Program Reviews

I spent 2 weeks in Arusha at a Medical placement with PMGY and I cannot recommend it enough !! The staff were so helpful before getting to the country and whilst there, they provided 24 hour support to all the volunteers. The accomodation was a lot nicer then I had expected and the food wasn't too bad. There were always other volunteers around to hang out with during time off and there are lots of things to do. On the weekends and days off the staff can help you plan trips away so that you can explore Tanzania which was really good. There is a bar and restaurant at the volunteer house which was good and town is literally only a 2 minute walk away. I can't wait to plan my next trip with PMGY and even return to Tanzania because it was such an amazing place ! Ideally next time I would like to go from a little more time 3-4 weeks as 2 weeks was only just enough to settle in and meet some new friends.

In July 2017 I travelled to Bali on a 4-week endeavour through Plan My Gap Year. This is the second time I've went abroad with PMGY, having gone to Sri Lanka in 2016, and I honestly cannot get enough of how amazing everything about the projects are!

Once you are accepted onto the project, you immediately are given tons of information to help you prepare for your trip, including what to bring and background information on what the culture and environment will be like. Any questions you have, Josh and Philip work round the clock to answer and they help put your mind at ease with any worries or concerns. I found this support to be incredible as I had to do little extra research about Bali and it helped me gain accurate expectations on what the project would be like.

I cannot hype up Bali as a destination enough, from the moment you arrive you are showered with love by the in-country team, which ended up becoming a second family. Everything from the food to accommodation was amazing, it was incredibly easy settling in and Bali felt like home after only a few days. Indra was an amazing coordinator to have, always making sure everyone was alright and making them laugh. Ketut and Rush felt like my Bali parents and they worked tirelessly to see every volunteer was content. Even if you felt the slightest bit unwell, they would do anything they could to make you feel better - truly treating you like their own. Katherine was an outstanding coordinator, she cares so much about the greater good of the world and it shows in how dedicated she is to making the project the best they can be. My time in Bali would not have been the same without her, she became one of my best friends due to how down to earth and lovable she is. I honestly can't fault the in-country support one bit, every aspect of it was outstanding and I think all PMGY destinations should aspire to have support as good as Bali does.

The project in itself was a dream, I was doing English teaching and each day we'd get the chance to go to a new school and interact with new kids of different ages. This allowed us to never get bored and challenged us as what we were teaching constantly had to change to fit the different abilities of the children. After the morning classes we would then teach the kids which voluntarily want to improve their English at Akasa, which would allow us to properly interact with them and see their progress. The kids were absolutely amazing, they are so eager to learn and so grateful - even if you have no experience in teaching, it's so easy to get the hang of.

Bali is genuinely the most beautiful place I've ever seen, I'm so honoured I got the chance to go there through PMGY and have such an amazing experience. Being able to teach during the week and make an impact on the life's of the children was so rewarding, and having the opportunity every weekend to explore Bali and see all it has to offer was mesmerising. I would highly recommend this project to anyone who wants to travel, you get so much out of so little with PMGY and you meet the most incredible people from all around the world. I'm confident that my time in Bali has truly made me a better person and the memories I have from my 4-weeks travelling will stick by me forever. I can't wait for my next adventure with PMGY, which I'm sure will be soon!

In July/August I spent three weeks of my holidays volunteering in Ghana with PMGY and what a memorable experience I had. From the time that I booked my trip in the UK to the time that I left for the airport to come home, I can truly say that the oganisation and support from all members of staff was great. I had the most rewarding and wonderful three weeks working in the orphanage where I have gained a different perspectivie on life. Working with children who are less fortunate than us in the UK has been overwhelming and has changed me as a person. Along with the orphanage I was allowed to work at the school and see all the hardwork Florence has done since being there.She is an inspiration and her passion for her job and the children inspired me along with other volunteers to help transform the nursery. I thorougly enjoyed this project and the transformation brought smiles to many faces.

Being in a house with great people made the experience even more enjoyable. I've created some great friendships and hopefully we will stay in contact. Seth's motivavtional attitude and humorous personailty succeded to make me smile and laugh throughout the three weeks and he's a brilliant coordnator. Also Dennis and the kitchen staff are fantastic and provided us with some tasty meals.

