Go fund me for a "nursing" trip

larrygaga · April 2015

I get this chick I have known forever on facebook inviting everyone to help her raise 2000 dollars for a volunteer nursing trip in South Africa. It's to help her "achieve her dream of becoming a nurse".

It's confusing me because she works as some weird part-time secretary aid in a hospital. Her dream is to become a nurse but she's not even in school for nursing? She's going to go to Africa and suddenly know how to be a nurse in the states? Sorry honey, but no. And suddenly there's an update that the first two weeks are volunteer weeks and the second two are for "adventure" such as snorkeling, white water rafting and the like. Her second half sounds like my fucking honeymoon.

I mean she says the 2000 pays for everything, but doesn't it seem like that would just cover plane tickets? I'm not donating OBV but I thought it was pretty rude that she only invited 500 of her 1,500 facebook friends to her spaghetti dinner group. Only like 30 people are going and it looks like it's this weekend. I'm sorta offended she messaged me out of the blue with some weird copy and paste paragraph about why she needs the money and where it's going. Can you open up with a greeting indicative of the fact we haven't talked in 6 years and are sorta related? No? Here's your money!

Dumbass.

southernbelle0915 · April 2015

I kind of equate this to GFMs for college/masters/PhD programs. OK, you want this but you're jot willing to invest $2,000 to kick start your career and pursue your "dream"? Or if you don't have $2,000 on hand, you're not willing to save for it? Or take out a loan for it?

Guess what? Lots of people have dreams they're working toward. Not special.

MollyandD · April 2015

Tell her to sell whatever electronic device she used to message you for some cash.

climbingsingle · April 2015

My friend's brother has a GFM for something similar. He's studying to be a PA and wants funding for a trip to South America (I can't remember where). Dude, you're 40 and you live with your parents. Really?

LondonLisa · April 2015

larrygaga said:
I get this chick I have known forever on facebook inviting everyone to help her raise 2000 dollars for a volunteer nursing trip in South Africa. It's to help her "achieve her dream of becoming a nurse".

It's confusing me because she works as some weird part-time secretary aid in a hospital. Her dream is to become a nurse but she's not even in school for nursing? She's going to go to Africa and suddenly know how to be a nurse in the states? Sorry honey, but no. And suddenly there's an update that the first two weeks are volunteer weeks and the second two are for "adventure" such as snorkeling, white water rafting and the like. Her second half sounds like my fucking honeymoon.

I mean she says the 2000 pays for everything, but doesn't it seem like that would just cover plane tickets? I'm not donating OBV but I thought it was pretty rude that she only invited 500 of her 1,500 facebook friends to her spaghetti dinner group. Only like 30 people are going and it looks like it's this weekend. I'm sorta offended she messaged me out of the blue with some weird copy and paste paragraph about why she needs the money and where it's going. Can you open up with a greeting indicative of the fact we haven't talked in 6 years and are sorta related? No? Here's your money!

Dumbass.

If she isn't qualified to be a Nurse in the US, why does she think she is qualified to be a Nurse in South Africa? South Africa actually has a relatively very advanced medical field/ training. In fact, the first heart transplant in the world was performed at the University of Cape Town.

I work in development, and I find this white privilege/ voluntourism "I went to school in Europe or North America therefore I am qualified to be a nurse, doctor, teacher, engineer etc" absolutely disgusting. There is a reason all of those are postgraduate degrees: they are hard.

She wants pictures with African chidlren to write about for her admissions essays. Honestly, those applicants are a dime a dozen. I get CVs every day from people like that who want to work in development in Africa. None of them have actually taken the time to become qualified in medicine, engineering, teaching, anthropology, development economics, public health etc. But they went on a "Gap Yah" so are instantly qualified. I have told people "You can teach English on these programmes for 2 weeks when you learn Zulu/Kiswahili/Shona/Tswana etc in 2 weeks".

Tell her that if she donates the $2000 to Medecins Sans Frontiers, she will be dong so much more for public health in developing areas, something that admissions officers at medical training universities are much more likely to appreciate.

