Poverty Tourism or genuine Mission Trip?

I hadn't heard the term "poverty tourism" before but it's so apt. I would guess that people go on international poverty tours for the same reasons they go interstate.

Namely, physical distance equates to an emotional distance. Helping those close by might lead to a more long lasting commitment to provide aid.

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before but it's so apt

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In these cases, it's not apt at all. Sometimes they aid elderly, which is not the same as poor. Sometimes they try to build membership in local churches. Sometimes they assist in disaster relief, and yes sometimes they serve in impoverished areas.

Part of the goal is to build a sense of community within the actual group that encourages future participation. That's more difficult to achieve locally.

And honestly, if it were something my kids did, I'd want them to go out and do it in places they are unfamiliar with and with people whom they might have unjustified bias. You can call that "poverty tourism" if you wish, but it's far better for them than growing up having never seen the north side of I-10 (for example).

That is a good reason I guess.

It's just hard for me to understand sending a group of kids on a trip to help out in an adjacent state, when the money spent traveling to and from could be used to help others right here.

Same goes for the kids from Iowa who were rehabbing houses in Prairie Grove recently. Why drive all that way to do that, when local kids are going to Alabama, etc.

There are people from my church who go to Africa on the reg, but that group are medical professionals who have a particular set of skills. They go with equipment, supplies, and provide services those people absolutely can't get without charity. Then there are people who work in marketing, who go lay in a hammock in Honduras every year and hug babies.

There are varying degrees of it, and to my eyes, some of it is wasteful and self-focused.

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by might lead to a more long lasting commitment to provide aid.

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How horribly cynical

It's not black and white. There is absolutely an amount of "voluntourism" that goes on. I wish it were more pure, but I could also say I have belonged to churches where staff members were not doing enough to justify their salaries. I could also say the same thing about businesses I have worked at. Just goes with the territory.

That being said, I do believe that the context of seeing things outside your home area is valuable. I have traveled to 50-odd countries, and have lived overseas a good chunk of my life. In my experience, the best way to really see your home is to look at it from a distance. I support a Christian outreach in Phnom Penh that has as its mission to keep young boys out of the sex trade there. By young, I mean single digits ages. Once you dig into the real issues there (going back - at least - to the Khmer Rouge in the 70's) and understand how a parent would sell their child into this horror, you understand better how to minister to people "where they are" (not where you are or where you want them to be). That context is crucial, including for what you support at "home". It helps you filter and qualify the causes you support, and feel more invested in the ones you choose.

Does that apply to going from Arkansas to Texas? I think the concept still applies, just in a much more diluted form, maybe even to the point of ineffectiveness. But, you just might reach those 2-3 kids who will go on to make a difference.

As for the idea that this work in other countries carries a recruitment of people as part of the "price" for the benefits it brings the recipient, you have to remember that a central tenet of Christianity is the great commission, i.e., "Go ye, therefore, and make disciples of all nations..." Mt 28:19. I would also say that if any mission pulls its support or work because the recipients are not embracing Christianity, they are not there for the right reasons.

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Seriously, though, is it an inaccurate assessment? It's human nature to avoid those who are impoverished, different. Especially socially

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And I'm not arguing this,it's true.

But this has zero influence on determining mission trip destinations

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What's going on in Prairie Grove? There were kids from East TN going there as well. Is it possible that this has been identified as an area of need by a particular group?

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As far as I can tell, all that is going on in Prairie Grove is a lot of new home construction as it becomes more of a suburb of the bigger NWA cities. I don't think anybody around here considers it to be a depressed or poverty-stricken area by any stretch. It's a nice little town with good schools and a state park. That's kind of my question. Why are youth groups spending money traveling here, while youth groups from here travel to other places in other states?

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B. Not sure what "making their services tax free?" refers to.

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As a person who is not religious, the only difference I see between religious organizations and private businesses is that the former don't pay taxes. It's my opinion that the founders of our country intended for religious organizations to provide services that would help the less fortunate. Thus the tax free status.