Program Reviews

I really enjoyed. It was a very good time. I hope I had given the little ones as much as they gave me. Makimei needs more support - progressing, I believe. Margaret and Rachel are engaged and housemothers are dedicated.
Regarding Volsol/ Go Overseas, Joe Ngugi is very kind and available. Everything was fine - accommodation, food, visits to the parks. I am pleased to be part of. Thank you for your project. Keep in touch.

Kindest regards,
Joana Barata

Our 18 year-old daughter went to Portugal for the 2-week experience in September 2019. It was one week in Lisbon, then one week in Porto. The week in Lisbon was outstanding, but her experience in Porto was an utter disappointment and potentially dangerous. After two days in Porto, we counseled her to leave the program.

In Lisbon, she stayed at an Impactrip hostel that was sex segregated and safe. In Porto, she stayed at a run-down hostel and was assigned to a room with a middle-aged male tourist—not a program participant. In Lisbon, she was with a cohort of other program participants her age. In Porto, she was alone. In Lisbon, she worked until 6 PM. In Porto, she was expected to work alone until midnight and travel alone back to the hostel. Perhaps you can see why she and her parents were so surprised and disappointed by the Porto experience.

We talked with a VolSol rep in Lisbon and told her that the situation was unacceptable. The rep offered to find another volunteer option, but by this point, all trust had been lost. At our own expense, we put our daughter up in a hotel and she finished out her remaining days in the city as a tourist. The clear reality is that VolSol has a strong program in Lisbon and a terrible, ineffective, and dangerous program in Porto.

Our accomodation and food were excellent and a short commute to the school each day. Shankar, the house manager, was very helpful in addressing any and all of my queries and is a great chef!
The teachers I worked with were very welcoming and open to our new ideas and the children were fantastic and always eager to learn and play games! The school itself is in a slum which is an eye opening experience but it was great to see how happy all of the children were every day and that they genuinely enjoy school.
As a city to live in, New Delhi has a huge amount to offer and is as thorough a culture shock as I have ever had. There are some amazing things to see and it being part of the Golden Triangle and a relatively cheap flight away from places such as Varanasi or Mumbai make it a great base from which to explore India on weekends etc.

There is a disconnect between what this program promises and what it offers. The best parts were our host mother, who was very sweet and the driver who picked us up. My wife and I are medical professionals (doctor and nurse) and expected to be working in a hospital where we could be of significant use. While the program is advertised for medical professionals with all experiences the majority of volunteers at the hospital were medical students from Germany and Denmark who seemed to be very bored as they did not have much to do. It is a money making program for the hospital (which is understandable as it is government run and relies on donations for supplies) as every volunteer has to pay the hospital to work there. But the hospital does not offer much for the students. In fact my wife and I spent most of our week helping to teach the medical students (who were very grateful we showed up) and taking charge with patient care to the extent we could given the language barrier. Rounds and teaching are very haphazard and by 12pm there is not much do do. Also volunteering solutions never gave our information to the hospital and so there was a delay in us even getting started on Monday. I think they mostly let it slide once they found out we were actual medical staff and not students (which they kept saying is rare for them). If you are a medical professional I would not recommend this program. If you are a student, your mileage will vary but it did not seem the students there were very happy with their experience.

It was a lot of fun here in cusco during these 2 weeks. My host family was very nice, cooked for me every day including on Sundays delicious peruanian meals making me discover the food culture of this country.
My time at the medical center was great too, had a very nice doctor supervising me and making me do the physical examination of the patients.
Since I had work only during the mornings, had plenty of time to discover Cusco and surroundings during the afternoon. The staff at the medical center would give me Fridays as a day off, so I had the opportunity to travel a bit further and went to the Machu Picchu as well on a weekend. It was a great experience travelling solo too, a bit challenging but worth it.

Overall great experience, would recommend it !

Translated by Go Overseas:

This stay in Cusco allowed me to meet many people, be it the family or other friendships that were created. Being in a family allowed me to better understand the culture and to have a "security" in case of problem. In addition, we have discovered extraordinary landscapes such as Rainbow Mountains or Machu Picchu for example and many other activities. Finally, my experience in two schools was very enriching to understand how the system worked, what was their pedagogy and the meeting with the different children was wonderful and very endearing. I also had the opportunity to meet other volunteers who did not necessarily work in the school field and we were able to discuss our various experiences.

Original:

Ce séjour à Cusco m’a permis de rencontrer beaucoup de personnes, que ce soit la famille ou d’autres amitiés qui se sont crées. Être dans une famille m’a permis de mieux comprendre la culture et d’avoir une « sécurité » en cas de problème. De plus, nous avons pu découvrir des paysages extraordinaires comme les Rainbow Mountains ou le Machu Picchu par exemple et de nombreuses autres activités. Finalement, mon expérience dans deux écoles a été très enrichissante pour comprendre comment fonctionnait le système, quelle était leur pédagogie et la rencontre avec les différents enfants était merveilleuse et très attachante. J’ai également eu l’occasion de rencontrer d’autres volontaires qui ne travaillaient pas forcément dans le domaine scolaire et nous avons pu échanger sur nos diverses expériences.