Then when she is actually a qualified nurse MSF will send her on these trips. Yes, it will most likely be to Liberia or somewhere, you know, with a MEDICAL CRISIS. but, it isn't a holiday- It is actual work.

larrygaga · April 2015

Molly&Domenic said:
Tell her to sell whatever electronic device she used to message you for some cash.

Lol that's a pretty good idea

larrygaga · April 2015

Or I could write

I'm going to Aruba in a month to go snorkeling and have an adventure as well! You wanna split your donations with me or...?

flutteringinfl · April 2015

The fact that she doesn't have a nursing degree but figures she could be a nurse "in Africa" strikes me as pretty racist.

larrygaga · April 2015

flutteringinfl said:
The fact that she doesn't have a nursing degree but figures she could be a nurse "in Africa" strikes me as pretty racist.

We are from a mostly white small northern town and I know her family pretty well. It seems like a trait they would have.

People don't understand how developed South Africa is.

LondonLisa · April 2015

larrygaga said:

flutteringinfl said:
The fact that she doesn't have a nursing degree but figures she could be a nurse "in Africa" strikes me as pretty racist.
We are from a mostly white small northern town and I know her family pretty well. It seems like a trait they would have.

People don't understand how developed South Africa is.

Part of me would want to be really passive aggressive and pretend to completely misunderstand her email and respond: "Thanks for the message. It really got me thinking about medical care in parts of Africa and inspired me to donate to the Red Cross/MSF/Save the Children/UNICEF . Thanks for taking the time to message me to raise awareness about how important it is to send trained medical staff to developing areas. It is so generous of you to awareness about helping those in need with qualified medical training. I hope your studies go well and you have a chance to work with those organisations when you qualify."

littlepep · April 2015

LondonLisa said:
I get this chick I have known forever on facebook inviting everyone to help her raise 2000 dollars for a volunteer nursing trip in South Africa. It's to help her "achieve her dream of becoming a nurse".

It's confusing me because she works as some weird part-time secretary aid in a hospital. Her dream is to become a nurse but she's not even in school for nursing? She's going to go to Africa and suddenly know how to be a nurse in the states? Sorry honey, but no. And suddenly there's an update that the first two weeks are volunteer weeks and the second two are for "adventure" such as snorkeling, white water rafting and the like. Her second half sounds like my fucking honeymoon.

I mean she says the 2000 pays for everything, but doesn't it seem like that would just cover plane tickets? I'm not donating OBV but I thought it was pretty rude that she only invited 500 of her 1,500 facebook friends to her spaghetti dinner group. Only like 30 people are going and it looks like it's this weekend. I'm sorta offended she messaged me out of the blue with some weird copy and paste paragraph about why she needs the money and where it's going. Can you open up with a greeting indicative of the fact we haven't talked in 6 years and are sorta related? No? Here's your money!

Dumbass.

If she isn't qualified to be a Nurse in the US, why does she think she is qualified to be a Nurse in South Africa? South Africa actually has a relatively very advanced medical field/ training. In fact, the first heart transplant in the world was performed at the University of Cape Town.

I work in development, and I find this white privilege/ voluntourism "I went to school in Europe or North America therefore I am qualified to be a nurse, doctor, teacher, engineer etc" absolutely disgusting. There is a reason all of those are postgraduate degrees: they are hard.

She wants pictures with African chidlren to write about for her admissions essays. Honestly, those applicants are a dime a dozen. I get CVs every day from people like that who want to work in development in Africa. None of them have actually taken the time to become qualified in medicine, engineering, teaching, anthropology, development economics, public health etc. But they went on a "Gap Yah" so are instantly qualified. I have told people "You can teach English on these programmes for 2 weeks when you learn Zulu/Kiswahili/Shona/Tswana etc in 2 weeks".

Tell her that if she donates the $2000 to Medecins Sans Frontiers, she will be dong so much more for public health in developing areas, something that admissions officers at medical training universities are much more likely to appreciate.

Then when she is actually a qualified nurse MSF will send her on these trips. Yes, it will most likely be to Liberia or somewhere, you know, with a MEDICAL CRISIS. but, it isn't a holiday- It is actual work.

