‘Barbie Savior’ Captures What’s Wrong With “Voluntourism” in Africa

Remember Socality Barbie? Well, she’s dead (Instagram account closed down, same thing) and here to snatch the plastic throne is Barbie Savior, a satirical account of a “20-something” American running an NGO in Africa. Take a grain of salt with this one — Barbie S. pokes fun at westerners who embark on “voluntourism” in third world countries. The Instagram account sees Barbie “harnessing broken white hearts to provide water to those in Africa, one tear at a time.”

Barbie Saviour was created just over a month ago by two actual 20-something year old Caucasian women who really have worked in East Africa. Inspired by some of the things they’ve experienced with volunteers, the two are also creating at least a bit of awareness towards charity… right? Standing in front of a chalkboard in one picture, the caption reads: “It’s so sad that they don’t have enough trained teachers here. I’m not trained either, but I’m from the West.”

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#Blessed.

Photo credits: Main and Instagram

Diandra Soliano

Our resident Wander Woman with a passion for languages, big cities and bronzer. When she's not listening to The Smiths a little too loudly at the office (after hours!), she can be found singing along to the soundtrack of Les Miserables with her two cats for an audience.

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