Location
Multiple Locations +7
  • Ghana
  • Tanzania
    • Arusha
  • Kenya
  • Peru
    • Cusco
  • Ecuador
    • Galapagos
  • Cambodia
    • Phnom Penh
  • Nepal
    • Kathmandu
    • Chitwan
Length
4 - 12 weeks
Health & Safety

Program Details

Timeframe
Fall Spring
Housing
Guesthouse Host Family
Primary Language
English
Age Min.
18
Age Max
25

Pricing

Starting Price
6595
Price Details
This price includes all food and housing, pre-departure support, airport pick up and drop off in each destination, transportation to all activities and itinerary, as well as 24-hour support from our staff. It also includes various sightseeing tours and activities in each destination.
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Meals Park Fees Tour Guide Transportation Wifi
What's Included (Extra)

Cultural and Sight-seeing Activities

What's Not Included
Airfare SIM cards Travel Insurance Visa
Dec 06, 2023
Oct 31, 2019
9 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Projects Abroad has designed several innovative gap semester programs for college students and recently graduated high school students between 17-24 years old who are taking some time off while still gaining valuable experiential education and diverse cultural exposure. Participants will immerse themselves in two different countries each semester in South America, East Africa, and/or Southeast Asia. Combine two or more of these programs for a longer global tour experience!

Each Gap Semester is 6-10 weeks long, and allows for some flexibility and independence while still providing a solid, structured itinerary and staff support. Students will be able to choose between different volunteer projects or internships in each destination that align with their interests and goals such as Wildlife Conservation, Education and Childcare Support, Microfinance, Building, Public Health and Women's Empowerment.

Find links to explore each option further below!

Video and Photos

Impact

Sustainability

Travel with purpose! Projects Abroad champions responsible adventures, connecting you with communities through low-impact volunteer work. Ditch tourist traps, build rainforests, empower children, safeguard wildlife, and much more. Make meaningful journeys that leave a lasting positive impact - explore sustainable travel and become a global changemaker today!

Visit our website to learn more about our pioneering approach to sustainability.

Ethical Impact

Join Projects Abroad, a force for good connecting volunteers with communities. Build green futures, fight inequality, and empower locals on impactful adventures.

Visit our website to learn more about our impact worldwide.

Popular Programs

Projects Abroad Volunteers Work Hard on the Galapagos Islands

Start off in the heart of the Andes in Cusco, Peru and dive right into a rich culture by working on Community initiatives and exploring ancient architectural sites such as Machu Picchu. Next you'll take a boat deep into the Amazon Rainforest to help care for 50+ exotic animals and support crucial conservation work. Lastly you will find yourself on the famed Galapagos Islands to work on Giant Tortoise Conservation, Youth Development and Education Support and visit the Darwin Research Station.

Projects Abroad volunteers

The East Africa program covers two locations: Kenya and Tanzania. Students start to work at Soysambu Conservancy for two weeks. Over the weekend, you’ll visit two stunning national parks filled with African wildlife. In Tanzania. you can choose from Education, Human Rights/Women’s Empowerment, Public Health, and Microfinance projects. You’ll also enjoy cultural enrichment through a basic Maasai Language Course and be involved in a community development project

Projects Abroad volunteers

In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, you'll join a mixture of worthwhile projects to support disadvantaged communities. One week will also be spent in Siem Reap to visit historic and cultural sites such as the world famous Angkor Wat! In Nepal, you'll work at a local school assisting with classes and at building project. Afterwards, you’ll travel up into the foothills of the Himalayas to join Conservation efforts, helping to preserve natural habitats for many critical species.

Program Reviews

5.00 Rating
based on 3 reviews
  • 5 rating 100%
  • 4 rating 0%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Housing 4.5
  • Support 5
  • Fun 5
  • Value 5
  • Safety 4.5
  • Impact 5
  • Support 4
  • Fun 5
  • Value 4
  • Safety 5
Showing 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Default avatar
Jonathan
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Teaching in Cambodia

During my two weeks in that project, I was asked to teach some english lessons to a class of 3 to 6 years old children. The class was separated into two groups : the oldest and youngest, for which lessons were more comprehensible. I was also asked to take care a play with them at certain time of the day. A few time, I cooked them some meals a washed their teeth. It was a breathtaking experience to contribute to make those children happy. They were most of the time smiling and enjoying our activities. During that time, me and other members of the project brought them many toys and more tooth brushes. For our last day, we had a great party with cakes. It was heartbreaking to leave them at the end, but the souvenirs are still incredible to that day. I would truly appreciate to complete another similar project. I have also great souvenirs of Cambodia, in which I was able to travel. I went for example in Siem Reap during the week-end. I would recommend this experience to anyone.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
On our last day in Cambodia, I ate spiders and grasshooper with some friends. I surprisingly was tasty, even though I did not try twice to eat any other local specialities.
78 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Allyson
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Global Gap Year

Projects Abroad is an amazing organization that has helped me achieve my goals, help others, make lifelong friends across the globe, and learn so many things. I was just getting ready to graduate high school and I knew I wanted to travel the world and help others while I am young and able. Projects Abroad made that possible with their Global Gap Year program, which took me to Ghana, South Africa, Peru, Nepal, and Thailand.

From the beginning, Claudia, a project coordinator at Projects Abroad, answered all my questions and provided me with all the information I needed to make the decision to go on the journey of a lifetime. The staff at Projects Abroad are friendly, knowledgeable, and dependable, at home and in country.

There are set projects in some countries and options in others, including; care, teaching, medicine, animal care, building, marine conservation, and others. We really got to experience and do so many incredible things. During the week we worked hard and on the weekends we had time to explore and reflect. Each country we volunteered in came with unique cultures and different volunteer opportunities. Yet the one thing they all had in common was great staff, amazing host families, and friendly people. I am so thankful for the opportunities Projects Abroad provided me with and if you are thinking of taking a gap year, Projects Abroad is the organization for you. You get to help others, see the world, and make lifelong friends. Seeing the smiles on others and the impact you can make, well, there is no better feeling in the world.

115 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Izzy
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

An Incredible Year

This program is for anyone with an adventurous spirit, compassion, and a good sense of humor! Since there are so many countries included in the Global Gap program, I will focus on stories from my ten week experience in South Africa. The projects offered are challenging and rewarding, and I have learned a lot about myself during them. In Cape Town while we worked at the Human Rights Office, I spent most of my time visiting three juvenile detention centers. I have never been so humbled and happy to work with people before, from playing games to creating constructive workshops to giving informative presentations. You are given a lot of freedom and responsibility in the project, and I appreciated that.

You can have the rare combination of being both a tourist and a volunteer on this trip. The projects give you lots of time to explore and even connect you to activities outside of the project. Two of my favorite things I did on this trip were shark cage diving with great whites and jumping off the tallest commercial bungee jumping bridge in South Africa! These are two completely optional weekend activities that are priced separately, but well worth doing. The wonderful balance between enjoying what the country has to offer and giving back to the community is what makes this program superb.

My favorite moments in South Africa are centered on my fellow Global Gaps. During Halloween our whole global gap group dressed up in hilarious costumes and took a bus into Cape Town’s downtown, and I remember when we climbed Table Mountain together and celebrated at the top. Never underestimate the friends you will make on this trip. Project’s Abroad was exactly what I wanted when I was searching for a gap year program. I did not want to travel without an organization, but I also wanted an organization that gave me freedom to tailor this trip to what I would get most out of it. I found both in Projects Abroad.

I can assure you the other countries have equally impressive stories that you can experience as well. I would highly recommend this program, and it can be made your own. This trip is what you make it!

100 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers