Projects Abroad

My month in Vietnam with ProjectsAbroad was honestly one of the most enlightening and rewarding experiences of my life so far. I volunteered on the Care Project at Vietnam's K3 National Cancer Hospital, where I worked in the playroom on the children's ward. My role mainly consisted of keeping the children entertained during the hours of free time that they had between treatment. Most of the kids mainly enjoyed playing jigsaws and drawing with me, but there was also plenty of physical activities to participate in (toy cars, building blocks etc.) Obviously there was a slight language barrier here but luckily I had an amazing translator who did an excellent job of interpreting conversations between the children and I. I also took the opportunity to learn some rudimentary Vietnamese beforehand so that I could verbally communicate on some level with both children and adults alike - the Vietnamese people REALLY appreciated my efforts to speak their language, so I would absolutely recommend doing some learning beforehand!
The children in the hospital really enjoyed having me working in their playroom for 4 weeks. Initially, they were slightly suspicious of me and quite apprehensive to approach me - especially because of my blue eyes! - but soon enough we had formed relationships and had so much fun together as they took a break from hospital life and focused on enjoying and playing.

I stayed with a host family during my time in Hanoi - again, another amazing experience. The family I stayed with lived in a small village in the south of Hanoi which was pretty close to the hospital I worked in which made it easy for me to get to work every day. The mother of my host family actually worked for ProjectsAbroad as the cook in the volunteer house, which was great as it allowed me an opportunity to get to know and socialise with many more volunteers. I cannot begin to describe how amazing my host mum was - she was so hospitable and was always making sure that I was comfortable, safe, and enjoying myself in her house. And as you can imagine - she was an excellent cook! We spent so many nights watching football together (the World Cup was on at this point) and doing karaoke at the top of our lungs. I still keep in contact with her regularly and I am hoping to return to Hanoi in a year or so to visit her.
My host parents also had two young children aged 11 and 15 who I loved spending time with! Their English was really good and the little boy especially loved teaching me Vietnamese words and walking with me to the local shop for snacks. Staying with a host family made my experience all the more authentic and it was so cool to be completely immersed in another culture.

In terms of tourist attractions/food/nightlife, Hanoi genuinely has it all. Vietnam is enriched in fascinating history and there are so many interesting landmarks and museums to check out in the city. Make sure that you spend plenty of time in the Old Quarter! There are also so many wonderful locations not too far from Hanoi where you can spend your weekend - places like Ha Long Bay (an absolute must) Sa Pa, Ninh Binh etc. Make sure that you cram as much as you can into your free time - you will not regret it.

As well as the Vietnamese host family I lived with, I also made so many other friends during my time with ProjectsAbroad. It was such a great opportunity to connect with people from all over the world. I now have friends in several parts of Australia, Switzerland, France and across the UK - not to mention the staff at ProjectsAbroad that I networked with in Hanoi and many other Vietnamese friends I made during my project.

This project was rewarding in so many different ways. It is such an excellent opportunity to do something worthwhile in another part of the world, to make new friends and to immerse yourself in a different culture. Vietnam has such a special place in my heart and I cannot wait to return one day.

I volunteered with Projects Abroad in the Galápagos Islands as part of a High School Specials group. It was the experience of a lifetime. During the 2 weeks, we were kept very busy doing impactful work in the local community. The staff were very involved and helpful. The accommodation was great, very comfortable and social atmosphere with good local food at lunch/dinner. Overall, the experience was fantastic and I would definitely recommend this project to anyone who is considering volunteering abroad.

After graduating from Health and Life Sciences in The Netherlands I decided to gain some experience in the workfield of international public health. Projects Abroad offered me a great 6 weeks-stay in San Pedro, Belize. I learnt a lot about local health challenges, gained some medical skills and enjoyed being immersed in a different culture. It was fantastic how the staff made sure the program was educational, impactful and varied. I was given the opportunity to shadow nurses and health inspectors, to help organize a health fair, to provide information about hygiene in schools, to measure blood sugar, BMI and blood pressure in mobile clinics, to work with Red Cross and the National Emergency Management Organization and more. In the meantime I stayed with the most friendly host family, who were also amazing cooks and were willing to introduce us to various cultural activities and habits. I'm very thankful for the great experience I had and would highly recommend it!

