Program Reviews

Being a part of the youth development program in the city of Brcko was a watershed moment in my life. While I fully expected to go and add value in terms of previous work experience, I left completely astounded at how much I had learned about a new culture and myself as a person.

I would strongly recommend the program to anybody capable of travelling to Bosnia and Herzegovina by themselves because it is a perfect blend of personal discovery, contribution to society and learning about one of the most fascinating regions of the world.

In addition, the support staff at the local organisation are incredible people that have all forsaken better opportunities elsewhere because they have a strong commitment to what they are doing with the local people and that is perhaps the most inspiring part of all of this. Give everything of yourself and you will make friends for life.

When I was calculating how many years left before I retire, I was thinking about what kind of birthday present I would like to give myself this year: I want to have a meaningful vacation. I had chosen to volunteer in the Women Empowerment project for 4 weeks in Chiangmai, Thailand, with Love Volunteer organization. When I arrived Chiangmai, before I started my project, we had a 2 days volunteer orientation where I received more updated information about my project. We also have a bit of language and culture lesson and sightseeing time lead by the local staff. Since my project site was about 30 minutes ride from my accommodation, the local host (Friends for Asia) offered me daily drop off/pick up. This really ease the pain of finding my ride to the site.
My project site is Wildflower Home for single mothers with children. The director of the site had a short interview with me to find out what can my strength be the best support for them there. I worked at the daycare to support a staff in the morning and helped the director with her office work in the afternoon. (Other works I did include painting a mural for them and taught the mothers to make earrings to sell.) Overall, the interaction with the children and mothers was very present. I really treasure the time I spent there with other volunteers, staff, mothers and children. I met 3 other senior volunteers at the local volunteer house and we had a lot of fun together. I also made a few new friends with other volunteers and staff. I think I might go back to volunteer again next time. I had a positive and wonderful time during my 4 weeks stay. This was a sweet memory for me to treasure.

I went to Rabat, Morocco as an Intern with Morocco World News, and absolutely loved it. While COVID-19 had a big impact on the trip (MWN’s office was close as a precaution so I mostly worked from home), I was able to receive thoughtful guidance and support from the MWN team, as well as from Ali and others. I loved my fellow volunteers and enjoyed getting to know people from around the world, and was able to have many fun adventures traveling around the country. Traveling to Morocco with LoveVolunteers was an unforgettable experience and I would love to go again.

Where do I even begin? This program has been one of the most influential experiences of my life, which is why I went twice and hope to return several more times. I volunteered at a government hospital in the labor ward and am now currently an L&D nurse in the US. It was more than the patients and healthcare workers that stole my heart; it was living in a village, submersed in the culture, hosted by two amazing individuals and their family that made my time there precious. In fact, I wasn’t ready to return home when my stay ended.
The hosts Bazil and Alice are incredible. They work extremely hard around the clock & sacrifice their own family time to ensure that each volunteer is comfortable and well taken care of. On a side not, you’ll actually come to find they take care of practically the entire village, too. While you are planning your trip they will be sure to answer any questions you have promptly and provide you with information to make the arrival process seamless. Great for individuals, groups, couples, families. There is something to be found for anyone of any age!!

Very good experience,

‏I rate Delhi 2/10 because the weather was polluted, the roads so traffic, unsafe driving and not clean.
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About the accommodation; it good, safe and very clean also the staff mainly “Shankar” were so nice and respectful.

‏Great staff and the hospital also good but I think the exposure was little because it’s private hospital and not considered as trauma center so the quantity of the patients was low.

About the food; for me was not good because it was so spicy and you have to choose good and high rate restaurants to get clean and good food
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The project was far beyond what I had expected. During my medical internship programme, I spent three weeks in the department of cardiology of Somdech Phra Pinklao Hospital, Bangkok. On the first day I received a thorough schedule of what I was going to see and learn in the next weeks. The best part was the team: they gave me a kind and hearty welcome and everyone was very nice and willing to share with me everything they could about both cardiology and Thai culture. The clinical part of the internship was in English and, as I don't come from an English speaking country, I had to get familiar with a different terminology, which was challenging for the first few days, but at the same time it was most useful thing I got from this internship for my future medical career and it was what I am most thankful for.

Living in such a wonderful and different city like Bangkok is truly a life changing experience. I enthusiastically welcomed every peculiarity of the city and Thai culture, which is often curious. I needed a great open mindness to live this experience, but since diversity and uniqueness are two of the thing I love the most, it wasn't difficult for Bangkok and Thai culture to find a place among my best and beloved memories.

