Program Reviews

I had an amazing time with ccs in Costa Rica, I enjoyed all the activities from zip lining to Spanish class. All the food served was great and the rooms were really comfortable, I also found the volunteering very enriching and felt that I had made a difference in the local community once my stay had ended. The staff are very supportive, fun and willing to practise Spanish with you, as well as all the friends that you will make with the other volunteers. Overall I had an unforgettable time in Costa Rica with memories that will last a lifetime and new friends from all over the world.

This summer I volunteered at Hohoe, Ghana, with the CCS teen program. It was a life changing experience. I was the last of my group to arrive and when I finally got my luggage I was greeted by a tired, if smiling person holding a CCS sign. His name was Julius, and he was great! Then there was a six hour drive to the home base from Accra. I was quite terrified in the van because we kept on driving on the other side of the road to avoid potholes, but I soon got used to it after realizing that everyone does it. When we arrived, I was greeted by the program supervisors, who insisted on staying up for us even though it was 3:30 in the morning.
Placement is Monday~Friday, and we worked at Happy Kids Orphanage. I wish I had know beforehand that it is a school as well, because we were all very unprepared when we found out we had to teach. I think if we could arrive on a Thursday then spend Friday and the weekend making lesson plans it would be better. I was also not expecting to be able to wear shorts, but it was mostly fine, especially around the home base, as long as it isn't spandex or booty shorts.
I am very happy that I met some fellow volunteers who share my values, although not everyone in the group did, I have become very close to the few who did. This experience has left me with perspective, and I've gotten the rare opportunity to learn about a culture very different to my own. I wish I had stayed three weeks!

I spent 4 weeks with CCS at the Moshi/Karanga location in Tanzania, while volunteering at a nursery school. I have mixed notes, (although mostly positive,) to make about the experience I had with CCS, starting with the overall prep to make the journey overseas to Tanzania. I was travelling alone, as a young female, and I felt confident and prepared for my arrival in Kilimanjaro thanks to the help of CCS; from immunizations, to my visa, to my flights, they were very helpful in all aspects to prepare me for my time in Tanzania. The home-base staff were amazing and so welcoming. They made me feel safe and comfortable, and definitely became my family away from home. And I still keep in touch with many of the staff to this day. The first two weeks are filled with mandatory cultural and educational activities. I enjoyed the guest speakers, which ranged from education and gender struggles, to HIV/Aids within the community. The Swahili lessons were a bit silly. I learnt more of the national language while volunteering with the children, or through the locals and staff at home-base than through the Swahili lessons. I INSIST that anyone who is considering this program to go for over two weeks. Since the first two weeks are filled with activities, you don't have too much free time to get to the know the locals or wander around Moshi on your own. And, although CCS provided a clean and safe environment for myself and the other volunteers, after the first week or so you will realize how sheltered they keep you seems a tad unnecessary. They have strict rules about where you can go in town, along with a set curfew. After meeting so many locals and 'ex-pats' in town, (who lived in the community, cooked for themselves, and walked to work like everyone else,) I quickly came to the conclusion that CCS was a bit of a rip off, and how I would personally prefer to be a bigger part of the community. That being said, it was an amazing introduction to Tanzania. As for the volunteer aspect of CCS, I have no complaints. I worked at an established nursery school and was guided in the beginning on what areas the children needed help with before taking over as the class teacher. (TEACHA TEACHA!) I took it upon myself to create lesson plans, educational games, and fun activities for the children, along with spending time with the kids who needed individual attention to succeed with the lesson plans. With my free-time after the first two weeks, I spent more afternoons, (since you only work mornings according to the CCS schedule,) at the nursery school and even checking out other placements. Throughout this experience I have made life-long friends, whether they were other volunteers, or locals I met. I will now be returning for my third visit to East Africa, as an independent volunteer, which saves me a ton of money and gives me more freedom to be a part of the everyday life in Moshi!

A typical day in Morocco included morning volunteer sessions, afternoon cultural lessons, and evening free time and exploring. It was a perfect balance of submersion into culture and travel experience. Not only are you able to enjoy the country and all it has to offer, you are able to make a positive impact on it by offering your time to the areas in need.

I would research other organizations that do more for the local community. The program fee is on an American scale, and our fees do not help the local community, but rather the overpaid staff and very nice CCS headquarters in the US.

CCS Morocco Program: The CCS Morocco team was committed to making sure we experienced three program components each day: volunteerism, cultural emersion and vacation free time. Each and every day was filled with these three components. I volunteered during the first part of the day and then participated in the CCS cultural emersion sessions where we learned the history and cultural of Morocco, Arabic, and how to cook Moroccan food. We also went sightseeing and were fortunate to have as our guide a CCS Program Director who was a subject matter expert in history - what a unique experience!

