Program Reviews

The best thing about AV is the high level of independence you are granted, many projects have day to day leaders telling you when to wake up, how to act appropriately and so forth. whereas AV set you up with a house and a teaching job in one village and the rest is up to you. for me this was exciting and it allowed me to think for myself about what i wanted to get out of the program as well as allowing me to familiarise myself with my surroundings. if you do AV in Uganda you will work hard during the weeks teaching the kids and on the weekends you can party as hard as you want, go white water rafting, bungee jumping, quad biking along the nile, see the gorillas, do a safari. you will not regret going to Uganda with AV it's the best trip you will ever do.

This experience was the best of my life. I left Kenya a different person and would go back without even thinking. To wake up in Lessos and open the door and see all those smiles is just awsome. Everyone there was so kind and warm. I still get tears in my eyes every time I think of them all. People in general in Kenya were really kind. And the staff? THE BEST! You become part of a huge family! Once you arrive in Kenya you won´t want to come back. Trust me!

My time in Africa was totally unforgettable. The country and its people are beautiful, colourful and welcoming. The experience of teaching itself was really rewarding and insightful. I feel so lucky to have got to know the children, the teachers and their families.

As this was many of our first adventures abroad, it was great having AV there as a safety net, knowing there was always someone on the end of the phone should you need any help.

Shortly after coming home, I went travelling around India and south-east Asia and although I had a fantastic time, I felt I was just skimming the surface and not able to really get to know a place, its culture and its characters as I did in Uganda.
For this reason, if/when I go away again, I'll go and work somewhere and I'm so grateful for the experience and and confidence AV has given me to do so.

On a wholly different note, for all university and job interviews I have had since, my time in Uganda is repeatedly the biggest point of interest on my CV..

If you have the chance to go then you absolutely will not regret it. Im currently saving to go back!

Incredibly rewarding and fun experience!! I taught many language to a school in the Rift Valley in Kenya, mainly focusing on sport - football, rugby, basketball, volleyball.

After 3 months of teaching we went travelling with a group of the volunteers to the coast of Kenya and then on safari.

You cannot go wrong going on an AV trip.

I look back at my time with AV in Uganda as the happiest time of my life. I made friends who I am still see and speak to regularly. The experience has left in print on my heart, If someone gave me the chance to do it tomorrow I would bite there hand off.
Uganda was such a fascinating country to go to, yes there were tough times but that only made the experience better. Many of my friends travelled round Australia and South America, they have come back with stories of fun and frivolity but none of them had half the experience that we did in Uganda. If you are lucky enough to go, I promise you will have the most amazing time.

I was posted out to Buckley Girls school in CMS by Jinja - a few hours out of Kampala. I adored the travelling, the teaching taught me alot, even though my intention was never to become a teacher. I had the most incredible time. It helped me gain confidence, experience and allowed me to see and live in a country that I longed to get to know but in a safe and useful environment. I met a great network of people and would do it again if I could!

A very well researched, well supported project that takes care to make sure the work is meaningful, useful and sustainable. Very different to many gap companies who are in it for a quick buck and don't really care about your experience or the impact of your work. They take care to place you with people who you are likely to get along well with and they met me before my project and spoke to me in detail. It is more expensive than some but I think it is very well worth it and would highly recommend AV. My friends who went with other organisations regretted it when we compared stories.

What a great time, I still have such good memories. We were based in Eastern Kenya in a rural village. I really learnt so much about the community, the culture, the country and the language. As well as really learning a lot about myself. I really grew as a person and gained a lot more confidence and indepence. The support from the UK team as well the local support was fantastic and felt secure in the village. The community also gave us a lot of support and really tried to ensure we were well looked after.

I took part in the course when I was 18 and now I am in my 30's. I still have great friends from that course and is still something employers look at when I go for job interviews. When I finished the experience and was going for graduate jobs, it was definetly a differentiator between other applicants

Had an amazing time in Tanzania with a group of 17 fellow travellers for just under 6 months. I lived with two girls and one other boy in a 10 by 10 metre house in Arusha, it was small, but after the first week it really felt like home! Had an amazing time, loved teaching the kids English and Geography and also helped out with IT when asked. The teachers were incredibly nice and very welcoming. We had a great time socialising in Tanzania and Moshi at weekends as well as 1 or 2 safaris on a couple of weekends.

Climbed Kilimanjaro, (Highly suggest doing that) was a great experience, Had a great time in zanzibar as well as in Uganda and Kenya!

It is a fantastic experience from start to finish. Richard Venning and Guarev Chhetri were great people to have with us during the early days in Kathmandu, Nagarkot and Besisahar. Richard, as well as Guarev, has a fantastic knowledge of the country, it's cultures and the language and gave us many useful pointers for interactions with the Nepalese.

The teaching stage is fantastic - be prepared to get given random lessons at a moment's notice, match your students' enthusiasm with your own and organise projects for them. It was amazing how much effort and care they put into some of the large pieces of work that we set.

Never turn down an invitation - going to colleagues' houses/weddings/day outs was always a special experience. More often than not you will meet their family, try some new Nepali dish and learn something new about their country.

But make the most of an amazing opportunity, explore your surroundings, make a real effort with the language because people will appreciate it and accept you, be prepared for cockroaches and for your gas supply to run out, go to pokhara, visit the other AVs, get involved.