Program Reviews

Working with Volunteering Solutions gave me more than just a typical cultural experience in Bangkok. My volunteering with these children, teaching English in a Thai Middle School changed my life. The selflessness and kindness of the kids I worked with has made me reconsider my degree. I was well prepared with information, being taught Thai prior to beginning work and more. I may consider teaching again in an international country for much longer than 1 week, perhaps maybe a year. My favorite memory is the last day with our students, seeing how grateful they were for my time there. Tears were shed and there were plenty of hugs. It’s something I will never forget and an experience beyond what I was expecting from Bangkok. I absolutely would come back again to work with Volunteering solutions!

VolSol has truly left me in awe. The group of 8 and I enrolled two weeks before our departure to Thailand with the company and we do not regret it! The support staff, Namrata, went above and beyond to ensure that everything would be processed quick and smoothly. She even stayed in contact with me after hours due to our 12 hour time difference. Customer support and service were exceptional, she even checked in on us before, during, and after the trip.

In Thailand, we stayed with Friends of Asia in Bangkok where we taught English to a local school grades 3-6. We landed on a Thursday night and had orientation Friday - Sunday with the Friends of Asia Staff. Friends of Asia provided 24/7 staff assistance in the home the group and I stayed in. They were amazing. Joone, Mai, and Aunchaya were exceptional. They really gave us an experience only locals could give. They were always around and ready to translate for us. We had a few hospital visits, nothing serious, but if it weren’t for Mai we would not have been able to communicate with Hospital Staff. Btw, if you don’t have travellers insurance, get it NOW!

The Community Partner was not overbearing, they were all help and smile! They knew when to give us space. It came to the point where we wanted to hang out with them all the time though!!

We will certainly be back!

When I was a young girl, I watched National Geographic's China's Lost Girls, a documentary that followed a group of families on their journey to China to adopt orphaned girls abandoned amidst the country's complex one-child policy, and since then, I knew I wanted to do volunteer work in China. I chose Volunteering Solutions and their Beijing Orphanage Project because it was one of the few programs that offered the opportunity to work with infants, toddlers and children with special-needs at an orphanage. My experience with Volunteer Solutions, from start to finish, was incredibly gratifying and humbling, and I felt very supported while I was abroad. The other volunteer and I bonded closely with the kids and the other caregivers in a short time, and even now, we still received weekly updates and photos about all the children.

What made my time in Beijing so unique was the opportunity to experience life as a local during those few weeks. We learned to familiarize ourselves with the city’s transit system quite quickly, as well as learn basic Mandarin on the go to bridge language barriers. We commuted a total of 3.5 hours each day on 4 subways and 2 buses to get to and from the orphanage. The children and the caregivers welcomed me and the other volunteer with open arms, and it really felt like I was part of their family. The days were definitely exhausting, but it was an incredible opportunity to see the city in a different light than just as a tourist.

I'm already making plans to return to the orphanage to help out more next year! Thank you VolSol for all your support! I recommend doing volunteer work at some point in your life, it really does teach you so much!"

I appreciated living with a family and working and living a local life away from most tourists part of the time. The family we stayed with made us feel welcome and included us in their lives. We were able to assist in the preschool and connect with the children and teacher. One teacher taught 22 children, so we were able to assist the class with crafts and other activities. After the first day we understood the schedule, so we felt useful in the classroom and could also work one on one with the children when we had time. Two memories stand out- one assisting with the morning exercises at the preschool, the other watching local children participate in traditional dances at a school.

I have loved my volunteering experience here in Cusco, Peru. We worked with kids in a preschool in a nearbye town to Cusco. It was wonderful to get to help the teacher. She has 22 students, ages 3 and 4. The kids had lots of energy and all wanted attention from the teacher. She handles it well, but she greatly appreciated our help. The family we stayed with was extremely nice and helpful and the people from Volunteering Solutions were very helpful as well. All in all it was a wonderful experience.

My experiance was amazing !! I got to experiance cape town in a very uniqe way and a bit of a local prespective . I met amazing people and learnd so much about so many different things. Volunteering solution were very helpful and caring they gave me a good and secure feelig while i was away from home . They also took alot of intrest during my trip ! Would defently recommand everyone who is considering to go on this life changing expiriance . And of cours you get to see the most adorable and full of life kids they will defantly get deep in your heart !!

This experience was great and life-changing. The housing was better than I expected it would be, and the orphange was in worse conditions than I pictured. But it was very humbling overall. It made me realize how blessed i am and to never take anything for granted. I met some of the nicest people during my time in Nairobi, Kenya. From the mother at the orphanage, the neighbors, the tribe members, all of the children, and so on. This was my first time out of the country and it had a lot of impact on my life. I will be returning back to Nairobi with a few others next time; my organization will be volunteering together.

I joined teaching program in Vietnam where I met some great people, some wonderful students and was very impressed with the program and it's goals. The overall living experience was excellent but the heat and humidity take some time to get used to.

