Program Reviews

I spent four months on a voluntary teaching program with AV in rural Malawi. It gave me a unique opportunity to experience life in a Malawian village; understand the culture, education system and make friends with Malawians. At the same time, I was provided with just the right amount of comfort to be able to enjoy the period we were there for (4 months is quite a bit longer than a holiday!!)but not too high comfort to exclude ourselves. I was with 3 other great girls;now life long friends in a friendly school environment where I taught English, Biology and Sport. We were supported in a steady hand approach; people in-country from AV to assist and advise, popping up when neccesary but otherwise left to experience and enjoy Malawi in our own way. I loved getting to know so many people, seeing many breath taking sunsets, going to the wonderful Lake Malawi on weekends and a different way of living than I'd ever known before. Being with AV gave me the opportunity to dig deeper into the Malawian way of living, thinking and all there is to experience there than I feel I would of got as a mere traveler or with any other organisation. I have recommended them to many other people, who similarly have had brilliant experiences!

A really fantastic experience with a great group of people. The faces of the people in the community when we had finished our program made the effort worthwhile!

Going to Uganda with AV was undoubtedly the best decision that I have ever made. The three months that we spent in our villages, working at the local schools was indescribably good, and saw us all really develop as people. Through our teaching of everything from English, to PE to Music to our pupils, we were able to foster real friendships with those in our class, with the other teachers, and came to feel very at-home in our village. The children of Uganda are undoubtedly the most resilient, enthusiastic, kind, happy and inspiring of any that I have ever come across, and I feel so lucky to have spent that time with them. During free time at the weekends, we were able to explore Uganda more generally - taking white water rafting trips, bungee jumping, visiting waterfalls, tracking mountain gorillas....at the end of the school term we spent a further month exploring East Africa as a whole - trips through Tanzania, Kenya and Zanzibar, ending with a Masai Mara safari. Throughout, the support from the AV staff, in-country and at home, was exceptional. I wish that I could take another Gap Year just so that I could go back to Uganda with AV again, I could honestly not recommend the whole experience more highly.