Program Reviews

I volunteered at Mwasama Primary teaching second graders. Each and everyday I met new and interesting people who were enthusiastic about the volunteers. The kids I taught touched my life in a way I can't explain in words. It's 4 years later and i still think about my time in Tanzania. From teaching in school to walking to the local shops and meeting people from the are each day was an experience to remember. I plan to volunteer again with CCS in the future and would highly reccomend it to anyone interested!

Cross Cultural Solutions is an incredible way to immerse yourself in a different culture while simultaneously giving back in a meaningful way! Living with fellow volunteers and fellow Moroccans in a "homebase" provided a great, casual way to learn about Moroccan people, cooking, culture, etc, while making new friends!

Through the CCS program in Lima, I worked at Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying and Destitute for 2 weeks where we cared for older men who had been abandoned. We were able to accompany them on their annual beach day trip where we played games and had so much fun! We found ways to communicate despite the language barrier. There was plenty to do around Lima, and we took a weekend trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu - a must, it was such an amazing experience!

I learned about CCS from a friend who had completed two volunteer projects with them, one in South America and one in Tanzania. After hearing about the wonderful experience that she had, I wanted to try it myself. Shortly after arriving in Africa, I realized that words could not describe this experience and that my life was going to be changed.

CCS picked me up from the airport and the staff was easy to identify. Everyone was extremely friendly and made me feel comfortable. Only a few days into my stay, I contracted malaria. Being only 20 at the time, this was something that would normally make me very worried and want to go home. However, the CCS staff helped me tremendously and I got through it without ever thinking that I wanted to go home. CCS also provides cultural activities, which are really fun!

Another wonderful thing about CCS is that we received daily Swahili lessons. I learned a lot in a short period of time, and still try to keep up with it. The staff was happy to help us practice and teach us more words.

While I was in Tanzania, I was teaching English and Math to children around the age of 9. Seeing as I did not know Swahili well, it was sometimes hard to control the classroom. Our drivers offered to come to the school with me and help! The entire staff always went above and beyond.

I could not have asked for a better experience. I would absolutely volunteer with CCS again, and I hope that I find the time to do it!

The entire experience was extremely rewarding. The people that I met also made this experience unforgettable; the organizers of the program, the staff members, the other volunteers, and the community members. I was especially touched my the experiences that I shared with the children who I worked with at the children's hospital. I also felt that I wasn't just an observer but that I was fully immersed into the culture. I learned a great deal about customs, traditions, and the current political/economic state; things that I wouldn't otherwise have been exposed to had I not been part of this program.

This was an amazing experience I will never forget. They really help you adjust and feel prepared, so I wasn't nervous arriving in Morocco. The staff was extraordinary and super friendly. Of course, you still should do your own research no matter where you go, along with the resources they give you. But this program was great!

I volunteered in 2008 in Costa Rica (City of Cartago) for 3 weeks. It was a very memorable and very enriching experience. I got to volunteer and work with Aids patience, and elderly in a home. I lived in group home with other volunteers from all over the world. The staff that took care of us was amazing. We got to eat the local foods, travel and experience the culture in a way that is truly unique. I got to learn so much while also being able to give a little of my time to the people that need it. Costa Rica is such a beautiful country with really beautiful people. I very much recommend this program to anyone wanting to enrich their life and do something good.

I had a very positive experience in the CCS Bagamoyo Program. I really enjoyed the cultural activites that were provided the first week. We were kept really busy that first week with all of our activites and planning lessons for my volunteer placement, but after that week it was less structured. I was placed at the Bagamoyo Young Artist Centre with another volunteer and we split our time up with the teachers of the group and the children that they serve. With the teachers we would give them ideas on how to sustain the program and how to prepare documentation to apply for funding. The children were so eager to learn and I would teach them songs in English and they would teach me songs in Swahili. I really enjoyed my time with them the most and I miss them very much. I loved it so much that I plan on going back, again!

After a full-on cultural immersion experience in Vietnam (complete with riding on the backs of motorcycles with locals and trying to sleep to the sound of horking neighbours), I was ready to experience India with just a few more of the comforts of home.

Waiting for me at the airport (late on a Saturday night) to collect me from my 6 hour flight from Hong Kong, was a staff member and a driver from Cross-Cultural Solutions. From the moment, I stepped into the back of the SUV and got handed my welcome package, the staff at CCS took care of all of the little challenges and irritations of travel. They whisked myself and two of my fellow arriving volunteers to our humble flat (3 bedrooms - 8 people) near the Hauz Khas area of the city and got us settled into our orientation, sight seeing, and language lessons the next day.

In many ways, doing another CCS program felt an awful lot like coming home. After my 6 week program in Cape Town last year, I knew how the model of volunteer work, cultural exchange, and free time worked and it felt like I had simply arrived in a grittier, dustier, more polluted Cape Town (with even more amazing food and a completely different culture). Outside of a little bug I think I picked up on the plane, I got to skip the worst of the Delhi Belly and ate like a queen for 3 weeks.

My placement at Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying and the Destitute was more challenging that I expected. I had never worked with physically or mentally challenged people before and I think the culture shock of the placement was more intense than the culture shock of arriving in Delhi (keep in mind that I had spent the previous month in the wonderful chaos of Vietnam). I felt grateful to have had another CCS volunteer at the placement to show me around as well as the support of the staff in the Program Office to help me ease into my work. By my third week, I had settled into the routine of nail cutting, feeding, and spending time with a group of 70-80 women and left feeling so grateful for the opportunity I had to spend time with such an inspiring group of patients.

So far, Delhi has been one of my favourite places to volunteer because there is a great need for support, but there is also so much to learn from the culture and the people. With CCS, you will learn to speak basic Hindi, volunteer at an established NGO, see beautiful mosques and temples, learn about the history of the country in terms of politics and women's empowerment, and get a crash course in India's diverse religions and customs. You will also have enough free time to make a weekend trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, which is now one of the best memories of my life. I would return to New Delhi in a heartbeat and I think CCS does such a fantastic job of making India accessible to even the most novice of international volunteers.

My only two pieces of advice:
1. Keep your nails short because outbreaks of lice are rampant and even if you wash your hands, you can easily carry the little buggers around under you nails. You don't want to end up spending your last afternoon in New Delhi with de-lousing chemicals on your head (one of the few moments I didn't enjoy so much).
2. Buy extra pairs of the drawstring Indian pants because you will probably bring home a few extra pounds with you. The food coming out of the CCS kitchen is fantastic and hard to eat it with any kind kind of moderation (or maybe that is just me and my lack of will power when it comes to Indian food)...

My experience with the CCS Tanzania program was a great one. The staff was absolutely amazing, and I considered them to be my family away from home. In addition to the volunteer placement, I was able to go on safari and to nearby Zanzibar on the weekends. This was an experience that I will never forget. The town Bagamoyo (where I volunteered) means "lay down your heart," in Swahili. I definitely left part of my heart there.