Projects Abroad

I did the High School Special Care and Community project in Cusco, Peru, with a good friend from home for four weeks this past summer, and I loved every minute of it! Prior to our departure, our parents were a little weary of allowing two teenage girls to travel to a different continent alone, but the Projects Abroad staff were extremely reassuring and provided a ton of information about not only what we were to expect in the country, but how to effectively prepare before and afterwards. Communication with the program was always timely and informative. When we landed in Cusco after a full 24 hours of traveling, we were met exactly in the way that had been described to us previously: with a Projects Abroad sign, by our first and last names, and with a friendly smile. In Cusco we always felt safe, and although the program was structured with activities like building furniture and painting games for schools in the area, we had plenty free time in the afternoons to explore various markets around the city and go to the mall.

The "care" aspect of our project was time we spent in a daycare. We were placed in a local, government-run program for anemic children. There, they were provided with two meals (breakfast and lunch) and a lot of fun toys to play with. Most of the teachers were also parents of a child in the center, so I think our help was very appreciated as they had their hands pretty full. We assisted mostly with feeding the kids and keeping them entertained during the day so their mothers and fathers could go to work nearby. They were all so cute! Around halfway through our time at the placement, my friend and I wanted to switch to helping the older children at the placement. Projects Abroad accommodated this change without hesitation. These kids were around four and five years old, and so we were able to actually help teach them in addition to playing. Their teacher had us make a lot of posters to hang up around their classroom as well as teach them the colors of the rainbow in English. We did lots of chalk drawings outside on the pavement too.

Our host family was amazing as well. We stayed in a house composed of five or so floors, each described as its own “apartment”, which ended up being pretty accurate. Each floor had around three bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, and living space. Our bedroom even had an ensuite bathroom, which was very nice. Even though we were prepared to sacrifice the showers we usually took at home, we were pleasantly surprised by the pressure quality and the hot water available to us always. Everything in the house was also very clean and organized. Because it was winter when we arrived, it was fairly cold in the house, as none of the buildings in Peru really have indoor heating; however, with a warm blanket, socks, and a jacket, we were fine. They provided us with three meals a day, which typically consisted of pan (a sweet bread) with butter and jam for breakfast, and rice with a meat (chicken, beef, etc.) for lunch and dinner. Overall, I had an amazing experience in Peru, and I recommend the High School Care and Community special to anyone looking to make a positive difference and get a taste for a new culture/country!

This July I joined many other volunteers from around the world on a Care and Community High School Specials Project with Projects Abroad in Cambodia. During my time on this project, I got to experience many different aspects of the country including their culture and their way of life. I got to spend several days in two remote schools on Silk Island, this was truly a big eyeopener. In these schools I got to teach the kids basic English and create friendships during different activities, such as games, singing and dancing. I also got to leave my mark on the school by doing some renovation work, such as painting and plastering walls and concreting paths just outside of the schools. While working with the kids was our main priority, we also went on many cultural and historical trips to give us a better insight on the country we were working in. We visited land marks such as the Killing Fields and the S-21 Genocide Museum, Angkor Wat and its surrounding temples, The Silk Factory on Silk Island and many more. The staff had us busy every evening, be it taking us out for dinner, planning sessions at the hotel, or showing us around the beautiful city of Phnom Penh. The accommodation was very satisfactory and I experienced no issues. I have made some lifelong friends on this trip and will never forget it. There were a mix of staff from all different countries and every one of them were so friendly and helpful. They made sure we got to experience Cambodia as best we could and really made this the trip of an lifetime.

During the summer of 2018, I spent 3 weeks in Cambodia with Projects Abroad. Including weekend trips to Kampot and Siem Reap, I spent most of my time in Phnom Penh working in a school. Overall I found the trip amazing. The weekends and dinners during the week allowed me to relax and enjoy time with the other people on my trip, while the work during the day helped me to feel like I was making a difference. The hotel I stayed with was overall good but the food wasn’t amazing so our project supervisors took us out for dinner nightly. All our problems were dealt with quickly and professionally. Definetly would recommend to others ! Support was also provided afterwards as projects aboard stayed in touch.

TRANSLATION:
This summer I had the opportunity to spend 2 weeks in Rabat, the capital of Morocco and it has probably been the best experience of my life, thanks to Proyects Abroad. Before my trip you can talk to the Projecta Abroad staff from both my country, Spain both from there. Both helped me in my preparation of the trip and in everything I needed. Once there, I stayed in a Moroccan family with 2 other volunteers, the family was lovely! We live in the Medina, the oldest part, it was crazy people, smells and streets. They treated us great and we did not miss anything, they even took us to visit some places with them. During the day, we went to an association of children from broken families and at risk of social exclusion. There, we played with the children and did work like painting or hygiene workshops. The children received us from the first moment with a smile on their face and made us feel welcome and loved. They were children who had so much love to give and receive ... they did not stop giving hugs and kisses! We taught them things of our culture and they taught us things of theirs, but above all they taught us to appreciate what we have and what a simple hug can make a difference in someone's life, I, especially connected with the smallest I was 3 years old and we were inseparable those 2 weeks, I will never forget her !! The staff of Projects Abroad could not be better the truth ... they treated us great, they taught us many things about Morocco ... They were one of the group! And about the other volunteers ... they were the best. There were Americans, Italians, from India, Pakistan, Egypt, Kenya, England, Switzerland ... And we all connected from the beginning and we became very good friends, we laughed a lot together and they made the experience much better. In short, those 2 weeks I learned many things about different cultures, about life and about myself: what I really would like to do when I grow up. All this was possible thanks to Projects Abroad and its excellent organization Thank you!

My time in Thailand as a part of the Projects Abroad Diving and Marine Conservation program was amazing and I know that I will remember my first dive for the rest of my life. Knowing that I got to learn a new skill, do something I love and help the environment at the same time drew me to the program and it was everything I had imagined and more. Our trips to the dive sites were the best part; the crew was very friendly, and we got to exchange a lot of life experiences and jokes. The food at the accommodation was some of the best I'd ever had, and the program coordinators were friendly and always around planning group activities.