Global Leadership Adventures (GLA) Reviews

The GLA Costa Rica program I went on is something I will never forget. When my mom told me I was getting togo I was ecstatic. I knew that the trip was going to be fairly physicaly demanding and me being a bigger girl thought that this would give me problems especially because there was a lot of hiking and working in the sun but I made such great friends that I was to busy having fun with them to think about how tired I was. The service that we did four days a week was very encourageing because we were working to help kids and that made it so worth while. Spanish classes consisted of actually going into town and talking with people so it made it fun and memorable. If you want to have a great summer experience GLA Costa Rica is something that you should really look into. You won't regret it!

I went to Tanzania to volunteer and make some small change in the world but Tanzania ended up making a big change in me. The phrase "life changing" could mean lots of things but Global Leadership Adventures changes lives by providing the experiences that help young adults grow as a person. Working at the school everyday teaching English and learning about their needs and problems, listening to guest speakers about problems facing the community and witnessing first hand the basic necessities many families were missing opened my eyes to the world. It has completely changed my life goals and now I am going to major in international relations and go into non-profit work in order to solve some of these problems.
As for the adventure and fun, this trip is full of it. The first weekend we went on a two day safari and saw the amazing wild life of Tanzania's national parks. Elephants, lions, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, you name it you will probably get the chance to see it!! The second weekend we spent the night with the Masai tribe and watched and learned about some of their traditions. Including their traditional dancing which we did by a campfire late into the night under an amazing sky full of stars (the most stars I have ever seen in my life!)

The volunteering part of the trip including teaching English everyday in a village school and repairing their classrooms. The staff is super flexible so when we requested to do extra community service they rearranged our schedule and we got to go to Faraja orphanage and we tilled a corn field so that they could make a vegetable garden.

Every part of this trip is so incredibly rewarding. It changes your outlook on life and how you want to live the rest of your life.

This trip honestly made my summer last year, so much so that all my friends from the group and I talk about going back someday, or at least getting together again. The trip was just what I wanted, exploration of the Galapagos Islands and worlding to maintain a stable environment for the wildlife and people. As an added bonus, every night the 15 or so kids on my trip would gather around either hammocks or chairs, depending on where we were that night, and talk about the day, the rest of the trip, or our lives back home.
The day was never boring, though most of the time extra busy, but in the end I wouldn't change anything about the day to day activities. It wasn't your typical taking photos of the animals, you were embraced by the people and the culture, expecially during the homestay. The animals were, of course, amazing to look at, and what made it better was that at the end of the service days we could see the progress we had done that we knew would directly aid the wildlife.
I've already gotten one of my friends to go this year, and I just hope she has as amazing of an experience as I did. The friends I made are true, and we all joined together to experience something amazing. Whether it was playing soccer with the locals, dancing on the beach, or climbing up a volcano, I would go back and do it all again if I could.

I could talk forever about my three weeks in Tanzania, but in short, it was an incredible and deeply meaningful trip. The volunteer work I did in the Kilimanjaro region––teaching 4th grade Swahili-speaking students English and doing basic renovation/tree-planting projects around the primary school––was challenging and meaningful without being overly grueling, and I do feel that as a group we made a difference in the short time we spent with our students.

The "excursions" that GLA specializes in were truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Not only did we get to go on a traditional safari in some of Africa's most famous and most wildlife-dense environments (the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park), we also spent a weekend living with a native Maasai tribe out in the savannah. I am SO grateful to have been able to experience the complex Maasai culture and way of life, as they have been living for centuries, so authentically; dancing around the campfire with the warriors, women, and children of this tribe into the late hours of the night remains one of my most treasured experiences EVER.

The inclusion in the local community, support from GLA staff, and total safety that I felt at all times during my trip made this experience not only deeply eye-opening, but also 100% enriching. I would recommend this trip to ALL teens interested in world travel and meaningful community service.

The time spent with teaching the students at the school and also the volunteer work we did around the school. The students there are so friendly and so fun to be around. In addition, the experience and the love you get form there is just amazing.

