Volunteer Travel 義工旅行

Volunteer travel refers to taking a trip where all or part of the purpose of the trip is to participate in an arranged service opportunity to help others， according to an online provider of tourist information.

During the trip， volunteer travelers often provide services like teaching， cooking， animal caring， and cultural activities. In exchange for their help， the volunteers may get free or discounted accommodation， meals and laundry， activities， or classes.

It seems as if these long journeys could only be made possible in recent years by modern transportation. Nevertheless， volunteer travel dates back to the 1960s， when Alec Dickson and his wife Mora from the UK founded Voluntary Service Overseas （VSO）， an international volunteer organization.

根據一個線上文旅信息平臺的解釋，義工旅行指旅行的全部或部分目的在于參與安排好的、幫助他人的志愿服務。

在旅途中，義工往往提供教學、烹飪、照看動物、組織文化活動等服務。而作為對志愿服務的回報，在食宿、洗衣、參加活動或課程等方面，義工可以得到費用減免。

似乎因為現代交通的發展，這些長途旅行才在近些年成為可能。然而，義工旅行可以追溯到20世紀60年代，當時來自英國的亞力克·迪克森和妻子莫拉成立了一個國際義工組織——海外志愿服務。

Traditionally， the volunteer activities take place in a foreign country. However， more volunteer trips have taken place within the same countries or regions the volunteers originate from in recent years. Sanlian Lifeweek magazine commented that volunteer projects in rural areas are now attracting more urban visitors as a break from the fast and stressful pace of urban living. A founder of a volunteer platform， told the magazine that it has indeed been a growing trend for urban residents to volunteer in rural areas.

People try volunteer travel for several reasons. By working voluntarily while traveling， travelers may make a real， positive impact on the world. The services volunteers provide can be through charities with lower costs for the communities they serve. Another benefit of volunteer travel is that it helps urban dwellers to get a taste of rural life. For those who are sick of urban pressure but cant make up their minds whether to move permanently to the countryside， volunteer travel can be a solution. In this way， travelers can catch some relief from their busy lives， while rural communities also benefit by receiving more tourists for local tourism industries and temporary high-quality labor.

傳統的義工活動在國外進行，然而近年來，越來越多的義工旅行發生在旅行者自身所在的國家或地區。《三聯生活周刊》評論稱，農村義工項目正在吸引越來越多城市游客的注意，讓他們從快速而緊張的城市生活節奏中解脫出來。一家義工平臺的創始人在接受該雜志采訪時表示，城市居民到農村做義工的確逐漸成了一種趨勢。

人們出于多種原因嘗試義工旅行。通過在旅行中從事志愿工作，旅行者可能會對世界產生實際且積極的影響。義工可以通過慈善機構提供服務，為他們服務的社區降低開銷。義工旅行還有另一個好處：可以幫助城市居民體驗鄉村生活。對于那些受夠了城市壓力，但又拿不定主意是否要永久移居農村的人來說，義工旅行也許能解決他們的煩惱。通過義工旅行，旅行者可以從繁忙的生活中得到一絲放松，當地旅游業也能吸引更多的游客和臨時的優質勞動力，從而使農村地區受益。

Word Bank

discount /d?s'ka?nt/ v. 打折扣

laundry /'l??ndri/ n. 洗衣物；洗衣活

labor /'le?b?（r）/ n. 勞工；勞動力