Program Reviews

Highlights of the trip:
Although we worked hard on repairing and painting the school’s rooftops, the highlight for me was being able to play soccer and volleyball with the students after the school day has concluded. Master Pate had asked if I could work with the children’s english on our off time. So as we played volleyball, I asked the children to count in english every time we hit the ball back up. We got it up to 23. They all loved it as every time the count had passed 15, their voices would start screaming 16, 17, 18, and so forth. That was so much fun!
Comments on the team:
The team was awesome! Very organized. Food at the end celebration at Masi’s house was excellent!!! Iri was an awesome host on the island as well!

Sri Lanka:
Highlights:
The highlight of Sri Lanka was definitely the team; the drivers, coordinators, managers, chef, cleaners – everyone was so helpful and lovely. Everything felt very well organised and I felt very comfortable to talk about anything with them. The people of Sri Lanka in general were all so beautiful and friendly.

Team, food and accommodation:
Again the team was amazing. The food was really good both at the accommodation and at the projects! I love spice, rice and curry so I was always happy. There was plenty of vegetables and plenty of food so always had enough to eat. The accommodation was clean, a nice temperature, hot and cold showers, lockers for valuables, good location.

Highlights of the trip:
One of the highlights of this trip was that I got to immerse myself in a cultural-rich environment, Tacloban City. During the time, I have been given opportunities to interact and connect with the local families and children, which in turn, brought me immeasurable amount of love and joy. I was assigned to a community-feeing project at Cangumbang; and this experience was incredible from the beginning till the end — from planning, forecasting ingredients, buying extra things out of my own expense, cooking to serving there weren’t moments I didn’t enjoy. I really looked forward to each day visiting the community there and feeding the sponsored children of up to 35. After feeding, I have enjoyed the playing and chilling times with the children because they are all welcoming, amiable and simple! In addition, this trip has made me cherish all that I have, such as access to clean drinkable water and advanced public health facilities such as paced pedestrian roads.
Comments on the team, food and accommodation:
The team was welcoming and warm-hearted. I could definitely tell that my vision with the organisation, is alike. Because that the Philippines is predominantly a Christian (Roman Catholic) country, I felt much more spiritually connected to the land and the people. The food provided by my homestay was simple yet delicious! I had no issue with the local food there at all because the filipino cuisine is very much like my home dishes, which I have found soul-comforting. Except that I had experience epsiodes of diarrhoea at the same time with my accompanying brother when we had our first contact with the restaurant foods in an adjacent mall.
My homestay was neat and simple; just needed to overcome the fears of insects (cockroaches, lizards, mice etc.) and bear with the challenge of bucket shower and no flush toilet. My homestay nanay was nice and friendly and has always treated me like a family. I just needed to report an incident of break-in into my homestay house. My homestay was alert of this thereafter and has changed the lock of the back door and the team was aware of this issue. So I believe this security issue would be improved in a later term.

Highlights of the trip:
As I have worked in Vanuatu previously I appreciated being accepted in the villages to complete the health checks. It was very special to be welcomed and see how they were so grateful for coming and teaching them things that would assist with their health and different choices that they can make.
The highlights were the Lelepa island – where we were asked to attend the home of a lady that had just passed to complete checks on the mourners. The lady had passed away from diabetes so this was very raw for them all.
To be able to be there on International Day and watch how proud they are during their celebrations with one of my old friends was pretty emotional.
Comments on the team, food and accommodation:
Carrun did an exceptional job at balancing the team as people management is one of the toughest tasks. I was one of the oldies and I snored, so I fit in well 🙂 The younger girls have not experienced the village life – let alone been away from their families before and this was an eye opener for them. It would have been good if we did experience the local food as the food mainly ranged from rice, potato, and pasta dishes. More vegies would have been awesome. The accommodation was at best a lodge, the house next door had the rooms rented out during the time we where there, so I know I still used the bathroom next door but the the other girls would not after James left the first week.
The sliding door did not lock and the back door was always unlocked for the other tenants to use the kitchen -which they did very rarely.
The drivers were great and Maryson, Madeline and Lynne were gorgeous ladies that went out of their way to assist all of us especially the younger girls to try and make their experience special

Highlights:
The highlight of Sri Lanka was definitely the team; the drivers, coordinators, managers, chef, cleaners – everyone was so helpful and lovely. Everything felt very well organised and I felt very comfortable to talk about anything with them. The people of Sri Lanka in general were all so beautiful and friendly.

Team, food and accommodation:
Again the team was amazing. The food was really good both at the accommodation and at the projects! I love spice, rice and curry so I was always happy. There was plenty of vegetables and plenty of food so always had enough to eat. The accommodation was clean, a nice temperature, hot and cold showers, lockers for valuables, good location.

Highlights:
The highlight of Sri Lanka was definitely the team; the drivers, coordinators, managers, chef, cleaners – everyone was so helpful and lovely. Everything felt very well organised and I felt very comfortable to talk about anything with them. The people of Sri Lanka in general were all so beautiful and friendly.

Team, food and accommodation:
Again the team was amazing. The food was really good both at the accommodation and at the projects! I love spice, rice and curry so I was always happy. There was plenty of vegetables and plenty of food so always had enough to eat. The accommodation was clean, a nice temperature, hot and cold showers, lockers for valuables, good location.

Fiji:
Highlights:
The highlight for me was the home stay option, being able to stay with a family and make a real connection was the best experience. I was so sad to leave the first family, only to be greeted by another really nice family who welcomed me into their home. It was great to see how they lived including eating, sleeping and everyday chores.

