Program Reviews

South Africa changed my life. I went into this trip with an open mind not expecting too much like coming out with some new passport stamps and academic credit for my school. Man, could I have been more naive of what was about to happen.

I was able to volunteer for two weeks in the "Bush" with no wifi or anything around for that matter. It absolutely amazing to be completely off grid and really get in touch with nature. I was able to truly appreciate clean air, the quiet sounds of nature, and the unbelievable stars we saw at night. These two weeks challenged my values and made me think of what was really important in life. The project leader would give lectures on sustainability and showed us new ways to be sustainable and changed so many of values I can't even begin to explain. For example, I never will use plastic bags again, shorter showers, became a vegetarian on the trip, appreciating everything, and overall living a sustainable life when we got back home.

Then we had the adventure tour for two weeks, and what a adventure tour it was!! We started off walking with elephants and experiencing all the different parts of South African culture. Then we were off to Blyde River Canyon where we saw animals right up close to our cabins, and kloofing definitely challenged mentally and physically but was one of my favorite days of the whole trip. Then we were able to go to the famous Kruger National Park where we were able to see 4/5 of the big 5! Then we went to Swaziland where I got to go horse back riding around our accommodations and we went to the local orphanage. The orphanage made me not only thankful to be able to volunteer at such a unique place with such wonderful children but realize that our petty problems are nothing in the "big picture" of life. We were also able to go caving which was incredibly challenging and a whole lot of fun. Then we were off the Mozambique where we got go scuba diving, snorkeling with dolphins, and surfing! Being a marine biology major, I had such a blast at Mozambique in particular with such beautiful beaches and ocean. It was one of the most relaxing of the trip.

Then as my 4th-week friends went back home, I stayed with the 5th-week excursion people. If you have the money, it is unbelievably worth it!!! We went to Zambia where we able to go white water rafting on level 4 to level 5 rapids which for my first time was incredible and I want to go rafting again. Then I was able to go on a microlight flight where I saw the beautiful Victoria Falls from the air, which is a little expensive but the experience is worth it. I was able to make a big cross off my bucket list with doing Bungee jumping, which was so scary and adrenaline filled it's so worth it! We got to see the Falls up close and get drenched by the mist, bring water proof camera for that day! Then we made our way to Botswana where I had the best game drives of the entire trip these two days! We not only saw so many lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, etc., but it made for one incredible camping night!

I wouldn't trade this trip for the world. I will always remember the memories I made but also got me thinking of the potential working jobs or internships I want in the future. If you do this trip, it may be expensive but through fundraising early and getting excited it is well worth it. Last piece of advice make sure to JOURNAL YOUR TRIP, it will be a lifesaver when thinking of all the amazing experiences you had. From this Texas Aggie you will not regret one minute of it!

It is very difficult to pick just one moment from my trip because this experience was truly a dream. I had the opportunity to push myself physically and mentally which allowed me to progress as an overall person in my journey through life which I am so thankful for. After the first 2 weeks of the volunteer program was over, we continued on to the adventure tour where we explored Costa Rica and all it has to offer. The first few days of the adventure really stuck out to me because of the fact that we jumped right into a 3 day white water rafting trip, which i had never done before. With our guides being members of the Brazilian rafting team, the leadership was very strong. However, they didn't speak very much english. This, although it was an obstacle, forced us to really come together as a team and communicate with each other during all times since we were riding through class III and IV rapids; pretty intense! The rain started to come down pretty hard about half way through the trip on the first day. Since our lodge was only accessible by raft due to the fact that it was built into the side of the mountain in the middle of the rainforest on the Pacuare River, we had to persevere and continue on until we reached our final destination. Once we arrived, my team and I climbed 850 steps through the jungle to the top of the mountain where we found infinite pastures that presented such immense depth of the forest, I was at a loss for words. The views that met my eyes were absolutely breathtaking, i can assure you they will forever be ingrained in my mind. Not to mention, on the third day the guides allowed us to jump out of the rafts to swim down a safe portion of the river. The water was aqua blue and very refreshing. These 3 days of white water rafting taught me how important team work was and showed me how beautiful the land of Costa Rica truly is.

