Love Volunteers Reviews

Svetlana was a very supportive coordinator and constantly checked in to see how I was doing, even when I was traveling. I had a very welcoming host family who had hosted several volunteers in the past, and they provided me with a comfortable and authentic Moldovan experience. Causeni was very safe and I was perfectly at ease walking around alone. Even the local children ran around unsupervised. The most important advice that I would give is to approach the experience with an open mind. The living conditions in Moldova aren't as glamourous as they are in the West, but they are quite comfortable and I believe that the quality of the fruits and vegetables is better than the kind you find in the West. There was a water outage for 3 days during my stay, but it didn't impact my experience that much. The stores in the town center had everything that I needed and there were many convenient currency exchange locations.

My time in Moldova was one of the greatest experiences of my life! I'm already planning my trip for next summer so I can stay for even longer. my host family were possibly the most generous people I've ever met and despite their lack of English and my lack of Romanian or Russian I made such a great bond with them. I also made many friends and most importantly the teaching felt very rewarding.

Do not go into this trip expecting to make friends with loads of other volunteers. For one, there are never more than 4 volunteers at a time and also for a week of my trip I was the only volunteer! However, this I surprisingly found as a positive. It made me strive more to connect with the local people and therefore I did and learnt a lot more about their culture and felt like a part of their community.

I could not recommend this trip highly enough. Moldova is a beautiful country with the most welcoming people.

My experience volunteering with the children and getting to know the locals was amazing. I knew very little about Ukraine and its history befor arriving. I spent my days teaching English and face painting. However I would not recommend volunteering through love volunteers. The overall experience with the Ukraine coordinator was horrible. I've never felt so deceived and controlled by anyone like that before. My first issue was paying $535 for staying there for two weeks. I had no idea before my arrival the state of Ukraine's economy and how drastically different it is from the USA or any other European country. I didn't think it was reasonable to charge that amount since you could have breakfast for less than $1 and rent a for a room is $40 a month in the city center. The amount I paid for room and board for two weeks is what a school teacher makes working full time in 6 months. I also went out of my way to try and connect with other teachers. When Alex found out I talked with other people he became very irritated. Staff members told me Alex said it was "forbidden" to talk to me and only allowed through him. He also insisted I was working at a summer camp for orphans or extremely poor children. I later found out it's a sanatorium which I wasn't familiar with and any Ukrainian child can attend regardless of their background. The worst part for me was when he would go out of his way to introduce me to orphans. He would translate the children's responses and I would just stand there looking at their sad blank faces. I felt like he was using the children's sad stories of being abandoned or orphaned tragically to convince me that there were orphans there. Near the end of my stay I confronted Alex about my issues with him. He told me he didn't like "my kind of woman" and insisted he never lied and the cost of living is much more so the prices were reasonable. I believe that the coordinator and the host family work together to profit massively off of volunteers. I wouldn't recommend going through love volunteers if you're interested in volunteering in Ukraine.

If you're interested in Ukraine there are other options. This review is not intended to deter people from volunteering there. I received so many hugs, bracelets, and hellos from countless children. I'll never forget their sweet faces and gentle nature. There was also never a moment i felt unsafe.

It was a childhood dream of mine to volunteer overseas one day. I've been working as a nurse for five years. As I was bonded, I had no choice but to complete the bond first in order to achieve my dream. As I wanted to do something new and go out of my comfort zone, I chose to be involved in the Working With Children Program in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

I was posted to the Ky Quang Pagoda Orphanage to help out with the care of disabled children. I learned from the local team that most of the children suffers as a result of the Vietnamese war that can still be seen until today, i.e Hydrocephalus children. 70% of the orphans are disabled either physically or mentally, therefore needs an extra care which they couldn't have been able to provide enough without the help of us volunteers.

When I first saw the children, I felt nervous, whether I could perform well to take care of them. As a nurse who worked with adults previously, it was my first time working with disabled children. Most of the time spent were to walk them or push their trolleys around, do some drawings and play games with them. When it's meal time, I helped to feed them as well. I took quite some time to learn how to tackle their eating habit, and once I got it the daily routines became more and more enjoyable. These activities might seem very simple to some people; however without us volunteers it could have been a huge difference to the children's development.

Volunteering isn't just mentally challenging, it is physically challenging as well. Carrying, assisting the staffs in lifting the children and walked or pushed them around made me sweat a lot each day, yet at the end of each night I would be smiling looking back at each day's value that I have earned. My life motto has always been "One Smile A Day, Keeps All Negativity Away". I believe I have managed to draw some wonderful smiles during my volunteering days not just on the children's face, but the local staffs as well as fellow volunteers. It was a truly amazing experience.

On weekends I was able to enjoy the local attractions and coffees in some of the districts. I am a coffee lover who visits the country which happens to be the second largest coffee exporter, hence it is a must to try out the cafes in town. I also celebrated my birthday in a lovely trip to Mui Ne with my sister who also joined the same volunteering program.

Coming here to volunteer also gave me a chance to get to know fellow volunteers who came from around the world such as France, US, Canada, and many more. I'm glad we shared common interest in humanity and trying to maintain it by bringing positive vibes representing our own countries. I believe that volunteering needs no verbal language to understand each other, we need but kindness and compassion to join our hearts together to lend a helping hand to make the children's life better.