Team, food and accommodation:
Masi, his wife Mere and their son Marika were so nice! Marika was there waiting for me at the airport. They made me feel very welcomed (even had Mere check my hair for head lice). The accommodation with them was very nice, clean house, very comfy beds and I felt safe. Also a great location, easy to walk to town and back. Mere made nice food for dinner every night.
The food at the first accommodation was really good and traditional, getting me to try a lot of local cuisine. My room was nice and the bathroom was also nice, very clean house.
The second family on the island also provided delicious food and plenty of it! However I definitely was missing fruit and greens. The bathroom could do with some work but I understand with a large family and children it can get dirty very quick along with the rest of the house. My bedroom was the computer room next door and was clean and big.

Highlights of the trip:

-Interacting with the kids, who are so genuinely excited to see you. It’s amazing how accepting, grateful and respectful they are!
-Meeting people from all around the world, particularly Europe! Made friends with girls from all over Europe and America, whom we met up in Bangkok for the weekend!
-The locals: everyone was so friendly and welcoming, and more than happy to help with directions.

Comments on the team, food and accommodation:
The team, particularly the team leaders, were lovely and always tried their best to answer your questions and were very informative regarding plans, times, meeting points etc. The shared dorms were also great, and were important in getting to know to others. The food was nice most days too, and kept us going throughout the day.

Thinking back to the two weeks that I spent in Vanuatu volunteering was magical and amazing. It opened up my mind much more, to see the world in greater depths as we should not always take everything for granted.

The challenges that we face in our everyday lives will always take a step backward when we see families in Vanuatu without access to clean sanitation and education as well as limited food supplies of nutritional value. Therefore, this volunteering program was extra special and made me realise that helping others doesn’t bring a sense of joy to them but ourselves too. For example, when a lady who was quite emotional and anxious about her blood glucose levels told me “god bless you” after giving her the all thumbs up news.

Even though I attempt to act as a qualified practitioner, what we can do is so meaningful and adds a little reassurance to our hearts. Throughout these two weeks, we got to measure people’s hip circumference, weight, height as well as blood pressure and blood glucose levels as a part of a free medical check-up for the villagers in Vanuatu. I initially thought that there was a blood pressure monitor provided to take their readings but as soon as we were given stethoscopes I started to freak out.

With numerous practice in our lodge, I was becoming more confident until we got to the actual village setting was a different story. I find it most challenging with background noises around as I was always used to the tranquility and laid-back environment in our lodge for practice. Even some of the children were attached to their parents so it was really difficult getting an accurate measurement from their fidgeting movements. But I think pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones and discovering new things is important as you will never predict where you can be in the future. I wanted to say this because special shout-out to Cherry who always wants me to be the best version of myself encouraged me to sign up and great memories can be made.
What amazed me was when the newborns were weighed on a supermarket scale as they lacked basic supplies. All in all the Vanuateers (amazing people who I was lucky enough to share the experience with), co-ordinators including Carrun, Meriam and Lynne (incredible mentors making our Vanuatu days much easier and co-ordinated) made it an unforgettable experience and one to never forget!

Highlights of the trip:
Being greeted at the airport by our drivers, and our first night staying in Lautoka with Litea and her family – she went above and beyond to welcome us to Fiji and ensure that we felt comfortable in her home. She took us shopping and to church on Sunday before serving us lunch and making sure we made it to Port Denarau in time for the ferry.
Getting to experience daily life and culture on the island – our hosts were extremely accommodating and attentive to our needs, and the kids were great tour guides for our afternoons after school. By the end of the week, it already felt like I was becoming a member of my host family.
It was interesting to see how developed the school was despite being in such a remote location – the classrooms were well built and the teachers were very professional and knowledgeable.
The kids, although a little rowdy, were eager to learn and share with us. It was a pleasure and an honour to have the opportunity to teach Class 1 for a couple of mornings, as well as some sessions with Class 2 and 5.
Comments on the team, food and accommodation:
Masi made sure our transport and accommodations at arrival in Fiji were all taken care of – even though he was in Suva, he made sure to phone in and check on us, and explain the arrangements for our transport to Yanuya – this was much appreciated. His son was also very helpful in arranging for our water and kava root to be bought and delivered to the ferry terminal.
Litea and her family were amazing hosts for our first night in Fiji – her home was very comfortable, the food was delicious, and we enjoyed interacting with her daughter and grandchildren.
The transport to and from Yanuya was well organised. We appreciated the efforts made to pick up and drop us off in the longboat from the ferry across to the island.
The headmaster and teachers at the school were very welcoming, and helpful with any questions we may have had during our stay. I appreciated the efforts they made to include us in their classes on the first day / orientation.
My host family were a joy and pleasure to stay with. They were very welcoming to both myself and my travel companions.
The room prepared for my stay was large, clean and comfortable. I was surprised to find that there was electricity / wired lighting provided in the room, and I could have my bedroom light on as late as I wished.
My host mother, Oni, went to great efforts to prepare all meals from scratch, including rising early to prepare fresh bread rolls for my breakfast on several mornings. She was also accommodating of my dietary requirements, making sure not to include any foods I was sensitive to, and making a special trip to the markets to get pineapple when she found out it was my favourite.
When I fell ill on the Thursday night, she was also very attentive to my needs, and prepared only the foods I requested for the remainder of my stay.
I did not see her husband very often whilst I was on the island, but appreciated him meeting us at Port Denarau on our return from Yanuya, and arranging transport for us to the resort.