Two years ago, I wrote about how privileged and lucky we are to be able to travel the world. No matter our circumstances, we are doing something most of the world will never get a chance to do. Most people never leave their own country, let alone their continent.
Even if we’re barely scraping two pennies together as we couchsurf the world, we’re pretty fortunate. I wrote back then (and sorry for quoting myself):
In the “quit your job to travel the world” cheerleading that happens so often on travel websites (including this one), we often forget that it’s not easy for everyone.
There are those for whom no mindset change, spending cuts, or budget tips will help them travel — those who are too sick, have parents or children to care for, face great debt, or work three jobs just to make rent.
After all, 2.8 billion people — nearly 40% of the world’s population — survive on less than $2 USD a day! In my home country of the United States, 14% of the population is below the poverty line, 46 million people are on food stamps, many have to work two jobs to get by, and we have a trillion dollars in student debt dragging people down.
Nothing any website can say will magically make travel a reality for those people.
Those of us who do travel are a privileged few.
That’s not to say that hard work doesn’t count, but hard work doesn’t exist in a bubble — the circumstances that create the opportunities for hard work to bear fruit are often just as important as the work itself: support from family and friends, jobs that allow for overtime, a strong currency, cheap flights, or golden passports allow you to find work overseas. All these things matter. Most of us who travel aren’t barely getting by or on social assistance nor do we wonder if we can afford the next meal.
Whether you are traveling the world on $10, $50, or $200 a day, the simple fact you are traveling for pleasure puts you in a global minority.
We’re a privileged bunch.
Traveling constantly teaches me to appreciate just how lucky I am to do what I do. It reminds me never to forget the fact that I have access education, support systems, and resources most of the world doesn’t.
My visit to Madagascar in September was my most recent reminder of this. Madagascar is a country of 20 million people that sees only 300,000 tourists a year. In Madagascar, 90% of the population lives in poverty, and 25% live in areas prone to natural disaster. Almost half of all children under five are malnourished, and the GNP is just $420 per capita (with 92% of the population living on $2 a day). Madagascar is also one of the ten countries most at risk from the effects of climate change. The country is 152 of 188 on the UN Human Development Index. Things are so bad there was actually a recent outbreak of plague. Yes, THE PLAGUE.
While I’ve seen poverty before on my travels, it’s never been as open, vivid, and widespread as what I saw in Madagascar.
My guide Patrick told me about Madagascar’s plight: corruption, environmental degradation, poverty, poor infrastructure, and a lack of education (including sex education) that has led to overpopulation, too many kids, not enough jobs, and a vicious cycle.
In Madagascar the roads have more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese, and there are too many cars and frequent accidents. Going 250km can take up to eight hours. While I was there, a bridge on the only north-south road collapsed because a truck was too heavy for it (weight station bribes are frequent). We had to wade through a river for another bus to pick us up on the other side.
And trains? The three train lines, built by the French in the 1960s, run only a few times a month, are mostly used for freight, and frequently break down. They are worse than the roads.
Madagascar is a place where houses reminded me of early colonial US settlers: dirt and mud homes with straw roofs and one tiny window for air. I visited a few villages, and inside these homes, I immediately noticed the musty air and lack of ventilation. I thought to myself, This is how people get respiratory diseases.
It is a country where kids wear an amalgamation of whatever they can find — and more often than not, it is filled with holes.
It is a place where people live in shantytowns and on riverbanks where they also dry their clothes (and where it floods constantly during the rainy season). They fish and farm in urban areas next to factories dumping pollution.
It is a country where I saw people mining for sapphires in conditions so harsh it could only be described as a scene out of Blood Diamond. This is place where the mining industry keeps people in company towns under terrible conditions simply because they know the people have no other option.
It is a place where the kind of poverty you read about became very, very real.
This is not to say I never knew this stuff existed. I’m not naïve or stupid. I read the news. I’ve been around the world. I’ve seen corruption, political turmoil, and poverty before. But it’s one thing to read about stark poverty in the news and it’s another to see it in front of you. It’s another to be confronted with it and have it confront your views.
This isn’t a situation where it’s like “Ohh, wow, it’s poverty! Let’s go take a look!”
This is one of those situations where you feel like you’re seeing for the first time.
This is one of those situations where your bubble bursts and what you see on TV and the news goes from abstract to real.
It’s become so easy nowadays to travel in your comfort zone and never come face to face with aspects of the world that may utterly change who you are and what you think. It’s easy to visit developing or developed countries, stay on the backpacker trail, and never see anything that makes us confront our privilege. It’s easy to only see what you want to see, to stare at Facebook in hostels, visit backpacker bars, take big-bus tours, fly from resort to resort, and attend cultural events designed for tourists.