Global Leadership Adventures Ghana was the most amazing experience of my life and is one I will remember forever. The culture, country, staff, and overall program are amazing. Throughout the program you are fully immersed in the culture, but you also have the ability to step back and collect yourself if you feel the need. I guarantee that the people you meet, the things you experience, and the things you will do will change your life and stay with you forever. I highly recommend GLA Ghana!

Guatemala was truly the best trip I have ever been on. From meeting new friends to seeing the beauty of Guatemala's culture, I will never forget it! The difficulties of this trip were leaving behind my new found friends and the amazing memories Guatemala gave me.
GLA provided an amazing insight while doing our community service at a local school and our mentor were always making it feel like home. The highlight of my trip was defiantly forming bonds with the children and learning about the struggles and beauties of Guatemala.

I highly recommend this trip especially for students who have a passion to help change the world! This trip will forever inspire you!

Every day we had very specific, set out activities. We were briefed every morning and evening about what we would do, what to expect and try and stimulate conversation of what we though about the upcoming, or past activities. Although are days were packed full of exciting things to do it was great to always have some down time at the end of the day to reflect on what we had done and how to improve our skills. It was during this down time that I came to learn a lot about myself and perhaps were my future is heading. I was able to talk to the program staff a lot as well as other students and not only learn about how to improve the world in the ways that I can but also how to be a better and happier person in general. This was an unforgetable experience which really did make me grow a lot as a person.

I went to guatemala with GLA this past summer and I LOVE IT!! It was my first service trip outside of the USA and I really, really felt safe. The adult advisors on the trip were not only very qualified but truly made me feel comfortable and at home. GLA is open to boys and girls but my group just happened to be all girls. This was a great experience because we all automatically bonded and our closeness made the trip unforgettable. I would recommend GLA to anyone in a heart beat. It was the perfect mix of hard labor- community service and culture immersion. The experiences I had at the school for deaf and blind children in Xela, Guatemala warmed my heart and helped me realize how lucky I truly am. After this trip I decided I wanted to go to the peace corps and dedicate my life to helping others by becoming a Psychologist, by studying anthropology, sociology and how they differ for diverse communities around the world. I love GLA and as an ambassador I am so pumped for my trip to Thailand this summer!! This is a program you won't regret getting involved it. It is truly life changing.

In the summer of 2012, I travelled to Peru with Global Leadership Adventures. I thought I'd make some new friends, buy cool souvenirs, give back to the community a little, nothing more than a touristy trip. Never have I been so wrong in my life.

Although we had many cool weekend outings such as white water rafting, biking down a mountain, visiting an alpaca farm, hiking the Incan Trail, visiting Machu Picchu, camping next to snow-capped mountains, and bathing in sulfur springs, what truly made the trip special was the volunteering. Every week day, we visited a school in the small community of Sunco in Cusco, Peru. There, we smashed bricks into mud, built up walls, and slowly developed the structure of a greenhouse. We watched how together, we could make such a huge improvement to the little community. Gradually, kids started watching us, following us around as we worked, chatting and laughing with us in Spanish. That was our day-waking up early to the smiling faces of little Peruvian children. Our trip was about service, about helping these kids, not touring or buying or making new friends.

Some other cool activites we did were: play traditional Peruvian music, dance a traditional Peruvian 'baile', make Peruvian pots/bowls, and learn Quechua, Peru's tribal language.

At night, before we went to bed, we always had Leadership meetings. During these meetings, we would play team-building games to improve group unity, share leadership characteristics/techniques, or meet with a mentor to talk about things going on around the world. Those nighttime meetings were speical as well- I got the chance to truly re-define what I believe a leader should be and should do. I got to explore bigger societal issues, while seeing both sides of an argument. I got a crash-course in Linguistics (something I never expected to enjoy). I truly miss those nighttime meetings.

All together, the morning volunteering, the weekend outings, and the nighttime meetings all presented a really cool, unique experience for Peru. My trip exceeded all expectations I had set forth. The only difficulty I had to overcome was returing to the United States, returning to see the wealth and shallowness of in the "bubble" of my own community. Don't get me wrong, I love where I live and I love all the people around me. It's just, it was difficult after such an enlightening and revealing experience to be forced back into reality. But part of Peru will stay with me wherever I go, part of the summer of 2012.