# data[].attributes.body
Yi Heng, Junzhe, Jiquan, Ren Jie

# data[].attributes.body
Thesis Statement
Point 1
Counter Argument + Rebuttal
Conclusion

# data[].attributes.body
Thesis Statement
Point 1
Counter Argument + Rebuttal
Conclusion

# data[].attributes.body
Thesis Statement
Point 1
Counter Argument + Rebuttal
Conclusion

# data[].attributes.body
Thesis Statement
Point 1
Counter Argument + Rebuttal
Conclusion

# data[].attributes.body
Thesis Statement
Point 1
Counter Argument + Rebuttal
Conclusion

# data[].attributes.body
I agree with the writer’s view that there’s might even be the opportunity to use the experience on a college application or job resume. Since such act of volontourism seems to be a selfless act, by sacrificing own free time to benefit the underprivileged, people can include it in their portfolio and thus appear to be of a higher level of character attainment than others of the same educational level. Hence due to the underlying motive of the ”voluntourist”, they do not truly want to benefit the people, but instead to just seem accomplished.

# data[].attributes.body
Chee Hin
Bo Wen
Duan Yang
San Joh

# data[].attributes.body
Point 1:

Firstly, the writer states that volunteers tend to "complicate matters because of their lack of experience" instead of being beneficial to their cause and playing a part in improving their hosts' lives. While we recognise the truths to this statement, we disagree as this issue can be easily overcome with better selection, training and allocation of volunteers.

As many volunteers participate in voluntary work for non sustainable reasons such as for their resume, a dinner topic or to have a fresh perspective, it is understandable why the writer bring up the issue of unsustainability. Volunteers participate in a two week voluntary programme and never come back again, while the new batch of volunteers stream in and are again left bewildered and unsure. By the time volunteers are warmed up and used to their environment, it's time to go. This usually results in low output and hence brings the writer's skepticism. However, by having better selection, charity groups are able to pick seasoned volunteers who are motivated just by their desire to help those of less fortunate backgrounds. Sufficient training can be given to ensure volunteers are capable on the field and volunteers can be better allocated to different jobs that suit their unique skills, hence increasing efficiency in output. Thus, we disagree with the writer's perspective as better selection, training and allocation of volunteers can solve the aforementioned worries.

# data[].attributes.body
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the writer's arguments are biased and fail to acknowledge many possible solutions that might possibly solve the issues of voluntourism he mentioned in the article. I am inclined to disagree with his views and feel that not all volunteers are getting in the way of third world people. However, these solutions needs to be properly and effectively enforced, considering factors such as sustainability of volunteers as well as the training of skills required for the volunteers. While screening and physical training of volunteers can solve the problem, there is usually not enough time, as volunteers usually only volunteer during their holiday or free time. However, by choosing volunteers with pre-acquired skills, can then solve the lack of time for training of volunteers, and effectively solve the issues of voluntourism the writer mentioned in the article.

# data[].attributes.body
Counter argument :
On the other hand, stricter selection, pretraining and physical conditioning take up a lot of time. Volunteers can be hard to recruit sometimes, volunteering ranked 15th among Singaporean teenagers' life goals. Apart from that, volunteers who sign up might not be fit for the specific tasks. Ordinary vunlenteers can not spend extra time on weekends for extensive workouts and skill trainings before the trips. If they do these during the holidays, this will eat into the time they can spend to improve the lives of the third-world inhabitants.

# data[].attributes.body
Problems such as spending too much time on pre-service training and screening of volunteers do arise when planning these activities. However, solutions do exist to solve these issues. Firstly, when choosing volunteers, instead of just randomly choosing people and training them from scratch, organisations can find people who specialise or have sufficient knowledge in that particular field. For example, a scouts student could possibly help out in field cooking and building of structures. There might be people whose skills may not be put to use in such situation and in this case, they can do simple activities such as chatting with them, play card games or even teach them a new language. For example, students in singapore do have 2 week trips to cambodia where they interact with orphans and conduct lessons for them. Hence, this problem can be solved

# data[].attributes.body
Caleb, Yi Xuan, Xian Zhou, Xiao Xiao

# data[].attributes.body
The writer asserts that voluntourism is nothing more than a selfish pursuit that nets no results. The reasons supporting this claim being that volunteers do not add value to the places that they visit and that volunteers are doing this service for their own benefit with an aura of arrogance and condescendence. However, though the author has made some strong points to support his claim, I am obliged to disagree with the author’s points as the author does not understand the whole reason behind these volunteers’ actions and assumes that they all have an ulterior motive.

