Now and then, I'll scroll through my Facebook feed and see a picture of a rich, white person in the middle of a bunch of African children with ripped clothes and runny noses. This to me screams PROBLEMATIC because 1) you're basically telling us "Hey, look I'm in Africa pretending to help these hungry, African children" and 2) you're assuming that these "hungry, African children" need YOUR help because you're a white, pure, godly savior.
Let me just clear that up: no, you're not a godly savior and I'm positive these African children are perfectly fine without your "help". Because let me tell you, a two-week mission trip to African isn't going to fix their economic problems or food insecurities. Yes every bit counts, but in all honesty, it's all about personal benefit and making yourself look good am I right? By doing this you're taking part in exploiting the "hungry children", which makes their situation even worse. Not so godly is it?
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If you really want to help people, first make sure they need your help and stop assuming that just because it's Africa, everyone is starving and dying of AIDS. Remember that Africa isn't all a huge war-torn desert, Africa is a huge continent with 54 countries, huge cities, rich cultures, and luxurious sceneries to enjoy. Second, check your privileges and really immerse yourself into the culture and seek to learn from them, not vice-versa.
Third, when entering into foreign lands, you have to be respectful of the culture, tradition, customs, language, etc. So realize that volunteering in another country shouldn't be easy and quick for you and that a two-week trip won't do it justice. Economic development and social change take years, even decades, to shift so unless you want to dedicate that much time to volunteering, don't bother.
All in all, I want people to realize that Africa is not the only one with social and economic problems. There are problems all over the world, even in your neighborhood. If you really want to help, volunteer at your local homeless shelter, adopt orphans, advocate for sexual assault and domestic assault prevention, or immigration reform.
