Program Reviews

Review part 2
My daughter, traveled to Ecuador, and Galapagos the summer of 2017.
She had an amazing trip and now is taking her second GLA trip this spring break 2018. GLA staff was great. I recommend GLA for teens who are independent, spirited and looking for a way to give back to the world. It was a truly amazing experience that has changed her for the better.
Pam Prast, mother of 15 year old traveler.

Hello, my name is Iman and I went on a Global Leadership Adventures 3-week program to Tanzania this past summer. I have traveled out of the country with my family multiple times in the past, but I had never flown internationally alone. Naturally, I was extremely nervous. However, when I met most of the other GLA participants before our flight to Tanzania, we hit it right off. When we arrived, all of us 30 students got to know each other so well and became extremely close in a matter of days. The fact that we could all relate to each other, yet we were all so different, made volunteering in the Tanzanian community (primarily teaching English at a local school and refurbishing the school) and exploring the country a blast. Throughout the program, I felt safe wherever we went--even if we were in the middle of safari among giraffes,
lions, and elephants! (There's a bodyguard on watch at the home base at all times.) In addition, the mentors are extremely caring about making your experience reflective and memorable. This trip opened me up to a world of travel that I had never before been exposed to. I highly recommend any teen who is seeking an opportunity to make an impact on a foreign community and to be immersed in another culture to look into a GLA program. Personally, I would recommend the 3-week programs (if possible for you) in order to get the full experience.

The two week Children of the Maya program is truly outstanding! During the two weeks my group of twenty-nine other high schoolers and I traveled around the country of Guatemala to the vibrant cities of Antigua, Lake Atitklan, San Andres, Quetzaltenango, and Xela. The main community service component we completed was creating and delivering lesson plans to teach in a Guatemalan primary school. This experience working one-on-one with Guatemalan children from PreK-6th grade revealed our positive impact. I was called into a leadership role utilizing my strong Spanish speaking skills. This hectic, high energy, primary school environment in rural Quetzaltenango lacked structure and disciple. Initially the challenge was simply maintaining kids’ attention. However, we quickly discovered ways to successfully teach the lessons. We kept students engaged through a variety of games as well as interactive and verbal lessons. Understanding came slowly. Our leadership and teaching remained positive and hopeful and during recess on day four, I witnessed beauty! Some of my students were asking my peers their names and how they were- in English! The children were utilizing my lessons and our positive impact was evident. Our physical and mental capacities were tested through a series of epic adventures including zip-lining over mountainous tree tops, swimming in hot springs, visiting Mayan ruins, taking a boat ride across sacred Lake Atitlán, attending a ceremony with a Maya shaman, and shopping at the largest indigenous craft market in the hemisphere. With all these experiences, I am forever grateful for my trip to Guatemala and highly recommend this program & Global Leadership Adventures as a whole to any high school student wanting to "be the change."

My 16 year old daughter went on the 14 day animal rescue program last summer. I was hesitant at first since she had never traveled alone. We then found out one of her teammates had done a trip the summer before and she and her mother spoke highly of the experience. I gave in. Jules had the most amazing experience. Everything from the service work, the cultural learning, and of course the friendships. The staff were attentive to the students and Jules expressed that she always felt safe. Jules is a vegetarian and had no problem eating on the trip. The blog posts that were supposed to be 2-3 times a week, were almost daily which was very helpful for a nervous parent. To be able to read and see pictures of what they were doing, how much fun they were having, and how happy everyone seemed eased my concerns. She would have stayed longer if she could have and is already signed up for the upcoming summer for trips to the Galapagos and Thailand.

My daughter Hollie did the 2 week Tanzania trip with GLA in June, 2017. Hollie absolutely loved the entire trip, and was so inspired by it, that her feet have not touched the ground since! Thanks to the meaningful service work that GLA did on her trip (refurbish the classrooms), Hollie even took her service a step further when she returned home, by creating a fundraiser for the kids school, to further refurbish. Her fundraiser has gone very well so far, and she even has future plans to return back ASAP. Also, Hollie made several amazing friends on her trip, three of which happen to be from the same state as us, so they have gotten together multiple times, as well as two who live in the town where she will be attending college, and ones who stay in touch over the phone. GLA sparked a passion in Hollie that I know will be lifelong. If your child is thinking about going on a GLA trip, stop thinking and just GO. They will come home with so much more appreciation of the life they live in the USA.

