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Globalteer

Why choose Globalteer?

Globalteer is a registered UK charity operating overseas to provide support to ethical and sustainable projects working in community development, animal care, wildlife rescue, and environmental conservation.

Globalteer provides volunteering opportunities at affordable rates and free volunteer internships, while maintaining high standards of responsible volunteering.

We are a 100% not-for-profit, registered charity, operating in several locations within South East Asia and Latin America.

Reviews

Burcu
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing experience

I volunteered with Picaflor House in November 2018 for couple of weeks
Globalteer team put children into their heart and they direct you accordingly during your volunteer program. The kids are amazing, teachers are so helpful and everything is so well organized that you don’t have anything to worry about.
I can’t stop talking & thinking about this amazing experience I had!
Wish others would also find the opportunity and be as lucky as I am to have such an amazing experience!
Thanks much for this great experience
I spent time with helping the little ones at kinder garden, playing sport, teaching English, joining art class ,helping the coordinators...
Each and every task was fun, well organized and was a pleasure with kids,
I really hope I can repeat this experience in Cusco or somewhere else.

What would you improve about this program?
With more volunteers!Everything is well organized nut of course would be much better with more volunteers. We can provide much more to those kids both financially and giving our time
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Sarah
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Volunteered in Cambodia

I spent the most amazing few weeks in Cambodia volunteering at Helping Hands. I decided to volunteer while travelling so I could give back and experience the culture from a different perspective than just a tourist.

I have never worked with kids before, so I was a little nervous. The project is so well organised though, they are able to use all the volunteers taking into consideration their skills and abilities. I was quite happy being a teacher assistant, working in the classroom with the kids.

The kids were inspirational, always eager to learn. They have a good understanding of the importance of their education to help them in the future.

Everyone was wonderful at Helping Hands and Globalteer, I felt part of this amazing team in Cambodia!

Read my full story
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Carol
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

I would highly recommend!

I will always cherish the experience in Peru

I grew up on a farm and have been passionate about helping animals all my life. I particularly connect with dogs so wanted to volunteer to help dogs in need. I already have experience volunteering with dogs at home but wanted to take on the challenge of helping at a shelter overseas.

The project did not disappoint, I was able to get stuck in straight away and the dogs were amazing, really friendly and loving despite their horrific backgrounds. The work was as expected but probably more rewarding than back home knowing these dog’s stories.

Cusco is a wonderful place to volunteer, beautiful city and friendly people. The staff and other volunteers were great. I never felt alone in the hostel, great place to socialise.

I would highly recommend!

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Ben
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Wonderful Dogs!

I absolutely love all dogs so decided to combine my holiday with helping dogs in another country again. This project was amazing, the shelter owners were so passonate and there love for dogs was obvious. They worked so hard for many years to care for dogs in Cusco, I was inspired by their dedication!

The problem for dogs in Peru is huge, attitudes are different and there are so many dogs on the streets.

The support at this project was wonderful, Globalteer has an office in Cusco, so the staff were always there and available when I needed help. When I volunteered overseas before though a different organisation, their office was back home and support was via email so not so good as this project, especially as I have not really travelled independantly.

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Steve
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Volunteered in Cambodia

This was a great experience for me in Cambodia. It was my first time in Asia, so I was a little nervous. The project was really cool, it exceeded my expectations. It was really rewarding work and I hope I made a difference to the wonderful animals. Cambodia was a truly fantastic experience for me, I definitely want to travel more having experienced such a wonderful country. I would highly recommend this project.

Programs

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Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you choose this program?

After lots of searching online, I chose this program because it suited my objectives best. I wanted to volunteer with a charity organization and avoid the orphanage volunteering issues in Cambodia. This project had really great reviews and utilized the volunteers well in the program. I always wanted to go to Cambodia and wanted to be sure that the charity had support staff there for me.

What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

To be honest, I didn't organise much for myself; just vaccinations, really. Globalteer organized accommodation, picked me up from the airport, my daily transport and everything else when I was in Cambodia. I used them to book my flights which made things easier for me. Globalteer has an office in Siem Reap so I had really great support from them and other volunteers.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

I think the most important piece of advice from me would be to go into this with an open mind. The culture and levels of poverty are so different to my life experience before going to Cambodia. I found for myself and other volunteers that those with open minds had a better experience. Those volunteers that came with unrealistic expectations and closed minds found Cambodia a challenge.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

Although the duties were similar most days, the experiences each day were very different. The volunteers usually helped out in classes, like the English classes. There is always a full time teacher there, so we were mostly used as teaching assistants working among the children in the class to help them.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

My biggest fear before volunteering was the unknown! I really did not know what to truly expect of the project and Cambodia. Of course, on arrival, all my fears faded away quickly. The staff were amazing, they collected me from the airport, took me to the accommodation and I was given an orientation and town tour so quickly settled in. We went to the project the next day and kids and staff were so welcoming that the worry of what the volunteering would be like disappeared on the first morning.