I highly reccomend this trip/company to future volunteers. I was sad to see my trip come to an end but the memories I have created will remain in my heart forever. Thank you PMGY for a trip of a lifetime. Hopefully I will be back soon :)

This has been my fourth time volunteering with/through PMGY, and once again I am incredibly impressed by the program and every member of the staff. The real experience allows you to see much of the country and experience all your touristic needs, while at the same time making an impact and immersing in the culture. The Vietnamese coordinators (Hung and Nhung) were fantastic, and really bridged the gap between the volunteers and the locals. They were there to answer any and all questions, and were as much friends as they were coordinators. As far as the volunteering, we built a playground in the jungle, and worked at Friendship Village. Both were impactful and incredibly rewarding. Friendship village was a very cool experience, especially as an American, to be able to speak and work with Vietnamese veterans and agent orange victims in order to help relieve some of the pain that is still unfortunately persisting after the war. Would highly recommend this, or any PMGY program!

I'm just finishing up four weeks doing the medical volunteering here in Ghana with PMGY. It's been absolutely incredibly and I can't believe I'm saying it but even after our weeks I wish I was staying longer. I've had just such a great time here and what really made it was the people. Everyone in the house has been just such a pleasure to live with, volunteers and those working with PMGY. The medical volunteering was incredibly interesting and you really were able to get some hands on experience in all the different departments of the hospital that would really be hard to access so easily at home. Here in Kumasi I did everything from ultrasounds, to carrying out HIV and Malaria testing in the laboratory, to helping take vitals and take bloods in Emergency to even acting as an extra set of hands during Surgery. I've found the whole experience hugely beneficial for myself.
The UK team were incredibly helpful during the contact period as I wasn't able to come on set dates due to family commitments and was worried about some of the issues about that but Josh and the team smoothed all my worries away with a short bit of correspondence and sorted everything for me so I was able to get here okay. I couldn't be more grateful.
The staff here in Ghana were something else, within a week I'd felt like we'd been friends for years, they made me feel so at home and they're mostly the reason I'm sorry to go. Seth and Florence were really proactive in helping you to give back to the communities around here if you wanted to and it was nice to feel like I was a part of something that was actively improving the lives of people in the area. The other volunteers really do bring out the best in you and I found myself incredibly inspired by their selflessness and thoughtfulness, and the staff here were really good at helping you direct that charity to ensure it helped as much people a possible.
Even though I did Medical volunteering I was also able to take part in the Teaching program some days and visit the school and the kid there are something else. They're absolutely amazing and were another contender for my favourite part of Ghana. Just seeing how much PMGY improved the school in the few week I was here wasa incredible, we completely renovated two rooms and had a new playground for the kids fitted and I've never seen gratefulness like what we got from the kids.
I felt really safe during my time here, granted I didn't go out too much at night but I felt very secure and at ease when taking long journeys and doing stuff by myself during the day (granted, I am a 6"3 man in his twenties but still). That's parially just due to the local people as well, most I encountered were just so friendly and would always greet you with a smile if you smiled first.
I couldn't recommend PMGY more and I already have suggested it to the 3 friends back home who've snapchatted me asking about my stay. I've enjoyed my time here immensely and my four weeks here have really blown my expectations out of the water. Medaase guys.

I visited Nepal in July 2017 as part of the Real Nepal Experience. The programme is amazing and so well organised! The heavy monsoon rains meant that the order of the programme had to be completely rescheduled when we got there, but this didn't phase the local reps at all. It was clear that they were really keen for our experience to be the best that it could be; this was really appreciated when we were lucky enough to see the top of the snow-capped Himalayas after trekking for 2 days up to Poon Hill!

Before visiting Nepal we were sent a pre-departure handbook. This was really useful as it advised us as to what to bring and the activities we might be doing once there. The list was pretty extensive and as always, I definitely over packed! I think more use could be made from the PMGY Facebook groups- pages that allow you to discuss your trip with people out there already / those that have already taken part. It would have been really useful to have been told that white t-shirts are a nightmare to hand wash/keep clean and that you don't need to splash out on proper trekking gear!

The accommodation was always to a reasonable standard, with a western toilet etc. All the accommodation is pretty centrally located too, which was particularly good when in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Most hotels offer a laundry service- this was particularly useful after trekking.

