Owning Our Mistakes
"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of." -Jim Rohn
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"A lot of responsibility is learned over time and comes with experience. The best we can do is try our hardest and be self-aware."- Macy How
Nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes. ​But the most important thing from these mistakes is to learn from each experience and better ourselves as a result.​
Below, is Georgia's journey to development and the mistakes she made along the way.​
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After all, when we know better, we can do better; so here we are, owning our mistakes!
From a young age, I’ve always felt a deep desire to help others and contribute to the greater good.
At 16, I embarked on a journey to India, driven by the hope of making a meaningful impact by teaching English in an underserved community. Two years later, at 18, I travelled to Tanzania with the same goal in mind, eager to make a difference at a small orphanage.
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Looking back now, I feel uncomfortable acknowledging these decisions. However, I believe it's crucial to share these experiences and the lessons I’ve learned from them. My intentions were pure—I genuinely wanted to "change the world" for the better. But this is where my internal conflict, one shared by many, began.
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As I reflect on those experiences, important questions arise.
Was I, a young and inexperienced girl, truly equipped to make a lasting impact? Did I have the right to step into these communities and assume I knew what needed to be changed?
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I convinced myself, as did many online volunteer programs, that the best way to find what I was looking for, was to travel thousands of kilometres across the globe and 'help' the 'less fortunate'. ​
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The only problem was, they didn't ask for my help.
In hindsight, I had little more than a high school education to my name. With no qualifications or relevant skills, I found myself facing serious and challenging situations that I was unprepared for.
This lack of preparation not only affected my own well-being, but it also had significant negative consequences for the communities I was trying to help.
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Through a long and often uncomfortable journey of self-reflection, I came to witness firsthand the harmful and even traumatic effects that unskilled volunteering can have on communities and individuals.
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One common argument I’ve encountered when discussing the drawbacks of volunteer travel is the belief that “something is better than nothing.” This mindset, however, fosters the misguided notion that “if I don’t help, no one will.” In reality, it often results in unskilled volunteers replacing qualified professionals who could offer more meaningful support. This assumption also perpetuates the damaging idea that people in developing countries lack skills of their own, reinforcing a harmful narrative that elevates ‘developed’ nations while diminishing the abilities and potential of others.
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One of the clearest ways to grasp the absurdity of volunteer travel is to reverse the scenario. Rather than envisioning yourself travelling abroad to volunteer, imagine what it would be like if similar programs were implemented in your own country.
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Every problem in the world is multifaceted and complex. Solutions aren't as straightforward as building a well or teaching children the alphabet 365 days of the year.
