Perceptions of the Role of Short-Term Volunteerism in International Development: Views from Volunteers, Local Hosts, and Community Members

Table 4

Identified problems and solutions.

Problem	Potential solution
Mismatch between aim “long-term improvement of conditions” and actual impact “short-term gain of material goods”	Clearly defined goals and carefully structured volunteer programs that try to meet those goals
Community members do not appear to be equal partners	Improved efforts to tease out the views, opinions, and needs of the community and facilitate mutual benefit
Local host and volunteers believe that more teams and resources are needed	A needs analysis to refine the problem such that appropriate long-term solutions can start to be developed; a critical examination of the motivations and conflict of interests involved
No consensus on what makes a suitable volunteer	Clearly defined goals of program matched to skilled volunteers only
Unskilled volunteers considered “superior” to locals	Critical reflection of volunteer motivations, skills, and suitability to the defined goal of the program