Trips do benefit the local partners

Over the many years I’ve been involved with short-term overseas trips, I’ve had lots of conversations with people about the impact of such trips. Some people are very positive about them, and can see how such experiences are good for participants and local projects alike. Others can be more skeptical about the benefits of short-term trips to the local project, see the trips as only bringing a feel-good factor to those who go, and feel that it would be better for the money raised to take part in the trip as being given directly to the partner. And then of course there is every opinion in between those two extremes.

Over the past couple of days I’ve received a number of e-mails which, between them, reinforce the fact that the trips do benefit the local projects, and not just the participants. So for any folks out there who are skeptical about short-term trips, I hope that the following helps to prompt them to review their thoughts.

The first e-mail was from the Women at Risk office in Addis Ababa. I had e-mailed them with an evaluation form for them to fill out regarding the recent team that went out there, and I received the completed form the other day. They had some very useful insights into how we could improve next time, so I know they were being honest, and not just saying what they thought we wanted to hear. The final question asked what, if any, benefits the team had brought to their project, and I was very encouraged to see a number listed, including:

1. Creativity, fun, love for others.

2. Experience sharing

3. Relationship building

4. Language and communication skill development

5. Art and crafts, lessons

6. Identify their talent and capacity

And chance to refresh and play because as you had seen they have no chance getting the game materials or the space to play and have fun.

7. Home visit and one-to-one chat with the children has left a great impact both on the children and on us because it has showed them that you are not here to just take a picture, play and live but you care, listen, understand  and share their pain and emotions, it  really meant much  more than you can imagine .                                                

The other e-mails that I received related to team members wishing to continue to support one or more of the young people in the Women at Risk project and I am currently liaising with the relevant staff at W.A.R to determine how best to do this.

Both the evaluation report from the staff, and the e-mails from team members, reinforce the fact that the local project benefits. From resources and new ideas for the staff, to the positive message we were able to impart to the families we visited, to the longer term support now available for some of the most needy families – all of this wouldn’t have happened if our team hadn’t gone out there and spent a week getting involved with the project and having their hearts broken and lives transformed.

I know I will continue to have conversations with people who are skeptical about the trips, but through experience as above, and first-hand endorsements from local partners, I have plenty of gentle ammunition to fight back with.