to volunteer for the sake of the destination.”
The harmful consequences of voluntourism
Doing good and giving back usually come from a place of good intentions and an honest desire to help others. While this may be, voluntourism tends to generate many harmful consequences, promotes dangerous ideas and stereotypes, and contributes to a patronizing and negative view of non-western countries. There are four major consequences of voluntourism:
1) Communities cannot help themselves
The most pressing consequence of voluntourism is that it supports the idea that communities are unable to help themselves. This means that these communities are patronized and looked down upon as unable to solve their own problems with many outside volunteers bringing outside ways to solve these issues which may not work with the local communities. Moreover, this idea is completely false as many local communities have their own organizations and people who are already attempting to solve issues or improve situations. The introduction of voluntourism can often undermine, ignore, and overshadow local attempts to deal with the issue, making the issue even worse.
2) Inexperienced volunteers
The volunteers themselves are a major consequence which can cause harm for a multitude of reasons. The most important is that many of these volunteers are not only unskilled, untrained, and inexperienced, but they also lack knowledge on the destination, the local community, and many other aspects of daily life in that place. These communities do not need unskilled workers who lack cultural understanding and even basic communication and linguistic skills. The lack of sensitivity and respect can often cause distrust between locals and volunteers. Moreover, the lack of skills means that many of the jobs done by volunteers are done poorly and do not offer sustainable solutions to a problem.
Tina Rosenberg highlights how on a volunteer trip to Tanzania, all of the work done by volunteers had to be redone at night by locals within the village, quoting an American volunteer saying “We … were so bad at the most basic construction work that each night the men had to take down the structurally unsound bricks we had laid and rebuild the structure so that, when we woke up in the morning, we would be unaware of our failure.” Finally, the amount of time needed to generate meaningful and impactful solutions to issues is clearly not enough on most voluntourism trips, thus no real difference is actually made.
3) Effects on the local community
Following the point above, unskilled volunteers are an enormous issue, having disastrous consequences on the local community. Not only is it unsustainable for many volunteers to build things, but it also means that many locals need to fix mistakes made by inexperienced people.
Local communities do not need foreign unskilled volunteers to build things because this is unsustainable. Instead, communities need the creation of jobs where locals can have a sustainable source of income while solving their own issues. Rosenberg highlights how it is usually much cheaper for locals to work on their own projects rather than bringing in expensive outside help. Therefore, to really make a difference, money is the most important aspect as the local communities can then use this to decide how to solve their own issues.
Voluntourism also contributes to a drain on local resources while disrupting the local economy and displacing local workers. Many volunteers end up staying in the local communities to contribute to the cause, however this ends up being harmful as locals must spend resources on volunteers which could be used in more beneficial ways to the community. Moreover, volunteers often displace local workers, taking over jobs that local workers could easily do.
4) Issues with the organizations
The organizations that provide voluntourism opportunities also come with many issues that have negative consequences on local communities. These programs are extremely expensive with that money not benefiting the local community nor providing any education or training for their volunteers. Mahmood Qasim writes that this industry “exploits the good intentions of volunteers, often without providing any real benefit to the communities they claim to help.”
These programs also create no lasting or sustainable ways for long term development, with a dependency on foreign aid. They also lack any set standards and regulations, making it impossible to have a truly beneficial impact.
Traveling to make a difference
It can be hard to understand when you are truly making a difference through travel. Traveling can be an extremely positive and beneficial experience for both sides, but there are important rules that should be followed. We believe in the good that travel can bring which is why we have created this guide on how to travel and truly make a difference.
Beneficial voluntourism
There are ways to volunteer and travel that will have positive implications for the destination you are planning to visit. The most important rule in voluntourism is to research as much as you can. By creating well planned out and sustainable means to volunteer in a destination, you can have a beneficial impact on the local community. Instead of taking over a job within a community, share your skills with the locals who can use your knowledge in tandem with their own. Work together with the locals, immerse yourself in their community, and understand that learning is an integral aspect to volunteering that must go both ways.
“The most important rule in voluntourism is to research as much as you can.”
By making the right decisions, you can benefit the local community and its economy. Supporting local economies can be way more beneficial than traditional volunteering.
Finally, if you truly want to volunteer then make sure you are volunteering for something that matches your skillset. You want to ensure that you are useful to the local community. If you have no experience in construction, then why are you helping to build a new school? Or, take the time to learn new skills and learn the language before you head off to volunteer.
“If you truly want to volunteer then make sure you are volunteering for something that matches your skillset.”
A tour operator that does offer beneficial voluntourism is CAS Trips who offer a program for students around the world to take Community-Led Service (CLS) Trips that allow them to meaningfully engage with local communities in a variety of destinations. The CLS trips uphold beneficial voluntourism through important considerations that you should use when deciding to try voluntourism. Firstly, CLS trips are programs created by “communities for communities.” They are mutually beneficial as the company allows different communities to communicate their need to CAS Trips, who then pair the community with eager student volunteers who hold the right qualifications to tackle the issue. CLS trips are genuine, meaningful, and hands-on, and an important example of getting voluntourism right.
While voluntourism can be negative, through lots of research and understanding, there are ways to give back that are truly beneficial.
Beneficial travel
Voluntourism is not needed to have a positive influence and there are many ways to travel beneficially. The most important tool to leaving behind a meaningful impact when traveling is respect.
