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Andrew Jones, head of geography at Birkbeck University, who undertook a review of gap year provision for the Government in 2004, agreed that some gap year companies were profiting from the growing interest in charity tourism projects of dubious benefit.

“Volunteers do gain a lot from these experiences, but a lot of the projects they are working on struggle to have a lasting impact on the communities they are supposed to be helping,” he said.

Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com, rejected charges of colonialism and said that volunteers often performed small-scale and mundane tasks that nobody else was available to do, but which could transform people’s lives.

He said: “If a young person has come back from China and has enabled ten people to pronounce an English word that has then helped them get jobs, then that’s great.” He added: “We see young people returning from China and Africa with more confidence, with more understanding and with more tolerance of other cultures. This makes them better individuals.”

HOW TO BE AN ETHICAL VOLUNTEER

TIPS FOR VOLUNTEERS

• Learn about the country you are visiting. Find out about who is in government and the top football team
  
  
• Take a training course first. Just because you speak English doesn’t mean you can teach it. Regard fellow volunteers as people from whom you can learn
  
  
• Be professional: turn up on time, don’t leave early, be flexible and adapt to local customs and practices
  
  
• Take responsibility for your own health and safety. Make sure you have adequate insurance
  
  
• Let the organisers of your programme know that you intend to hold them to high ethical standards and keep to them yourself, too. Visit www.comhlamh.org to read a model code of conduct
  
  ASK THE ORGANISERS:
  
  
  
  
• How many hours do I work and what will that work be?
  
  
• Does the work have the support of the local community?
  
  
• What percentage of your fee goes to your volunteer programmes?
  
  
• Does the organisation employ local staff?
  
  
• When a volunteer leaves, are others sent or does the placement end?
  
  
• What are the precise contact details? A good organisation can let you know months in advance where you are going and what you will be doing. A less reliable one will wait for you to sign up and pay before finding a placement
  
  
• Is there training and support before and during the programme?

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