Program Reviews

As an 18 year old exploring the continent for the first time this was a great way to acclimatise to the friendly South American culture. With the city of Buenos Aires just a half an hour train away as well as other day trips such as Tigre and Temaiken close too, San Isidro offers not just a great support scheme for young affected children, through the Fundación Cor program, but also offers a great location to spend your time during the program.

With a range of children from about 4 months to 13 years it really felt like a family here - which is precisely what those kids need. That and a bit of love and attention of course. I felt a real connection with not just the kids but also the super caring staff.

This program really must be considered by anyone with an interest for volunteering or just putting a smile on the faces that need it most.

Volunteering in Rio was one of my best experiences.

Felipe takes care of every volunteer and makes sure we feel well there. Also, the hostel staff is very nice and the Portuguese teacher is lovely, making the classes fun and interactive, even after a hard day of working in the favelas.
Speaking about the work, it was very enriching! If I can give an advice, try to learn some Portuguese before your arrival in order to be able to interact with the people you will work with.

I would encourage anyone to do it because I'm sure you won't regret it and it's a really interesting way to travel!

If you're looking for the best way to travel to Rio, start with Iko Poran.

I couldn't believe that a program so affordable could go above and beyond my expectations. As a recent college graduate taking a gap-year before graduate school, this was my first trip traveling alone. From the moment I met Felipe and the other program participants, I knew I was in good hands and formed an Iko Poran "family" within just days of arriving.

The program is a good fit for anyone - whether a college student or someone wishing to take a break from their busy career. The program has a good balance between fun and volunteering. I was especially grateful that the program showed me another, equally beautiful, side of Rio that is rarely seen by being a tourist alone. While I may have only been in Rio for a month, I felt that I played an important role at my project simply by devoting time to children who may not always receive the attention necessary for optimal development. I formed friendships with the other staff members and felt so welcome into the project.

Another one of my favorite parts of the program were the Portuguese lessons. I felt that just after one month, I was conversational in Portuguese and could read nearly fluently. I had learned Spanish before, but I was amazed at just how fun and useful the classes were. I never thought I could learn a new language in such a short time!

While the program is definitely more crowded some months of the year (such as over December-January and Carnival), it was nice having a close-knit group of 5-10 volunteers. As another note, safety in Rio is always somewhat a concern, but Iko Poran did all they could in providing valuable safety information.

Overall, I couldn't believe how affordable the program was for all it included. I had previously signed up through other organizations, but Iko Poran is flexible about your arrival date and shows you exactly where your money is going. I would go back in a heartbeat, and I recommend that anyone do the same!

When I signed up to participate in Iko Poran program in July 2015, it was my third stay in Brazil. French but passionate about brazilian culture and fluent in Brazilian Portuguese, I wanted to work in community development, a very common notion in Canada, that doesn’t really exist in France (we have various notions instead : local developement, social work…).

Luis Felipe Murray, the director of Iko Poran, offered me to volunteer in the Reciclação project for three weeks in August. At this time, I didn’t imagine that I would work with a carioca celebrity : Zoraide Francisca Gomes, better known under the name of Cris dos Prazeres, a community activist for over twenty years and founder of the PROA group and, more recently, the Reciclação project, recognized by many cariocas institutions, including UNICEF Brazil.

Context. Founded in 2013, the Reciclação project promotes the sorting of household waste and the environmental education of the Morro dos Prazeres community. This favela located in the hills of Santa Teresa is better known as the setting of the movie Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite). The Morro dos Prazeres is occupied by the police since February 2011, which means that police officers are stationed at the main entrance of the favela 24 hours a day.

Main missions during my three weeks volunteering within the group PROA: organization of activities in support of a childhood immunization campaign organized by the health center. Results: 30 painted children after their vaccine and 10 women with make-up on / Creation of 30 condom dispensers made of plastic bottles and distribution in the social spaces (bars…) of the community / Manual sorting household waste within a team of 5 people after Black Santa, a party attended by more than 5,000 people / Development of posters and messages designed to improve self-esteem of the women of the community / Distribution of leaflets about sorting

Cris, the last mile solution. Beside health promotion activities, Cris works with a wide network of partners. I had the opportunity to participate to several appointments including: a meeting with the local school’s assistant principal who wanted to draw her attention to the difficulties of siblings / A meeting with a member of the merchants association that manages the Saara daily market to identify their labour needs / A workshop on breastfeeding facilitated by one of the members of the PROA group inside the health center / Several meetings with the Mayor’s Representative for downtown Rio and the city’s historic sites, during which she strongly urged that the bus that daily transport the residents of Morro dos Prazeres respect speed limits and adopt a more cautious driving.