I chose to volunteer in a government school in Pokhara and stay with a family as my volunteer placement. Staying with a family was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. Shesh, Laxmi and Puja were so friendly and took the time to show us Pokhara from a Local's perspective - something that I just wouldn't have been able to see if travelling alone! Laxmi is amazing at cooking and made us a range of Nepali food (not just daal bhat everyday!) and even made us pancakes for breakfast some days! We were able to get a real idea of the Nepali culture and even had the opportunity to dress up in a sari!

Working in a government school was really challenging. We were the first group of volunteers to be placed in a government school as opposed to a paid-for boarding school. We were teaching English to kids aged between 5 and 12. The younger classes were particularly difficult as the kids were just so naughty! As a result, teaching the class without the local teacher present was impossible. The teacher told us what to teach each day which basically just involved the kids dictating what we had written on the board; we were expecting to have the freedom of planning our own lessons but when we arrived this didn't seem to be the case. I think teaching in a government school is a great idea as it meant we were able to help the poorest and most vulnerable kids in society. But, I think we would have had more of an impact if we were able to teach older kids, maybe those aged between 12-16. This way we would (hopefully) not have had so many issues with behaviour and would be able to communicate with the kids better as their English would be more advanced.

Overall I think the trip was really well organised. I would say this type of trip would be especially good for 18-20 year olds who may be going on their first holiday alone. Taking part in such a tightly organised trip to a country as chaotic as Nepal definitely saved me hours of time on the organisation front and I'm sure worked out a lot better than if I were to have travelled to Nepal on my own. However, as a 22 year old who has done a fair bit of travelling, I think I would have enjoyed the trip more if I was given a bit more independence- maybe even just a couple more free days in Kathmandu or Chitwan to wonder around without being directed by a guide. However, overall I would 100% recommend this trip. Nepali is an amazing country and well worth a visit!

If you're thinking about heading to Sri Lanka for volunteering I highly recommmend it. This was my first trip away alone and I was really worried about going, but PMGY helped organise everything even my flights which took so much pressure and stress off the experience. There is constant support from the team and when you arrive there is always someone around to answer questions. There is also a couple of group chats you get added to whilst you're over there which the organisers always check. Nalaka would always be online to organise transport for you and friends if you wanted to go somewhere, making it really easy to see other areas of Sri Lanka.
I stayed in River House, which is the main accommodation, and there was lovely views, monkeys in the trees and really spacious rooms. There isn't many places to unpack your stuff but everyone just slid their suitcase under the bed and found it easier living out of it for a couple of weeks anyway. The food was also really good but they staff will also make any extra snacks or tea for you during the day if you ask nicely!

The elephant project was, definitely for me, a big eye opener to what these elephants have to go through every day. During orientation Ashika explained to us what to expect on the experience so we were prepared for the elephants to be in chains as it was the law. Although, I feel everyone who bought a day pass should have been told this as some people were so surprised they refused to participate, which made it harder for everyone else. Over all, knowing these elephants are having a break from their work and time to relax certainly outweighed the negatives. It did feel like we were helping them everyday, although finding out they are scrubbed for 4 hours a day was a shock when we only scrubbed them for an hour! On our final day we were taken to see a male who had been rescued by Ashika and allowed to move freely with out chains. He was so well behaved it was amazing to see him walk around freely, even to home when his mahout told him to so. It was incredible to see, after several young elephants had to be chained more as they were not fully trained.

I also went on the hilltop and safari weekend trip, from Friday morning to Sunday evening. Although some people complained that there was to much traveling involved, you must realise no one ever saw so many incredible things staying in one spot. Yes, there was a lot of time on the bus, but even looking out of the window had its perks when driving up the side of a mountain to see a tea plantation, and feeling as though the bus could topple off the edge at any moment. The hotels we stayed in were also lovely and it was great to try new food, and wake up ready for the next days adventure! The hike to worlds end was also great! While in Sri Lanka we came to realise that the time you were meant to be picked up was usually half an hour to an hour earlier than when they actually arrive. We asked Kazun how long the hike was, he responded 2 hours, so we were expecting 3/4 hours.. to our surprise it was actually 2 hours!