It's hard to even put into words everything that the ISV program has done for me. I had super high expectations for this trip: I was going to feel good about giving back to a community, explore all of New Zealand, and find myself along the way. This trip exceeded my expectations by far! I have never been so carefree happy in my entire life. I got to work on an awesome project restoring an island by planting trees, weeding, seed collecting, beach cleanup, monitoring rare New Zealand animals, and even more. Nothing was more rewarding than those two weeks. And then to go explore the country from south to north seeing everything that New Zealand has to offer. Every time I turned my head it was another perfect screen saver image. Then to not only be able to give back and explore, but genuinely learn the culture as we went too was something you don’t always necessarily get abroad. But the best part about the entire trip was the people I got to meet along the way. My project leader and adventure tour leader were truly amazing. They were both so kind and caring, made me feel safe the entire time, and taught me so much. And the team I worked with volunteering, they’re such great people and I know I made lifelong friendships with them. I indeed felt like I made a family by the end of that month, my whanau. I know I couldn’t have gotten this experience with any other program; I didn’t want it to come to an end. I recommend this program to every student! It’s honestly one of the best experiences and completely worthwhile. I just want to thank ISV for everything they have done. I appreciate it greatly for giving me the opportunity to have the best life changing experience I ever could’ve imagined. I would travel with them every summer if I could.

During my trip with ISV my project group volunteered in the Wild Mountains. This property is a buffer land that sits on the boarder of Queensland and New South Whales within the bush to try and protect the neighboring national park from invasive species. I was very skeptical of this project at first because I am a biology major with an emphasis in pre-med. Plants and conservation were an area I was not familiar with. However, between the helpfulness of ISV and their staff and the group of students I was paired with, this experience quickly became the best experience of my entire life. Not only was the volunteer project new and challenging, but also so rewarding. Walking around the property and seeing the work that previous ISV students had completed was one of the most amazing feelings. It made all of us realize that we truly were rebuilding Australia's amazing sub-tropical rain forest. After the volunteer portion of the trip came the adventure tour. As the title says "life begins at the end of you comfort zone," you definitely take very large steps away from what you think is a comfortable place. From Skydiving to scuba diving to repelling off of cliffs, you get to see everything Australia has to offer as you travel down their eastern coast. On this trip I not only gained new insight on Australia and the world but I also made a group of friends that will last me a lifetime.

An absolutely unparalleled experience.

I am not sure that there is any story I can share that another has not shared already. Helping out communities that live in "housing" they can barely move in and throughout was extremely rewarding. Hearing about how the locals live, how blocks of housing share toiletries, how little is available in every sense of what we call living, and yet, there was not one individual without a smile. There was no such thing as negativity, as everyone wore their heart on their sleeve, and brought yours out with them.

The families in the poverty-stricken townships never take anything for granted, and this is a lesson we all learned and implemented very quickly. There are some you may never see again, which can very easily and unpredictably tear your heart into pieces. But, as most of those pieces will heal, some of those pieces will forever remain with the people who's hearts you have touched. As their smiles will forever be with you.

There are two quotes that I saw on this trip that were meant to be:
The first was painted on the side of a wall in one of the communities. It said, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven. Matthew 5v16".
The second was an insert from a book, and said, "On the street I saw a naked child, hungry and shivering in the cold. I became angry and said to God, 'Why do you permit this? Why don't you do something?' For a while God said nothing. That night he replied, quite suddenly, 'I certainly did something. I made you.'"
We are one, across the world, and need to treat and take care of each other as such. ISV gave me the best, most tremendous, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do just that. They have nothing, but still imagine beauty. Will you do the same? If so, I can promise you will not regret it.

It is hard to even begin to summarize my experience because I think every aspect of it was truly amazing. I have never left the North American continent, so heading over to New Zealand was a big trip for me. From the moment I stepped off the plane, I loved being there. We had a random day off in Auckland which does not normally happen, but I was glad because I did not go on the Adventure Tour and had a chance to explore an urban part of New Zealand. I would recommend going on the adventure because everyone I know who did had a really great time, but I was perfectly okay with just volunteering. I, personally, wanted to go to New Zealand for the purpose of volunteering.

Most of our time was spent on the marae. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. It was such a treat to wake up in the morning and be in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

The work was totally fine. Leaders were accommodating to each person's individual ability and it truly was not that difficult of a task. After the first day or so you get the hang of it and you move right along. It is really nothing to be worried about and it helps knowing that you are planting trees for a purpose. I cannot lie and say I loved every second of planting, but on the whole, I did enjoy doing it especially because it was going to make a difference in the environment and in the lives of the people who lived there. There are also a few off days, which were great for exploring. One off day we went on a hike and the other one was spent in a town called Paihia doing a variety of things.

