ISV (International Student Volunteers) Reviews

This has been the experience of a lifetime ! I recommend it to everyone - young an old ! Thank you ISV for the adventure ! 5/5 !!!!! I was on the 4 week project and adventure tour and the time flies. I was not home sick once and i have made friends for life ! The project was hard work but relly really inspiring ! I loved the children that surrounded were we worked. They would help and were so fun ! I loved the adventure tour as we did so much in only a short two weeks ! Seeing so much of Africa was AMAZING!

The highlight of the experience was the impact of completing the kindergarten for the younger children to start school and receive an valuable education.

I appreciated the efforts that my host family made, by bringing morning snacks as we worked

I had underestimated the heat and it was a challenge to keep working during the peak hours of the day. I found the task of removing the rust from the fence particularly difficult but always tried to keep the main vision in sight and remember the reason that I had volunteered to attend this program,

Volunteering at Masebe was incredible, our Field Guides were really knowledgable and friendly, as was the rest of the staff. They really made it feel like home.

It really didn't feel like work everyday we were out in the field, we had so much fun with the VCAs and Bird Point Counts thanks to our amazing Field Guides. Being in the reserve everyday was incredible and gave us ample opportunity to spot some wildlife, whether it was an elusive bird or a glimpse of a herd of Zebra, every sighting was exciting.

The scenery there is absolutely breathtaking, it's such a beautiful place, and to be surrounded by that everyday was just fantastic. The view from the top of Mt. Magagamatala made the hike up more than worth it (this coming from a girl who had never hiked a day in her life prior to the trip).

The environmental education was by far one of my favourite things that I got to do while on project. The kids were so eager to learn and just so enthusiastic--and they ran circles around us when we played games with them. They had such a positive attitude, and as much as we were there to teach them, I learned a lot from being around them.

This trip changed my life. The girl who left on the 2nd of January was not the same who returned home 4 weeks later. This trip pushed me to think more about how I impact the world (and environment) around me, it made me more confident in myself, I learned A LOT, and I really can't express enough how much I loved this experience. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

I would definitely recommend travelling to Thailand with ISV. They arranged everything and took a lot of worry off my mind. I had the best time, and met lots of new, interesting and friendly people. It's a great way to make new friends!

Trip of a lifetime! feeding, bathing, observing, caretaking for the elephants was breathtaking, learning and being amongst the elephants was incredible. You become carefree and change your perspective

When the opportunity comes, sign up to do the bungee jump on the adventure tour! I don't care how terrifying it sounds, or how much it freaks you out, The atmosphere was electric and it was the best experience of my life. Those in my group that didn't jump have told me that they regret it, and rightfully so. Watch "Jack's Bungy Jumping Adventure" on YouTube to see what we did.

I'll never forget this experience I had with my volunteer family and tour friends. I've learnt so much from this trip and made a lot of lifetime friends which we still keep in touch even after the tour. Thanks to ISV for making this possible :)

I enjoyed every single day and individual experience that I encountered during my three weeks. I spent my first week Spanish and Culture program in which I learned more in one week than I ever could have imagined. I had an amazing host family, great teachers, and had the opportunity to make many amazing friendships as well as explore the capital of Costa Rica. The volunteer portion of my trip was life-changing. My host family turned into a second family; amazing people that I feel like I have known my entire life thanks to their open arms and compassion. I felt like I truely made a difference in the community I volunteered in. It was hard work, but I was working with incredible passion with the same motivation and passion that I had. It felt like together as a team we could accomplish anything. My project leader was amazing. He is such a fun-loving yet hardworking guy who truly loves his job. I learned so much from him and could not have asked for a better leader to spend my two weeks with. When we weren't working on our volunteer project, we took part on some awesome activities. From jumping off cliffs next to waterfalls, to having community dinners and celebrations, to simply spending quality time with my host family, I enjoyed every minute of my experience. My three weeks spend in Costa Rica was a life-changing experience that I will never forget, spent with people from all over the world with whom I have made lifelong friendships.

ISV Australia is the trip that will change your life forever. When I am old and grey, this is the trip I will reminisce about. We homed over 60 sugar gliders in 12 hours, planted over 4000 trees in 8 days, learned to play the games of the culture, sat down with the natives and learned about their history and ancestry, saw some of the rarest sites in the world, helped educate a small Fijian village as a pit stop on our way back to America, and not to mention the friendships made and the person you become after you take a trip like this. I have made friends from all over the nation and all over the world that I have kept in touch with and visit to this day. I have been to the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Oprah House, Fraiser Island, surfed in Byron Bay, bungy jumped in Cairns, and went rappelling, white water rafting and saw the deadliest spider in the world (in it's natural habitat) all while driving up the coast! Not only do we work hard at our 7-8 locations, but on the way to the next location we stop to do bucket-list events!

When deciding where to volunteer abroad, I came across International Student Volunteers and was amazed at how thoroughly organized the program was. I immediately applied to volunteer and was accepted for my first choice, South Africa! They do everything for you, from the flight booking to the accommodations, to most of the meals and all of the activities you could possibly imagine doing while overseas. It was such a culturally rich experience and there was a diversity in activities during the adventure tour to please the thrill seeker and the cultural history buff at the same time.

The volunteer project that I was on in Cintsa East, South Africa, was an eye opening experience for me. We got to work side-by-side with locals in the community, we got to experience the Xhosa culture and ultimately put smiles on the faces of the children there. In fact, the entire experience made me realize that I wanted to pursue a career in Global Health which is exactly what I am doing now, two years later! I strongly suggest volunteering abroad with ISV if you have any desire to work with vulnerable populations, especially children, or if you are studying health/international development. It can definitely enrich your educational path.

It was also excellent that we had a fixed schedule day to day, waking up around 7:00am and travelling to our project. We had our lunches prepared for us and worked until between 2 and 4:00pm. In the evenings, we were free to go to the community store and to call home (which was incredibly easy from South Africa...only 1 rand a minute with a payphone). We also had our dinners prepared by our amazing house mother and got to spend quality time together all evening.

There were plenty of opportunities to learn about different African foods and cultures throughout the volunteer project and the adventure tour. We were able to participate in high adrenaline activities like caving and swimming with whale sharks, but we were also awarded cultural experiences like visiting an orphanage in Swaziland.

The ISV staff were generally very kind and helpful, with the exception of a couple incidents with our project leader, but overall we felt incredibly safe and supported the entire time.

I also went on this experience with my boyfriend and it was an excellent way to bond as a couple.

I would suggest this experience to absolutely anyone who was considering it!!