RACHAEL LEWIS-KRISKY

This film is meant to be a commentary on the concept of "volun-tourism." I have participated myself in numerous service organizations, and I have very mixed feelings about their effectiveness. I think it's very important to look past the obvious benefits for the individual volunteers involved (such as improvements in leadership, awards earned, new languages learned, etc.), and examine what real differences are being made. Too often, these trips can be very costly, too short in length and lack direction. That said, I am NOT condemning volunteer organizations at all. In fact, quite the opposite. I believe that they are extremely important - too important to be done wrong. I applaud you if you are, or have been, part of a service program; I simply urge you to think on how it can be improved.

Director Commentary