Humanitarian Travel - A good thing or a scam?

[MineralMan]

A not-too-close friend of my wife's put a facebook post up, asking for contributions for her daughter to take a humanitarian trip to Costa Rica. The daughter is a pre-med student. The trip would last two weeks, and cost over $3500, including airfare. I'm not going to mention the organization, but it was supposed to be a "medical relief" trip.

So, out of curiosity, I went to the website of the organization and tried to find some additional information. There wasn't much there that told what the people who went on these things actually did. However, I did find a bunch of reviews posted on the website, written by previous travelers. Most were young, in their 20s. I read over 40 of the reviews, and not one said anything about any "medical relief" work they had done on the trip. All of the reviews were about cable-car rides up a mountain and trips to several beaches, and restaurants they had eaten in. Not one of the reviewers mentioned anything they had done other than that.

So, I dug further. It turns out that the "medical relief" part of the trip is a couple of four-hour shifts volunteering at a clinic.

My wife and I aren't contributing to this trip. Now, I'm wondering about all such trips.

Does anyone know of any organizations offering such trips where the actual work being done by the travelers exceeds the time doing tourist-type things? Has anyone been on such a trip and come back feeling that a difference was made by those on the trip for the people at the destination?

[saras]

1. Where does the $3500 go? That's who profits.

"Does anyone know of any organizations offering such trips where the actual work being done by the travelers exceeds the time doing tourist-type things?"
Yes, there is such an organization. It's called the Peace Corps.

"Has anyone been on such a trip and come back feeling that a difference was made by those on the trip for the people at the destination?"
Even with the Peace Corps, results are mixed.