Volunteer Assignments: The CCS Morocco team has estabished relationships with a number of organizations serving children, women, youth and others in need of help. Based on your interests and skills you are assigned to play an impactful, hands-on role serving those in need. I, along with several other volunteers, operated the children's activity center at the Children's Hospital in Rabat. I played games, led arts and crafts, and gave/received lots of hugs and kisses each day with patients and their siblings. I also had the opportunity to spend time with the Moms and Dads of several of the young patients, providing a little relief and distraction for them. I also spent 4 days teaching English at the Women's Center. I was so inspired by all of my students and their desire to learn.

Vacation Time: I was able to travel to Casablanca, Marrakesh, Merzouga where I rode a camel and slept out in the desert.

CCS Morocco Staff: The staff was incredibly professional and friendly. I felt very relaxed the entire time and was constantly learning something new and exciting.Other Volunteers: A diverse group of volunteers - college students, families, seniors, professionals, etc. It was great to meet and work with them! An experience of a lifetime!

My day in Costa Rica began very early with a good breakfast and preparations to volunteer that day. We'd make about a 45 minute drive to take everyone to their locations, and I would arrive at the elementary school I was placed at. I typically started the day doing various maintenance work around the school. The teachers were responsible for doing everything for the school on their own time with no pay, so this was very helpful to them. Then I would play with the kids at every recess time (my favorite part) and assist in a few English classes throughout the day. I taught kids from kindergarten through 6th grade. It was very helpful to me that I was able to speak Spanish and communicate with them through both languages. The kids left school in the early afternoon, so that concluded our volunteering for the day. I returned to the home base for lunch with the other volunteers. Typically the rest of the day was usually spent in a cultural class, an expedition of the country, or relaxing in the hammock with a cup of tea. Every moment was perfect.

it was my first venture into international volunteering and I chose the CCS programme as it combined volunteering and the cultural immersion i was looking for as i was fascinated with Morocco after a brief visit as a tourist previously. CCS programme is well established and the pre-programme online prep sessions and support was invaluable. The homebase and staff in Rabat are wonderful and take great care of every detail; it always felt safe and secure. I had the opportunity to experience several different volunteer placements during my 11-week (+2 week Eid break) time that was really good insight into the reality of life in Morocco. Free time during weekends were opportunities to visit the rest of this beautiful country and exploring the varied landscapes and history of al Maghreb.

I don't doubt the good intentions of the folks at CCS, but I don't agree with what they're doing, either. The thing about voluntourism like this is that it gets you into the country and out so fast, that I don't think it's possible to really have an accurate picture of what (if anything) you accomplished. The phrase volunteering abroad has such a positive ring to it, that I think a lot of people sort of take it for granted that they'll be making a positive difference-- so they don't put much real thought into it themselves.

I was a teacher at a couple of local schools. Like all of the other volunteers, I had no teaching experience or knowledge, so I don't think that I accomplished much. A lot of people volunteered at orphanages, which was fun for them-- after all, everybody loves to play with cute kids, and when you see all those smiling faces, it's hard to think that you're NOT making a difference (if nothing else, you'll get a saint like facebook profile picture out of it). But little kids form bonds extremely quickly. So when they go through their early development constantly forming bonds with people who show up for a couple of weeks and then leave forever, severing those bonds, that actually seems kind of . . . bad for them.

But doesn't CCS advertise on their site that they consult local organizations to find out where volunteers are needed? Yes, but . . . here's the thing: I spent two years in the Peace Corps, and what I found is that for a lot of organizations in developing countries, white people are--sadly-- a symbol of prestige. There aren't many organizations that are going to say no to white people being associated with them. A friend of mine who taught some English in South Korea put it this way: "Most places just want a white face in front of the room." The big difference between the Peace Corps and CCS, is that in the Peace Corps you learn some of the language (the idea of meaningful language learning in a few weeks-- like CCS advertises-- is a joke), and you have two years to figure out which of your assumptions are true and false, and gravitate toward the more meaningful work. CCS is limited to only organizations in which they can plug in many volunteers who don't speak the language, don't have any training, and will be there for twelve weeks at the most, and in most cases much fewer.

The fact is that a lot of volunteers are there to party. In my program, volunteers spent most of their evenings watching Sex and the City in the CCS house, and their weekends partying on the beach. In fairness, I was participating in the Trang program in southern Thailand, which seems to have been discontinued. But it's also hard to imagine that the culture in other programs is that much different, when most of them are intentionally near prime tourism spots. There are a few good things about CCS-- the staff are dedicated, and you will enjoy your weekend travels. But I don't know that those things outweigh your dubious non-impact/ possible negative impact. Just think about it. You could do a heck of a lot of responsible tourism for the amount that you'd spend on CCS.

The whole experience in Karanga was beyond my expectations. The staff was very open, friendly, helpful and readily answered all questions. They made my placement enjoyable and safe. The home base was nicer than I expected, very clean and modern. The cultural education we received made the trip more than "just a vacation." We got to know the Tanzanian people, culture and history in ways I never would have otherwise. Thanks.