Program Reviews

We were able to live in a village in the Ecuadorean Amazon and it was really enlightening. We took part in the traditional dances and worked with them to help their community center it was really cool and stuff. I had a lot of fun

Taking this gap semester with ARCC was the best decision I ever made! This trip changed my life in so many ways: from the unforgettable and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, to the 11 unique individuals I got to live with and learn from, to the incredible support of the two trip leaders (Graham and Margo) who constantly pushed me to jump outside my comfort zone and set me on the path to becoming my best self.
The program could not have been planned more perfectly: we had a great mix of service and adventure, urban and rural, rugged and comfortable, structured curriculum and independent learning.
In Costa Rica, we got to learn Spanish and relax on the beaches, work on conservation and service projects on the coast and in the mountains, go surfing and whitewater rafting, and experience the local culture through homestays and a stay on a beautiful farm deep in the mountains.
In Ecuador, we got to experience life in the Amazon through home and village stays, explore the amazing city of Quito, go ziplining in a beautiful cloud forest and hiking through mountains and jungles, plan our own adventure in Baños and Lake Quilotoa without any help from our leaders, build community houses and volunteer at schools, and immerse ourselves in two entirely different indigenous cultures (that of the Amazon and Andes Quichua people).
In Peru, we got to see rich Inca history in Cusco and Machu Picchu, immerse ourselves in a remote community while helping them build clean stoves, work with Peruvian Hearts at a hogar (orphanage) and rebuilding the house of one of the organization's Peruvian Promise scholarship recipients, and stay at the beautiful Lake Titicaca.
Everything about this trip was unbelievably amazing, and I wish I could experience these 3 months again, because they were some of the best 3 months of my life.

To try and narrow this experience down to one place, one moment, or one story would be such a reduction of what this trip has been that it isnt even worth trying. Everything i have experienced in East Africa has given me a new found appreciation for my life back home, my friends, and literally everything i have. This once in a lifetime journey created more of a global awareness than i ever thought i would have. Experiencing the poverty stricken capital of Uganda, rafting on the Nile, seeing thousands of beautiful animals in the Masai Mara, teaching at a primary school in Kenya, and looking out over the great rift valley in Kajiado, are only a handful of the unbelievable experiences this journey has to offer. Every second of this trip has been worthwhile, and i would not trade it for anything.

The trip to Eastern Africa has easily been the most impactful 3 months of my life. Whether it has been installing solar panels for Maasai communities or teaching at a local primary school, the trip has been more than impactful on my life and on my perception of the world. Strangely enough, the most impactful part of the experience for me came from a conversation with a twelve year old boy that lasted fifteen minutes. When in Kampala, Uganda, ARCC was lucky enough to visit a children's orphanage for kids who were born with HIV. When we got to the orphanage, everyone was excited to see us and we were excited to see everyone there as well and soon it almost turned into a candy and dance party with kids ranging from the age of 3-12. For about two hours we all danced and sang songs, but as the visit was winding down, I was able to have the most meaningful conversation of my life with my new friend Andrew. Andrew was the oldest at the orphanage at the age of twelve and I wanted to get to know Andrew just the littlest bit more. I asked Andrew if he liked playing soccer or any sports and all of a sudden Andrew's eyes lit up and he started raving about his favourite team Arsenal of the English Premier League. I then asked him if he played soccer on a team and his smile quickly went to sadness. Andrew told me he has always wanted to play soccer on a team but was never allowed to because he was sick. After reality had hit yet again that for these last two hours, we'd been having the time of our lives with kids who struggle with so much more than I could ever imagine, I quickly wanted to change the subject and make him happy once more. I asked Andrew what he wanted to be when he was older and his response changed my life. Andrew told me he wanted to become a doctor to help cure himself and all his friends. I was heartbroken, I didn't know what to say so all I told him was that someday his dreams were going to come true. I knew that I was doing everything I could and I now know on this trip that you will experience rawness like never before, but at the same time, we as a group understand that we are doing everything we can to make this world a better place and leave a lasting impact. Before we left the orphanage, Andrew grabbed my hand and asked me for a watch because he has always wanted to be able to tell time. I knelt down next to him and I told him someday he will be my doctor and I'll repay him for his amazing work with the nicest watch I could afford and that brought his smile right back. At the end of the day there is only so much one individual or one group can do, but ARCC does that and still pushes the boundaries on the potential one can do. Never did I think a conversation of 15 minutes would change my life the way it has, and the thing that I will absolutely bring back with me is the drive, passion and desire to help kids like Andrew someday.

