Volunteer BaseCamp

Please do not use Volunteer Basecamp. I had a good experience in terms of booking my volunteering but of course it would be a good experience as they are after your money. When I arrived in Tanzania as a qualified health professional ready to get stuck in there was nothing planned for me to do and I had paid for the services to help find a placement. I was also not told until a few days before arriving in Tanzania that I would not be staying at the basecamp house and that I was at this hostel with 6 private rooms. It was actually a hotel and the only people that stayed there were business men from Kenya and other East African countries which was fine in terms of integrating into the local community but as a lone female it wasn't the best choice. I know the manager in Canada had stayed at the same place so I don't understand how he was so blind to see it's not suitable for volunteers. I raised this but said I would be happy to stay as I was settled in but I wanted to let the manager know that it is not suitable for future volunteers (hopefully no future volunteers as they'd have more sense than to use Volunteer Basecamp). Their website says you don't really need to know Swahili but please be warned yes you do. I was in a hospital where I did absolutely nothing, I stood on the ward round for a month and did not help one person even though they all needed me. I raised my concerns with the coordinator in Tanzania and said that I wasn't happy, he was extremely helpful and I do not blame him for such a poor experience, however the main manager in Canada should know what a dietitian does and therefore have already organised a suitable placement or guided him on what to find. I also went to an orphanage where I was left to play with the children for 2 hours and did nothing related to my profession which I had specifically signed up to do. I had also left my job to do this. I feel sorry for the coordinator in Tanzania as I feel that in the emails back and forth with the manager, he was putting words in my mouth as if I was blaming the coordinator for this. Each email I reiterated that I had no issues with the coordinator. Orientation was excellent and he was very helpful. He even took me to his village where I met his family and I asked him if towards the end of my volunteering I could come back and donate some baby clothes, paper, pencils etc to his village which he was grateful for. However when I raised the fact that I had done no volunteer work despite giving it a chance and trying different pathways. I was given the option to 'cut ties' with the coordinator and find my own placements which actually I had been more successful with. I decided to do this but asked the manager if I would still be able to go to the coordinator's village to donate some clothes etc. He said in his email that he is not available to take you to his village' so the manager just denied clothing to villagers that desperately need it. That tells me he one heartless human being and I wish I had never spent my money on this company. Please do not bother using this company, I was even told by an orphanage in Tanzania that Volunteer Basecamp are receiving less volunteers now and I've had first hand experience as to why that's happening. You are better of finding your own placement as Volunteer Basecamp will be useless.

I was assigned a hospital in the Galapagos Islands upon my request to Volunteer Basecamp for a medical elective placement. The organisation of this proved very difficult and unfortunately at the last minute, I had to change islands. However, Alejandra was very supportive throughout and everything worked out wonderfully.
I did my elective in Hospital Republica del Ecuador on Santa Cruz island. I found this elective excellent in every way. The staff were brilliant and very friendly. I was given a wide variety of experiences and responsibilities relevant to my professional level (which is high, as a final year medical student).
As its a very small hospital, I was rotated around based on where was most busy. I worked in A&E, surgery and obstetrics.

Overall a wonderful experience which I would highly recommend to anyone!

It was one of the single best experiences of my life and I would encourage everyone to participate in a program like this if they get a chance.

Every moment I spent in Costa Rica was absolutely amazing. Greg, our in-country coordinator was sweet and kind and made us all feel at home. After some initial confusion about the Costa Rican currency I quickly adjusted to the culture.

The project exceeded my expectations in every possible way. I was worried about the food and it turned out to be fantastic, I was worried about spending a week with a group of total strangers and they turned out to be amazing, and I was nervous about working at the orphanage but I had a life changing experience.

I had a wonderful experience with (BaseCamps) volunteer abroad and would recommend it to others interested in volunteering abroad. It has changed my goals and ideas about my future. I want to return to south america as soon as possible to continue my education in spanish and to be living in such a unique and wonderful place. The staff that you employ in country are wonderful caring people who are there to help you with everything you need. Tess was wonderful for support 24 hours a day and helping you feel comfortable with your placement and transition to working. Daniel was wonderful with orientation and was always available for helping to plan weekend trips for us volunteers. As a result, I spent every weekend traveling and learning about Ecuador. Isabel, our housekeeper and Paulina, the language instructor were both wonderful. I was able to practice spanish with them and they made you feel at home. Overall, it was a fabulous experience.