Involvement Volunteers International (IVI)

Program Reviews

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Solange
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Cusco, Perú. English teaching

First of all, I took the HOP HOP BUS to get from Lima to Cusco, and it was the best thing to do! I traveled the south for 8 days and discovered wonderful places: Paracas, Huacachina, Nazca, Arequipa, Puno,...Cusco is much bigger than I thought. It's a great city full of colors, culture, and folklore. People are very friendly. I was volunteering 400 meters higher than Cusco, and it was quite cold up there (3800 meters). I had a wonderful time with the lovely children. Rogelio, founder of the school, was such a nice man!

The local team was very kind, available, and helpful. The Spanish courses were a big '+'.Food was delicious: being vegetarian, I was so happy to have all these incredible vegetables and fruits in so many veggie restaurants. Accommodation was nice. It would have been much better to know where I was going to teach.... it was so cold and 'dirty' (building under construction).

It was impossible to wear a dress or a skirt. My suitcase was not appropriate for teaching there.... But I survived

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Eliza
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Turtle Conservation in Bali

I volunteered in Indonesia. I did their turtle conservation project in Nusa Penida. I loved how friendly the people were who also volunteered. Comments on local team, food, and accommodation, everything was very neat. The rooms were good, the food was fine, and the local team was really kind.

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Carina
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Indonesia (Nusa Penida) Turtle Conservation

We collected waste on the streets, cared for the baby turtles (fed them, cleaned them, cleaned their tank), and on my last day, I was participating in letting them free :)

Comments on local team, food, and accommodation, the local team was sooo nice, helpful, and very openhearted! And even played live music for us daily, and organized a bonfire! Loved it!

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Seppe
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Cambodia - school Siem Reap

The people were very welcoming. The local team arranged for everything, from pick-up over transport and accommodation to food, very well. It's so nice to see the eagerness of the children to learn. The children (and people in general) are so polite, respectful and joyful. Great to see them open up to you when they get their trust and confidence. As mentioned above, the local team coordinated, supported, communicated, facilitated in a superb way! , I do understand that this might be difficult, but it would help the volunteers to prepare methods/tools/games/.

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Lilou
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Kenya, wildlife conservancy program

The trip was so interesting in terms of the diverse activities we did and the animals we could see. It was a dream to see the savanna and the animals, and we had the opportunity to do a safari in Masai Mara, which was amazing. We didn't expect to do that many activities, we visited tourist places in the first 2 weeks. The weather was great, sunny but not too hot, and then it became hotter and hotter, but still nice. The program with the giraffes was amazing, seeing these giants for real and in the natural environment is something else. They are such wonderful animals, and we are grateful to have helped with their conservation. The local team was helpful, kind, and Laban is the best guide! They made our experience in Kenya unforgettable and easy. We really appreciated the food, and the accommodation was great, except for some water issues but always solved in 1 day. Maybe updating some info on the website because it is written "no wifi" in the accommodation.

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Elisa
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Sri Lanka, Kandy (Special needs and village kids teaching)

I started with the cultural week, which was a nice introduction to the place and its culture (I would just recommend to reduce the amount of time dedicated to the "commercial" part/the shopping).
Volunteering was amazing. About special needs words cannot describe how beautiful it was spending time at that home. We were many volunteers, all sharing this thought.

Teaching to the village kids was very nice as well: the place was wonderful and the kids very kind and polite, and so happy to learn. I really enjoyed it!

The local team is amazing. All the coordinators were very kind and helpful, they are flexible and they constantly check with you if everything is fine: thanks everybody!

The food was good, with veg/non-veg options.
The accommodation is ok, everything is clean. I appreciated that when I asked to change my room with a different one, and after some days, they immediately agreed; it shows that they care.

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Elisa
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Goa slum outreach

Everything was amazing! Cultural week was very interesting and I really enjoy it, it was a nice introduction to a different culture. Volunteering was amazing: volunteering with the elderly was so rewarding. In the afternoon I volunteered with the slum kids, which was another great experience.

Local team was wonderful. Harseerat and Kallyan are so nice and helpful. They supported me during volunteering (they volunteered with me, and you can see how the kids and the elderly love them), and they helped me to experience all aspects of the local culture (food experiences included!). I was the only volunteer but I never felt alone.

Food was delicious, always fresh and varied.
Accomodation is amazing, not only the house/room, but the location as well. I have really loved this program, keep on!

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Nicolas
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Kenya, Nakuru - Medical/Nursing Project

Anything was great, i could depend on Green Lion for everything. Because of the health-care situation in Kenya, I was in a little healthcare center, but i really enjoyed it, everybody was welcoming and friendly, i could learn about the culture, the people and their diffrent medical treatments.
The team was amazing, everybody was really friendly and i could spend the weekend with them to get a closer look into the communitys. They provided delicious food and if i was on a trip the hole day, they packed me lunch. The accomodation had some little flawys, but the team could always help. Everything went smoothly, thank you for this experience!

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Melanie and Maja
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Thailand, Elephant Care and Rehabilitation

My daughter (18) and I (54) had a great time volunteering at the elephant project.
First of all everything was very good organized by involvement volunteer international in combination with volunteer world. All questions were answered quickly. We felt very good beeing taken care of while doing the booking, preparing the journey and during our stay.

We were taken to the elephant camp by a private driver five days a week. The trip took one hour each way. However, it passed quickly as every day there was something different to discover on our way there.

Beeing with the elephants was an amazing, unforgettable time. There were five elephants (50/60/10/4 and 1 year old). Our daily work started with cleaning the area, removing the elephant pu and leftover food, feeding them, preparing vitamin balls, going for a walk with them, bathing them in the river, sometimes collecting wood for a fireplace.
We had one hour lunch time. We got every day very lovely food and fresh fruits and had enough time to relax and observing the elephants.

The Manager, a very nice man, liked to tell us many things and answered all our 100 questions ;-)
We learnt so much about the elephants.

It was an amazing experience. As well as having an international exchange with the other volunteers at the accomodation. It was so interesting to hear and learn about the other foreign countries.

During our stay and our time at the elephant camp we were accompanied by a Thai coordinator. She was doing the work together with us and was the whole time available. We had a great time and it felt (still feels) like beeing friends.
We learnt so many things about the country and the locals.

The coordinator at the accomodation and all the other staff as the cook/housekeeping and the driver were very very nice, made feel us very comfortable, tried to assist and help whenever needed. We felt very good taken care of at all times.

The food was traditonal Thai food, always nicely prepared. Every day we got fresh fruits. The cook even asked us if we had a favorite dish she might once prepare.

The accomodation was very fine. It was a big villa, quiet located at a pond, next to a golf course. Everything seemed freshly renovated and was very clean. We booked a private room and therefore had a bathroom and toilette at our own. The other volunteers shared a room and had bathrooms outside on the floor. However, there were many bathrooms, so each person had one bathroom for himself.

Three days a week we did an excursion/visited a market together with the other volunteers. Therefore we had free transportation.

We also had tabletennis and bikes we could have used.

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Elise
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Zanzibar - Teaching Assistent

It was amazing! I learned so much about myself, what I want in life and about this new country. I spend 8 weeks volunteering and 2 weeks on my own. I felt safe and comfortable :) The people in Zanzibar are really nice and you can do a lot of excursions in your free time.

Comments on local team, food and accommodation.. The local team was the best part of my trip, they took such good care of me both physically and mentally. They are so kind and helpful, it felt like I was at home :)

The food was really nice and the accomodation as well, it was clean and it felt safe.