In the summer of 2015, I had the opportunity to join Madventure in an individual community-service trip to the small village of Naboutini, Fiji. I had multiple friends who had been on the trip before that spoke very highly of their experience, so I made it a point that I go. There were 2 parts to this 2-week stay: (1) working on the community-service project (2) learning about everyday Fijian life. The community-service project included finishing up the community hall that Madventure had been working on for a couple of years, this included repainting the outside of the hall and building the cabinets for the nurse's room and serving room. By immersing myself in the Fijian way of life, I was able to learn a lot about the culture, gender norms, and education, as well as build strong relationship with some of the villagers. My experience in Fiji was so great that when I returned to the US I began planning a group trip with California State University, Fresno. The following summer in 2016, I as well as another student, led a group of 24 students and faculty on this amazing experience. During their trip we had a few projects going on at the same time that included building a community kitchen, visiting the local primary school and teaching lessons, and a water project that would help with villages limited water access. Aside from their community service the group also engaged in everyday Fijian life and culture. As part of the Service-learning course they also had set aside time for reflection and discussion of their experiences. This trip is different from any other trip that I have experienced because not only do you engage in community service, but you also get to immerse yourself into a new culture and learn about their everyday life. Definitely a trip I would recommend and I can't wait to go back!
Response from Madventurer
Hi Izzy,
Thank you for your feedback. I am really sorry that you were disappointed with your project. I was concerned when I read the review as while you were in Fiji our project leaders felt that you didn’t show any indication that you were having a bad experience and you seemed to jump right in with our Fresno group and it looked like you made some strong relationships with other volunteers. It was tough for our group to contribute to the building project on this phase as much of the work was very labor intensive or it involved dangerous working conditions (for example, constructing the roof).
The group was really good about being engaged with the village and they saw a lot of our volunteers participating in the different cultural activities throughout the village everyday. Our project leaders felt that you seemed to have been enjoying yourself whenever they were with you or when they checked in on how you were doing. The cultural immersion is a key part of the trip, and although the local skilled workers have to take over at different points in the build, the other activities that are part of the trip, such as the snorkeling boat trip, giving lessons at the local primary school, or even just sharing time making lemonade with the Fijian woman, you all seemed to enjoy. Hammock or porch time for rest and reflection is part of a College Service Learning itinerary. You did seem to have made really great connections with the group and become really good friends with some of the girls from Fresno State.
However I can also see where being the only independent participant in a group project may have been difficult and although we did try to promote your trip extensively we could not achieve individual sufficient sign-ups to run a separate project for you for your desired dates, and we did give it as long as possible to try and fill the other places. The alternative would have been to cancel your trip but this may have been even more disappointing for you. Rest assured that when you signed up we had all your emergency contact and personal health information included in the registration form.
In the project debrief with your project leaders we discussed your feedback we are all fully committed to make sure that the circumstances which led to your disappointment should not happen again. We will no longer offer or try to integrate independent travelers with our college groups.
We have also just changed the way independent travelers are looked after pre-trip and our Head of Operations to care for independent travelers pre-trip as they have the scale and capacity to respond more quickly, and although the arrival airport to book flights is included in the project overview we will ensure that she reemphasises to all independent travellers the arrival point.
Your feedback has highlighted important gaps in our pre-trip support that we had for individuals this summer so thank you for this - it is all very much appreciated.
Safe journeys,
John Lawler,
MAD Foundation Trustee