How To Give Back While Travelling to underdeveloped countries – 5 Easy Ideas.
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If you have been following me all these years, you well know that I often love travelling to underdeveloped countries. Actually, to be honest these are the places which make me grow on the inside because apart from the beautiful unspoiled locations which are definitely unique, they help me learn a different way of thinking and living. They make me wise and open-minded. And of course, they help me see the privilege that I have in my life: my problems are really nothing compared to what some people around the world are facing every single day.
So, through my travel experiences I have figured out five easy ways to help people while travelling to underdeveloped countries. It costs only a little for me but means a lot for some.
Give your used clothes to people.
The easiest no cost way to help people while travelling to underdeveloped countries is giving away your used clothes. When I travel, I usually take with me all the clothes and accessories that I don’t use anymore. And I give them directly to people once at my destination. No one has ever refused. Indeed, I have always seen surprised and joyful eyes. In Nosy Be village in Madagascar a girl around age 20 who was working at the hotel I was staying in even cried from happiness when she received a pair of white sandals with glitter. She said to me, “Thank you, I would never even see them in my life.”
Give coloured pencils, candies, and toys to children.
While packing my luggage I often buy some coloured pencils or candies to give to the children. Things like that drive them crazy with happiness because since they aren’t goods of prime necessity, it is difficult for them to own one. And I only spent 15 American Dollars. Make sure that while you give there are not so many children that you have to leave someone out.
Take some good photos of the locals and give them to them.
We live in a world where the concept of photography is common and nothing special. While travelling to underdeveloped countries, I learned that this is not true for everyone. So, what I do is I take photos of people, develop them in a day, and give them to the owners.
Most of the time this service is quite expensive because photography is a luxury in poor countries and only a few people can afford it. So, what you can do is print them once back at home and send them by post.
When I was in Saint Louis in Senegal, without realizing it I spent around 50 American Dollars for only about 10 photos. After that trip, Alessandro gifted me a Polaroid which is making many people happy around the world.
Read Also: 14 days Senegal itinerary.
Use local services.
In underdeveloped countries, tourist services and facilities are often provided by Europeans or people from other developed countries. If you love comfort and practicality, it comes easy to rely totally on them because generally, they give you a more complete service in the best possible way. But I’m conscientious and think that we should try to make use of the locals whenever possible.
This is a perfect way to help a local because it costs nothing to you since you are paying for a service that you have already budgeted for this travel.
Give a small donation to start a business.
Among my list of “How to give back while travelling to underdeveloped countries” I also want you to consider a small donation. Maybe you don’t know, but sometimes 200 American Dollars is enough to open a small grocery shop or a small workshop.
This form of support costs you something but having already done it twice, I can guarantee that it is not as hard as you imagine. You can do it every once in a while. This can help someone to get out of their extreme poverty.
Today, the global poverty rate is approximately 8.6% of the world. This number will certainly increase by the end of 2021 as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic.
People who live in extreme poverty live on less than one dollar per day. So if we can find, in our small way, a chance to support someone while travelling, why not!?!
