Program Reviews

Experience the way another culture lives. Interact on a daily basis have fun with their children enjoy their food but most of all make new friends

The wealth of experience you will gain will stay with you for ever and you can stay in contact with all your new friends and perhaps return to see how their lives have changed

I have just completed the Be The Change course in Taupo it was awesome. The group was quite different in age and in direction, but it worked and there was a great synergy. By the end of the week I could see how each one of us had something different to offer and in the field this would have been quite dynamic and made a real difference.
Believe in yourself! Be the Change !

Its very expensive and there are definitely ways of going and volunteering that are much cheaper. However this program works out all the details for you and makes it much less confusing. It can be extremely hard planning out a trip blindly. All in all it was a great experience, but that being said it wasn't really GVNs experience per se. It was mostly the partner organizations experience. But it would not have been possible without the medium of GVN. But the cost seemed a little high for what was offered. If you have the funds, go for it. But remember there are cheaper, but scarier and ruggeder, options.

Earlier this spring, I felt as though I had hit a wall in my career. I was burnt out and being a classroom teacher wasn’t as fulfilling anymore. Whether it was the mid spring slump or the seven year slump, I knew I needed to make a change. I loved teaching too much to become unhappy and I was not ready to begin to neither despise it nor quit. Subsequently, I decided to take a leave of absence from teaching to explore my dreams and my passions.
Be The Change Costa Rica reminded me why I had loved teaching so much in the first place. It brought me back to my roots and challenged me every step of the way to uncover my passion: to effectively change educational policy where young leader learn to become change makers in our society by providing them with historical knowledge and thus empowering the youth to become effective citizens of the world. BTC mentally and emotionally challenged us as individuals to think critically about ourselves, our projects and provided us with tools to help us take our dreams and make them realities.
In the past three months, I have worked extensively with the Global Volunteer Network and my life has been a whirlwind of change. My skills as a history teacher were sought out and I was invited to travel with the GVN team to Sydney, Australia and co-develop the leadership and entrepreneurial conference for 60 youth, ages 15-19. I personally developed and led workshops on white privilege and anti-racist training. Through BTC, I was also asked to help another participant help design an English teaching program in Dansai, Thailand. I traveled to Thailand where I actively recruited members of the community to participate in our program. I have never been so exhausted and fulfilled in my life. The idea of continuing down this path of work truly inspires me as an educator and as a citizen.

As I am only 18, going to BTC felt like a real leap of faith - I knew that I would be sharing my ideas and working with accomplished individuals from all over the world, with different cultural and professional backgrounds. Fortunately, my experience at BTC was all the better for this diversity, and my youth proved not to be a hindrance but a strength of mine. I had not recognized the value of acting as a springboard for a fresh perspective on the topics discussed by the BTC participants - all of whom were really respectful and constructive in their feedback. For me, my personal 'project' was, well, myself! (As I did not have a set direction in mind). BTC not only exposed me to a plethora of new interests and relationships - the supportive and dynamic environment gave me a sense of confidence in myself and my ability to achieve my goals. I feel that BTC really streamlined my direction in terms of self-development. I'd recommend Be The Change to anyone looking for a new experience and guidance in regard to how you can create positive social change in your life.

Taking part in ‪this program wasn't only an adventure for me, it's an opportunity to write a new page in the story of my life.

On January, when I was living in Poland, almost everything seemed to be going wrong. I must make a decision. Do I want to blame everything for my failures and complain about my problems? Or take responsibility of the only life I have and make a change? Start over again. Live a bigger life. Get out of my comfort zone. Take courage to live my purpose and dreams not fears.

I followed my heart and it was the best decision I could have ever made. I am in the middle of a miracle currently.

Volunteering was the start of my new live. I was taking part in "build and beach" program. We were helping children have a better place to learn. The kids were lovely. They are always smiling. I enjoyed spending time with them. Working as a volunteer gave me huge satisfaction and a great experience. I am so happy to gave something back to the World. To be the change. This is an incredible feeling deep inside my heart. I was so greatful to be a part of it.

Koh Samui is like paradise! Views are breathtaking! I loved spending my free time exploring this stunning place. People are nice and cheerful. I was making new friends from around the world. The food is divine! Especially seafood. I fell in love with Thai cuisine.

And this is just a beginning...
Believe in your dreams!!

Kisses,
Beata from Poland

Thoroughly enjoyed the volunteer experience. Program was great and the staff were amazing and very helpful. Loved living in the village and seeing first hand how the people there lived. I am very appreciative of being able to have done this and would love to do another volunteer experience with GVN.

Being a mature volunteer, I always tend to worry beforehand that other young volunteers in their twenties and thirties will look at me and wonder why I am there! However, this is not true, I have had a great two weeks so far and have signed up for another two which shows how good it is!

I came out here to teach and hopefully give something back to a community that hasn't the same benefits of our western society. Whilst here I have had some hairy rides on motor bikes up impossible hills, been out on a 4WD up into the jungle, been down slides at the waterfall, driven through torrential rains, along ravines and met some jungle spiders!

So I guess I am getting as much from this trip as I am giving back and I would encourage anyone - from 20 - 80 to give it a try!

On their website GVN claims that the overwhelming number of negative reviews they get come from those who never participated in their programs or were done by competing volunteer organizations. Well, I am a regular person, a registered nurse, I might add, who has extensively travelled and participated in other volunteer projects in the developing countries.
I HAVE volunteered in a medical program offered by GVN and managed by Maximo Nivel in Cusco, Peru in August 2015. And by far, it was the worst volunteer experience I've ever had, it lacked structure, involvement and supervision by GVN. The concerns reported by me and other volunteers were not addressed, GVN and Maximo Nivel took little to no responsibility for their failure to deliver what they signed people up for. The total cost of the program was $765 for a week. There are much cheaper volunteer programs out there... hell, there are free ones out there!
During the orientation, they offered free t-shirts for positive reviews and "likes" on Facebook. If your level of integrity was what you say it is, you would not have to ask for praise, your Goodness would be undeniable.
I wish I had known better, but I guess it was a learning experience. So my suggestion is read, do research before you sign up with these guys. Make an informed decision. And good luck impacting lives <3
Olessia :)
#dontmakemeshowyoumystethoscope

I assistant taught for 4 weeks at a middle school in Soweto, South Africa. Global Volunteer Network (GVN) arranged for the housing for me while I volunteered. ZOTE was the local organization that oversaw my stay. My money was stolen from my bedroom. GVN has not stopped placing volunteers in that house or stopped using ZOTE as I suggested. If you volunteer with GVN and ZOTE, lock your bedroom door.

Response on June 9, 2015:

Miriam (GVN),

You're right, I talked to Colin, GVN Founder. He reinforced what you mentioned, that the house I stayed has not been used since I left, and there are no plans to use it. He also said he would be visiting South Africa in August and ZOTE would be evaluated after that.

Colin and I agree that volunteering in South Africa is a great idea. The school I volunteered at welcomed me warmly and appreciated my help. The people in my community, Soweto, were wonderful. Many of them helped me in various ways. The children were especially interested in talking to me and learning who I am. As a bonus, the country is beautiful as I found out in 2 weeks of sightseeing. The scenery, and more importantly, the people were wonderful.

I recommend everyone consider volunteering in South Africa.

All the best,

Jann