If travel is meant to push you out of your comfort zone and expand your mind, you need to visit places that do so. To me this is part of the beauty of travel. It forces you outside your bubble, which adds great perspective to life.
You realize how lucky you are to be able to travel — while getting to know how most of the world really lives. To see it, to experience it. While we argue on Facebook and debate Twitter memes, kids go to bed hungry across the world (and sadly too often in developed countries too).
This is not to say I am arguing for “poverty tourism,” but going to places so different from your own can open your mind to different cultures, lifestyles, behaviors, and income levels.
The locals in Madagascar were friendly, welcoming, and hospitable. They were genuinely curious in our conversations and appreciative of the fact we were there. They never made me feel like I didn’t belong. I loved all my interactions with people in the country and the happy smiles they had on their faces. I’m sure they would all love a little bit more fresh water, health care, food, and basic infrastructure. But it was nice to see kids playing in the streets not glued to their iphone. It was nice to remember that there’s so much beyond consumerism.
My trip to Madagascar was a deeply profound one because it pulled me out of my bubble and made me remember that’s there is stark inequality in the world and made want to do more about it.
It was a reminder to resubscribe to the Ralph Waldo Emerson school of thought:
To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
Words without action are nothing. I must not become too selfish and I must endeavor more to give back to the places that give me so much.
So, as I end this article, I want to highlight some good local development organizations that are working to improve the living conditions in Madagascar. I donated $250 to each already.
- Feedback Madagascar is an organization that helps to alleviate poverty by working directly with communities to recognize the relationship between poverty, environmental degradation, and poor health. It gives priority to project sites in remote areas.
- SEED Madagascar specializes in sustainable development and conservation projects in the southeastern part of Madagascar. Its projects include school building, natural resource management, environmental conservation, and more.
- Madalief is a nonprofit organization run by a small group in the Netherlands, and it aims to give poor children in Madagascar a better future. Madalief also helps offer employment to locals on the project site, like at its eco-social hotel in Ambositra (which I stayed in).
- Hope For Madagascar – With a focus on disadvantaged children and women, Hope For Madagascar builds and repairs schools and offers scholarships to children in need. It also works to improve village self-sufficiency through clean water and permaculture projects.
- Reef Doctor – This non-profit has been implementing conservation projects in southwest Madagascar for 15 years. Reef Doctor works to restore and preserve vulnerable habitats and overexploited resources, while also creating projects to alleviate poverty in Madagascar.
In a country where a meal is less than a dollar, corruption is rife, and higher education is uncommon, a little can go a very, very long way.
I encourage you to seek out destinations that make you rethink your life; to find organizations that help others and the environment when you travel; to get off the tourist trail, expand your mind, open your heart, and, as Gandhi said, be the change we wish to see the in the world.
(And visit Madagascar. It’s a wonderful place. See my previous articles fawning over it.)
Sue
Thankful for the Spotted Places App for bringing this writing to my attention on Twitter. I hope this is as captivating an article to a vast swath of people as it was to me. A lifelong aficionado of history, culture and travel, I have not even been tempted to read a travel post in some time; largely due to their narrow, privileged consumer platform. THIS post had me interested in the content and heartened by the lens from which you observed your travel. Thank you. I will return to see what else you have to say.
Veronika
Matt, I’ve heard about the recent outbreak of plague (that happens every year, but somehow this year it’s more severe) but haven’t realized the situation was this dismal in Madagascar. The image of Madagascar for me has been lemurs and the great baobabs. Thanks for giving me a reality check. Once I manage to get down there, I’ll be more aware and more ready to help.
jane Barthelme
Matt please also check out the amazing programs at the Duke Lemur Center SAVA Conservation group. Reforestation, fish farming, forest protection and more. I have visited Madagascar and seen their efforts. I’m a supporter and suggest you add them to your list. Thanks!
Kylie
Great article. I’ve just got back from a trip to India and it’s had a similar effect on me. It’s made me feel SO grateful for the privileged life I lead and really made me think about all my ‘first world problems’. I had no idea that Madagascar has these issues so thank you for highlighting 🙂
Kate - Travel for Difference
So beautifully said Matt.
As travellers, observing the devastation of poverty and learning how to deal with the confronting sights is the biggest step. If we can all turn the things that make us uncomfortable, into a change within ourselves or even a provoking thought, this world will become a better place XX
NomadicMatt
Let’s hope…..
