International work as an SLP? Sounds amazing, right? Well, it can be. On the surface, it appears that we we are helping people around the country receive services they can’t get otherwise. However, sometimes these trips abroad can be more harmful than hurtful. Today, I am going to explain why not all international work is beneficial. I will also offer alternatives that are more culturally responsive.
The Wrong Kind of International Work
Many international work trips that provided healthcare are funded by churches and become mission trips. There many arguments against them including that they are not culturally appropriate and that they are short-term and in the end don’t help the people get continuity of care. Here are reasons medical missions are not culturally appropriate or as effective in treating patients without access to care:
The White Savior Complex:
Since you are traveling to a country with poverty and less medical access, a attitude comes about that the people providing the care are “better” than the people living in the poorer country because they have less resources. Even if the people traveling there have good intentions, it still becomes a toxic relationship built on a power dynamic. Additionally, not all of the motives of people are totally selfless. Some want to be humbled or understand what life is like for those less fortunate than them. Others want to post the pictures and show they did it. Many go to share their religious beliefs, and in some cases, force them on others. Mission trips have fundamentals in colonialism. People are visiting a place and using their power to “help” them, but also that power gives them an aspect of control over the people. They are reliant on them for the healthcare, and in turn are having to learn about a religion. Mission trips are not a truly selfless act.
Short Time Frame:
With these trips, they often only happen for a short time. When the medical teams leave, they also take with them their equipment, expertise and care. Especially with cleft palate missions, that requires a lot of post-surgical training. Many children need multiple surgeries as well. From working in EI, I know managing cleft palate is a process that can take years, and the child may not have as successful outcomes with feeding and communication because the missions are so short. Many organizations are working to collaborate more with local medical professionals in order to address this issue. A research study published in 2019 that examined 41 short-term reconstructive surgery missions concluded that there are higher complication rates, as well as shorter follow-up duration and quality. Their data suggests “that engagement in sustainable development of the local healthcare system and the feasibility of conducting high-quality, long-term follow-up go hand in hand.” They call for “ implementing longer-term outcome research of future missions” and “implementing diagonal development missions. These missions combine the positive impact of the short-term vertical inputs (e.g. providing surgical services) and long-term horizontal investments (e.g. development of sustainable healthcare systems), with the aim of improving access to, and capacity of, the local surgical healthcare systems in the long-term”.
It appears the solution to the poor follow-up post-missions is more sustainable partnerships, surgical infrastructure and continued training of the local surgical workforce.
The Culturally Responsive Work
With all this in mind, people abroad still do need help to achieve quality medical care and speech-language pathology services. How do we know which programs are culturally responsive? It all comes down to intent. I 100% support humanitarian efforts, and I know not all mission trips are founded in colonialism and religion, but many are. We have to be wary of that and choose international trips that are respectful of the culture and the people living there. Welfare of the people needs to come before anything else. When searching for a trip, pay attention to the funding and motives of the organization. If they are not funded by any religious or political organization, their intent is more likely for the welfare of people. Here are a few organizations that aim to serve the people while being culturally responsive.
Therapy Abroad: I traveled with Therapy Abroad in 2018 and did SLP work there. The group I was with created a 2-week speech and language camp in Belize solely to help children with they speech and language goals. Many of the children have special needs, and there is only one SLP in the whole country.
Therapy Abroad is founded by an SLP, Jessy Brown, It has a sustainable impact as they have a program advisor that lives in Belize year round. They also have programs in Thailand , Dominican Republic and London. Their model is to promote study abroad and service lering that has a lasting and sustainable impact on people and communities. They believe in the power of community-based research and purposeful, sustainable partnerships. Traditional models of study abroad often set students and professionals up for the inevitable traps that have become synonymous with much of the industry, including host-country dependence, lack of a sustainable growth strategy, and culturally insensitive interventions. Our approach strives to develop collaboration and equality between partners in the countries we work in and the students, universities, and professionals we serve.
Voluntary Service Overseas:
We bring about change not by sending aid, but by working through volunteers and partners to empower people living in the some of the world’s poorest and most overlooked regions. There values include collaboration, inclusion, knowledge, and integrity. They have a people first strategy to create lasting change by extending and deepening our impact through our programmes, mobilising global citizens to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and positioning volunteering as a powerful tool to contribute to delivery of the SDGs. They offer short-term (6 months) and long-term (1-2 years) volunteer opportunities for qualified SLP/SLTs in countries of all parts of the world. Explore the opportunities online or attend a VSO event to learn more.
Volunteer Base Camp:
Our model of hiring and training our own staff in each country and helping them develop into partners managing their own BaseCamp is a unique approach. It allows us to maintain the consistency of support and program structure of a full service program at very affordable program fees. In fact, our program is one of the most affordable volunteer programs in the world. At the same time, the fees that volunteers do pay directly benefit people living and working in each of our operating countries and as the program grows, people in each country share in the success.
Speech therapy volunteers are needed to provide speech therapy services in a variety of residential facilities, clinics and community outreach programs. While the core focus of speech therapy volunteer placements is on clinical work, there may be components of community outreach, educational programs and family training.
Many placements could benefit from speech therapy volunteers who have completed their education. However, there are several placements where volunteers would be able to contribute provided they have completed at least one year of study in their speech-language pathology program.
For current students required to complete an internship or volunteer experience, these placements are a fantastic way to complete the requirements for your speech-language pathology degree while making a valuable contribution overseas. If this is something you are interested in please let us know in your application the requirements of your institution for your placement. This way our team will be able to better decide which placements would be an appropriate fit.
