Why I stopped being a voluntourist 
Most Peace Corps type voluntourism works on the premise that throwing "white" folks into a country and telling them to fix things will generate results. This is because, you know, we understand the incredibly complex social, economic, political, and cultural dynamics of countries better than they know themselves.<p>We're better educated, and if these backwards countries would just start doing XYZ they'd start to lift themselves up and out of poverty.  You know, things like alternative livelihood by making souvenirs out of trash.  That's the ticket.<p>But we don't understand the issues and aren't equipped to be able to even determine what a particular region of the country actually needs, especially not in 2 years or less.<p>Real results can only come from funded research into what the underlying issues are and how best to combat them.  Also, if the United States weren't so economically oppressive.<p>I disagree however, with the notion that being "white" is a hindrance in the developing world.  Being "white" is an advantage everywhere.