Are there ways of volunteering abroad that are actually effective? I want to travel and volunteer for personal reasons, but it’s still important to me that the work I do is helpful (at least not harmful!). It would probably be more effective to stay home and volunteer remotely, but it would be of great personal value to me to experience the country in person.
I imagine the kinds of volunteer work you can do in your home country are less likely to be harmful in a foreign country. For example, in my home country I've volunteered picking up litter, painting houses, running children's events, etc.
I don't expect it to be "effective", but it doesn't sound like that's the main reason you want to do it, and that's okay!