Program Reviews

I, along with my two friends, traveled to Tanzania and participated in the childcare program for 4 weeks in October 2023.

The booking process was very seamless, and the hefty handbook provided gave us all the information we needed to know, except for the many things that must be learned on-site. PMGY arranged an airport pick-up, which we were very grateful for after our long journey from Perth, Australia. It is about a 1.5-hour drive from Kilimanjaro Airport to Arusha.

We were honestly surprised by the living conditions upon arrival. I believe October is a very popular time, so the house was full to capacity, and we felt a bit piled on top of each other. We were placed in a small room with 4 bunk beds on the top floor. There was very little room to put our stuff, and we shared a bathroom with the adjoining room (18 people sharing one bathroom). There are often power outages in Tanzania, but we were lucky to have a generator at the house, which is usually switched on shortly after power cuts. However, when the generator is on, there is no hot water, so showers were often cold. Eventually, we were able to move to a smaller room with its own bathroom, which is always a possibility. Keep in mind that the ‘free WiFi’ advertised on the website does not exist. However, you will be provided with a SIM card for a very reasonable price, and this can be topped up whenever needed. For us, this wasn’t available until the day after we arrived, so ensure your family is aware you may not be able to contact them right away.

The coordinators were beyond helpful with everything we needed. There was always someone around to assist us or answer our questions. There is also a WhatsApp group chat with everyone in the house and the coordinators, making it easy to communicate and ask for the generator to be turned on or order a tuk-tuk, etc.

We had an orientation day during which we visited some major sights, had a local lunch, and, of course, withdrew Tanzanian shillings from the ATM. My regular debit card worked just fine at the ATM. I spent about 150,000 TZS each week ($60 USD) plus extra for safari, weekend trips, and souvenirs.

The volunteering experience was obviously the highlight of the trip. We were able to do some fundraising months prior to arriving, which was amazing, as we were able to provide a school with painted walls, desks, windows, school supplies, and much more. I would definitely recommend setting up a fundraising page, as a little goes a very, very long way for these schools. You can switch schools at any time with good reason. Also, you can switch to the medical program from childcare/teaching for $150 USD and switch to childcare/teaching from medical for free.

I recommend packing modest clothing. As a tourist in Africa, you already draw a lot of attention to yourself, and it’s very important to respect the culture and protect yourself. You can have your clothes washed by the mamas for a very cheap price; however, we did our own washing by hand to avoid our clothes getting mixed up. Bring extra towels and lots of comfy clothes, as you will appreciate these luxuries.

The food is a set menu of basic meals that repeats each week. Some meals are better than others, but all are tolerable. You can order food deliveries anytime you don’t think you can stomach rice and beans again. If you are a vegetarian or planning on eating vegetarian, make sure you let PMGY know on your application, as the ratio of vegetarians to vegetarian food was way off, and we often went hungry.

Keep in mind that Zanzibar is a short and pretty cheap flight away from Arusha. You can go to Zanzibar during your program as long as you aren’t missing more than 3 days of placement (3-5 days is plenty in Zanzibar). You can also go at the end of your placement and potentially fly home from there to prevent extra hassle.

Being able to volunteer in Tanzania was the experience of a lifetime, and PMGY made that possible.

I must say that it was definitely a wonderful experience! The best part was getting to know the other volunteers and creating wonderful friendships that I will definitely carry with me for life. Even just for that reason I would recommend this experience to anyone!
On the other hand, I was a little less satisfied with the project. It certainly was interesting to observe how to work in psychiatry in such a different context. The problem was that the patient interviews were not in English but in Twi. Sometimes the nurses would explain and translate to me but other times there was no time between patients to explain or they didn't feel much like it.Also, sometimes they would call me 'Obrouni' and touch my skin and hair since I am a white person. One nurse also asked me to call her brother who lives in my country on the phone and all this made me feel very uncomfortable. So, I learned a lot from the project but I would say that was more like an internship than volunteering because I couldn’t give my help. So I was a little disappointed because I thought I was going to volunteer. Nevertheless, they listened to my complain and made me chan project accordingly to my needs. They are just so flexible and available for you. I appreciated so much.

Another negative note was the food, maybe because I am used to eat very well, I didn't like the food and also it was very repetitive. Even more difficult were the hygienic conditions: the house is dirty, especially the kitchen and the bathroom. The smells are intense and hard to bear.

Anyway, the weekend trip was great and I recommend it to everyone. Also, the staff people who live in the house are all very nice and very kind, especially always available for you! The people definitely made my experience.
Although there were some downsides, I would suggest everyone this experience! It is challenging but also life changing :) if I could come back in time I would definitely do it again!

