Program Reviews

During December of 2012, I Volunteered with Gap Guru and taught English too novice Buddhist Monks in Doi Saket, near Chiang Mai. From the moment I collected from the Airport by David and Nid (Gap Gurus Coordinators in Thailand,) i was made to feel welcomed at and home in a country i had never visited before! I cannot stress the how great it was to have friendly faces to speak too when you do not know anyone else in the country. Their hospitality, along with Pi Gaye (The housekeeper,) ensured that i was well fed, and prepared for my experience teaching.
The teaching itself was a truly magical experience. The novice monks were all exceptionally friendly and interested in everything I had to say, and despite limited English, were eager to ask questions about my life in Britain. As my time with the children progressed it was amazing to see the impact my lessons were having, with the novices learning English at an astounding rate. During my downtime at Wat Nong Bua (the temple I was teaching at) i had the rare opportunity to chat with monks in their homes. Learning the way of life of these people and the dedication they have to Buddhism was a humbling experience, and it is surely something i will never forget. The location of the temple, shrouded by exotic trees with a lake filled with Coy Carp was just stunning, and i could have spent my time with Gap Guru just relaxing in the temple grounds enjoying the peace and tranquility of rural Thailand.
When not teaching, David and Nid ensured I was up to speed with all things Thai. I sampled local cuisine (try raw pork or frog!) David also took to a Muy Thai fight, which is the national sport of Thailand. I honestly felt like i had connected with the people and culture by the end of my time with Gap Guru. I could rave on about my time there for hours, but it is something you have to experience first hand!

Not knowing what to expect when I arrived in Romania, I was shocked to discover how sociable and open the children were in developing new friendships with a complete stranger. The language barrier did not stop us communicating and having a great time sledding, walking to and from school, kicking a football around or being a bit crazy inside.

A definite highlight was spending Christmas with the kids. They were so grateful not onmy for individual gifts, but also for the company. I really felt like they were welcoming me as part if their famimy.
A difficulty was leaving them, and being aware of the circumstances of their being looked after. I felt a bit upset that the friendships we built were cut away so quickly, but at the end of the day they are in the best place they can be. I would live to go back, and would recommend this experience for everyone who wants to challenge themselves and is also open to new experiences.

I went to Chiang Mai in Thailand through GapGuru with a friend for just under a month in the summer of 2014. We had no teaching experience, had never backpacked alone nor had we even been to Thailand before!! Not only were we complete novices but we were very apprehensive too even being quite confident girls. At 17 and 18 being given any responsibility to teach children is a daunting prospect. As soon as we got to Thailand, the welcome and support from the team ensured we felt comfortable and safe from the outset, the whole team were beyond friendly and immediately make you feel like part of the GapGuru family, this was continued throughout our stay. We not only got to teach at a school in the local area but we saw Thailand too, no task was too big for the team to try and sort out for us and we had to freedom to discover Thailand as we wished, truly being able to immerse ourselves into it as opposed to just being 'tourists'. The volunteering is why this trip is so wonderful, it gives you not only personal growth but a true sense of gratitude. I learnt from everybody I encountered on the trip and was inspired by not only the children and the teachers but also the Thailand support team too. This opportunity and experience is something I would urge anyone to go for, I have made friends for life and memories that I treasure and wish to add to in the near future when I hopefully return! I don't think there has been a time in my life where I have felt more happy and content and would urge anyone who's missing something, be it a travel bug, a desire to discover or an impulse to do something for others to go and divulge in GapGurus opportunities.

I went to teach at the temple for 4 weeks during the summer and I can honestly say it was the best experience of my life! At first I was slightly anxious as I was travelling alone but once I arrived I felt completely safe as the programme staff were always there if needed. Teaching the monks was a real once in a lifetime opportunity and seeing their enthusiasm about learning was really heartwarming. As I am very interested in Buddhism I also threw myself into any extra activities they invited me to and became really good friends with a few of the older monks.
As well as the teaching there was also plenty of time to discover the city of Chiang mai and its many beautiful surroundings. The programme staff once again helped to make sure that we did everything we wanted to do whilst in Thailand and arranged extra activities for us. This allowed us to see the 'real Thailand'.
Over the 4 weeks I gained so much confidence that has helped me to develop as a person, as well as making some friends that I will forever keep in contact with. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to travel on their gap year and I hope to go back myself in the near future.

