Description
Book SynopsisOverseas volunteering has exploded in numbers and interest in the last couple of decades. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people travel from wealthier to poorer countries to participate in short-term volunteer programs focused on health services. Churches, universities, nonprofit service organizations, profit-making voluntourism companies, hospitals, and large corporations all sponsor brief missions. Hoping to Help is the first book to offer a comprehensive assessment of global health volunteering, based on research into how it currently operates, its benefits and drawbacks, and how it might be organized to contribute most effectively. Given the enormous human and economic investment in these activities, it is essential to know more about them and to understand the advantages and disadvantages for host communities.
Most people assume that poor communities benefit from the goodwill and skills of the volunteers. Volunteer trips are widely advertised as a means to gi
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Many scholars have discussed the theory behind global aid and the various perils in its execution. Dr. Lasker, a professor at Lehigh University, delivers instead a straightforward, data-driven review of a small health-related fraction of the enterprise, aiming to answer a few basic questions: 'Do volunteers help or hurt?' she asks. 'In what ways?' It turns out these questions cannot be answered, at least not very precisely. Still, anyone contemplating a volunteer stint is likely to be interested in Dr. Lasker's results, which amount to a sort of de facto best-practices manual.
* The New York Times *
This book is highly relevant to all healthcare professionals, particularly students considering an elective overseas, or dental professionals thinking about using a couple of weeks of annual leave to 'help others' abroad.... The publication is a triumph of social analysis and commentary, which rigorously appraises and summarises the existing body of evidence on the topic.... Overall it is a deeply compelling read that will give you plenty of food for thought, and perhaps change your plans, practice or even your life. I would wholeheartedly recommend it.
* British Dental Journal *
Hoping to Help makes an important contribution to studies of NGOs, civil society, philanthropy, and global health that both students and the wider volunteering community will enjoy and find easy to read.... Lasker provides prudent recommendations and guidelines for organizations and volunteers while also touching on deeper issues. Reading Hoping to Help led me to reflect on my past experience as a health volunteer and will encourage others to consider the ethics, opportunity costs, and colonialist relations of global health volunteering today.
* Contemporary Sociology *
Hoping to Help, by sociologist Judith N. Lasker, is a timely contribution to a growing literature that examines the unintended consequences of well-intentioned efforts to help, improve, or fix other people's problems. One of the strengths of Lasker's book is its eminent readability, teachability, and accessibility to those involved in or interested in medical volunteering abroad.
* PoLAR *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: A "Tsunami" of VolunteersPart I. The Sponsoring Organizations1. Who Sponsors International Medical Missions?2. The Activities and Goals of Sponsoring OrganizationsPart II. The Volunteers3. Becoming a Volunteer4. What Leads to Volunteering, What Volunteering Leads ToPart III. The Host Communities5. The Best and the Worst: Host Perspectives on Volunteer Programs6. Benefits to Host Communities7. "First, Do No Harm": The Unintended Negatives for Host CommunitiesPart IV. Principles for Maximizing the Benefits of Volunteer Health Trips8. Mutuality and Continuity: Two Pillars of Effective Programs9. Community-Focused Research10. Programmatic FocusConclusion: Lessons Learned; Responding to the DebateAppendix A: Methods of Study
Appendix B: Recommendations for Having the Best Possible Global Health Volunteer TripNotes
References
Index