Overall, I really do suggest taking a trip to Sri Lanka, if you're unsure then pop by for only 2 weeks, and you can always extend your trip while you're over there! - the team also make this really easy for you to do if you want to!

I volunteered in Sri Lanka for 2 weeks from the 5th to the 19th August with PMGY and can honestly say I had the most amazing time and met the most amazing people.
The staff at PMGY were fantastic as soon as I had signed up, keeping me updated on my application and allowing my friend and I to book together. They helped me to book my flight and answered any questions I had, no matter how insignificant they were (Colby in particular was a great help, responding almost instantly and helping with many different aspects of my application). The volunteer handbook was very useful in getting a basic understanding of the culture and was helpful when trying to apply for visas etc.
The team in Sri Lanka were so welcoming and friendly; they always made an effort to have a conversation and a laugh with you and were also good at giving advice on what to do in Sri Lanka.

I stayed in River House, which although it wasn't the best, I had a great time there and made so many memories. There were a lot of bugs, a few problems with the bathroom (which the staff were very quick in dealing with once we'd actually told them!) and not a lot of room in the bedrooms but being in such close proximity to the other volunteers allowed us all to become very close friends. The swimming pool is a great area to allow you to talk to some of the other volunteers in other rooms and was lovely to be able to have a swim after a long morning of volunteering!
I personally really enjoyed the food at the accommodation. Lunches and dinners were usually very good and I tried a lot of new food that I otherwise wouldn't have had the chance to. Breakfast was much more repetitive and wasn't as great but many of us bought our own food to eat in the mornings.

Although it was harder work than I had expected, I really enjoyed doing the elephant project. It was an amazing experience to be so up close with the elephants and to be able to wash and feed them. Although they experienced some complications with one of the elephants and mahouts (which was completely out of PMGY's control) which slightly disrupted the normal routine of our project, the coordinators made sure we still got to work with the elephants everyday. On a typical day we would drive about an hour to get to the elephants, clean up the site e.g. shovelling elephant dung, sweeping leaves etc. There was then a short walk to the river where we would wash and scrub the elephants. We then fed the elephants, got loads of photos and then had an hour drive back to the house. There was also an elephant safari included in this project which was one of the best days on the project. We got up at about 3am and drove to Udawalawe National Park where we saw so many elephants - it was a great start to the 2 weeks!

I had one full weekend in Sri Lanka and used this to go on the Yala National Safari Weekend Trip. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the activities that we did (especially the World's End hike, Hindu temple and Yala National Safari Park), I felt like there wasn't enough time to spend in each place as we did so much travelling on the bus over just one weekend. However, it was a good way to be able to see things further afield in a short space of time. If I had been in Sri Lanka for another weekend, I definitely would have loved to use this for independent travel with my friends.

Overall, I had an amazing experience in Sri Lanka and the staff at PMGY were absolutely amazing from the beginning to the end. I would have loved to stay for longer than 2 weeks as I felt like there was so much more I had to see and I would have loved to have experienced some of the other projects too.

The mental health and psychology programme has a varied schedule including working in a local orphanage, visiting out patient clinics, meditations with monks and meeting psycharists. Learning about the differences between western and Sri Lankan medication was also very interesting such as meeting an Ayurvedic practitioner and observing her with clients!

The majority of the time the programme is either in the morning or afternoon and is quite rare for it to be both. You would generally spend around 2-3 hours a day on project and then have the rest of the day to yourself. On occasion we would turn up to our project locations and project would be cancelled.

All the pre-departure information was very thorough and useful. The addition of the handbook was very reassuring and helpful. While I was there the staff were so informative and supportive to me, especially the cooks. I loved the accommodation: lots of space and not far from the town. I worked on the Medical Project for a week and a half where I observed the doctors and nurses in the private hospital. I found some part interesting and helpful but it was a little unstructured for me. As the doctors and nurses are really busy, we didn't do anything for most of the majority of the mornings I worked on the project but what we did do was really good. The last half of the last week I worked in the Monk School which was so good. I loved teaching the monks and they made me feel very much apart of their community. My only advice would be bring more English money than you think as I started to run out and felt obliged to stay in when others went out and was also unable to buy more internet while I was in London House. Overall though, it was amazing! :)