I had a great experience, I learned so much about the culture and myself, I got to see the real Thailand and met some amazing people. The in country team were so supportive and I felt very looked after. It was amazing working with the kids and the community and learning about a different culture, I felt like I was doing something meaningful as well as travelling and got a good balance between teaching and being a sightseeing. I hope to go back and visit one day and would do it all again!

My time volunteering in Battambang was the best part of my travelling experience by far!

I ended up participating in more than just the programme I signed up for which was fantastic, giving me the opportunity to experience more of the culture and most importantly meet more of the locals. This resulted in me helping the local pagoda cultivate their vegetable garden; teach english to young school children with CAD (local NGO); develop a football pitch and set up and IT suite for local education and qualifications.

The team you work with are great and help you through all that you need help with. Their enthusiasm for the local projects is infectious, which allows for a more fulfilling experience. You would not regret coming to Battambang, as it is one places in Cambodia that isn't over run with tourists which gives more authenticity to your time there. It's just really good fun.

I visited Cambodia with GapGuru January to April 2014, and experienced a lot. I planned a slightly longer duration trip than the majority of other volunteers travelling out at the same time, but to be honest that actually worked out much better for my experience and aims.

GapGuru were really helpful, helping me with all the preflight arrangements, to co-coordinating which room of the house I would stay in for the majority of the stay. I was one of the longer duration volunteers, staying with GapGuru in Cambodia from January to April 2014. Due to my life plan at the time, I organised with the team, prior to landing in country, that I would work the mornings as a medical volunteer, then teach Dance and English in the afternoon to a local NGO school.

Whilst in country GapGuru were very flexible, for example they organised a translator for me at the medical clinic, which, combined with my longer term stay, allowed me to progress a lot further, and to gain a much deeper understanding of the clinic.

At CAD1 (the school where I taught) I chose to focus on one class for the majority of the time, so that I could make an actual difference to their education, which I feel that I did. Although it is a challenging experience initially, and not for the shy (the children ask a lot questions and climb all over you!) if you're brave enough to travel to a new country, I'm sure you'll be fine!

I had a great time in Cambodia, and made many lasting friendships, some with other volunteers, some with expats and other Khmer (Cambodians).

Cambodia is a beautiful country, and on your time off from work there is so much you can see. If you respect the culture the Khmer people are very friendly and respectful. In Battambang there is a great community of expats, and there are multiple amazing places to go eat and enjoy yourself, despite the quite laid back feeling all the residents convey!

I have already been back independently once, and I can see myself living there in the future. GapGuru is a great company, and Cambodia is a wonderful country. I would recommend visiting Cambodia to anyone!

I would thoroughly recommend this programme. It was enjoyable, eye-opening and truly unforgettable. Arusha is an incredible, lively and unique city.

My blog is available here: www.gapguru.com/blogs/jeremy-omar/tanzania#ad-image-0

I spent 3 weeks in Cambodia, 2 in Battambang working in the schools teaching English, building a football pitch and helping maintain a garden in a Buddhist temple, then 1 week experiencing the wonders of Angkor Wat and Phnom Penh. A typical day in Battambang would be breakfast with the other volunteers followed by a morning generally consisting of teaching English or other similar volunteer activity which was so much fun! The kids really appreciate the help and are hugely eager to learn. Then back for lunch before off to something else, maybe the football pitch or painting a new building. My trip was a little different from many due to nature of what I was doing, so I got to enjoy a lot of time to experience the culture as well like trips out to the bat caves and an incredible bike tour which I highly recommend. Then going to Angkor Wat is simply incredible. There are no words to describe the stunning temples that are there, they really are something you have to experience for yourself. Overall I cannot say enough positive things about the projects, people or experience I had in Cambodia and I highly recommend anybody looking at this trip to throw themselves right in and just do it, because you won't regret it!

I pay for someone to take me to the school where I teach life skills sessions for half an hour starting from 9:30. At 10 am I teach an hour of English to kids aged 7-10 who are very sweet and never stop smiling.

After lunch I teach English for an hour and run a sports club after school. Some of the personal highlights have been introducing new ways of learning to the kids and seeing it succeed. The other day, a kid drew me a poster with my name on it to show how much he appreciates me being here.

Battambang is an excellent destination for any tourist or volunteer. It has everything and I fell in love with the place within a couple of days. There's a great range of stuff to do with cooking classes, cheap markets and 'here be dragons' if you want a western night life. The volunteer house with the project is fantastic and the cook makes amazing meals!

The only difficulty I encountered was cycling in the heat as transport can be more expensive than anticipated.