Translated by Go Overseas:

I loved everything about this trip. From the city, to the family and the program. My favorite part was to be able to teach and play with the children and the bond that I formed with them, to give them love and the love they gave me. The garden I went to is wonderful and the teachers are very friendly. The family I was with was also amazing, very loving, the house very comfortable and the food delicious; They made me feel very good and welcome. I loved the show's location too. Being in Cusco I could have the opportunity to meet many of the most beautiful places in the world, Machu picchu, the mountain of colors and all the Inca archaeological sites. It is a very safe place, and all the tours, the program and everything in general very organized.

Original Review:

Me encanto todo acerca de este viaje. Desde la ciudad, hasta la familia y el programa. Mi parte favorita fue poder enseñar y jugar con los niños y el vínculo que formé con ellos, darles amor y el amor que ellos me dieron a mi. El jardín al que fui, es maravilloso y las profesoras muy amables. La familia con la cual estuve también fue increíble , muy amorosa, la casa muy cómoda y la comida deliciosa; me hicieron sentir muy bien y bienvenida. La locación del programa también me encanto. Por estar en Cusco pude tener la oportunidad de conocer muchos de los lugares más lindos del mundo, Machupicchu, la montaña de colores y todos los sitos arqueológicos incas. Es un sitio muy seguro, y todos los tours, el programa y todo en general muy organizado.

This program is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. When I first arrived, it was the middle of the night, and the hostel seemed questionable, but as I adjusted to my African family, I grew to love the staff and the place like home. It’s Africa, so yes...sometimes things were a little slow to happen, and yes...sometimes I encountered struggles that I’ve never had to face in the past, but that is all part of the experience. The challenges that I overcame with my fellow volunteers just made our bond so much stronger. The cooks put their heart and soul into their food even though they are there sun up to sun down cooking. The house mamas...or sisters, care for the volunteers as if they are family, and the night guards are like dad’s looking out for their kids.♥️ Dinner time was one of my favorites times, as some of the staff would stay after to play games with the volunteers. It made for such a light, happy atmosphere. I did the medical program for 5 months, and I did an orphanage/women’s center for the last month. St. Elizabeth hospital was life changing. I worked with Dr. Quaker for a few months in the pediatric ward before switching wards, and I learned SO MUCH from that women...not just medical information, but she also taught me about the tribes in the area and their traditions and beliefs and how it correlates with the health of the child. The cases I experienced here were like nothing I would ever experience at home. Some were definitely “heavy,” but that is a challenge every healthcare provider will have to eventually face. The orphanage and women’s center were also amazing. I was at Enjevai Orphanage and Faraja Women’s center. Both the kids and the young moms were such a joy to work with. Despite their circumstances, they came each day with smiling faces. It really puts life into perspective. Overall, I think anyone looking to volunteer with an open mind should book it in Arusha, Tanzania. Don’t go there expecting to improve how they do things, but instead, learn from them and how they survive with limited resources. I promise...you won’t want to leave.💛 It’s home away from home.

Volunteering with this company is something I wouldn’t recommend. There were so many things I did not like about the program specifically the amount of dishonesty between the guide sent out prior to leaving and reality.

It took 2.5 hours to get to the hospital daily. The staff really could care less we were there. I voiced a plethora of concerns with the coordinator of the company and his response was borderline rude. Especially when confronted about the scam of a 2-day safari. I also got sick while in Nairobi and went to a hospital for 7 hours. The staff didn’t offer to take me, suggest a hospital, or even ask how I was. Instead, I figured everything out on my own and waited alone there. Luckily I was able to figure this out but, I could imagine how scared a younger volunteer would have been if they had to do it alone.

Overall I would not recommend this company because it felt more like a business than a company that helps people.

I did a medical internship in Cusco, and it was nice, but the website says that we can go to surgeries and do sutures and other procedures, but we don’t do this things. We don’t even go to hospitals, it’s a public clinic that we work in. But the family was great, the mom of the house helped us with everything, gave a key to each of us, cooked for us, and she was really attentive. People that come to Cusco need to be careful with the food that they eat, because there is a lot of places that are not safe and really dirty. You should check the rate in some website to see if you can eat there. The city of Cusco has a great center, with a lot of places to eat and a lot of travel agencies, that you can book your trips. I recommend people to do the colorful mountain, Machu Picchu by train, laguna humantay and secret valley. It was a great experience!