Globalteer

I think the most important piece of advice from me would be to go into this with an open mind. The culture and levels of poverty are so different to my life experience before going to Cambodia. I found for myself and other volunteers that those with open minds had a better experience. Those volunteers that came with unrealistic expectations and closed minds found Cambodia a challenge.

Although the duties were similar most days, the experiences each day were very different. The volunteers usually helped out in classes, like the English classes. There is always a full time teacher there, so we were mostly used as teaching assistants working among the children in the class to help them.

My biggest fear before volunteering was the unknown! I really did not know what to truly expect of the project and Cambodia. Of course, on arrival, all my fears faded away quickly. The staff were amazing, they collected me from the airport, took me to the accommodation and I was given an orientation and town tour so quickly settled in. We went to the project the next day and kids and staff were so welcoming that the worry of what the volunteering would be like disappeared on the first morning.

My view on the world has changed. I have a deeper appreciation and understanding for different cultures.

My understanding of poverty has changed and my values of what are important for happiness have most certainly expanded. Coming from a very privileged upbringing in Australia where material items are used to try to buy happiness, I can see people that have far less here are still much happier. It is a completely different lifestyle in so many ways.

Being in Peru has enhanced my spirituality and I am enjoying being in the outdoors more than ever, surrounded by this beautiful mountainous landscape.

Being here has also further enforced the truth that humans relationship with the ecosystem and the planet must change. We must respect the planet we are on and educate people on ways to reduce waste, reduce deforestation, reduce overall pollution.

Recently we had a volunteer named Nathan who joined us in Peru at our children’s community project.
A few years earlier he had volunteered for three weeks with Globalteer at our children’s community projects in Cambodia.

After speaking with him I found out that he is still in close contact with many of the Globalteer staff members, and many of the volunteers that he met during his time in Cambodia.

He went on to tell me that it was one of the most meaningful experiences he has ever had. It was beautiful to hear how positively his Cambodia experience had influenced his life, among other things he stated how he had found such a new respect for many aspects of his first world lifestyle that he had always taken for granted. For example, having constant access to clean drinking water, or hot showers.
It was such a pleasure having him around in Peru. He was so helpful and genuinely loved interacting with all of the children and making them happy, which intern made him happy, and that was beautiful to witness.

Having already participated at the Peru community project, the Peru dog shelter and the Amazon conservation program, I would love to volunteer at the Borneo Marin conservation program.
I have grown up next to the ocean all my life and have always had a deep love for the sea and all its creatures and beautiful corals. The devastating impact of human activity on our oceans is becoming more and more apparent and it is impossible to ignore that our coral reefs are in need of help.

This particular projects gives volunteers opportunity not only to help restore our coral reefs but also obtain their open water diving certification. The project is also involved with the local community and helps to educate them on the marine environment. If you go at the right time you may even be lucky enough to witness the turtle hatching season.

This is something that I would love to do in the future.

We are in a time where there is a lot of companies not doing ‘eco-tourism’ or ‘volunteer-tourism’ properly.

Sadly, many of these companies are not actually non-for-profit organizations and most of the money received by volunteers does not go towards helping to communities and charities they claim to be.
This has unfortunately created a stigma for all ‘eco-tourism’ or ‘volunteer-tourism’ companies, and many potential volunteers find it difficult to know which companies are trustworthy.

Globalteer is unique in that is a registered UK charity and is completely transparent with its volunteers on where their money is going.

I am proud to work for this company as I personally see the staff constantly going above and beyond their job descriptions to help out our projects, not because anyone gets any financial gain from it, just because they are decent hard working people with big hearts.

I think the biggest factors for being a successful company are integrity and passion.

Integrity; That you are providing the service that you advertise, and that you are genuinely helping the projects as best you can in every way possible.

Passion; I think if there is a passionate team of people who truly believe in the value of what they do, it will inevitably drive a company forward and make it successful on so many levels.