Against Aid Reliance
The money you pay us for your placement does not directly fund the projects we work with. We do not believe that it is ethical or defensible for us to pay the projects we work with a fee per volunteer like some other volunteer travel companies do. We also refuse to set up our own projects just to meet the demands of international volunteers - a regrettably common practice amongst many volunteer organisations. ALL of the projects we work with have been set up by local community groups, NGO's or government bodies. They are sustainable, independent and set their own goals and objectives. What we offer is support and human assistance, not financial aid.
Why?
Let's say that this year Kenya is a popular country for i-to-i travellers. Kenyan projects would receive a large amount of money because of the influx of foreign volunteers and the cash that they represent.
But the next year, Costa Rica becomes popular, and the flow of volunteers and cash to the projects we work with in Kenya stops. What happens to the Kenyan projects that have become reliant on that money?
Our experience has taught us that projects can get used to having fewer volunteers, but when the money stops projects struggle. Long terms plans have to be put on hold and the good work they are doing falls by the wayside.
This boom and bust model of international involvement leads to aid-reliance, financial instability and the continued belief in the subordinate nature of the 'third world'. If all the fight against poverty took were sending piles of dollars to poor countries, surely things would be getting better?
We believe that it is vitally important to maintain this non-payment approach for your services to ensure that overseas projects want i-to-i travelers for the right reasons: to help the projects meet their aims, not as a means to generate funds.
Projects desperately need human resources to sustain their work but their staff do not have the time or facilities to recruit, advise and look after your needs. That is where i-to-i comes in, we look after that part for them and ensure a manageable stream of willing, prepared and supported volunteers.
How do we support the projects we work with?
We choose to support a number of our projects through our Big Giving scheme which provides funds for tangible resources where needed. We also provide further funding on a regular basis for larger long-term initiatives such as renovating buildings and buying land. Since 2004 we have sent over US$200,000 to our most needy projects to help them in the great work they do.
