Program Reviews

I had the chance to intern for a month this past Summer in Punta Gorda, Belize located in the southern district of Toledo. Going through ProWorld allowed for many of the logistics to be taken care of through them and my intitial conversations with ProWorld staff was very thorough and alleviated any initial fears I had. My homestay while there was more than welcoming and the food was reason enough to go there! Upon arrival I was brought to my homestay and the following day the ProWorld contact in Punta Gorda drove me to my internship which had its main offices ten minutes from where I was staying. Each day I would walk there and then would head out into villages in the interior of Belize. Highlights of this experience definitely would be the people, culture, food and scenery. In fact having to choose between venturing towards the Carribean sea or the Maya Mountains proved difficult at times. I definitely suggest going to Cockscomb Wildlife and Jaguar Preserve, but do not walk from where the bus takes you to the entrance..take a taxi!!! The only difficulties for me with this program was adjusting to the change of pace that comes with Belizean culture. I would definitely suggest anyone to fully understand that the work they seek to achieve will not be on the fast paced style that other countries deem necessary. beyond that, if you are looking for great food, people and insanely breathtaking scenery, I highly recommend this program!!

I volunteered with ProWorld Belize at their site in San Ignacio and it was one of the most life changing experiences of my life. I joined the program a few years out of college, not exactly knowing what I wanted to do and this experience helped me to open up my eyes and really focus in on what was important in my life. I worked on two different projects during my time there - 1. Environmental - I worked on a jaguar project, tracking jaguars in the jungle and studying the importance of a healthy prey/predator ecosystem and then used the information that I found to help others receive a $15,000 grant to help preserve a national park in Belize - it was an amazing and very fulfilling project. 2. I worked at a local nursing home and helped provide physical therapy to the elderly there. That project really helped open my eyes to how well the elderly are treated in Belize and how different nursing homes in Belize are from the United States.

The staff at ProWorld were also awesome as was my homestay family. I loved the experience so much that I have been back 4 times since to visit my friends, check in on my projects and just enjoy the Belizean life. If you want a life changing experience - I would highly recommend ProWorld!