1) Thoroughly plan your trip to support the destination and its local communities
The first step to beneficial travel is to create a concrete plan that is supported by research. You need to make the right decisions when it comes to accommodation, transportation, and activities. Use public transportation as well as transportation which does not greatly contribute to carbon emissions. You want to choose to support small, locally owned businesses, putting your money into the local economy.
This means you must stay local, eat local, and shop local. Choose a hotel ingrained in the community and run by locals, book with locally owned tours and activities that put community voices at the forefront, select businesses that focus on sustainability for the environment, the economy, and the community. This means you must put time into researching your destination to ensure that your choices are truly beneficial and sustainable.
A part of your research should also be on the local culture, traditions, and history of the place you are visiting. Understand what the government expects from tourists and how the local community wants tourists to act. Research the current news coming out of your destination. In your research, discover the places that are overrun with tourists and avoid them. Understanding is generated over periods of time, so plan for slow travel to truly understand the destination you are exploring.
2) Listen and learn
Listen to the locals. This is extremely important in learning about the culture of your destination. It is important to forget stereotypes and allow locals to lead you. While prior research is important, do not assume you have already learned everything you need to know about the destination. Take the time to listen and do not challenge others over their own traditions.
Listening is a core part of beneficial travel, as well as voluntourism. CAS Trips’ CLS trips are the perfect example of this. The CLS trips are an answer to an issue that has been voiced by a community to the CAS Trips team. The team listens to the issue and then finds the best way for their volunteers to solve it. Once they have assembled a group of volunteers, these students must listen, learn, and understand the local culture and way of life before they attempt to solve this community’s issue. This investigation is an important way to travel beneficially.
This also means that you must be aware of your own culture, and realize that what may be permissible in your country is not in the country you are visiting. Therefore, making it important that you listen and try to follow their customs. At the same time, you can and should connect with locals over similarities between your cultures, and explore these similarities together. Remember that you are representing your own culture as well.
3) Be respectful
One of the most important ways to create a positive travel experience for you and the people in the destination is to simply be respectful and follow their rules. Understand their rules when visiting cultural or heritage places and use local tour guides to gain important knowledge. Follow all rules, instructions, and laws and always ask locals if you are unsure. Ensure that you are not wasteful.
However, you should also make sure to, once again, do your research before visiting another country to ensure you are treating the destination itself and the people within it, with the utmost respect. This includes important factors like dressing properly, not being disruptive to the flow of the community, and to show your appreciation to those within that community. Do not bring with you any personal politics or opinions, simply accept and respect the customs of the culture you are visiting. Most importantly, always remember that you are a guest in someone else’s country.
4) Take the time to immerse yourself in culture
Cultural immersion is one of the most important ways to have beneficial travel experiences for you and those within the destination. By speaking to the locals you can listen and learn, while opening yourself up to different experiences and opportunities. Don’t focus on just getting to the next tourist attraction but take the time to get to know the people, their culture, and what is important to them.
Some tips for cultural immersion: learn important phrases in the language, learn about their history, try working within the local community if you are there for a longer trip (an alternative to voluntourism), and stay in smaller, less touristy cities.
Traveling to Africa
Branching off of our beneficial travel tips above, we wanted to highlight the ways in which you can incorporate this into your trip to Africa, while adding some important reminders.
Firstly, Africa is a beautiful and diverse continent which means it is incredibly important for tourists to understand this diversity. Learn about the different cultures, histories, and languages that inhabit the continent and be respectful of their diversity. You must be aware of the differences between each region. Moreover, understanding and reading their histories is extremely important. Everywhere you go, you will encounter amazing and different things and it is important to understand and learn about the different customs of the places you visit.
“Africa is a beautiful and diverse continent which means it is incredibly important for tourists to understand this diversity.”
In terms of volunteering, it is extremely important that you do not add a couple of hours of volunteering to your itinerary unless this project has been pre-planned, researched, and approved by local communities. If you have found a way to contribute to a sustainable cause which will benefit communities and is a direct way to support them, then volunteering is okay. If this is not the case, then swap volunteering for direct support of local businesses through accommodation, restaurants, and activities that are owned and run by locals. You can also support conservation efforts within Africa which protect the natural landscape and its wildlife.
“In terms of volunteering, it is extremely important that you do not add a couple of hours of volunteering to your itinerary unless this project has been pre-planned, researched, and approved by local communities.”
The idea of local business is critical especially for the usual tourist activities in Africa, like safaris. It is essential that you only support safari businesses that are locally owned, and respect and support conservation efforts and sustainable practices. Using local tour guides is also essential and you must ensure to follow all regulations and guidelines which are set out for you. Ask questions, minimize your impact, and ensure that your visit isn’t only benefiting you. Not only is this important for safaris, but also for any visits to indigenous tribes. You must ensure that your guide is part of the tribe and that your tour operator is working with the tribes. You are here to learn about culture and traditions, meeting different people and having memorable experiences, this is not an attraction.
“Ask questions, minimize your impact, and ensure that your visit isn’t only benefiting you.”
The importance of travel
Travel is an important part of the human experience. Sharing customs, cultures, and experiences is a way for humans to bond with each other and create mutual understanding. These ideals of understanding and meaningful impact should always be upheld no matter where you travel to, as they are the pillars of beneficial travel. By understanding the negative consequences of voluntourism, overcoming the prejudices and stereotypes of non-western countries, and truly committing yourself to learning, then travel can be extremely beneficial for both the traveler and those in the local community.