Please Don’t Come to Africa and Build a School

Every year, travel companies proudly announce their next big "give-back" initiative: building schools in Africa, funding orphanages in Nepal, or starting charities in far-off places. It sounds noble, doesn’t it? But is it really?

I’ve had many conversations with Camilla Viken, she used to be the executive director of UNICEF Norway. Our sons were in the same class, and her perspective on voluntourism has stuck with me. She puts it bluntly: “Please don’t come to Africa and build a school.”

Sure, it might feel good to pose for a photo in front of the school you helped build, but as Viken explains, “It’s the least important thing about getting a child an education. You can have an excellent school without the building and a terrible school with a structure.” The real challenges lie in the context: making sure there are trained teachers, safe learning environments, proper nourishment, and local engagement. Your school or project often taps resources much needed in the community.

The truth is, parachuting into a community to “help” often does more harm than good. Short-term volunteering, especially with children, can disrupt their emotional development. “Having to bond to adult after adult creates trauma,” Viken says. “One can begin to unlearn how to love, trust, and connect with other people.”

The Problem With Voluntourism

This isn’t a new story. From colonial missionary schools to today’s voluntourism, the West has a long history of imposing solutions on the global South. Building a school in Africa might feel like a generous act, but often it mirrors the same paternalistic mindset of colonization: We know what’s best for you.

Instead of addressing systemic issues like underfunded public education or government accountability, these projects reframe Western travelers and companies as saviors while avoiding the harder work of doing less harm. As Anand Giridharadas writes in Winners Take All, these efforts often maintain the systems that caused the problems, allowing companies to rebrand themselves as changemakers while sidestepping their responsibility to pay taxes or support existing institutions.

Yuval Harari highlights another dimension of this: the powerful often choose high-visibility projects like building schools over systemic investments like funding governments or organizations like the UN. Why? Because true change means relinquishing control, trusting local leadership, and accepting that the solutions don’t center on them.

Real measures to collect data on people's and companies' motives are difficult to implement, but that doesn't make the problem any less real. Motivation is not the real problem. It is whether these high-profile projects truly serve the communities they claim to help.

A Better Way to Travel

According to Viken, the best way to make a difference as a traveler is not to build schools but to strengthen local economies. “Choose a destination you want to explore and experience everything it has to offer,” she says. “Eat at local restaurants, stay in personalized hotels, shop for locally made souvenirs.” This simple approach uses your purchasing power to empower the middle class, create jobs, and support women and families.

It’s also about humility. Real change comes from funding systems that can build hundreds of schools, not just one with your name on it. It’s about asking what’s needed, and stepping back when the answer doesn’t involve you.

Questions to Ask Yourself

When you book a trip, ask:

• Is this company supporting local systems or sidestepping them?

• Are their projects driven by community needs or by their PR goals?

• Are they doing this because it’s what the community asked for, or because it looks good on Instagram?

As Viken notes, the only merit to voluntourism is the awareness it can create. Reflecting on the challenges faced by a destination might shape how you live or donate in the future.

But don’t mistake the photo op for real impact. Building a school might feel good, but it doesn’t address the deeper issues. Instead, focus on supporting the systems already in place, trusting the people who live there, and strengthening their capacity to lead.

Because the world doesn’t need more saviors. It needs allies.