IFRE Volunteers Abroad

It has been a great experience so far and the team is very supportive.
Logistics could be improved : for example, pair up volunteers who live in the same house and have the same assignment to work on same shifts so that Uber costs can be minimized.
Buses are reliable, but complicated to transfer and return to point of origin .
Overall, great experience!
The family where I stayed was so welcoming and the food was delicious .
I particularly enjoyed the salsa class given to participants. I would recommend the partners to lower the cost of the program to draw more volunteers and potential repeats.

My volunteering program, come to an end. It was really a special experience.
The teaching activities in Shalom Primary School went over my expectations. When I arrived at school on the first day, I discovered that I was supposed to be in charge of the “7th Grade” of primary school. In Zimbabwe, primary school lasts 7 years and so at 13 years old you take exams and then you go to high school. August is a sort of revision period in which the students, who had finished lessons in July, go to school to review and prepare for the September exams. The principal decided to put me alongside the “7th Grade” teacher to give the kids the opportunity to have additional support in preparing for the exams. I had a very nice interaction with the teachers and with the class. As long as the languages spoken at home are Ndebele and Shona, all subjects are taught in English. After discussing the program with the teacher, we decided that I would review ICT "Information and Communication Technology", basically computers and software. It seems that my ICT (Information and communication technology) lessons were useful even for the teacher; kids always asked me questions and the "final test" showed a good understanding. It was a huge satisfaction, it means that they understood me and despite they having had very little time to study, they assimilated my lessons, there could not have been a greater emotion. I was happy to have been able to donate some of my time to these African kids, they, with the affection they showed me, certainly gave me much more than I was actually able to give them. I therefore reap the benefits of these very few weeks of volunteering, with the certainty that I will want to make myself available again, because yes, I taught them a bit of ICT, but being able to participate in their lessons, enriched me, a lot, listening first-hand to what they teach in a school in Zimbabwe was the deepest cultural immersion I have ever experienced.

I want to thank you all and all the local staff that supported me in everything at the house and in town, I felt at home.

I joined the volunteer program in Kathmandu and had the amazing experience of teaching in both a school and a monastery, the latter being one of the best opportunities I've had. I've learned tremendously with the monks and the children were the best students I could have ever asked for. I also had the chance to go trekking the Himalayas, namely the Annapurna Sanctuary Circuit, and all the preparations were very good. I loved my daily life of exploring the city and spending time with my "didi" in the hostel, with amazing food, fun conversations and impromptu dance moments and dramatic turns. I was not alone in the hostel and saw a good number of other volunteers coming and going, and definitely created frienships for life. The coordinator of the program was very nice and organized everything very promptly. I recommend anyone to join this program, especially if you would like to go on a spiritual adventure and self-discovery trip as well.

The HIV Care project just outside of Nairobi is exceptional. Run by a social activist with an infectious personality and endless energy, the experience felt like a graduate-level course in social work. I was given a detailed orientation to learn about the history, purpose and organization of the program. On day one I was also given a schedule for my two week volunteer work, which I greatly appreciated. My work was a mix of teaching/assisting at the school, doing home visits of clients and writing up success stories for social media to fund raise. I also participated in a weekly support group with new clients. The office staff is kind and vivacious, treating one another and guests like family. Accommodations are comfortable but basic a d food provided varied and high quality home cooked meals. I will treasure the work I did here and always remember the resilient women I met who have overcome so many adversities.
I did have some communication issues with the IFRE representative regarding arrival and the location of my placement, so I recommend to future volunteers to be mindful of this and ensure proper arrangements are made in advance. That said, this was an invaluable program and I encourage anyone considering it to take the plunge and work with Living Positive Kenya.

It's the kind of volunteer program that grows as you reflect. We were only there a week and the first few days were difficult. We didnt feel welcomed by the teaching staff who used us as time off. We were given little training and no level of expectation. So we worked a few classes a day, mainly sitting in on a teacher if the was one. The resources were good but often the class being taught wasn't what was timetabled and it was hard to teach without the text book. We felt a bit displaced to be honest. But the other volunteers were great and so we're the moms, both young ones and the seniors monks. We went to prayers when we wanted and respected their culture and kindness. It's an open minded monastery with girls as well and the volunteers are able to chat amongst all the monks. By our last two days, we had grown in confidence and took decisions about what and how we would teach. And the teachers then sat in on us.
All.in all it was such a privilege to get close to such a different environment and be privy to conversations and experiences so different to home. Without realising it at the time, we have learned so much, both from a teaching perspective and from a visitor one. It's an experience we will treasure.