I enjoyed doing the chores we had to do because I learned a few skills in the kitchen and how to maintain a fire. We were separated into groups and rotated chores daily (chores did not take very long to do and were never hard). There is a huge sense of learning to rely on other people and community through this. Food was always really good, sleeping arrangements were interesting (because it is basically a massive sleepover for two weeks- everyone is in the same room. I would not have wanted it any other way.), and bathroom facilities were great. There is no electricity, but a generator is used at night for dinner until bed and then turned on in the morning to wake everyone up and to make breakfast (lunch was packed for the workday at breakfast-time, but don't worry-snacks were available during downtimes). You will definitely need a good flashlight.

I live in a city, so going out into rural New Zealand and living on a farm for two weeks was an incredibly enlightening experience. I especially loved the farm dogs.

But not only were we planting trees to better the environment, the experiences we had helped us better ourselves. I learned so much about Maori culture and the family whose land we were living on are probably the nicest people I have ever met. They were all so welcoming and made you feel right at home. Take advantage of after-work tea time.

I was fully immersed into a situation I had never, in the slightest, been in before, and it was the best decision I ever made.

From the moment I was handed a flyer for ISV in my Political Science class I knew it was something I wanted to do. I took it into my own hands to go to an information session about ISV and the different programs it offers and I was blown away. They offer so many different countries and many types of volunteer work. Of course, I chose Thailand. I have an immense love for elephants and have wanted to visit Thailand for years, and going through ISV seemed like the best way to do it. Throughout my two weeks working elephant conservation, I learned more about not only myself, but about elephants, thai culture and thai language. The village people even took us out to places we would have never seen or known about without their friendship and kindness. I worked at Ran Tong Save & Rescue Centre, and loved every second of it. They aren't funded by the government so people that come to volunteer, or pay for a whole day with elephants makes a huge difference for the site. That's how the fund everything. Our main task was to build a bamboo fence along the entrance of the centre so that the elephants may roam wherever they please without disturbing the nearby villagers. While the work was hard and strenuous, I wouldn't have traded that opportunity for anything. Getting to know the elephants and the mahouts on a personal level was unbelievable. We even got a day off from the elephant conservation (who would want that?) & we got to teach English at the local elementary school! That was an amazing experience, I purchased things at a local store to donate to the class and they absolutely loved it. The students already knew so much English it was hard to actually teach them! We ended up just playing games. That was really cool, and I feel lucky that they through something like that into our work. The people at Ran Tong have so much kindness and generosity it is absolutely amazing. My group and I didn't even want to leave Ran Tong at the end of the Project Tour! We would have been easily happy working there for the whole month. Yet, moving on to the Adventure Tour was insane! We got to experience things together that I've never experienced before. From white water rafting in Northern Thailand to Snorkeling at the Phi Phi Islands. We adventured our butts off! This experience was actually mind blowing, and it still amazes me that I've done all the things I've done in such a small amount of time. I did not want to leave Thailand and all the wonderful friends I made through the ISV program. I definitely recommend it, and I would encourage everyone to choose elephant conservation in hopes that they get Ran Tong Save & Rescue Centre, because they deserve so much more attention and gratitude.

As a student that is more involved with animals and marine ecosystems I was a bit skeptical about being up in the mountains and working with plants. I knew they were important, but I figured I'd let the plant people deal with the plants and I can worry about the animals. Once I was there and engulfed in the trees my views completely changed. I saw the importance and beauty of each individual tree and plant and the real dangers of others. One friend brushed her hand on a stinging tree and she was hurting for days and she still says that her hand will sting from time to time. Each creature, plant or animal, deserves appreciation and respect and we can just focus on one little aspect of our world, but all of them as a whole.

ISV is an amazing program to go with when you want to travel and do some volunteer work at the same time. They showed you Africa in a way that I can never forget. They opened my eyes to this beautiful country and it has allowed me to share my experience with others. I am so glad that I discovered ISV and I did this trip. I want to change the world and they allowed me to do it overseas and at home. This has been an eye opening experience and I can't wait to go back and go with ISV again.

Conservation is always something I have been very passionate about. The time I spent at Banrock Station in South Australia has deepened my passion for the conservation efforts in environments all over the world and it has certainly made me more conscious of my lifestyle.
My most memorable story is one from the very last night on project in South Australia. The Kingston-on-Murray Caravan park where we had been staying for the past two weeks had a dock on the river with an incredible view of the stars so, myself and my fellow ISV participants grabbed blankets and pillows and headed to the docks. I don't remember how long we stayed there but I had never seen a shooting star and by the end of the night I had seen five. FIVE!! The milky way was clearly visible and the spot in which I would usually look up to see the big dipper was replaced with the southern cross. As we lay there in comfortable silence I couldn't help but reflect on the friendships I had made and the impact my new friends and I made on the local environment at Banrock Station. It was truly a life changing experience.