Program Reviews

This program had a lot of potential and had many great recommendations, but unfortunately the trip did not deliver. The staff contact from VFP that was on our trip was very uninterested in the volunteers, and spent most of her time with her Hatian boyfriend and friends. We went down to build bio-sand water filters, but didn't even get to see one, let alone build one. We wound up working on random community projects that seemed to be thrown together last minute.

Being someone that has brought volunteer groups to numerous places, and also having worked for a nonprofit that received new volunteer groups weekly, I was really disappointed by the lack of service learning and cultural immersion opportunities. Many were planned but almost all of them were cancelled.

I enjoyed getting to know our Haitian leaders and the other volunteers. I also thought Haiti was a beautiful country. I would have liked to meet more people in the community and learn more about the work we were doing and why.

I wound up taking the experience for what it was - pretty much a hostel-style vacation. I was happy that I met everyone and had exposure to the country and people of Haiti. I plan on returning to Haiti to volunteer again, but unfortunately will not go with VFP. I hope that the organization learned from this experience and will create a better service learning trip for volunteers in the future.

Volunteers for Peace was great. They helped me set up my service trip with VIN in Nepal to volunteer in Post Disaster Relief. I was really confused about a lot of things because I had never volunteered abroad before, but they helped me out so much by explaining things clearly to me and answering any question I had. Great group of people at VFP!

I felt more welcome in Haiti than in any other place I have traveled. The community of Desab is a rural village with no electricity or running water, but it is a beautiful village with even more beautiful people. Living in these conditions made me feel so connected to the people and I learned so much about their daily lives. There were people around all the time and every moment of the day there was something to do and always kids to play with. This is an experience I will never forget and the first time that I've traveled to a place and felt like I must return.

During the summer of 2014, I was fortunate enough to be a part of Volunteers for Peace in Villena, Spain. Traveling to Europe for the first time seemed very unreal to me, especially since I was going alone. The main focus of my project was to go to various small schools and assist Spanish children with learning English, along with educating them about countries other than Spain. I was nervous because I knew very little Spanish. After only a few days, a young girl named Neda was very interested in trying to interact with me. She would speak and point things out, and I would communicate back to her in the best way that I could. When I reflect back, I thought that my purpose for going on this journey was to impact others. But I soon learned that this experience had greatly impacted me. I discovered my passion and curiosity for other cultures, and the importance of appreciating them. I realized that where you come from does not define you. I saw the world and took a step towards becoming a mature adult.

It was truly an amazing experience. We were able to introduce students to something they would never be able to experience. Our leader was extremely knowledgeable about the life and culture of the people of Haiti. Unfortunately she was only with us about 1/2 the time. Although there were Haitians with us they did not provide as much information. When you asked questions they were often confused by what we were asking. It would have been extremely helpful if our leader had spent more time with us.

My trip to Haiti was a three week excursion in Port-Au-Prince. I spent my mornings working for a summer day camp in Petionville about thirty minutes outside of Port-Au-Prince teaching around 30-40 children basic math in both Creole and English as well as English and grammar. On the weekends we spent our days exploring the ins and outs of the city as well as a beach day at Wahoo. My trip was an amazing experience I recommend it to anyone who it will ing to step outside of their comfort zone.

I traveled to Haiti (for the first time) with Volunteers for Peace (VFP) in 2014 over Thanksgiving and could not have asked more a more incredible experience. I was a part of a group of four people (2 Canadians and 2 Americans ranging in age from 28 to 50) who volunteered in a small, rural community in the mountains called Desab. VFP organized a video conference so we could all meet before the trip and coordinate our activities/programming that we'd like to offer during the trip. I really appreciated the opportunity to get to know everyone before we arrived in Haiti. Between the four of us we taught English, math, basic aerodynamics, drumming, and yoga. We also helped build a new classroom for the 6th graders. VFP empowered us to teach what we love and because of that we all had a high level of ownership in what we did.

Haiti is such a unique and incredible place. The people are overwhelmingly full of love and kindness. My experience was so amazing because of the wonderful Haitian volunteers involved in the project like Dimitry, Cherly, Fenel, Arthur, and Aben. While they helped quite a bit with translating, they were the real reason we were able to coalesce in the community so well. All of the locals knew, respected, and loved them and because they introduced us to community members and worked along side of us, the locals were very receptive and welcoming.

The friendships that I made from the trip and the things that I learned changed my life. I look forward to going back to Desab every year; to that little village that holds my heart.

This past summer I traveled with Volunteers For Peace to La Vallee de Jacmel for a week. I spent many months searching for the right program for me and after discussing with many sources, familiar with volunteer programs, I was encouraged to travel with VFP. I was equip with the tools to make my first journey to Haiti a memorable and productive one. With A mandatory pre-trip orientation with others I'd be traveling with, it was obvious Meg and others at VFP care about the safety of their volunteers and ensuring they get the most out of the abroad program.
VFP's demonstrations of care did not cease when we left the United States and arrived in Port at Prince. I was greeted at the airport by Meg and a fellow Haitian named Shelly whom she encourages to help lead volunteers in programs in other parts of Haiti. VFP provides work opportunities for locals which gives volunteers a direct link to the communities they will be helping. There is also a priceless chance to speak with these Haitian leaders and have ongoing cultural exchange every second of the trip.
In La Vallee our group stayed in clean accommodations and had the opportunity to be involved in the day to day ongoings with our hosts. VFP encouraged but never pushed that we be involved in the daily tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Being abroad meant learning about the lifestyle others lead and having opportunies to cook or assit with cooking or collecting water or going to the market was a priceless experience.
We also had great Haitian leaders in La Vallee, like Jean Raymond, a history teacher in a near by school. VFP appears to place a great deal of trust in their Haitian leaders teaching them sustainability and communication with the volunteers and allowing them the opportunity to develop planning and goal setting skills. Meg was always available to assist in keeping the projects on track, but allowed the Haitian leaders, like Jean Raymond, to learn how to lead others.
I was involved in projects like installing biosand water filters in an ongoing project to bring clean water to some 70 schools in La Vallee. VFP has made progress on nearly 35 in the region. We also shared songs and games with school children and were involved in a beautification project at a community center and local church. The week we were volunteering happened to also coincide with the visitation of the Cardinal of Haiti, Cardinal Chibly Langlois, who was born in La Vallee.
This was only my first trip to Haiti, yet I was ready to return back even before I left Port au Prince to head home. The preparations before the trip and guidance during have cemented in my mind that programs like Volunteers for Peace can make a change in communities and countries like Haiti. They lead their volunteers with years of experience and encourage locals to take leadership roles in the projects accomplished during the visits. All that being said, I am returning again this April 20-28 with other volunteers under the guidance and program placement of Volunteers for Peace. I am certainly a returning member of the VFP family!

Our group was made of 21 very special, talented, energetic volunteers who came expecting to make a contribution to the community and to learn and interact with the Haitian people. We were quite disappointed that this did not occur. The director of our project appeared to be disinterested in us as a group. There was very little interaction with the director or direction from her. Many of the scheduled activities were canceled. We did not make connections in the community or feel any partnerships with other organizations. While we were scheduled to be there for 2 weeks several of us decided to leave after the first week due to the lack of leadership and disorganization. I would not, at this time recommend this project to other volunteers.

This is a great way to travel, have fun, and make a contribution to the society. I loved how everyone was so cooperative and proactive during the project. Nicaragua is such a beautiful country with lots of natural scenery, unique culture and communities, foods, and many more.