Program Reviews

Wow was this trip life changing. My experience in Nepal was incredibly eye opening. The city of Kathmandu is hustle and bustle and very intense upon arrival, intimidating and scary to say the least but not long into my first day I was found in the good hands of my new sister, Pratima. An employee of Global Crossroads who would become my language teacher and dear friend.
My time teaching at the monastery was the highlight of my trip. I had a class of 20 young boys who I would teach English to for 2 hours per day. They were so pure and fun.
Global Crossroads did what they could to prepare me mentally for the culture shock but I don’t think that anything can prepare a westerner for the world of Nepal. As I said, intense. Though I found a peace there with my new family. I think Global Crossroads has good quality people in Nepal working for them. In my program at least, and this is what made all the difference.
In my time I stayed at the global crossroads hostel, which I met other travellers and was taken amazing care of by sisters. My Didi made me feel very welcome and loved. I also stayed with a host family, who showed me around and took me in as one of theirs.
This was a great experience. Once I spent time in Nepal I came to think that the prices Global Crossroads has charged me may be a little bit overpriced. Just as Nepal is so so cheap, but my experience was worth all the money I had spent so this is not a huge complaint, just a note.
Thank you to the team for the support and to my family in Nepal, I will always remember ❤️❤️

My friend and I recently completed the volunteering at a Buddhist Monastery in Kathmandu, where we were teaching English to the young monks. The program was two weeks long, with both Saturdays off. The program administrators in Kathmandu were amazing and helped us feel settled immediately upon arrival. Everything was so organized and neither of us ever felt unsafe. The program required little planning on our part, as the team in Kathmandu took care of most of the logistics prior to our arrival. We were picked up at the airport on time, taken to the hostel where we met the program coordinators and our hosts, and then taken to our home-stay a couple of days later. The teaching was amazing, and was a completely unforgettable experience for the both of us, and we would highly recommend it. The monastery was so welcoming, and the boys were so helpful and willing to learn. Exploring during the day was so fun and we never ran out of places to see, the people in Nepal are also amazing and are so helpful and kind. The home-stay was also great, as we were given a safe place to stay with good food and friendly hosts. Overall, my experience with Global Crossroads - Nepal was amazing, and incredibly well-organized!

For three weeks I, a recently retired high school teacher and my husband, a recently retired IT engineer (my classroom assistant) taught English to several grades in a poor indigenous school in Quito. VERY FULFILLING. Friendly (albeit occasionally undisciplined) kids, appreciative staff, super helpful in-country support person. Celebrating spring equinox a highlight. Brought many teaching supplies and helped with English pronunciation. Very friendly homestay with generous hosts, comfortable lodgings and terrific food. Explored Quito's ethnographic museums, amazing cathedrals and lively city squares. Drove to the equator, volcanoes and cloud forest. Treated ourselves to The Galapagos at the end. Ecuador is beautiful and Quito is magnificent.

Global Crossroads always answers very quickly if you have any concerns due to your volunteering. The staff are also very nice and can help you set up everything you want to see. The culture and language program was also very informative and really helped with talking a bit Nepali. The Medical project in Nepal was very cool and i learnt a lot. The hospital staff was very nice, and loved to explain the cases, and teach you the most basic skills of nursing and being a doctor. My coordinator was very flexible and quick to help me book tickets, guiding or recommendations. The natives in Nepal are very nice and friendly. They are always trying to help you. Kathmandu is also a great city, and they have almost everything from great temples to hiking gear.

I arrived in Nairobi Kenya a week ago for a medical volunteer opportunity. I am a 4th year nursing student with a passion for global health and thought this would be a meaningful and exciting opportunity to both help and learn. Global Crossroads was extremely helpful in expediting my application and offering support in the process, answering all my questions very well. They connected me with the Kenyan country coordinator, Barnabas, who immediately touched base to begin the preparations to come to Kenya. He offered support and answered all my questions in a very timely manner!

Arriving in Nairobi was a smooth process due to good communication. Barnabas and Chris arranged to pick me up and Chris was waiting at the airport. They replied right away to my messages. I had a very warm welcome from Barnabas and his family at their home, and they made sure to answer all my questions and orientate me to the house. Throughout the week they have become like family, cooking delicious Kenyan meals and ensuring my needs are met. Their kids are adorable! I had the opportunity to go their church with them as well on Sunday.

Barnabas has always been caring, he makes sure to check in with me, give me directions, and makes sure I am safe. His team orientated me to the route to the clinic and made sure I am safe getting there. The clinic is located in Kibera; I was very concerned about safety before visiting Kibera but I found it is fine and the route is direct to the clinic. As long as I do not loiter on the path, I have never felt unsafe. Barnabas and his team have also have helped me buy a SIM card, load it multiple times, plan a safari, taken me on day tours, and helped me plan a weekend trip to Mombasa.

The clinic is in a church compound and has a doctor, a lab technician, a receptionist, and a dentist. They are such an awesome team. They were kind and supportive in orientating me to the Kenyan healthcare system, teaching me about medicines and diseases specific to this part of the world, and giving me opportunities to practice. Most people speak at least some English, though it helps to learn some words in Swahili. Be prepared to think outside the box and learn to do procedures etc. with fewer supplies than you may be used to.