This is exactly what I was thinking. She is doing this for show.

theartistformerlyknownas · April 2015

Ummm nope. If this was actually a charitable missions trip I would donate (like if she was already a nurse, going to an impoverished place, not snorkeling) but this is terrible.

thisismynickname2 · April 2015

She has to be lying out of her ass about this. LondonLisa nailed it. Nursing is a global profession with high standards no matter what country you're in. Nursing students in various African countries take the NCLEX-RN exam- same exam students in the States take.

What could she be possibly doing on this trip, legally, that would in any way help her become a nurse?

WonderBride519 · April 2015

As a nurse, I find her request offensive. I'm sorry, but don't get in the way of what I do because you (she) think it'll be cute to get pictures with kids in an African village and then get to vacation after all the "hard work" you (she) put in. You still have to be a nurse to volunteer as a nurse, at least in the volunteer experience I have.

flutteringinfl · April 2015

ajRN519 said:
As a nurse, I find her request offensive. I'm sorry, but don't get in the way of what I do because you (she) think it'll be cute to get pictures with kids in an African village and then get to vacation after all the "hard work" you (she) put in. You still have to be a nurse to volunteer as a nurse, at least in the volunteer experience I have.

I'm just picturing her trying to take control of an actual medical crisis and someone asking her, "Are you a certified nurse?"

"No, but I'm a volunteer!"

"Oh, you mean you're not getting paid? Well, even though you have no formal medical training, that changes everything. Please proceed to help this sick person."

emmaaa · April 2015

Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

I have Facebook friends post GFM so they can study abroad. Well aren't you an entitled little brat? Studying abroad is a privilege and while it can be enlightening, but not necessary. Pay for it yourself.

lyndausvi · April 2015

Where do you live again? Pretty sure I don't want her being my nurse.

And $2K paying for everything? I paid $1600 per person for our SA tickets 7 years ago.

Then add in all the "look at me I nursed some poor kids in Africa before I went snorkeling. Look how great I am" makes me want to vomit.

WonderBride519 · April 2015

flutteringinfl said:

ajRN519 said:
As a nurse, I find her request offensive. I'm sorry, but don't get in the way of what I do because you (she) think it'll be cute to get pictures with kids in an African village and then get to vacation after all the "hard work" you (she) put in. You still have to be a nurse to volunteer as a nurse, at least in the volunteer experience I have.
I'm just picturing her trying to take control of an actual medical crisis and someone asking her, "Are you a certified nurse?"

"No, but I'm a volunteer!"

"Oh, you mean you're not getting paid? Well, even though you have no formal medical training, that changes everything. Please proceed to help this sick person."

*Dying* Because this is how that'll go down! Lol! Then she'll come back the the States with all her stories about how she really "took control and was an integral problem solver to the crisis situation"...

novella1186 · April 2015

lyndausvi said:
Where do you live again? Pretty sure I don't want her being my nurse.

And $2K paying for everything? I paid $1600 per person for our SA tickets 7 years ago.

Then add in all the "look at me I nursed some poor kids in Africa before I went snorkeling. Look how great I am" makes me want to vomit.

I feel like some people do shit these days based on how it's going to look on facebook.

Volunteering for one of the dozens of programs in the US? No, not good enough. That won't photograph well or get enouhg "likes"

sarawifenow · April 2015

Send her this:

levioosa · April 2015

As someone who is paying through the nose for nursing school right now, this is super insulting, both to the profession of nursing and to "Africa (which is like, beyond an insulting generalization in itself)." I really want her to flounce into a nursing school interview and tell them she practiced beyond her scope of care for the poor little African babies because she's a crusader of health and they were *gasp* African. I'm sure it will get her into nursing school.

Side note: What kind of legitimate organization would promote themselves having a "nursing trip" without any actual nurses?

flutteringinfl · April 2015

I hope she's severely misunderstanding what she'll be doing.

Also, show her this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doEhp3d63X4

jenna8984 · April 2015

One of my friends does trips to Eastern Europe to "volunteer" in orphanages. She's done it like 2-3 times and she has to pay the full expenses of the trip (usually 3-5k). She stays at a nice hotel and like I dunno, fucking pops into the orphanage for a few hours a day to snuggle or play with the kids or some shit? Like really what are you doing there- how are you benefitting them at all?