Laura
Thank you for this article, Matt. It surely touched many readers and made us all think. But as you say, there is “real bad poverty” also in our own home countries. And some of the factors and reasons for poverty anywhere can be traced back to our own behaviour and lifestyle – including travel.
I like your articles a lot because you often talk about our priviledge to be able to travel, someting many travellers forget or are not aware of. This priviledge also comes with responsibility, and we can fulfill this responsibility already by being mindful about how we write and talk about other countries.
Yes, in Madagascar there is a lot of misery and the people are all smiles and friendly and “authentic” (children play without iPhones etc.). But there must be more than that! Subcultures, university students, art, innovations, techies, …? Maybe there was no space for that in your article, but how we report about countries DOES have an impact on the stereotypes connected to it – and therefore on a country’s ability to get out of poverty.
NomadicMatt
Check the related posts to this article. You’ll see all the articles I have fawning over the country and people! 🙂
Maria Cecilia Ramos
This really hit a spot in my heart! Thank God for people like you!
I normally volunteer when I travel, and most of the time, I choose to volunteer with local families. Indeed, it opened my eyes and changed my perspective. And because of that, I choose to travel with a purpose, which is what I’m going to do in 2018.
Thank you for sharing your story! Safe travels always!
Drew Meyers
Hi Maria,
“I choose to volunteer with local families.”
How do you find those families?
Sarah
Have a look at Helpx.net. I found that website from a link from Matt’s website. Is this what you use Maria ?
Sherrie Fabrizi Allbritten
You have reopened my eyes to how fortunate and privileged I am to be able to travel. Traveling out of my comfort zone is something I need and want to do. Just reading about your experience in Madagascar and how it effected you is very touching but also encouraging. To hear that the people have basically nothing, but were kind and happy to have you there… Thank you for this worldly insight.
P.S. I will be making a donation 🙂
Lewis Nunn
I’ve always considered visiting Madagascar, it was incredibly eye-opening to hear about the corruptions and poverty-I was really clueless about this. Reading about your journey reminded me of when I did a community project in South Africa, living with locals it was a game-changer for me. You come to realise just how lucky we all are. My experience mirrored yours in the way that despite locals having nothing, they were kind to me and would help in any way they could. I shall definitely be making a donation!
Karilyn
Your trip to Madagascar has really opened my eyes. My 7 year old son has been obsessed with visiting Madagascar (not bc of the movie, but for his love of lemurs). I had it on our list, but had heard it could be tough. He was born in India, we lived there for a decade so he knows poverty. But your trip showed such a different side. This article really hits home though. We do travel to challenge ourselves and our family. It’s important to me that my son sees the world as it exists. That our bubble in Los angeles is not all that there is.
Monica
Thanks for this wonderful article. If people truly look around them, they will see poverty. Oftentimes people want to be naive and they look away.
I did not know Madagascar was so poor. I’ve seen incredible poverty in Burkina Faso, but I was not there long enough to truly feel it.
Thanks also for your recommended charities and pledge to donate.
NomadicMatt
I think it’s important as travelers that we try to give back to the places that gives us so much. I’m not going to make major changes to a country but I can do my part as much as I can.
Cara Crawford
I had no idea that there was this kind of poverty in Madagascar. It’s incredibly sad, but also so great to see you traveling to these incredible places and showing us the true realities of life there for the locals, not just the tourist towns. Bringing awareness to the situation is the first step, thanks Matt!
Tam Gamble
I had been looking into visiting Madagascar, especially after spending some time with a friend who actually lived in the country for a while. It is so sad to hear just how poor they are. Add to the poverty the fight they currently have with the plague hitting and it is truly devastating.
NomadicMatt
Yes, it’s terrible but heading there, spending your money, visiting them, and donating to causing like this can help the country. Definitely go visit.
Peter
Being able to travel for fun is a privilege. I feel a bit of guilt as I head off to travel for a year or so knowing others who can barely get by each month. And they are nowhere near the poverty you describe in Madagasgar.
Babita Mohammed
Hi Matt. You have an amazing life. I’m not one for the luxury in life . My dream is to see the world . To experience the culture of the world . It is sad that most of the time in movies you see the most beautiful parts of the world. You never see the struggles of the people. Some parts of this beautiful world have so much, yet some have so less. We are suppose to be a blessing to others. Your journey Matt is to show others who choose to stay in their bubble these amazing parts of this world. And because of status some choose to only visit where they think it is safe. You are doing a great job.