One of the MANY reasons I came on ARCC Gap Africa's trip was due to a life-changing week at an all-girls boarding school in Kenya: Daraja Academy. There, we shadowed girls (grades 9-12) through their daily lives, classes, and clubs. More impressive than their passion for learning and becoming activists of change, were their personal stories of how they got to Daraja. Daraja is free for all students, thus, the criteria is very harsh -- the admissions office finds girls who are in dire need of a free high school education, already a hard thing to obtain in Kenya, as well as within East Africa as a whole. These girls come from harsh backgrounds full of discrimination, inequality, and harsh traditions that are upheld by their tribes such as early marriage, early childbirth, and worst of all, FGM. I was lucky enough to make life-long friends who inspire me even months after this trip to make a change. While at Daraja, the ARCC Group had the privileged of teaching a free-range workshop. I choose "women's empowerment and risk taking" (Lessons I learned from one of my heroes, Rachel Simmons). We spoke on taking risks, the obstacles we must overcome as women, and how, together, we have more that unites us then divides us, proving how much change upcoming generations will create. Daraja was incredible, to say the least.
In general, the 3 months have flown by. Each project we have done excited me beyond belief and also challenged me to the levels nothing else ever could. I came on this trip to do something larger then myself, to tackle the tough realities of inequality, as well as broaden my perspective of the world; especially East Africa. The well-rounded itinerary that ARCC provides kept me engaged, focused, excited, and passionate. I have made life-long friends and have been inspired to continue my passion for social justice and my fight for equality across the board.
Aside from highlighting tough issues that consume the daily lives of East Africans across the board, this trip has also opened my eyes to issues back home in the U.S that need to be addressed, demonstrating that no matter what topic you want to concentrate on, ARCC shows you it all and more. You will leave this trip having found parts of yourself you never knew of, a well-rounded and diverse vision of the world you will both love and hate based on the simultaneous harsh realities of inequality yet the heart-warming hope you see within the eyes of the people, and, finally, the ultimate desire to stand up and make a change. In two words: life changing.

There are so many things I would LOVE to say about my Africa experience that ARCC has provided for me, but for my readers sake I will try and be brief. This experience is for anyone who is looking for adventure. Don't get me wrong this trip will flip your entire universe upside down, but it will make you so much more of a well rounded person. This trip gave me the perfect balance of exhilarating action (ex. white water rafting, safari, and scuba), and the experience of seeing how the rest of the world gets by (ex. installing solar panels, teaching in a local primary school, etc.). I will forever cherish my Africa gap semester, and I couldn't thank ARCC enough for making the whole thing possible.

ARCC Africa gap has been one of the best and most transformative experiences of my life. I was initially nervous to spend part of my gap year with an organized program, but I am now so happy that I did. ARCC has lined up some amazing service projects that cover a variety of topics, such as education and literacy, public health, and environmental conservation. My group (made up of 5 incredible students and 2 supportive, interesting, and well-rounded leaders) has worked at a rhino sanctuary, taught at the first free all-female secondary school in Kenya, installed solar panels in local Masai houses, and done a variety of other service projects. ARCC balances these intensive service projects with fun, adventure activities like rafting the Nile River, a safari in the Masai Mara, and scuba diving in Zanzibar. I never once felt unsafe in my surroundings. It is rare to get this sort of access to East Africa and I'm so happy that I was able to have this experience. I cannot imagine a better gap year experience.

Choosing to do a Gap year program with ARCC is definitely the best decision I've ever made. It doesn't get better than spending three months in three beautiful countries with a group of strangers that become your family. I absolutely everything we did on the trip!

Some highlights for me were going to an indigenous wedding in Ecuador, staying in a beautiful cloud forest in Costa RIca and of course going to Machu Picchu in Peru!

Traveling to Eastern Africa through ARCC radically changed my life. Spending three months traveling to an unfamiliar place not only changed the way I see day to day life, but also completely changed my passion for my future. I left the States with no idea what career I wanted to study and pursue, and came back determined and passionate about the environment. Over the three months, our leaders had us(students) choose a topic of interest from five or so topics (art, environment, business, music, teaching etc.) and research different specifics within our field of "study" as we traveled the countries. This included interviewing locals, taking samples and getting to know more about the cultures we were immersed in. Although going on safaris, working on sustainable farms, living on one of the world's only rhino sanctuaries, teaching in schools, learning Swahili, building houses, living within Maasai villages, getting certified in scuba-diving, and working at an elephant and giraffe sanctuary were some of my favorite parts of the trip, I really valued the relaxed "capstone project" that ARCC had us do. Before going on my trip I did not have a clue what I wanted to study and after choosing environmental factors for my "capstone project" I realized that I wanted to study global environmental sustainability and came back with a whole project put together by local interviews, samples, and experience which I am currently able to apply to some of my college classes. I would suggest an ARCC GapYear trip to any and everyone who is looking for a semester full of adventure, unique experiences, and friends of a lifetime!

I'm so glad that I decided to do this gap semester with ARCC. It was without a doubt the best three months of my life. It was challenging for me especially at first to be away from home and experience things that were so different from what I was used to. However, our trip leaders Johanna and Franco were amazing and always supportive and they really helped make the semester as awesome as it was for me. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone in the group and our trip leaders were excellent at facilitating group discussions and activities that helped the group bond throughout the trip.
Each week we were working on a different project in a new location which was fun, although it was often bittersweet to leave the communities we stayed in after such a short period of time. Every week brought a new adventure. Some of the highlights for me were working on a sea turtle conservation project in Costa Rica, a community stay in Ecuador, and working at a girls' orphanage in Peru. The trip had a good mix of service and adventure travel. Things like white-water rafting, ziplining and hikes were so much fun in addition to the service projects we worked on.
The trip also had a good balance between staying in rural and urban areas. All of our accommodations were comfortable; with some being more rustic than others. However for me it was the weeks when we were away from things like wifi or electricity that were the most fun and the most meaningful. I really fell in love with the unbelievably beautiful places we stayed from the mountains of Costa Rica to Lake Titicaca in Peru.
This semester taught me a lot about myself and I'm so thankful for this experience and the people that I shared it with. Overall, this was an amazing semester and I would highly recommend ARCC.