Postcolonialism and volunteering Part I: Much discussed, but rarely explained

Postcolonialism describes the period after colonialism and the dissolution of colonial structures. The Postcolonialism theory assumes, however, that elements of colonialism still exist. Even after its end, in the early 1960s, There are ways of thinking about dominance and oppression and structural dependencies still persist. The world is viewed as one in which there is a “better” and a “worse” half. Exactly this gradation has to be broken!

Many of our target countries have a colonial past. For example, Ghana was formerly occupied by German, English and French colonies and Namibia was also a German colony in the past. You can see on site: The colonial past is still noticeable today in different ways.

We try to counteract post-colonial ways of thinking and structures by consciously dealing with this problem and encouraging our volunteers to do the same. Based on the work of our local teams, we offer responsible voluntary work and internships abroad at. Our goal is not to impose our Western values ​​on people, to show them "how to do it right" or to promote dependencies, but rather to work together on an equal footing, We are active on several levels:

1. We promote the mutual professional and intercultural exchange. The people in your target country can benefit from this, but so can you! Getting to know a different way of life helps Avoidance of intercultural misunderstandings with a deeper insight into global context - including your own position.
2. We have Standards for social responsibility developed, which we adhere to and which also apply to you as a volunteer. In this way we can ensure the good of everyone involved and a meaningful and sustainable project work .
3. We work at eye level with the teams at our locations and the host families. We support existing facilities and projects in which additional help is needed and orient ourselves to the needs of local people, The projects are managed by "locals". You and our RGV teams in the country can best assess what help is needed where.
4. We prepare you comprehensively for your stay abroad - with a personal consultation, the provision of information material Travel preparation, an onlinepreparation seminar and introductory events in your destination country. So we want a reflected and meaningful volunteer work as well as a Awareness of postcolonial thinking enable.

With your support as a volunteer, we want a small but valuable one Contribution to improving local situations in our target countries afford abroad. It is particularly important to us that we work together on an equal footing and work with you to promote the dismantling of post-colonial ways of thinking.

Here you can find out more about how you avoid postcolonial ways of thinking as a volunteer can!