# data[].attributes.body
Thesis Statement:
The writer questions the true intentions behind  voluntourism in Singapore and whether the intended outcome is achieved. His reasons include volunteers' selfish motivations, lack of experience and low sustainability of work during their short stay. While the writer has identified some salient issues, he fails to provide a balanced view and makes a sweeping assumption that all motivations are self-propelled. Thus, we believe that better screening of volunteers and sufficient pretraining can improve efficiency and long—term impacts of voluntourism.

# data[].attributes.body
Firstly, the writer states that “nothing changes” two weeks after the volunteers volunteering for the underprivileged. However, I strongly disagree with his statement as there can be a paradigm shift in volunteers. These volunteer work can serve as a platform for the volunteers to emphatize and provide help to the underprivileged. Social media can also act as a tool of promotion to provide volunteers a platform to share their thoughts on the underprivileged, thus raising awareness in the society. This, therefore, can build more supporters and recruit more people to become volunteers, continuing this virtuous cycle.

# data[].attributes.body
In conclusion, the writer's arguments are one-sided and fail to acknowledge the many benefits of voluntourism, with reversed discrimination against people from the modernized First World. The writer is unsupportive of voluntourism, as he deems that all volunteers who undergo such programmes are selfish, and voluntourism itself is useless for the Third World countries. I am inclined to disagree with his views, asm voluntourism brings about benefits for both the modern tourists and underprivileged people in Third World countries.  Not only can volunteers use the experience on applications for studies or jobs, their mindset can also be changed due to the vast influence from the atmosphere and conditions of the undeveloped areas they've hardly been to in their lives. For the Third World country, basic infrastructure may be improved with the help of experienced volunteers with modern knowledge, communication and interaction can be provoked as well, to develop mutual understanding and progression. Organising team of voluntourism programmes should allocate the volunteers based on their skills to certain tasks, so as to achieve better outcome of the programme. It is also vital for volunteers to fully engage in the activities to maximize efficiency. With such, voluntourism should be embraced.

# data[].attributes.body
However, I agree on the writer statement that it is unnecessary for “someone from Singapore or New York to do less challenging jobs like painting in Nicaragua”. By getting a foreigner to do such a simple job is simply a waste of time and adds no value, effectively wasting both the volunteers’ and charities’ time and resources. If these voluntourist seriously are unable to provide any other help other than such simple tasks, it might be better for them to not go in the first place.

# data[].attributes.body
Tian Cheng, Joseph, Yu Chen, Gregory

# data[].attributes.body
The writer asserts that voluntourism is more about tourism than volunteerism since people volunteer to help the underprivileged only because of their own interest and selfish intents and actually benefit them to a very small extent. While the writer had rightfully identified some salient issues, he is too pessimistic on the influence of voluntourism. Thus, I disagree with the writer since he only focuses on the superficial and measurable profits like economy growth instead of soft benefits like emotional support and I believe the voluntourism is actually in a win-win situation.

# data[].attributes.body
Firstly, the writer states that volunteer tourists do not have "real value" to offer their hosts. However, I strongly disagree with this statement as the writer focused mainly on the tangible benefits and failed to take into account the soft benefits that volunteer tourists can bring about. Although some volunteer tourists may not be able to contribute superficial benefits such as the construction of infrastructures, they can still provide soft benefits such as emotional support. Through interactions with the locals, volunteers can exercise empathy and lend their ears to the locals. This can help the locals to get through tough times.

# data[].attributes.body
However, the writer’s argument does not support his own statement, since volunteers’ selfish intentions are irrelevant to the truth that they actually help the underprivileged. It is true that volunteers may use these experiences to beautify their resumes and give them more topics to talk about in their interviews, but the underprivileged also benefit from them since the facilities built for them remains operating, the emphasis given by “voluntourists” still encourages them to make progression and never give up their daily lives. Thus voluntourists’ underlying intentions do not diminish the truth that they are actually benefits from these activities and it is in a win-win situation, rather than the case that only the “voluntourists” benefited as the writer asserts.

# data[].attributes.body
Thesis Statement
The writer asserts that voluntourism is ineffective in bringing a positive impact for a host of reasons. These reasons include the skepticism regarding privileged voluntourists ability to make an impact and the limited real value voluntourists provide for their hosts. While the writer has rightly identified salient issues, this writer possesses a one-dimensional and biased outlook pertaining to this issue and fails to comprehend that not every contribution in the concept of volunteerism has provide material value. He has overlooked the positive impacts voluntourists brought for their hosts in other domains like the mental support . Thus, I believe that voluntourism is effective in bringing positive impacts and should be carried out despite certain limitations.