Last school year, I decided on a whim that I wanted to go on a service trip abroad and began my search online for a well-qualified program that would meet my desires. I came across Global Leadership Adventures, and with reviews such as these, I made the decision to trust my travels with this organization. Throughout the application and admission process, the GLA staff was super helpful with any questions me or my mother had and could answer anything I threw at them by email within a day.
I left Virginia not knowing what to expect but once I met up with other girls in New York, some more in Amsterdam, and everyone else in Ghana I knew these next few weeks were going to be the best of my life because I was already becoming such good friends with the people on my trip.
Everyone from the people on the plane, the GLA hired staff, and the members of the Krobo community were so welcoming and positive which was a great start to the trip. This was by far the best experience I've ever had from playing with the kids, participating in local traditions, learning at the krobo girls high school, building bricks, and teaching the kids English.
The goodbyes were the only bad thing about this trip because the kids wouldn't let go and it was hard to make them do so. Ghana will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Hello, my daughter went on the Costa Rica beach side service adventure trip. Initially, my wife and I were really worried sending her to a foreign country alone. I can honestly say I was very pleased with the way GLA handled everything. I needed to get in contact with her on the trip and they quickly got her to a phone. I felt very confident in the GLA staff and program. I am so excited for her to be going on her next trip this Spring to the Dominican Republic. Thank you GLA!!

My daughter went on the 2 week Tanzania trip in 2017. I cannot say enough about how fantastic GLA is! She had the trip of a lifetime. Not only did she fall absolutely in love with Tanzania (the second she got home she has been bugging us about going back!), she loved the experience as a whole, exploring, teaching the children, and meeting new friends from all across the globe and spending this journey with them. She has truly met friends of a lifetime and has already reconnected with some friends back here in the United States multiple times! How cool is that? I would highly recommend GLA to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Their professionalism is amazing, and they truly do everything they say they are going to do. They made planning this trip very easy and will answer any question with delight! From the second we began to plan our daughters trip with GLA, to the second she returned home, everything went as smooth as possible! GLA changed my daughters life, and for that, I am forever grateful!

This previous July, I took a two week service trip to the Dominican Republic with Global Leadership Adventures, and participated in their Global Health Initiative program. The experience was absolutely life changing. The home base we stayed at for our two weeks in Barahona, Dominican Republic was beautiful. The living conditions were above average, and I was so comfortable the duration of the stay. The mentors and directors are some of the nicest, most genuine people I have ever met. They are willing and able to help with any problems you may have, whether it be related to the program or not. The educational part of the program was amazing. I have an entire notebook filled with interesting facts I learned about the Dominican culture, memories I made, notes, and graphs. We even had the opportunity to have an organized debate on universal healthcare. Every night, we would finish up our day of service and adventures with a lecture, followed by mentor groups, where we would just sit and talk, unwind, and become closer as a Global Leadership Adventures family. For anyone interested in going on a Global Leadership Adventures trip, I would 100% recommend this company. I've never had a more rewarding experience. A+ for GLA!

This past summer, I traveled 7,515 miles from New Jersey, USA to Tanzania, Africa, all thanks to Global Leadership Adventures (GLA). Truthfully, words could never adequately describe the experience I had. Before leaving, I was skeptical of the GLA Tanzania Alumni I would see saying things like "life changing" and the "experience of a lifetime". Boy, was I wrong! It definitely is something that you have to experience for yourself to truly understand. However, I hope that in seeing my love and passion for the program, along with thousands of others teens from all around the world, that you are inspired to give it a go! On the Tanzania 14 day program, you get to teach at a primary school for one week, complete 30 hours of volunteer service (doing some type of refurbishing on the school), spend a day with a host family, explore local markets, villages and communities, spend time in an orphanage, hike the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro and even swim in a river there, tour a coffee farm, dance with locals, create traditional African art, embark on a two day safari (AMAZING), try new and exotic foods, and SO much more. Additionally, you make real, deep, meaningful connections with like-minded teenagers who will absolutely, positively be some life long friends of yours! Most importantly though, you learn about yourself! Whoever you are and wherever you came from, you are guaranteed to be enlightened, awakened and have an entirely new perspective on the world at large once your time is up! If you're really daring, I would even say to go for the Flagship (21 day) program, because 14 days really fly! Take a chance! GO FOR IT!