I’ve just arrived back from my trip to Ghana with pmgy , and my over all experience was amazing. The workers in the house made me feel at home (cooks , coordinators and taxi drivers) and would always go the extra mile for the volunteers . The atmosphere in the house is amazing and everyone always has such a good time !! Traveling to Ghana was such an amazing experience and I’m so glad I did it with plan my gap year. One off the best benefits to traveling with plan my gap year was the safety the workers provided , you never go anywhere on your own and you always feel 100% safe .

My experience in Ghana is by far the best experience I’ve ever had in my life and I would not have been able to have that without the amazing staff at PMGY. They’re so attentive and are with you the entire experience looking out for you- especially the designated taxi drivers who are incredibly friendly and welcoming! They always make you feel safe and really add to the experience of the trip. Being able to experience an entirely different culture to what I am familiar with is a once in a life time experience I am forever grateful for thanks to PMGY.

This was my first experience with PMGY and I must say that I truly had a smooth journey from the start to end.

All the administrative works were done well with prompt reply and support, easy process with applications, in-depth details on the volunteer’s handbook, everything was structured professionally through webinars, emails and paperworks. Appreciate Josh’s and Rachel time and work(intl. team) who assisted me in the process and get my application done in a bit of tight timing.

Prior the trip, things were clearly explained on departure and arrival into the country in email , getting all volunteers in social media group to connect.

In-country team was excellent, members including everyone from the drivers, cooks and others. A special thanks to Mr Ashika and Ms Amelia who I got in touch with in terms of clarifications etc and worked closely with during my placements in Sri Lanka.

The accommodation was good, safe and was surrounded by lovely people and family at the home where I stayed in and all the essential resources were provided.

The programme I enrolled for is mental health and I enjoyed with new/varies of study placements each day into hospitals observation, mental health centre, also seeing another form of knowledge connection to mental health like Ayurvedic/Spirituality. It had an impactful learning and growth.

All the volunteers were approachable and friendly. It was also nice to know their experiences during the stay and on their projects.

Pleasant weeks of stay and placements there and with all of the members who contributed so much with care and support. I would come back again!

I recently spent four weeks in Sri Lanka on the real Sri Lanka experience, for two weeks we travelled around the country seeing and taking part in all the different places and experiences Sri Lanka has to offer. The next two weeks I volunteered on the turtle and English teaching projects. The projects were well organised and interesting and there was still plenty of time to go to the beach or do activities like kayaking or even tuktuk driving lessons, as well as activities the coordinators organised for volunteers to try like cooking classes, beach bonfires and so many more. The coordinators were always available if you had any issues or needed recommendations for the best places to go/see. This was the experience of a lifetime with the most amazing friendships and memories made, I’m already planning my next trip with PMGY.

I spent four weeks in Sri Lanka on the real Sri Lanka experience, for two weeks we travelled around the country seeing and taking part in all the different places and experiences Sri Lanka has to offer. The next two weeks I volunteered on the turtle and English teaching projects. The projects were well organised and interesting and there was still plenty of time to go to the beach or do activities like kayaking or even tuktuk driving lessons, as well as activities the coordinators organised for volunteers to try like cooking classes, beach bonfires and so many more. The coordinators were always available if you had any issues or needed recommendations for the best places to go/see. This was the experience of a lifetime with the most amazing friendships and memories made, I’m already planning my next trip with PMGY.

PMGY Sri Lanka is an amazing organisation all the staff go above and beyond to help you and are super accommodating to any requests you might have and always organise fun evenings activities for volunteers. I always felt safe while I was there and there are many things put in place to keep volunteers safe for example the PMGY tuk tuk taxi service. The food is freshly prepared and tasty. The weekend trips and real Sri Lankan experience are a great way to be able to explore the country and the culture.

I had a fantastic time on the 12-week South America Encounter with PMGY. Spending 4 weeks in each country (Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru) gave me plenty of time to explore. I volunteered at different projects (childcare, English teaching and wildlife rescue), so was able to experience many new things.
I made lots of new friends and together we planned weekend trips such as a weekend in Puerto Viejo (Costa Rica) and a trip to the Galapagos Islands.
Travelling with PMGY gave me the gap year experience I was looking for - I was able to meet new people, gain new skills from the projects, learn Spanish, and explore 3 amazing countries with diverse cultures.
The PMGY team were on-hand throughout my trip, helping me when I had any doubts and providing information for each country-specific programme.
I highly recommend Plan My Gap Year and the South America Encounter!

Absolutely amazing experience i would recommend it to anyone. The coordinators in the volunteer house and all the people there make you feel so at home and put you at so much ease doing anything they can to help you out. The projects are really insightful, the childcare programme was amazing, the kids at the school are the best. Also, I definitely recommend the weekend trips, they were such a fun part of the experience, i made so many memories. Overall its a really rewarding experience and definitely worthwhile.