But anyways, when I was her bridesmaid a few years ago, all of her other bridesmaids were like "You know, Oprah has this contest right now for a dream wedding to a deserving couple. We should totally enter Steph- like with all her volunteer work she would win- she deserves to win!" I just nodded along with them but in my head I was like how on Earth does that make her so deserving of a free wedding? Like pretty sure the winner will be someone with cancer or something...

FiancB · April 2015

levioosa said:
As someone who is paying through the nose for nursing school right now, this is super insulting, both to the profession of nursing and to "Africa (which is like, beyond an insulting generalization in itself)." I really want her to flounce into a nursing school interview and tell them she practiced beyond her scope of care for the poor little African babies because she's a crusader of health and they were *gasp* African. I'm sure it will get her into nursing school.

Side note: What kind of legitimate organization would promote themselves having a "nursing trip" without any actual nurses?

I'm sure she'll fail the TEAS or have a bad GPA and not get in and whine "but it's my dreeeeam! Tests mean nothing! I touched black babies!"

I'm a nursing student and I do want to do something like this- but if I go I will go where I'm needed, I will pay for it, and I won't be using it for bragging rights.

larrygaga · April 2015

Yeah I googled tickets and they cost about 1800. So is she using the extra 200 to build a hut and never coming back?

flbride2015 · April 2015

jenna8984 said:
One of my friends does trips to Eastern Europe to "volunteer" in orphanages. She's done it like 2-3 times and she has to pay the full expenses of the trip (usually 3-5k). She stays at a nice hotel and like I dunno, fucking pops into the orphanage for a few hours a day to snuggle or play with the kids or some shit? Like really what are you doing there- how are you benefitting them at all?
But anyways, when I was her bridesmaid a few years ago, all of her other bridesmaids were like "You know, Oprah has this contest right now for a dream wedding to a deserving couple. We should totally enter Steph- like with all her volunteer work she would win- she deserves to win!" I just nodded along with them but in my head I was like how on Earth does that make her so deserving of a free wedding? Like pretty sure the winner will be someone with cancer or something...

My fiance and I looked into once of these trips once because we thought it would be nice to do something positive while on vacation. Turns out a lot of those trips are a scam. "Volunteer tourism" has actually become a huge profit machine. It's also sort of exploits the children. How would we feel if foreigners were traveling here to our country to have a photo opp at the local orphanage? Are orphan children zoo animals now that we spend a day with and take pictures with?

[Deleted User] · April 2015

larrygaga said:
Yeah I googled tickets and they cost about 1800. So is she using the extra 200 to build a hut and never coming back?

If you're lucky, maybe!

lurkergirl · April 2015

flbride2015 said:

jenna8984 said:
One of my friends does trips to Eastern Europe to "volunteer" in orphanages. She's done it like 2-3 times and she has to pay the full expenses of the trip (usually 3-5k). She stays at a nice hotel and like I dunno, fucking pops into the orphanage for a few hours a day to snuggle or play with the kids or some shit? Like really what are you doing there- how are you benefitting them at all?
But anyways, when I was her bridesmaid a few years ago, all of her other bridesmaids were like "You know, Oprah has this contest right now for a dream wedding to a deserving couple. We should totally enter Steph- like with all her volunteer work she would win- she deserves to win!" I just nodded along with them but in my head I was like how on Earth does that make her so deserving of a free wedding? Like pretty sure the winner will be someone with cancer or something...
My fiance and I looked into once of these trips once because we thought it would be nice to do something positive while on vacation. Turns out a lot of those trips are a scam. "Volunteer tourism" has actually become a huge profit machine. It's also sort of exploits the children. How would we feel if foreigners were traveling here to our country to have a photo opp at the local orphanage? Are orphan children zoo animals now that we spend a day with and take pictures with?

