ISV (International Student Volunteers) Reviews

Participating in an ISV program was, and probably will still be, one of the best experiences of my life! The volunteer portion of the program really integrates you into the country and teaches you about the culture and environment you are working in. I traveled to Australia and we got to stay in A-frame tents in the mountains of the rain forest! The scenery was spectacular and we saw more wildlife on our site than we would if we took a tourist vacation, including wild koalas bears, wallabies, parrots and a python! Our daily schedule wasn't too strenuous, yet we worked hard to make a positive impact on the environment. Some days were tiresome like when we weeded out large, tree-like weeds, but the social aspect of being around your fellow volunteers made times fun and entertaining. During our free time, we took hikes to a waterfall, had fires at night, and even were taught how to knit beanies and make hand made jewelry. Our host organization and leaders were great! They were all friendly, fun to be around, and our cook made amazing food with our help!
The second part of the ISV program is the adventure tour, which is the most fun and adrenaline pumping two weeks you will have in your entire life! Everyday had some kind of amazing activity like white water rafting, snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, visiting an Aboriginal park, and free days where you can relax, explore, or participate in offered activities in the area. At times the schedule can wear you out because you are having action packed days and late nights out on the town. The free days give you time to relax and take it easy if you want, or if you’re me, go bungee jumping and keep taking in all the excitement! We took a large coach bus from town to town and sometimes they were overnight rides. These were for further destinations so we weren’t wasting time driving much during the day. Accommodations for the trip were all pretty nice. I didn't know what to expect staying in hostels, but some were really nice and exceeded my expectations! Overall, this trip is worth every penny and you will have the experience of a lifetime! I think if someone were to plan a trip like this for themselves, they would end up paying even more and not do as many amazing things and see the culture and environment like we did! The volunteer portion allows you to see the wildlife and scenery better than any tourist ever would, and the adventure tour takes you more places and offers you more activities than you could ever imagine! I will remember this trip for the rest of my life and suggest it to anyone interested in traveling and making a difference overseas!

I still remember the fateful day when an enthusiastic man with an Australian accent entered my math class and changed my life in under thirty seconds, or at least provided a catalyst for change. After looking at the ISV pamphlet I just knew that I had to go on one of these trips. The staff helped me decide on the Dominican Republic based on my interest in childhood education. The following summer I found myself riding a Safari truck, surrounded by friends, watching a rainbow of houses on stilts, a lush tropical forest, and waving locals, zoom by as we rode up a mountain to the place where we would spend many hours digging, shoveling and laying bricks. The neatest part about the construction project was the locals that helped us. At one point, an elderly woman asked to borrow my pick axe and proceeded to clear out more weeds than I had in the last half hour in thirty seconds. Her strength and character was inspiring. Later that week I found myself teaching a yoga lesson in Spanish to a group of beautiful children. When we asked the pre-schoolers who their role model was, they unanimously replied, "Yos", or God. To see the simple joy that I could bring through throwing a ball with a young child, or conversing to another about baseball, changed my heart forever. I witnessed a lunar rainbow and a million smiles that were equally illuminating while in the Dominican Republic. But what really made this trip life changing for me, was the friendships I formed with my fellow volunteers. It took but two weeks for me to fall in love with the country the culture, and a dozen people that I just met. I am a more educated, more compassionate person because of that trip, but most importantly, I was inspired to promote change through education and compassion.

To start the trip off, we got to volunteer for a full two weeks- food and board were completely provided for this portion of the trip. I was placed in an Educational Facility called Wild Mountains. We helped rehabilitate part of the rain forest by planting trees and weeding- and not your typical garden weeds- these weeds were the size of trees- they were trees! We also helped with building maintenance- bathroom repair and oiling etc, as well as little odds and ends like building new shelves in the pantry and a new garden seat for a new amphitheater we helped build. A group of 12 strangers showed up, and a group of 12 friends left- with a new respect for life- this was the heart warming part.

We then got to meet up with all the travellers for ISV in Australia and travel down the coastline from Cairns to Sydney- and this is where the Adrenaline began! We went bungee jumping, sky diving, snorkling on the great barrier reef, white water rafting, ocean rafting, ocean kayaking, hiking, swimming, clubbing- everything you could want to do- we did.

Breakfasts were always included at the hostels, some dinners were covered, and other nights our tour leaders got us really good deals, and lunches were almost always up to you.Food is slightly more expensive in Australia than in Canada and the US- please keep this in mind when budgeting.

The project was run very smooth and both my project leaders as well as my tour leaders were amazing people who helped the trip run very smoothly!

After the main trip is done, there is also an option to go to FIJI for a very low added cost, which was another amazing adventure in itself.