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Rosie Maughan

Job Title
Volunteer Development Coordinator
Rosie Maughan

Rosie originally comes from Australia but joined the Globalteer team in Cusco, Peru in June 2018 as a Volunteer Development Coordinator.

In her role she handles volunteer applications and is the first points-of-contact for volunteers arriving for their placements at any of our Peru projects.

What is your favorite travel memory?

I had just road tripped from Idaho to Portland after watching the solar eclipse in totality mid 2017.

After being out of service for almost two weeks, I connected my phone to the WIFI for the first time. Literally minutes after logging into Facebook old friend from Australia I hadn’t seen or spoken to in over 6 years called me out of the blue.

He said he had an RV and a free ticket to a festival in the middle of Nevada desert and was already halfway from Reno to come and get me! Two hours later, I was in an RV full of old friends I had no idea were even in America, off to camp in Black Rock City for 10 days.

It was such a wonderful experience of synchronicity and adventure and turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. Meeting so many incredibly talented and inspiring people who are educating each other on different ways of building sustainable communities. People from all walks of life coming together in the harshest of environments – the middle of the desert, to build an entire temporary city.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

My view on the world has changed. I have a deeper appreciation and understanding for different cultures.

My understanding of poverty has changed and my values of what are important for happiness have most certainly expanded. Coming from a very privileged upbringing in Australia where material items are used to try to buy happiness, I can see people that have far less here are still much happier. It is a completely different lifestyle in so many ways.

Being in Peru has enhanced my spirituality and I am enjoying being in the outdoors more than ever, surrounded by this beautiful mountainous landscape.

Being here has also further enforced the truth that humans relationship with the ecosystem and the planet must change. We must respect the planet we are on and educate people on ways to reduce waste, reduce deforestation, reduce overall pollution.

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

Recently we had a volunteer named Nathan who joined us in Peru at our children’s community project.
A few years earlier he had volunteered for three weeks with Globalteer at our children’s community projects in Cambodia.

After speaking with him I found out that he is still in close contact with many of the Globalteer staff members, and many of the volunteers that he met during his time in Cambodia.

He went on to tell me that it was one of the most meaningful experiences he has ever had. It was beautiful to hear how positively his Cambodia experience had influenced his life, among other things he stated how he had found such a new respect for many aspects of his first world lifestyle that he had always taken for granted. For example, having constant access to clean drinking water, or hot showers.
It was such a pleasure having him around in Peru. He was so helpful and genuinely loved interacting with all of the children and making them happy, which intern made him happy, and that was beautiful to witness.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

Having already participated at the Peru community project, the Peru dog shelter and the Amazon conservation program, I would love to volunteer at the Borneo Marin conservation program.
I have grown up next to the ocean all my life and have always had a deep love for the sea and all its creatures and beautiful corals. The devastating impact of human activity on our oceans is becoming more and more apparent and it is impossible to ignore that our coral reefs are in need of help.

This particular projects gives volunteers opportunity not only to help restore our coral reefs but also obtain their open water diving certification. The project is also involved with the local community and helps to educate them on the marine environment. If you go at the right time you may even be lucky enough to witness the turtle hatching season.

This is something that I would love to do in the future.

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

We are in a time where there is a lot of companies not doing ‘eco-tourism’ or ‘volunteer-tourism’ properly.

Sadly, many of these companies are not actually non-for-profit organizations and most of the money received by volunteers does not go towards helping to communities and charities they claim to be.
This has unfortunately created a stigma for all ‘eco-tourism’ or ‘volunteer-tourism’ companies, and many potential volunteers find it difficult to know which companies are trustworthy.

Globalteer is unique in that is a registered UK charity and is completely transparent with its volunteers on where their money is going.

I am proud to work for this company as I personally see the staff constantly going above and beyond their job descriptions to help out our projects, not because anyone gets any financial gain from it, just because they are decent hard working people with big hearts.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

I think the biggest factors for being a successful company are integrity and passion.

Integrity; That you are providing the service that you advertise, and that you are genuinely helping the projects as best you can in every way possible.

Passion; I think if there is a passionate team of people who truly believe in the value of what they do, it will inevitably drive a company forward and make it successful on so many levels.