Program Reviews

In May 2016 I had the opportunity to participate in the 2 week orphanage program in Delhi. I worked with the NGO Jamghat and went to the girls' home Aanchal, which housed 12 girls between the ages of 12-18. These girls either did not have parents, or their parents could no longer take care of them. The girls were so welcoming on the first day I arrived and made leaving them nearly impossible.
One of my favorite memories was when I had gone in to visit them on a Sunday after their weekly dance class. Since I have a background in ballet, they asked if I would teach them a short routine and in exchange, they'd teach me their most recent Bollywood piece. The girls were so happy and kept smiling and laughing the entire time.Seeing how happy such a simple thing as dance made them helped me realize how fortunate I am. I still keep in touch with the girls through email and they will always hold a special place in my heart.
Overall, my experience with volunteering solutions was excellent. The staff was very helpful throughout the entire application process and answered all of my questions leading up to my arrival in India. The accommodations were very nice and Rajiv and his family were amazing hosts. I'm so thankful for my opportunity to work with volunteering solutions and can't wait to return.

I went to Valencia with a friend to help children aged from 8 to 10 do there homework. We were spending aproximatly 4 hours each day with the same class. But obviously the children weren't studying this long. I learnt to play the 1,2,3 ball game and a few others with the boys. I used to draw a lot with girls, but we also listened to music, took pictures, visited the garden in the school...
I couldn't speak Spanish fluently, but well enough to understand each other and share unforgattable moments. I hope I will be back in Valencia soon.

This trip had everything I could've wanted to experience in Thailand & more. We were able to see the beaches, the city, the jungle & the villages. We got to interact with people around the world, elephants, people from Thailand & experience the food, culture, landscapes and modes of transportation. My highlight from the trip was to be able to really connect with people from Thailand and we were able to do just that through our volunteer work at the temples, school, daycare center & elephant village. Not to mention our tour guid was PHENOMENAL and so knowledgeable with the history of the places we went & the temples we saw.

Before arriving to Thailand I was a little scared, maybe because it was the first time I was travelling to Asia. The impression I got the following days after arriving was amazing, we got to know Bangkok a little better. We saw the night life in Koh San Road, we tried all the food we dared. It was so different! I loved seeing the crowded streets with smiling people, no hurries. Thai people seemed to me friendly, relaxed and very very hard workers. This impression became greater and greater as the days were passing. I found myself opening my heart to this country, this culture and its people. I empathized with all the environments we volunteer at. The immersion in the elephant village was my favorite part of the trip. Today, it has been 4 months since I came back from this country and I can see how every detail made me learn a lot.

Overall I really enjoyed my month in Cape Town with volunteering solutions. I took part in the teaching programm in Chapel Street Primary School and I loved it. The kids were amazing, they made me feel so welcome and precious and the teachers were very friendly and supportive. I had a great time in my project and would really recommend everyone to take part in a project like this as well.
I stayed in a hostel in Observatory which I didn't like that much because there were just too many people (30 boys and girls) and you didn't have any privacy. We got dinner on 5 days of the week which I really appreciated. The staff in the hostel was friendly most of the time though the owner was grumpy from from time to time.
I would recommend volunteering solutions especially to young people who are looking for something to do after their graduation.
To the team of volunteering solutions: Thank you very much for a really good time!!

I have never rode a plane or left the country before. I decided to do this on my own and travel to Cape Town. The whole experience was very pricey and I was only there for two weeks. I stayed in a hostel with the other volunteers we all became very close and we are still in contact today. The hostel mom and dad were super awesome and loving. Volunteering at the schools were not as wonderful as I expected it to be but touring around the city was definitely the highlight of my trip. I definitely would recommend traveling to Cape Town and I hope one day I can go back.

I was awarded a travel bursary from my university to go volunteer anywhere I wanted to in the world. After searching the internet, I came across the Thailand summer programme which was being advertised by Volunteering Solutions. It was the one that sounded most appealing to me out of the dozens that I saw being advertised elsewhere. The programme definitely lived up to the hype. There were countless breathtaking experiences, too many to name in fact but if I had to pick a few, I would say the elephant village and the jungle trek. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is hesitant.

This was an amazing trip! I went between my first and second years of medical school to get more patient experience and practice Spanish. I had previously lived in Spain for 2 years but had not used Spanish as much as I would have liked to since I returned to the US, so this was a great opportunity to immerse myself in the language again.

I worked in an underserved clinic from 8am to 1pm and helped triage, provide wound care, and provided medications and immunizations to patients. The nurses there were great to work with and would show me once or twice what to do and then every patient after that I was able to work with.

The host family I had was incredible! They were so interesting in my story, in my family, and in making sure that I had everything I would need while I was there. The people are truly what make these projects worth it. I was able to go to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, and as incredible as they are, nothing compares to the people that I worked with and lived with.

I would highly recommend this program to anyone who is wanting to practice Spanish, get medical experience, learn a new culture, and see the world.

Well...It's true that I have talked about my experience many times since I left Tacloban, Philippines :) And yes it's difficult to find one story because I have a lot to tell, jeje. Therefore, perhaps what I haven't told yet is how much I miss being there and how sad I felt when my brother and I left.
The last day we stayed in Tugop my heart just broke and I knew I had to go back. That day, Nanay Nene cooked our last Philippine breakfast; fried fish with veggies in coconut milk, and those delicious rice cupcakes they call "puto" ;). It was not a sunny day as usual, it was raining that day as if it were crying because of our leaving :) At Tugop Elementary school students were waiting for us with lovely letters they wrote to my brother and me. They also prepared a dancing and several songs that still remain in my heart :) We had a great time at Tugop Elementary School...I laughed with kids, we played and I hope they learned as much as I learned from them, even from the most restless and vivacious ones ;) We got all wet because of the raining but I didn't mind jeje, I always enjoyed the tropical weather ;) there are many things I remember ang give me great nostalgia; the jeepneys, balut, basketball in the afternoons... :) it was hard to say: "Good bye!"

I only volunteered for about 2 weeks, so I don't have a lot of stories... but here was something that struck me as memorable. I worked in the triage room for 1-2 hours every morning where we would weigh and take the heights of everyone that came to the clinic. I quickly noticed that about 90% of the women under 40 who were visiting the clinic were there to see obstetricians. All of the women were alone and many were in their teens...I couldn't believe how many young single mothers there were! I later found out that birth control pills were free, with or without insurance. I wondered WHY so many girls were getting pregnant. After speaking to another volunteer, I found out that there is a social stigma against birth control, deep rooted in the religious views of the country.