It’s a feel-good concept: Set aside a few earned vacation days and spend the time doing volunteer work in a third-world country. Dubbed “voluntourism,” the concept has become a worldwide movement supporting an infrastructure of organizations created to match volunteers with opportunities — from building homes for needy families and digging wells to bring fresh water to remote desert villages, to teaching children how to read and sharing professional expertise (medical, legal, trades, etc.) to improve living conditions.

But consider the proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Hit-and-run voluntourism is like giving the man a fish. It gets the job done, but it doesn’t solve the problem. Despite best intentions, voluntourism can rob impoverished communities of opportunities for jobs and economic growth that could lead to long-term stability.

Granted, some organizations get it right. Do your homework. Find out where your skills and service will make a real difference as part of a well-planned initiative with long-term benefits for the community.