The biggest concern I faced when deciding to come to Kenya was the safety. I had heard so many stories about how unsafe Kenya is. However, I find that as long as you are careful (as you should be in most places when travelling), take safety advice from the local team, and ensure Barnabas knows where you are, you will be fine. It has been such an amazing experience, and I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants an adventure and a great learning opportunity. I have not felt unsafe the entire time I have been here, and I walk to and from the clinic alone each day and have gone on a safari and other day tours.

Advice if you decide to come: Come with an open mind. Learn as much as you can. Be ready for water shortages if there is no rain (dry season). Be excited, because you are going to have such a great time!

I completed a two week medical volunteer program via global crossroads. It was a really great experience as I did not know what to expect.
The global crossroads team before my trip were always readily available to contact and provided all the information required. The placement itself at THK was really interesting and I learnt a lot about completely different health care system in a different part of the world. It was definitely a more observatory role, but during the ward rounds the team would engage and teach along the way.
My homestay with Michael was fantastic - he was always readily contactable and ensured we were as comfortable as we could be (despite the heat!), the rooms and bathroom are clean and the daily meals were great - especially the rice and curry for lunch! It really added to the whole program and I would recommend staying here as it provides you with a more genuine experience as well as having someone there that is able to assist you with transport/bookings etc.

In March, 2018, my husband Greg and I -- both recently retired professionals, me a teacher -- had the amazing opportunity of teaching in a Mayan village about an hour outside of Xela, Guatemala. This was a super supportive school, with colourful classrooms, appreciative staff, friendly students, and an encouraging administration who actually asked us to present a Professional Education session to his staff on HOW to teach English as a Second Language (with games, songs, posters etc). We LOVED every day in the school. Our homestay was fine and the chicken bus rides a bit scary, but our Spanish classes were helpful, and our weekend tours of Guatemala were fabulous. On the whole, we highly recommend this volunteer adventure trip, and we gained real insights into Guatemalan life. We are already planning for Ecuador for 2019.

It was an incredible experience in Kenya, it is hard to describe in words. From the moment I arrived I felt at home and very welcome in the centre. I volunteered to teach English & Math to during my 2 weeks stay at the centre & I was given the teaching aids that were necessary for classes. If I had problems or needed assistance other teachers were always there to help me. Barnabas was a fantastic source of information and advice during my stay. I found the students to be very eager to learn and very courteous in class. It was just such a pity to find them with only one book to work from for the whole class. Nonetheless, the teachers manage with what little resources they have & they are a great inspiration for the children. I extended my stay there by another week but that was still far too little time to be spending with such great children. I will definitely go back as soon as I can organize for it.

I was welcomed into the host family as their own. It really felt like home. My host sacrificed her own time at weekends to bring me to the Giraffe Centre & the Bomas of Kenya. She also helped me to buy provisions for the orphanage – taking another whole day of her personal time. In terms of the livings conditions I found the house to be most comfortable and the quality of the meals I received was excellent.

On the last week of my stay in Kenya I did the Safari as well. It was absolutely fantastic. The driver, Sammy, was very competent – I felt very safe in the vehicle on such rocky roads! He was also very knowledgeable with respect to the wildlife – in terms of both identification and giving us information about specific animals. The campsite was well run – it was clean & even had hot showers on our second day! The food was also very good.

The family was awesome! They made us feel like if we were at home, always caring about our well being and available for anything we needed. The food was really good, the location was very convenient in order to move around and go to Delhi and other places. We think this family has been very concerned about our security and so committed to us.
About the Hands on medical program, it was a 100% what we were expecting as we felt really useful and learnt a lot. The Doctor was very committed, and kind with us. He also helped us getting our tickets to go to Agra even though it was not his role inside the company. However, we think it would be really helpful for other volunteers if the first day, somebody would give them a daily schedule of the program with the time and places in order to organize better themselves. We also think it is very important that the company explains a bit better before starting the program which are the medical abilities needed in order to be useful during the project because we think without the abilities needed such as knowing how to use a stethoscope and doing complete physical exploration to patients, the help to the people wouldn’t be sufficient.
Speaking of our country coordinator, we cannot say much as we met him literally for 15 minutes. Luckily, his job was done by the family’s daughter, Sarita, who was quite helpful.
Overall, our experience has been amazing and has helped us improve our medical career; we would definitely recommend it to another person.

CAM Special Ed school is a wonderful program for handicapped children. The children are well cared for and the teachers are exceptional. However as volunteers without decent Spanish, and maybe even if we had good Spanish, we were much more observers than doers- something we had not expected and was disappointing for us. We really could not contribute in a meaningful way, but since the staff had things under control, that was hardly a crisis. We stayed with a wonderful family with good accommodation and always felt safe. Melaque has a stunning beach and the area is still ‘old Mexico’ with great eats and inexpensive prices. We reservedly recommend; all depends what you’re looking for. This opportunity is pretty laid back but may be suitable for some.