Daniel Conrado
Being from a poor country, I know exactly what are you talking about. You can help just going to a country and spending your money there, but pay attention to spend it with the locals, buying in the little business, using the local travel agencies and local guides. This will bring money to the right people, not to the big companies that explore sometimes too much local people. Another way to help the country is try to understand their culture and treat well people, without prejudice or superiority, just because you are from a developed country. Everyone in this world has an intrinsic value. Sometimes the pajé of a tribe knows better a medicinal plant than all the sophisticated doctors in your city, and this plant can cure you if you have a disease.
Tomasz
Hi Matt, thank you for raising this problematic topic. You’re right. Seeing the stark poverty in front of you will impact your worldview. No books or articles can prepare you for the blow.
This year we went with our teenage boys to Zambia. It wasn’t our first time in Africa, so we thought we were prepared. But just on the first day there, facing the bureaucracy of Zambia’s border officials and driving through poor towns along the way to Lusaka was enough to make us think we might have gone “one bridge too far”.
Zambia’s poverty is similar to Madagascar, with GDP per capita around 1500$. When you drive through kilometers of villages without electricity (only 2% of villages have access to power), your heart wants to explode. Either you redefine your comfort zone, or you break down. I would like to say that Zambians were poor but happy people, but it wouldn’t be true. Some kids waved to us and smiled, yet others showed angry faces and clenched fists. Elder people were mostly indifferent and tired.
This trip redefined not only my worldview but also my view of myself. I was born in the 70s in Poland, which by European standards was a poor country and I’ve always thought that everything that I achieved was because of my actions. But I was wrong. I had access to free education including universities, free medical care and although shops’ shelves often were empty, we never had to go bed with empty stomach.
When you travel through countries like Zambia or Madagascar, you realize how vast is the gap between developed world and third world. Behind the cold GDP statistics, there are development differences of hundreds of years. It’s like comparing medieval and present versions of Europe.
I don’t think there are easy fixes, but I’m convinced that all actions helping local communities to have access to education will help them be more independent and entrepreneurial in the future. If you don’t know basic maths how can you even dream of starting your own small local business with a handicraft?
So, once again, thank you for raising this difficult topic and for your initiative to support local communities. I’m sure they will appreciate every dollar you will collect.
And thank you for traveling to Africa. I love this continent.
Connie Erdmann
I tell my students, my children, my friends; even on your worst day, there are at least a billion people in this world who would happily trade places with you. I learned just how blessed and privileged I am to live where I live from travelling the world. I can’t take credit for earning that privilege as much as I owe it to progenitors who worked hard so I could be born into a situation that provided opportunities for me to work hard and get to do things I want to do. My husband and I are not wealthy by US standards, but we dedicate a significant percentage of our earnings to charitable causes because we feel we owe a certain debt to our community and to the world. Thank you so much for your insight. It warms my heart when those of your generation figure out the important truths you expressed in your article (hope that doesn’t sound ageist ;).
Gabi
Thank you for your beautiful words and for reminding us that no person is an island. Thank you for seeing the world in true colours. For opening the eyes to see the real world. Thank you for being so motivated to see the difference and sharing that motivation. And to help. Thank you for reminding us what travel is. I know it’s a priviledge as myself haven’t been outside of Europe, still I have to do it.
Christy Tappy
Thanks for the post. Madagascar has been described as a beautiful country with welcoming people and a unique culture and it seems your experience was similar. I’ve traveled around the world tho have not been. Would consider adding this destination to the list.
I agree with the notion of giving back. I’ve been to Africa traveling as part of a medical/optical clinic and have seen the depths of poverty and disease (AIDS, blindness, club feet, other medical challenges). Ironically I have also witnessed a people who while focused on survival day to day were not seemingly unhappy.
My trip was life-changing from the standpoint of self-reflection on my life and on American culture. It galvanized for me the realization that Americans live in a culture of massive excess and on every front. Excess consumerism, materialism, food consumption and of course we are overachievers on everything all the way up to what we throw away. WE also think all of this excess makes us happy though it doesn’t.
Christy Tappy
Thanks for the post. Madagascar has been described as a beautiful country with welcoming people and a unique culture and it seems your experience was similar. I agree with the notion of giving back. I’ve been around the world and also to Africa traveling as part of a medical/optical clinic in Malawi and have seen the depths of poverty and disease (aids, blindness, club feet, other medical challenges). Ironically I also witnessed a people who while focused on survival day to day were not seemingly unhappy.