If I must to describe in one word my trip and my experience, I would say: amazing
Indeed, it was for me one of my best experience of my life from any point of view like humanly, emotionally, professionally, or culturally ...
I left Albania with only positive memories and the wish to come back again in this beautiful country with beautiful people (Albania).
Before to arrive in Albania, I knew nothing about this country and it was a real discovery (language, weather, landscapes, culture, the way of life ...), and I fell in love with this country. Albanians are so welcoming, and I felt quickly like at home. I think that more people should go in Albania and discover the beauty of this country, which is suffering from a not good reputation. This is a safe country and I never had problem when I was outside, even during the night. Finally, despite the precariousness of some cities, it rests a beautiful green land with mountains, sun and colorful cities!
My project into the center in Cërrik with children was incredible for me. Since the first day children were welcoming and very nice with me. They became fo me like my "little family" in Albania, they were attentive and especially voluntary in all organized activities, so it was a real pleasure to work with them and also very difficult to leave them after one month...
Staff which was working with me, was just very nice and welcoming with me! Staff welcomed me as if I had been with them for a long time, and girls who worked with take me as a colleague but also as a friend and I think all together we did a good job

Going to Ghana to volunteer with children sounded like the best idea when presented to me by my friend and travel companion Bailey. Little did know how much the experience would fill my heart! The beauty of the Ghanaian culture and people were like no other. I felt safe, welcomed and very well taken care of at all times. The kindness and warmth in each one of their hearts was pretty extraordinary, unlike some other countries I have visited. The affection, smiles and laughter from the children I worked with will be in my thoughts and heart forever. The Love Volunteer staff members were so helpful in creating a smooth process from start to finish with regular check ins, and always being available to assist. I have already recommended this experience to family and friends and would love to go to Ghana!

I could write about my experience in Cusco for days. I spent exactly 12 weeks from March to May of 2018 in the beautiful city I grew to call home. I began my stay working with disabilities and special needs, but soon discovered that volunteering in an animal shelter was a better fit for me after seeing so many stray dogs on the streets and knowing I had to help in any way I could. I can't even describe the feeling of waking up each morning with such a sense of purpose and love for what I was doing. Dogs are looked at as a means of protection for the household and nothing more. They are often mistreated, thrown out on the streets, sold on the black market, and even killed. The owner of the shelter was incredible - I have never seen such passion for animal rights and she taught me so much. At the shelter we took care of some of the animals that had been rescued every day by cleaning up after them, feeding them, and spending time with them and on the weekends we often did spay and neuter campaigns with local veterinarians. I even adopted two street dogs from the shelter myself - two sisters named Patricia and Bonnie. I was with Patricia for her surgery (spay) my second day at the shelter and was appalled at what I saw. The anesthesia is just awful there and she woke up three times during it. After that, I took care of her in her recovery and we bonded immediately. Three weeks after I arrived in the US she came home and five months later her sister joined us!

My host family was incredible and consisted of a mom and dad. I still consider them family. Because they didn't speak any English, my Spanish skills increased ten fold. It's a myth that people in Cusco speak English, so definitely practice your Spanish before hand! I was able to take Spanish classes at a local language center for two weeks which helped a lot.

Life in Cusco was so easy. Public transportation is only 80 cents by bus or you can catch a cab for around 5-6 soles (4 soles only for locals). The rain was constant my first month there, but soon it became dry season and the sun was out every day, however the cold was still a shock to my system as a fourth generation Floridian; the heat is definitely in my blood! My first two weeks I was alone since there were no other volunteers at the time. As awful as it was in the beginning I am so grateful for it now because it made me get out of my comfort zone and really immerse myself in the culture. The locals are definitely hustlers. You will have prices increased as a foreigner, but you can bargain with them - definitely stand your ground! On the whole, things were incredibly cheap with the exchange rate. We had a volunteer dinner every week which was a great way to get to know new people coming in (at max there were eight of us total). I could go to dinner with two other people and get two appetizers, three meals, dessert, and drinks for around $60. This also made extra traveling much easier in terms of price. I felt safe even late at night and usually walked home (about 45 min) if I was coming from the Plaza at night with no problems at all.

Every weekend I took a tour and I took off one week of volunteering to travel. From spending a weekend in Quillabamba, seeing Sacsaywaman, Puka Pukara, Qenko, Tambomachay and Qoricancha, Easter at the church of San Francisco, hiking Rainbow Mountain at 17,000 ft, white water rafting the Urubama, getting two new tattoos, taking an airplane over the Nazca lines, riding a dune buggy through the sand dunes of Huacachina, visiting a monestary in Arequipa, discovering Lake Titicaca in Puno and on Taquile Island, to seeing the incredible Machu Picchu, my tirp was nothing short of spectacular. Being in a place of such history and culture was like stepping into a book.

I learned so much about myself and really learned to take every chance that comes my way so I can look back on my life and say I truly lived it through both traveling and helping those in need. I have gained everything from my time in Peru and have made friends from all over the world that will last a lifetime (I am going to Jordan with one of them this coming July!). If you're even considering going to volunteer in Cusco, DO IT. You will not regret it. Love Volunteers was there every step of the way. They answered my emails so quickly and were checking up on me constantly. As a smaller volunteer organization, I feel they really created an authentic experience! I am forever grateful to them!

I don’t know where to start from. But in a nutshell, this was the best experience and the best month i’ve ever had in my entire life.
I arrived to Cherkasy on December the first, it was snowing. Too cold and new people, new language, however, i felt home in a very short period. The people here are great and friendly. The local staff in the orphanages are friendly and respectful as well. My coordinator Alexander was absolutely helpful and made it really easy for me to accomplish my volunteering work.
About the kids, nothing can describe how lovely they are, they are so amazing, they participate in every activity i prepare and made me feel really happy. I brought tears to my eye in my last day, whey came and asked me not to cry :(
Also they ask me to come back and made my promise to do so, and i will visit one day.

This month had changes my life, i realised how simple things can do for these kids.
Thanks for every one in Cherkasy, thanks Alexander and thanks Love Volunteers.