Could you ever imagine packing up a luggage, boarding a plane, and heading off on an adventure to a completely new country?! And on your own?! It took be by surprise, but signing up with ISV gave me the experience of a lifetime that I could have never forseen coming in my future back when I just started college! I traveled to Costa Rica and lived in a small beautiful community in the mountains. I stayed with a host family for two weeks. I can still smell the morning coffee and taste the fresh mango and the beans! Oh how I loved those beans! It was so hard leaving them, my host mom and I cried the day I boarded that bus to be on my way to the adventure tour. The adventure tour! Surfing the crystal blue waves, zip lining through the forest. The most exilerating experience of my life! The people I met on this trip have affected me in a way my parents can not even imagine! I have best friends in Scotland, Ireland, and England now! As well as the U.S. ofcoarse! This trip made me grow as a person and has given me confidence. I know that I am going places in my life and I can change the world. I recommend this trip to any and all! Through donations I payed for half of this trip, and almost all the donations were given to me from people who I would never have expected to donate! Give it a try, and take a chance. You will not regret it!

I have volunteered a lot but never has it felt so good to travel abroad and volunteer. Before traveling with ISV I was caught between a rock and a hard place. While on the trip I was able to clear my head and figure things out. I felt my best because I was making a difference beyond my own backyard.Our project leader worked just as hard as we did during our volunteer weeks. We were like a family all working for the same cause. I cannot place enough emphasis on the benefits of this program. I was a little apprehensive to go alone, but I am so very glad I did. I made some amazing friends, five of which are my best friends. We bonded so quickly and had some great laughs during the four weeks we spent together. All of the staff such as the project leaders and tour leaders went above and beyond to make sure we had the time of our lives. Our project leader drove us to the zoo, to see a local Australian football game, to the bowling ally, and to a waterfall in the mountains. If we ever had downtime our leader made sure we had fun. Our tour leader made sure we all were safe. He would find each and every one of us taxi's if we needed it and he always made sure we got the best deals and discounts wherever we went. I highly recommend this program for anyone who is looking to travel, make a difference, see the world, make lifelong friends, and do things you always dreamed of.

The staff was incredible, the program was fun, and the experience was extremely fulfilling. I got to spend two weeks living at the Mae Kok Foundation for children, helping teach the kids English, cooking meals, and building a garage and a memorial. The experience brought meaning to my life and I wouldn't change it for anything. The program was well organized and everything happened according to plan. I felt well taken care of and very safe. I would recommend this program to anyone.

Volunteering in Australia with ISV was the most amazing experience of my life to date. The scenery was spectacular, getting to work outside in it every day was so amazing. Everyone we met was so welcoming and warm. The ISV staff were so helpful and taught me a lot about myself and the world we live in. I felt so wonderful to be making a difference in the world. It was really special to meet and get to know people from all over the world and get to experience a new world down under together. It was definitely a trip that left me with memories and friendships that will last me a lifetime. Making the choice to go on this trip was the best decision I ever made.

When I signed up with ISV in October 2010, I had no idea of what to expect once I set foot in New Zealand in May 2011. Turns out, what was awaiting me was an unbelievable experience that I will cherish forever. Not only did I make the best of friends, experience a different culture, travel the whole country, I also made a difference. My group planted around 2000 trees, removed numerous weeds, prepared plants for future ISV groups and I also saved an endangered bird. Our project site looked straight out of a movie, unbelievable scenery I never would have seen if I would not have travelled with ISV. By volunteering, I got to see and experience a side of New Zealand I would never have experienced if I had been travelling by myself. During the first two weeks of my trip, we had a weekend off and we were unsure of what to do with our free time. We asked the locals of Punakaiki and our project leader what we should do and they suggested we take a two day hike, on the Croesus Track near Barrytown. Turns out, that hike is the most memorable part of my trip.

For the last two weeks, we hopped on a bus and drove across the whole country, seeing unbelievable sights, doing many adrenaline packed activities such as white water rafting, black water rafting, glacier hiking, bungy jumping are countless others. I fell in love with New Zealand, its culture, its people and its beauty, and I will never forget the experience I had travelling with ISV.

Day to day was the same yet so different. It was june so it was winter over in South Africa. The children had a 3 week holiday. We ran a holiday camp in the morning for them from 8-2. We did things like arts and crafts and playing games. We also had some local athletes come and teach soccer and rugby camps. We really got raw interaction with these kids and developed close relationships with them. The non-profit organizer is names Toni and she was amazing. She told us the stories of the kids and made us cry and laugh and really dug into our emotions and for me personally how I see a lot of things now. In the afternoons we usually did some sort of manual labor like painting or digging out trenches or planting a garden. We also helped build a primary school on a settlement (township) and while there we got to interact with those children too. The highlights of my trips was definitely the kids, so happy and worry free, yet with so much darkness in their lives. The difficulty that I encountered was leaving. I couldn't bear the fact that I was helping these children, these beautiful children and then I had to leave.

I volunteered in the RD in the Summer of June 2011. It was the greatest experience I ever had. I got to live in the city for one week and improve on my Spanish as well as running a summer camp and doing construction for 2 weeks. It was incredible! The people are so friendly and volunteering with ISV will give you great memories.