My trip was life-changing from the standpoint of realizing Americans live in a culture of massive excess and on every front. Excess consumerism, materialism, food consumption and of course we are overachievers on everything all the way up to what we throw away. WE also think all of this excess makes us happy though it doesn’t.
Interested in your perspective on the people of Madagascar.
Kayla Waxman
I couldn’t agree more that more travellers should seek out these reality shock experiences! There is soo much to benefit from them as having perspective in life is one of the most rewarding things you can obtain as a human. It is obviously tough to see the sad and ugly in the world but once you do..you realize how truly fortunate you are and all of your “problems” are what others would dream to have! I had my first reality shock moment when I was 9 years old on a 4 Wheeler trek with my family in Dominican Republic on a family trip. The guide loved how we all were experienced riders and knew we had garbage bags full of giveaway clothes. He took us off the tourist trail as long as we promised not to say anything and led us to a very poor village he knew could use the clothes! We passed the border into Haiti up in the remote mountains and the whole village ran for our giveaways. Most were naked..it was like watching lions tear a zebra apart…I was in disbelief! I gave a little girl and old pair of my shoes and she sat down with them and hugged them crying with joy…then an older villager in their 20s ran by and ripped them out of her hands right in front of me! It was horrific..once the clothes were gone the guide was yelling at us to get the hell going and not to stop…they started trying to take our clothes off our backs! We got out of there and the guide said that was amazing we were able to give them that and how much it will help them! I had to talk about it infront of my class when I got back to school and to this day the whole scene comes back to my memory vividly! To have that perspective and experience at such a young age made me always remember how lucky we are and not to fear the sad and ugly in the world but be proud and strong and happy you can use all your power to make it better! I learned from then on..I am going to give back and make this world a better place with what power I have in me to give! I am now 27.. eager to spend my life doing my part to spread some light!
Asyla
A good article and responses are huge. It definite is not a love story but reality. Also inside the Caribbean. If Governm. don’t act soon we ( citizen of lower Caribbean) will proceed to become as poor in the division of poor and rich to divided extremely poor and extremely rich. Thanks for Making me realise that it’s not over yet with this issue from A very far bed to many on the islands that don’t care.
Linn
Thank you Matt for this article and bringing your trip to Madagascar to my attention.
When I think of Madagascar I think of Lemurs, as per documentaries. I was not really aware of the conditions of the people living there
If we each do whatever it is we can do, I think it will have far reaching ripple effects.
Your article has really made me stop and think about how lucky I am and true reality of other countries.
Michelle Beskin-Clark
Thank you yet again Matt for a heart felt snap shot of the real world. We never see Madagascar in this way and it is important for people to know the real situation in these countries. Yes we are privileged to be able to travel but you are so right why do we travel and what do we truely get out of it, if not to learn and grow in ones self. Yes we do have poverty in each of our own countries and we should give back in these as well. BUT for some it is a bigger issue than their own country.
Thank you for doing such incredible life changing work.
Have a Christmas full of heart and hope.
Michelle xx
Josephine
I love how you’re a realist when it comes to traveling. It isn’t all waterfalls and palaces, the world is wonderful but those of us who travel ARE privileged. As those privledged bunch, we have the oppunthnity to share with the world the struggles we see, so thank you for doing that, Matt.
Hannah Cox
Amazing article Matt with lots of useful information on the situation. I’m returning to the UK in January after a ten-month expedition from UK – Bhutan to document happiness in different countries for the RGS. What struck me the most was my privilege, everywhere – just for the fact I was white with English as a first language, able to easily cross borders and communicate easily (apart from China!). It’s really opened my eyes up to the responsibilities we have as travellers, not only to respect the countries and cultures we visit – but to also understand the issues faced from a local view, not just with a ‘white man’s’ idea of knowing whats best. It’s a fascinating topic, so thankyou for highlighting this. x
Catherine kamau
Amazing article. Thats real talk about the way we should live. Not just to view only on the roller coaster side but to also see exactly what people experience and struggle with. I havent travelled much as you have but i would definitely love to travel to Madagascar soonest possible. I am from Kenya and i would love to support my fellow africans to be better.
Thanks for the post
Jamie
I thought this was a really moving post! It makes me appreciate the lifestyle I have, especially when you show what some people have to go through on a daily basis. Thank you for writing this, Matt!
Emily Harper
Hi Matt!
This is truly an eye-opening entry. Traveling for work is the best opportunity one could ever have but you are absolutely correct, it’s a rare chance only experienced by few.
It’s exciting to explore the best of both worlds while you are discovering a new territory – good and bad, poverty and luxury. To put it simply, the world is our playgound.