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White Saviorism

I read an article recently about a particular case of what some call "white saviorism", defined as a white person who acts to help non-white people, with the help in some contexts perceived to be self-serving. (See the link to the article below.) There are vast programs where white, usually affluent, highschool and college-aged students from the US go volunteer in under-developed countries. How much good do these programs do? Do they undermine the local efforts to help people? Would financial assistance be better? I personally would love to volunteer in a wildlife research/nature conservatism program, but it is impossible nowadays to find a program that is not just a for-profit business with questionable benefits. I would love to hear opinions, experiences, and first-hand knowledge about these volunteer programs.

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