GIVE Volunteers

The most amazing experience ever, I am so glad I decided to go on this trip. I originally didn’t really want to go, the Nicaragua trip was cancelled due to COVID so I was like I guess I’ll do the Hawaii trip and I am SO glad it was my first GIVE trip. I met beautiful like minded people on my group who will be forever friends. The tour guides I had, Jess, Kealoha, and Traven were all so nice, funny, and knowledgeable about local culture and how tourism impacts the land on the Big Island. Seeing how the work we were doing directly impacts the environment to provide cultural preservation and food security was awesome to see. Plus, all the excursions (despite some being cancelled because of uncontrollable weather) were the best I could not have asked for a better first GIVE trip!! Everywhere I travel in the future I will be implementing the responsible tourism information I learned with this trip.

My experience with GIVE in the Himalayas was the once-in-a-lifetime type. We started off exploring Kathmandu. We then made our way from city to town to village, using cars and then hiking to get to Langtang. In between, we stayed in tea houses and enjoyed the local’s hospitality and traditional food. All the way to Langtang we observed the breathtaking Himalayas towering us from all around. We did construction work in the village and met many wonderful people. I’ll never forget the views and the love.

I volunteered in Thailand and Laos and there is not a day that goes by where I don't think about my GIVE trip! This was my first time out of the country and my first time traveling alone, so my family was hesitant to let me go. However, from day one GIVE was clear and informative of everything from expenses, to safety, and their mission. GIVE provides materials to prepare volunteers for their trip well in advance and is prompt to answer questions. The guides are welcoming and supportive throughout the entire experience. Their passion inspires you to put your everything into the volunteer work and their energy is infectious. Being able to work, laugh, dance, and learn from the locals of Sop Chem is truly an unforgettable experience. You teach the children, but they will teach you more than you'll ever be able to imagine. They will challenge you in the best ways and steal your heart from day one! I am so glad that I chose to volunteer in both Thailand and Laos. Meeting the other volunteers was my favorite part of the trip and being able to experience both countries with them made it even more memorable!

There is not a day that goes by where I don't think about my GIVE trip! This was my first time traveling on my own, and my first time out of the country, so my parents and family were skeptical about letting me go. However, from day one GIVE was clear and informative of everything from expenses, to safety, and their mission. The guides provide materials to prepare volunteers for their trip well in advance and are supportive throughout the entire process. My favorite part of the entire experience was getting to meet the locals and other volunteers. I am so thankful to have been able to work, learn, laugh, and dance with some of the most incredible humans. Never did I imagine that a group of strangers would feel like a second family in such a short time!

I signed up for this trip because I wanted an adventure, and I for sure got an adventure of a lifetime! Among climbing a mountain and going into 2 caves, was the heart of the trip. We stayed in a hidden gem, Sop Chem, surrounded by mountains with the most welcoming of people. They met us right when we got off our boats and brought us into their culture. Within the culture dive we taught the children English and worked on their permaculture plot building a mud brick house. It was an incredible experience, I can never forget and incredible people I will never forget. I started the trip with random strangers and left with deep rooted friendships. Two things that stood out to me the most are: feeding the bears at Free the Bears and the Baci ceremony held on the last day in Sop Chem as we danced with the children and received the gratitude from the locals for the impact we left. Khob jai lai lai (Laos for thank you very much) GIVE for this incredible trip!!!