Projects Abroad

I spent four weeks in a Pacific Harbour, Fiji as part of a small volunteer group focusing on the conservations of sharks and marine life in the area. Through this program, I got my PADI open water scuba diving license and was able to take part in survey dives, where we would go down as a team with slates and write down all the fish, sharks, rays, and any other interesting creatures we saw. The water was so clear that you could see divers 10 m under water from the deck of the dive boat. It was incredible to get so close to sharks and feel completly safe, the whole diving experience was very surreal to me as a first time diver.
Diving was not the only thing we did in this program however, we would work in the mangrove nursery, learning about the enviroment and the role we play in helping it, we would help out in the community by building public gardens and painting community centers. We also had some free time to ourselves in which we would explore the island. My favourite things I did on weekends included hiking up Mt. Koribaba, exploring the produce markets in Suva, and hosting dinner parties with my friends in the kitchen of our apartment.
This project was really the right amount of work and play. I made lifelong friends from all around the world and got to do amazing things like cliff jumping, rope swinging, and swimming in the sureal, clear ocean, but I also worked hard and felt like my work made a difference. I can honestly say I wouldn't trade this experience for the world and I hope to return to Fiji again someday soon.

I had an amazing 3 weeks in Cape Town. I went for an internship working on the international development program. I was placed at a community outreach center, Where Rainbows Meet, in a local township called Vrygrond. It was enriching and the best possible way to spend a school break. I loved the opportunity to not be a tourist, but actually, immerse myself in a culture completely unlike mine.

At work, I had a lot of self-direction in what I did, but some of my larger tasks included; researching and drafting a grant proposal, writing a quarterly newsletter, overseeing fundraising, and editing an annual report. I also chose to work with the kids in the Early Childhood Development Center when I had some free time. I was always learning something new at work and felt completely welcomed by the entire staff at WRM. I was touched and left in happy tears on my last day of work as the staff gathered to say goodbye and gave me a lovely handwritten letter with notes from everyone at the staff.

In my free time I explored the area through a peninsula tour, I went paragliding, going to local markets, surfing. and seeing as many sunsets as possible. All the other volunteers were lovely, it was sad saying bye, but exciting having a network of friends all across the world. It is thanks to Projects Abroad that I had such a flawless tripped, with an exceptional host family, organized social events, great internship placement, and connecting me to other amazing volunteers.

A friend and I, both German High School Graduates in 2018, did the Law and Human Rights Internship at Projects abroad in Cordoba, Argentina for 2 months.
As one should know, Internships/Projects that cost that much money and are given out at almost no requirements are obviously offered by companies that are not non-profit or somewhat socially oriented at heart. Therefore we did not expect to be given a lot of responsibility. Nevertheless we opted for this organisation because we wanted a safe and well-organised trip, because of our young age and the far distance.

For that matter, the Project did meet our expectation.
Our main activities were voluntary work such as helping homeless people in cooperation with a local NGO and a church community. Depending on your effort, you could really build up relationships with some of the homeless people, get to know them and brighten up their days. You can also show initiative and bring in your own ideas, we for example rehearsed small sketches with some of them.

However, your individual impact to change their "human rights" situation was basically not existent, especially for unprofessionals and people who stay in the project for no more than a few weeks. So it was mostly practical and standard volunteering.

If you had an academic background (currently studying or finished degree), only then you could do research on cases in cooperation with a local human rights NGO. But even there, the other volunteers told us that most of their work on the cases was rather unneccessary, the organisation was intransparent and their impact was limited as well.
This leads to our final conclusion and suggestion that the human rights internship (law in the name is misleading) is suitable for high school graduates like us who seek to dive into a new culture, learn a new language (living in a host family was great in our case and in general) and make friends with volunteers from all over the world. If that in addition to safety in a new far-away country is what you want, then this is definitely more given by the project than by simply traveling.
BUT if you are a qualified students or professional and want to have responsibility concerning the law and human rights situation, want to apply your academic skills in an influental organisation, then you should not "buy" this internship and probably none offered at projects abroad.

In fact, you pay more than 4,000 USD for 8 weeks, of which solely an unreasonably small amount goes to both the host family and the maintainance of the more or less charitable projects. Keep in mind that what they are doing is business for money.
One example: Another project they ran in Cordoba was "teaching English". As English education in public Argentinian high school is pretty poor, you might expect volunteers (in our case: one experienced 60-year old Australian English teacher and two native Americans) to help those students. However, ProjectsAbroad pays a private and very expensive English institute, to take these volunteers as nearly unneccessary asstistants. This is outraging.

Another desaster happened to a friend of us, who after Argentina went to Bolivia to another project with ProjectsAbroad. She had a background of cutting her arms, but has stopped entirely years ago. Therefore she had to do a mental health test in Bolivia, because she was going to work with a vulnerable group of young criminal girls.
She passed the test. For some reason Projects Abroad said that her scars, which she had to cover and always did except of one small accident, would be a bad "role model" for the girls. Without a warning, they simply kicked her out of the project. No discussion.
We think that is unacceptable, especially because they did not show any simpathy with her, although it was obvious that she was hurt by being kicked out.

These two examples show once again that the purpose of projects abroad, despite cooperating with some more or less legit local NGOs ad non-profit organisations, is simply business-oriented. This problem does not especially apply merely to ProjectsAbroad but in general to most voluntourism projects.
We don't want to say we did not enjoy our time in Argentina as part of our gap year, we don't regret it as we learned a lot and had a good and fun time. Still we would not do a voluntourism project again.

Projects Abroad is a great organization that helps you to volunteer abroad. It is truly a unique experience to travel abroad and help a foreign community in some way! While I was working with Projects Abroad this I was in Argentina volunteering for Human Rights. It’s been a great time working with those who often times lack a voice in modern society, predominantly juvenile criminals and the homeless in my case, and seeing the meaningful impact you can have on a foreign community. Through my volunteer work I believe I made a meaningful impact on and contribution to the communities I visited, which is something rare for many travelers.

Besides having a great experience and wonderful selection of programs across the globe, Projects Abroad has an amazing staff. The Project coordinators and Advisers help you to get accustomed to the local culture and guide you throughout your experience. In addition, you are also placed with a host family. My host my in Argentina was amazing and extremely welcoming, having conversations with me about her life everyday and preparing meals. My world view has truly changed after this transformative experience!

I lived in Peru for 3 months while interning as a nutritionist. This experience was absolutely wonderful in every single aspect. The Projects Abroad team does a fantastic job at bringing all the volunteers together. If it wasn’t for the Wednesday socials, I would not have met the amazing, lifelong friends I made during my stay. We all became one family and it made staying away from home for such a long time that much easier.
Working as a nutritionist was the most rewarding work I have ever done. The locals were so open to all I had to teach them and really applied what they learned to their everyday lives. Working among locals completely immerged me into Peruvian culture. Throughout my work experience I learned traditional Quechuan dances and how to cook traditional cuisine. My Spanish also greatly improved throughout this experience!
The Projects Abroad team worked very closely with my school and gave me all the hours I needed in order for me to graduate college while still being abroad. I needed a total of 40 hours a week and even though that was unusual for them, they made sure to extend hours and find extra work for me to do in order to fulfill my 40 hours.
Today, I am currently working for a Non-Profit as a Community Educator. If it wasn't for all the presentations I had to do during my internship, I would have not been able to work my current job being it is all public speaking.