My experience during the Projects Abroad Marine Conservation volunteer program was absolutely phenomenal, it truly was an adventure of a life time!

I did everything through projects abroad, including booking my flights - i didn't have the confidence or knowledge to organize my own travel itinerary but projects abroad did a fantastic job ensuring the flights were ideal for me in terms of dates, times and airports. It couldn't have been easier, it made the whole experience of traveling across the globe (From London to Thailand) stress-free all i had to do was show them my tickets and i was off!
When i arrived at Krabi airport, a Projects Abroad representative was there waiting for my arrival with transfer to my new home for the next month. I was warmly welcomed, and once i arrived at my new campsite i was given a tour and freedom to settle before getting started with the project at the start of the working week.

On my first day was an induction day - sitting down with other new volunteers as we were officially welcomed into the new world of diving. But first - we explored Krabi town! With the amazing Bean we were given the best Thai top tips from food recommendations, best places to go, things to see and do, taught us some of the Thai language, educated us on their culture, it was a very heartwarming welcome to the start of an amazing adventure!

The first week was spent with our heads in the books, to complete the theory for our PADI Open Water Diving qualification and practicing diving / breathing techniques in the swimming pool (yes, the camp site has a swimming pool!) - which once passed meant we could join the other volunteers on the dive boat out at sea!

Week 2 saw us put everything we learnt into practice in the big blue itself! While everyone was flourishing, i was very nervous having never swam in the ocean nor dived before but the Projects Abroad diving crew were so amazing and so patient, they made me feel safe and gave me the confidence to make that jump (literally, off the boat into the sea!)

Each dive i did i become more and more confident, and dove deeper and deeper exploring more and discovering something new during every single dive, it was breathtaking and utterly speechless diving in the wonders of the sea!
The main goals of dives was to do coral surveying or sea anemone surveying - putting all our diving skills into action while collecting data to then later input into an online global marine conservation database.
Other diving activities we did included coral propagation - another data collecting survey to encourage coral breeding.

When we weren't diving, we went to a local village beach to help with an on-going mangrove reforestation project - this involved getting down and dirty in the mud, digging up very delicately the young mature mangroves and re-planting them to allow them to grow into full mature age.
We also did work in a local primary school, preparing a presentation and educating the Thai children about the work we are doing and how they can help protect the ocean themselves by making them plastic aware!

A day trip to Phuket was also on the agenda, visiting a marine rescue and rehabilitation center where we got to see loads of sea turtles and get in with them as we cleaned their pool - during my visit we were very lucky to witness a sea turtle being released into the ocean for the first time. That was a once in a life time experience to see!

When diving days are over, the evenings were given to us to do whatever we wanted! We could go to the beach, explore krabi town, indulge at night foodie markets and the same went for the weekends! We had the freedom to explore and do whatever we wanted! During my weekends i took the opportunity to explore krabi, take on Dragons Crest (highly recommended hike), visited an ethical elephant sanctuary, hopped on a boat to Railey beach and took in the culture of Thailand.

Food was fantastic!! The camp had their own chef who would make the most delicious meals and catered for all dietary requirements - vegetarian, pescetarian, vegan, meat you name it!

All in all, my time in Thailand was completely life changing and i met some of the most amazing people there and learnt and gained so many unique special experiences - one month wasn't long enough!

For anyone considering it, take that leap and do it! You will not regret it!

it was really a good experience, a great adventure for me, a fabulous meeting with San Pedro and with a top Team. no time to get bored, I don't prefer to say more and come to discover on site. :)))) my program was public health a great adventure. in was well received everything is super well organized. I want to thank the whole team on site. It's the day of my departure and I'm already thinking of coming back! really a Good experience And I Recommanded. I don't regret anything thanks again to the team