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This article combines Victor Turner's ideas on pilgrimage and communitas with tourism imaginaries to explore how United States students volunteering in Protestant short-term mission trips (STMs) to an orphanage in Malawi articulate their experiences. We find that volunteers travel to Malawi to seek an encounter that brings them closer to their authentic and spiritual selves and create meaningful relationships with each other. This is most achievable in a poor place that is thought to be void of the accoutrements of modernity, such as social media platforms and cell phones, which participants believe mask authenticity. Malawi is a popular destination because volunteers are able to bear witness to poor, suffering orphans that are able to express "joy in their poverty" presumably because of their singular reliance on a type of faith that eludes the privileged. This raises ethical issues as it reaffirms asymmetrical, post-colonial power relations, and an unanticipated outcome is the perpetuation of the institutionalization of children that have identifiable family members in local communities. We conclude that in lieu of orphanage tourism, volunteers should focus on community-based engagements with children and their families.
Key words: orphanage tourism, communitas, protestant short-term missions, authenticity, orphan imaginary
Introduction
Had the best two weeks of my life with an amazing group of twelve people seeking God half way around the world. Not every day was easy, but every day was filled with God's good and perfect plan. Living so close to extreme poverty for two weeks and seeing more joy that I've ever imagined blew me away. Malawi is a magical place. Everything is funny, the food is amazing, and each sunset is breathtaking. But the true magic of Malawi is the people. Their smiles, warmth, and hospitality are more overwhelming than anything I've ever experienced....
- Ally, Facebook post by an American volunteer after a short mission trip to an orphanage in Malawi
Ally, a nineteen-year-old college freshman, decided to go to Malawi because she believed the trip to volunteer among poor orphans in Africa would be pivotal in shaping and strengthening her Christian faith. Ally expressed a desire to leave her comfort zone in the United States because it was in some ways inhibiting her ability to be herself. Specifically, in our interview, she explained...