A lifechanging experience that I would recommend to anyone

My decision to volunter at NPH was the best life decision I have ever made. The organization is the best I have seen for anyone looking to volunteer abroad.

Some important highlights:
*There is no fee to volunteer. Room and board is included along with a month stipend.
*You are not dropped in an isolated rural area alone like other programs. You live on a large ranch which can literally feel like a large family community that you become a part of. Workplaces are on site so you never have to leave.
*You live in a home with 20 volunteers from all over Europe and/or the U.S. which provides for a very supportive environment. This is ideal for having friends with whom you can travel with on the weekends or while on vacation.
*The actual site where you live and work is very safe despite the country conditions. Only when a volunteer chooses to leave the site is their concern for typical travel safety.

I first became involved with NPH in 2004. I then chose to volunteer for 1 1/2 years in 2006. I worked as a caregiver for the youngest 75 children in the home(There are over 600 kids at the orphanage). My job was truely rewarding as I grew quite close with many of the children. After hearing many of the tragic stories of which they came from, it was truely rewarding to join this organization's mission of transforming the lives of these children by helping to provide them with unconditional love, stability, and to help teach them the tools to break the cycle of poverty within their own lifes.

The best part about this organization is they do not allow adoption so volunteering with them literally felt as though you were a part of their family that was continously growing. Each child that arrives at the home stays their throughout their whole life until they graduate from college. With this mission, NPH has literally become my home away from home. I visit each year to see all the same children who are happy and smiling growing up in a safe environment with all their siblings. It's the only place where I have seen ex volunteers of an organization meet up year after year and feel like you are forever connected this this organization. I would absolutely recommend this organization to anyone.