Many of them share one bathroom. They have one fire which they share to cook with it. And their only pair of shoes is the one the school provided for them. The obstacles so many of these kids face are extremely heartbreaking. With this program I was able to truly make a difference. As an assistant teacher I was able to impact them and help them realize their full potential while at the same time having lots of fun with each and every one of them.

I really got a first hand authentic experience of Morocco through working with women in the NGO VFA. I was very impressed of how they worked and how much I had to learn about their work and program. I was assigned to tranlsate a lot of documents pertaining to the women's rights situation in Morocco. I was also able to teach English at the NGO. This allowed me to work in the judicial literacy program the NGO had.
I also came up with the initiative to organize women's empowerment workshop.
I stayed with a nice host family which made my stay absolutely indicative of the family dynmics in Morocco. We celebrated a lot of things with my host. I had the great chance to attend the end of Ramadan and party with my host. I was also happy to have chosen to go with Love Volunteers because they offered me a lot of support and their team in Rabat made my stay unforgetable.
I would highly recommand this program for anyone seeking to immerse themselves into the Moroccan culture and looking for an amazing experience in a beautiful country as Morocco

It was one of the best decisions in my life to go to Ghana for Volunteering. I will never forget this experience. I've received so much love from all the people there. I feel in the love with the kids there, i think anyone will do! I can totally recommend you going there. This is something you will carry in your heart a lifetime.

Beside all the medical preparation beforehand I can recommend you to go there with an open mind and heart and it will be the best time in your Life.
Everyone is so helpful and caring that you will feel like you are visiting family! :)

I've spend one month in Nairobi, Kenya working as an English language teacher. The whole experience was fantastic and very eye-opening! The local partner staff was very nice and supportive. I could especially mention the team leader -- I haven't seen such an enthusiastic and energetic person before! My school wasn't far away from my placement so it was easy and safe to travel. Food was great, very simple and nutritious. African people are very friendly and easy going. I fell in love with Africa!

My volunteering experience with the media project was beyond words. The wonderful woman who runs the organisation, Theary, was an absolute treasure. She took a lot of time to explain how the nitty gritty of how NGOs operate, and would take me with her to everything from conferences and meetings to her family friend's wedding. Needless to say that thanks to her I saw so many different sides of the real Cambodia. On top of that, the work was really fulfilling. The days were long, so you felt your time is being used well and you can really see the effects of the effort you put into it.

Malawi October 2014 - March 2015
This was my second volunteer project in Africa, the first being in Uganda in 2012, but my first with Love Volunteers. LV were very supportive particularly pre-planning information, good value for money and I would certainly use them again without hesitation.
I had never taught before going to Uganda: I used to be an engineer in the oil and gas construction industry, so to be a teacher in Africa was a real career change for me - and much more satisfying.
I was working at a rural community centre to the SW of the capital Lilongwe, the nearest town being Mitundu. Getting there involved two local mini busses and a lastly a bicycle taxi, or motorbike if I was lucky, to the centre.
The centre, called "Abundant Life" was the creation of my host Moses Njobvu, and was still under construction when I arrived. It serves as a community centre for the surrounding villages where young children, approx 5-8yrs, are taught basic English and bible studies by a handful of dedicated local villagers, most of whom were unpaid. A very important feature is a daily feeding program where on average 100 children are given soya and maize porridge for lunch, which for many may be their only meal that day. There is a small vegetable garden providing additional food and a little income.
I worked teaching the alphabet, words, numbers, shapes, colours etc to the children to give them a basic introduction to the English language. Early schooling is invaluable to rural village kids if their education is ever going to progress so giving them at least the start in life that they would otherwise never have. I also helped with the daily feeding program, dishing up the porridge and making sure everyone was fed. But I Ioved playing with the children; they have such a sense of fun and find enjoyment in simple games, singing and dancing, and not just the children-the adults as well.
Twice a week I would teach science in a village primary school to 9-10yrs and 11-12yrs children. This was a government school but even so teaching materials were minimal, although they did have desk and chairs to sit on. The kids were so enthusiastic to learn and fun to teach that the experience was hugely enjoyable.
As well as teaching I would spend time visiting vulnerable people in the community with Numeri Banda, the Abundant Life community officer. Together we would see what their needs were and what support A.L. could give. This was enormously rewarding because it gave me a unique insight into the realities of rural life which I consider a real privilege.
The buildings at the centre are not yet finished, cooking is done outside on an open fire, water fetched from a bore hole, there is no electricity. There are no desks or chairs for the kids; they sit on the concrete floors. No books, or writing materials that we would take for granted. If there is no money one month either the teachers don't get paid or the kids go without food. That is the harsh reality.
Abundant Life Centre is totally self supporting: there are no big donor organizations or rich patrons in the background providing unlimited funds, it relies totally on the voluntary donations raised through the tireless fundraising efforts of Moses, and of course the LV volunteer program.
I stayed with Moses and his lovely wife, Betty, their two beautiful daughters and delightful young son. I was welcomed into their home from day one as part of the family, sharing not only their food but also their lives. They accepted me and showed me kindness that is indescribable: to them I was uncle Tim.
I have been shown extraordinary kindness, love and compassion; I have witnessed poor people struggle with uncomplaining dignity and the innocence and joy of children but importantly I have experienced tolerance and acceptance like never before. The entire experience of my volunteer program has been life changing, my outlook on life has changed; I have learnt patience, tolerance and humility.
Tim Wright (England) 2015