# data[].attributes.body
Names :
Wee yip, Zhi Yang, Darius, Zi Hao

# data[].attributes.body
In conclusion, the writer's arguments are blinkered and biased and fail to acknowledge many crucial factors that justify that voluntourism is more tourism than volunteerism. With regards to these omissions and his cyncism that 'voluntourists' only volunteer out of self interest, I am more inclined to disagree with his views and be in favour that voluntourism is more volunteerism than tourism. However, to ensure that voluntourists can be of greater "real value", charities can provide pre-service lessons or training to ensure that the skills required for the tasks match with the skills of the voluntourists.

# data[].attributes.body
Point 1

Firstly, the writer questions the usefulness of voluntourists, especially when people are more likely to ask professionals for help. However, I strongly disagree with the writer's views as it is rather one sided and it does not represent the entire body. People up to the task are capable of volunteering themselves in to help in areas within their knowledge.

# data[].attributes.body
Counter Argument + Rebuttal

This point is a sweeping statement in the sense that the author is assuming that all volunteers are too privileged to understand the needs of the underprivileged and are thus unable to provide ample assistance. While this is true to an extent, it also does not represent the entirety of the volunteering body. When it comes to volunteering, one who has prior experience and is up to the task is more likely to volunteer themselves than one who is not. Similar to the example the writer gave, someone who is able to fix their own house locks will be more likely to volunteer to fix others' house locks than one who is unable to. As such, the volunteering body should have a fair number of individuals whom are up to the tasks at hand, and those who have different skill set can be allocated simpler tasks. Hence, the writer is wrong in assuming that the volunteers are unable to provide proper help due to their lack of experience and social status. However, as the writer mentioned, there might be those who have been too sheltered throughout their lives and hence are truly unable to provide any value addedness to 'voluntourism'. As mentioned above, these people require the much needed pre-service training, and volunteer screening also exists to ensure such people are tasked with suitable jobs. Interviews can also be conducted to pick out those who are more suitable and capable to be a volunteer.

# data[].attributes.body
Conclusion
In conclusion, the writer’s arguments are blinkered and biased, failing to acknowledge the various ways volunteers have significantly helped to improve the livelihoods of the people overseas. With regards to these omissions and his persistent ignoring of other critical points, I am inclined to to disagree with his view and be in favour of the fact that not all volunteers are inexperience and even the inexperienced can be given simpler tasks such as painting houses. However, charities and aid agencies should sort out their volunteers through proper matching of task, volunteer streaming and volunteer training, I believe that “voluntourism” would be able to achieve its purpose of aiding the needy.

# data[].attributes.body
The writer asserts that "voluntourism" brings more inherent harm than good to the under privileged, as volunteers are incompetent at the skills required, and that they do so with flawed intentions. While what he says can be found in the minority of volunteers, the writer generalises and has many sweeping statements that assumes the worst of many volunteers. I am inclined to disagree with the writer as i feel that volunteers can be trained or selected to meet the skills required to provide effective aid, and these volunteers flawed motives do not affect the quality of help given.

# data[].attributes.body
The writer asserts that volunteers might "even complicate matter because of their lack of experience". He feels that volunteers are not equipped with the skills needed to provide competent and impactful aid to the under privileged. I disagree with this statement as volunteers who do sign up for such activities should have basic competencies to provide aid. I do not think it would make logical sense that a volunteer would go to such lengths to spend their vacation on community service, but lack the necessary skills needed. It might be true that these volunteers are not as skilled as hired labourers, but I do not think it is fair to discount the aid that they can provide for these underprivileged.

# data[].attributes.body
However, the volunteer might experience unexpected situations in Third World countries where their basic skills are irrelevant. Their lack of experience might cause them to make the wrong decision in these situations and cause trouble (less effective) for the locals.  Furthermore, the volunteers will find themselves hard to adjust to the living conditions at the poor villages. Such circumstances might cause the volunteers to be infected with local diseases that are foreign to them. This will cause further trouble for the locals as they would need to provide medication for the sick. (There is always an accompanies doctor) Although volunteers might encounter such events, they can seek advice from professionals from charity. The charity can also brief them or provide them with relevant information about these risks. In addition, the charity can form a medical team that can prepare for illnesses

# data[].attributes.body
In conclusion, the writer's arguments are flawed and biased and fail to acknowledge that not all people volunteer themselves to gain hard calculable benefits but they are also helping them out for a good cause. In fact, some of them do charity work to learn from the unfortunate and the poor from Third World and also to teach them the skills they need to survive in such harsh living conditions, so it is not a one sided benefit for the voluntours but in fact a "win win" situation between them and the poor. On the other hand, the writer argues that the voluntours may not have the necessary skills to do charity work. Some charity do provide training workshop for the volunteers to equip them with skills so that they can meet the standard required to do the charity work, so the writer is wrong in saying that volunteers are inept and incapable to do charity work, which shows that the article is flawed and biased.