Volunteering or Voluntourism?

Volunteers have been the backbone of many initiatives throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently, throughout the floods affecting parts of the country. We’ve seen people from all walks of life coming together to volunteer at the COVID-19 assessment centres, vaccination centres, through NGOs, and even recently at flood relief centres and religious institutions such as mosques and gurdwaras, to help others in need. But what should and shouldn’t you do when you commit to volunteering? And when we depend so much on volunteers, what are the gaps it exposes with our social welfare system? Here to share her thoughts on this is Joycelyn Lee, the co-founder of the Pit Stop Community Cafe.

Image credit: The Pit Stop Community Cafe