Abstract

Although international volunteerism is a common service practice among Americans and Europeans, research exploring host community members’ perceptions of volunteers and their practice is lacking. In this phenomenological study, thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted with Kenyan participants and their perceptions of international volunteers’ attitudes and behaviors were explored. While positive themes of skill transfer and honoring cultural practices emerged, so did negative themes that suggested international volunteers had demeaning perceptions of Kenyans, controlled collaborative projects, and gave Kenyans cursory roles to play. The study also suggests that international volunteers departed from service hastily without empowering Kenyans, which led to project failure. Recommendations for strengthening international volunteer practice are identified and described.

中文翻译：

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聆听我们的全球合作伙伴：肯尼亚人对国际志愿者的看法

摘要

尽管国际志愿服务是美国人和欧洲人的普遍服务做法，但缺乏研究探索东道国社区成员对志愿者及其行为的看法的研究。在这项现象学研究中，对肯尼亚参与者进行了13次深入访谈，并探讨了他们对国际志愿者态度和行为的看法。尽管出现了积极的技能转移和尊重文化习俗的主题，但消极主题的出现也表明国际志愿者贬低了对肯尼亚人的认识，控制了合作项目，并使肯尼亚人扮演粗略的角色。这项研究还表明，国际志愿者在没有赋予肯尼亚人权力的情况下匆匆离开了服务，这导致了项目失败。