Global Leadership Adventures (GLA) Reviews

My daughter’s experience with GLA was amazing from start to finish. Pre departure, staff was easy to reach and happily answered all of our questions. I felt the trip was extremely well organized and my daughter had an absolutely transformative experience. The leaders and mentors were excellent and the program provided the perfect balance of service, sight seeing and cultural activities. She returned home energized, full of insights and confidence, and excited to pursue a career in health care. The communication through the daily blogs during the trip offered a wonderful window into what she was experiencing and I felt confident that she was in good hands. I highly recommend GLA!

The trip had a heavier focus on standard camp activities than on animals. The “animal rescue” portion involved tidying the area around the site where animals were housed. This was 60% of the trip. Only one of the three weeks had vet experience. The program description oversold the vet aspect of the trip, and we wish there had been more of that type of experience. On the plus side, the students got to meet new people and try a variety of different activities and foods. They were happy with their mentors and felt safe.

My 16ye old daughter had a very positive experience with GLA in Peru. From a parent perspective, we appreciated the balance between community immersion, health &safety measures, group explorations, outdoors activities, and the global health focused community service and community engagement.
Highlights for our daughter were global health program clinic experiences, explore local foods and markets, community service, Machu Picchu, and hiking/ camping under the stars experience. Great supervision and program leadership.

As a parent of a participant, I was very pleased with the whole GLA process from start to finish. Their communication was just the right amount. I felt extremely comfortable with the leadership and organization of the program and staff. My son is a rising senior and felt very comfortable in a foreign country meeting new people in his group. He really enjoyed being involved in the spaying and neutering of the local animals in Costa Rica. We look forward to sending our other two sons on a GLA trip in the years to come.

GLA was actually one of the first organizations we looked into. Honestly, we ended up reading other GLA reviews on other sites, which left us feeling a bit concerned. After MUCH research and cross comparisons, we chose GLA Dominican Rep Global Health. It turns out all of the negative reviews were left by people who did not fully read the registration process/had a child who could not adapt to change or third world accommodations/foods/weather/environment which were FULLY described on their website BEFORE and during the application process . Many other volunteer programs left kids unattended and with free time for MOST of the day and all weekend. Completely unacceptable for a teen. GLA makes sure teens are accompanied by mentors and directors at EVERY volunteer project and tours. On top of that, the kids were treated to delicious local meals 3 times a day(almost ALL served on sustainable non-disposable dishwear/cutlery!! even during off-site projects!!). Morning yoga and group discussions which turned out to be incredibly therapeutic. Their website and application process is incredibly organized and communication with staff was superb. If you are hesitant or nervous about finding a legit organization/service project to send your child to - search no further. My daughter came home with a great appreciation for life and the importance of giving to others. GLA changed her life for sure. She even came to find the spiders harmless and absolutely LOVED the beautiful little green lizards that paid her netted bed a visit daily :)

This was a perfect initiation into international travel and solo travel for my daughter. GLA provided the guidance and details to make it a great trip. It was well balanced between service, personal journey, and cultural exposure. The housing was safe and well appointed, and the food was amazing. Her experience with all the local people was beyond positive. She found them to be helpful and friendly. The service work involved cleaning the beaches of debris from storms and gave the group opportunities for collaboration. The day trips gave them a chance to get into the rain forests and see wildlife. All in all, the trip gave her a chance to meet new people and make friends, do hard, meaningful, satisfying work, and be in a wonderful place. I would recommend it to teens and families for a first solo trip.

My son went to Costa Rica. He is 16 and had never left the country on his own before. COVID has made traveling difficult with testing and additional documents which made me more nervous about sending a minor child to Central America alone.
Everything went very well! GLA was very clear about exactly what kids needed to spring in terms of paperwork and clothing. They were there to meet my son at the airport.
My son had a most excellent time, possibly the best week of his life and made many friends. He loved the food, the kids, and the staff!

This is what I sent to GLA after my kids trip.

I can’t even begin to articulate how wonderful this whole experience has been. 2019 I discovered you after Emma expressed interest in a peace Corp experience. To send my kids on a trip like this gave me a panic attack AND pure excitement.

I did an optometry mission trip to Honduras as a student. The joy, good hard work, bonding, experiencing and appreciating a different culture, the beauty, the non tourist life changing experiences, I wanted this for Ben and emma. And they got it!

I saw it in the blog pictures, in all the kids. And heard it in the many accounts of the trip. They cried in the last night. Likely a release of such an emotional trip. But also they will miss all their new friends in the hosts, mentors, and peers.

Thank you to all that made this happen. Your passion, dedication, time, personal communication, foresight, planning, April Fools joke! All of it. Thank you so very much.

I cried reading the last blog. Tears of so many positive emotions.

And Delta unaccompanied minor program ended up being a God send.

Bless you all.

Wendy and Josh Arrington

Dominican Republic Caribbean Service Adventure: An absolutely fantastic and genuine experience! This is real community service, working alongside locals and learning about the country. The education component and communal labor made it truly hands-on learning. It is NOT a glorified teen tour but the real deal, with fun activities and sights woven in very well. The group atmosphere was cohesive and warm, so many close and lasting friendships made. Absolute gold standard for true and meaningful community service and a super fun time.

My daughter went to the Dominican Republic for 10 days and absolutely loved it! She worked hard to help communities, had an eye opening experience, but also had fun and met many new friends. I definitley would recommend such a program. This type of experience broadens a students horizons and exposes them to environments and/or situations they might not noramlly experience. So happy I was able to send her on this trrip!