I totally agree with you. I'd say even the church mission trips aren't so different. Sorry, but the only people I know who do them are rich white college kids. They're same kids who live in the suburban bubble of McMansions and malls, and they don't realize that if they went a few miles outside their bubble, there are tons of kids and families in need in their own communities. Food insecurity is a real thing. I see stories that would make a lot of you cry every single day with my students.

I don't know...I guess no one kid or group is more or less deserving of help than any other. But maybe if we built up our own communities (how much does a mission trip cost--how many meals and books and school clothes could go to children in your own community?) then we would all be stronger and better off and then be in a position to offer even more help. I'm sure that's a pipe dream, but in my mind it seems good.

larrygaga · April 2015

I don't understand how people don't make any connection between modern day missionaries and historical missionaries.

If you want food you have to believe in our god. No matter how nice you put that, I will always be against mission trips. And in my experience as well, they are done by rich white college kids so they can pat their shitty hands on their shitty backs.

levioosa · April 2015

flbride2015 said:

jenna8984 said:
One of my friends does trips to Eastern Europe to "volunteer" in orphanages. She's done it like 2-3 times and she has to pay the full expenses of the trip (usually 3-5k). She stays at a nice hotel and like I dunno, fucking pops into the orphanage for a few hours a day to snuggle or play with the kids or some shit? Like really what are you doing there- how are you benefitting them at all?
But anyways, when I was her bridesmaid a few years ago, all of her other bridesmaids were like "You know, Oprah has this contest right now for a dream wedding to a deserving couple. We should totally enter Steph- like with all her volunteer work she would win- she deserves to win!" I just nodded along with them but in my head I was like how on Earth does that make her so deserving of a free wedding? Like pretty sure the winner will be someone with cancer or something...
My fiance and I looked into once of these trips once because we thought it would be nice to do something positive while on vacation. Turns out a lot of those trips are a scam. "Volunteer tourism" has actually become a huge profit machine. It's also sort of exploits the children. How would we feel if foreigners were traveling here to our country to have a photo opp at the local orphanage? Are orphan children zoo animals now that we spend a day with and take pictures with?

My ex grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, and Rwanda, and we were both actively involved with work in Haiti. He hated volunteer tourism because that money could have been spent so much more efficiently by the organizations already in place. I remember one article that sickened me. It was about a group that went down to Haiti after the earthquake to "help." The picture to the article was of a group of white middle aged people in an air-conditioned tour bus, with cameras hanging around their necks. A few were actively taking pictures of the poverty outside their bus. I almost lost it when I saw that. They are people, not some animal for you to take a picture of like it's a fucking trophy. Privilege is pretty blatant in a lot of those "missionary" trips, but it was so over the top in that article I couldn't handle it.

There was also a trend in an area near me a few years back to adopt African children like they were a fashion accessory. I remember one time I was in a family friend's kitchen, and the mom was flipping through this "catalog" of kids you could adopt. She had already adopted one or two kids from Kenya. While she was flipping through the booklet, she made comments like, "Oh, I don't know if this one would work out.....this one looks kind of odd..." Her adoptive daughter finally flipped out after the fifth or sixth comment and told her they weren't pets for her to choose based on looks, but actual people with families, personalities, feelings, and intelligence. That was the last time I willingly interacted with that family, I was so disgusted.

MGP · April 2015

lyndausvi said:
Where do you live again? Pretty sure I don't want her being my nurse.

And $2K paying for everything? I paid $1600 per person for our SA tickets 7 years ago.

Then add in all the "look at me I nursed some poor kids in Africa before I went snorkeling. Look how great I am" makes me want to vomit.

But she can't forget to take a voluntourism selfie before she goes snorkeling.

ETA - hashtags! How could I forget the hashtags!

#volunteer #travel #dogooder #adventures #africa #nursing #notreallyanurse #pretendingtobeanurse #orphans #sickpeople #children #lookatme #avoidingreality #AW #pleasegivemelikes

Go fund me for a "nursing" trip

Re: Go fund me for a "nursing" trip

Choose Another Board

Search Boards

Go fund me for a "nursing" trip

Re: Go fund me for a &quot;nursing&quot; trip

Choose Another Board

Search Boards

Re: Go fund me for a "nursing" trip