I Really enjoyed it. I learned from the students and made me appreciate the culture and people more than I could hope for..their desire to learn was so refreshing.

Meeting other volunteers..exploring the city..and believing I had a small impact to helping the students progress and learn about my culture as I learned about theirs, these are the highlights of my trip to vietnam.

India has been on my bucket list for a while, however as well as seeing the usual tourist attractions and heritage sites I wanted to see more of the day to day life and culture and give something back to the community.

After much research I decided on Vol Sol as their 3 week Summer Programme offered a good combination through a varied itinerary at a reasonable cost.

On booking I was provided with a login to my Vol Sol account, which contained a fully detailed itinerary and helpful information on visas, climate, culture etc and Sahil, our coordinator was always helpful with answering any questions.

On arrival in Delhi airport I was met by a smiling Vol Sol face and transported to the volunteer house, which was in a nice residential area of south Delhi and situated in a gated community with plenty of markets, shops and restaurants within walking distance.

On our first day we had a detailed orientation from Vol Sol explaining our first week in Delhi, which would be in a volunteer school where we would be helping children from the slums to improve their English.

Travel to and from the volunteer school was by auto rickshaw, an experience in itself given the Delhi traffic. The children ranged between 4 and 14 years and were of mixed ability but so willing to learn and absorbed everything like sponges. It was hard work but so rewarding.

Saying goodbye to the children at the end of the week was really emotional but we left with many thank you cards, hugs and happy tears together with the thought that we may have played a tiny part in helping to improve the future for these gorgeous kids.

Rajiv, Parag and Dheeraj, were always around checking our safety and available for questions.

After an overnight coach journey we arrived in Palampur in the foot hills of the Himalayas and our new accommodation for the week was in a countryside volunteer house with magnificent views of the majestic mountains.

Again we had a full orientation from Dr Bobby who explained that we would be renovating two classrooms in a non government school for very poor children. It was hard work sanding down walls, plastering and then applying two coats of base paint before designing and completing the artwork for the walls.

It was so rewarding at the end of the week when we handed over the clean, bright and fun classrooms to the teachers who were so appreciative. The children were just adorable and there was plenty of time to play with them during the breaks. Again the Vol Sol team, Dr Bobby and Amit, were frequently around checking on our progress and making sure we were OK.

Our final week included a camping/trekking trip in the mountains, sightseeing In Dharamshala, Amritsar, Agra and Jaipur with everything expertly arranged and fully escorted by Parag of Vol Sol who really went out of his way to ensure we had the best time ever.

Would I do it again - absolutely, it is so much more fulfilling to actual take part in making change happen than just donating cash and you actually get to see where your money goes.

Would I choose Vol Sol again - absolutely, they are a very professional organisation who provide an excellent combination of volunteer projects and sightseeing ensuring you are safe at all times.

So, if you are thinking about volunteering and fancy India then I would definitely recommend Volunteering Solutions.

Thank you and happy travels.

I have recently returned from India where myself and a group of 7 other ladies (mainly over 5) took part in the Summer program. We generally all knew each other beforehand, having volunteered together the previous year. We had an amazing time in India and the ground staff at VolSol we’re excellent. They made us feel very welcome and safe the whole time, providing just the right mix of independence and security.

The transport between locations was perfecty organised. As westerners we found the food at the volunteer accommodation rather monotonous, consisting of rice, roti, dahl and a vegetable curry but there were opportunities to try different foods at lunch time in Delhi which was fun. The accommodation in Delhi was in a very safe, respectable area with a Market (shopping area) nearby with a few bars cafes including Starbucks) and some useful shops. Rooms were laid out with bunk beds and there were fans and air con, in a 3 bedroom apartment with 3 ensuite bathrooms. Comfortable and spacious but the bathrooms and kitchen could do with a really deep clean.

In Palampur, the accommodation was in a stunning location with views of the snow capped Himalayas and fields of golden wheat all around.
The volunteering work in both locations was well organised and a wonderful experience. I was based at the Balasarthy centre of eduction for street and slum children and loved it. The children were very bright and resourceful. They were keen to learn and were no fools! The older boys in particular needed much more than play - they were keen for a challenge and enjoyed competitive tasks. Space is very limited so activities generally needed to be things that they can do sitting in small groups on the floor. Take resources and ideas for lessons that are suitable for mixed ability, mixed ages groups. For the younger children, although boys and girls are taught together, it is more informal and you need resources that will help with learning English or improve health education. If you plan on giving gifts, take loads with you because if one has, they all have to be given something. The older girls loved the crop tops (trainer bras) that we took out. The second week in Palampur was taken up refurbishing 2 classrooms in a government school. The children and teachers were delightful and so appreciative of the work we did.
The final week was our holiday - busy with lots of travelling but wonderful sights and shopping and the chance to do paragliding! This was a truly amazing trip! Do it if you can, but go with an open mind and a generous heart.