Cris, a Black woman who didn’t have the opportunity to stay long in education, impressed me by her charisma, her quick wit and her determination. If you have a level of at least intermediate Portuguese, I would suggest that you take a look at the PROA group.

Being in an excellent part of Rio de Janeiro, I stayed with other volunteers in a very nice hostel. My stay was a bit too short, only two weeks, and I participated in Capoeira (which was excellent) and was present at soccer. The warmth of the people struck me the most, even there was a language barrier. And I speak a little portugese also.
I learned how to relax and go with the flow. It was so nice to find people with not a lot of money being so happy. I'm not sure what I brought, but being there with a smiling face was the only thing I did.
I really enjoyed every bit of it!

Rio de Janeiro has an incredible mixture of everything and makes you feel the passion of the city through the variety of activities you can take part on a daily base.

Teaching was still a really positive experience because it was a particular environment and were interacting with diverse backgrounds from financial state to age group. Iko Poran made a great deal of good by organising every detail of the volunteering and took care first of all of safety issues so no one would go away with a bad moment.

I learned hugely in that city, from helpful strangers to friends, everyone that was part of my daily activities were incredibly great people. they do care, if you do to.
Rio is an amazing city, there are more positives than negatives. Find your way there and enjoy your experience!

In summer 2015 I packed my bags and went with the organisation Iko Poran to Rio de Janeiro to teach English in an NGO in a favela called Batan in Rio's West Zone (zona oeste). I had never taught before in my life and I was a bit scared as to what would be expected of me. Luckily I was placed with another volunteer on the project, Charles, and we jumped into the deep end together.

We worked in the "Centro Social e Cultural Tatiane Lima", which had not seen a lot of volunteers teaching English for a long time, so the first few weeks we did a lot of improvised classes, as we could never be sure how many students would turn up or what their level of English would be. After a while word had spread though and after Charles had left, I was able to establish two Basic courses twice a week and one Advanced course once a week with another volunteer, where more or less the same students showed up and we could build on the achievements of the previous weeks.

Teaching itself was always a challenge, but because this was Brazil everything was a lot more relaxed. We had the freedom to do pretty much anything, as long as everybody had fun and would leave class with having learned at least one little thing.
Most of the students were very attentive and up for the challenge, and some of them even stayed back after class to ask more questions about something they read or lyrics in music they listened to. All my students were absolutely amazing an I can say that I learned a bit from everyone - mostly Portuguese. :) As much as you are there to teach them, it's the best way to improve your language skills!

The NGO is run by a couple - Luciano and Eliane - and those two have made their way straight into my heart. I struggle to find words for how open, lovely, forthcoming and amazing they have been with me and there are not enough thank yous in the world to express my gratitude for what they have done for me. I enjoyed every second of my time there, and, needless to say, when it was time to say goodbye, we were all crying our eyes out. I know it sounds cheesy, but these people have become my new family, and I literally can't wait until I return.

I'd also like to stress that during my time I was looked after by Felipe from Iko Poran, and I'd like to thank him for placing me on this particular project - it could not have been better! In 3 months I've seen and learned things that I have not learned in 35 years of my life. This time in Rio was so precious and the memories of it will stay in my heart forever, like the countless people I met along the way. It was the best experience of my life and I can just advise everybody that's thinking about volunteering to do it! Yes, it's scary at first, but if you keep an open mind and open heart and accept the sometimes peculiar Brasilian ways (jeitinhos brasileiros) you will have an amazing time.

Coming to Brazil I wanted to discover something new, I didn't want to see this beautiful country just as a tourist that's why I chose volunteering. And this turned out to be a wonderful experience at all points; working with locals you meet great people who show you the culture, the language and beyond that, meeting volunteers from abroad was such an experience that I recommend to every people who want to make a useful and exotic break with daily life! You won't regret it!

I had a great time during my two month stay in Rio. The hostel in which we stayed as was so welcoming, the staff were the greatest and the other volunteers helped make the trip so special, and have certainly made many long-lasting friendships. The programme was very enjoyable. With two different projects it meant that there was some variety. The first project in a community garden working with Ricardo and his wife Dora was lovely. Two of the nicest people you will meet, although they don't speak English they still talk to you and keep you entertained, especially through Ricardo's love of acting out stories. Another bonus is finishing work at midday allows for the rest of the day to be spent at the beach after an exhausting but fun three hours in the sun. The second project at Parque Lage was beautiful. Like all Brazilians, the team were very welcoming. We did some forest conservation work with invasive tree species, by removing them and planting new local trees. One day we even hiked up Corcovado and gained free entry to Christ the Redeemer. The following day with the same team I worked in Pedra da Gavea, a large rock near Barra da Tijuca, doing the same invasive tree project. The opportunity to climb this mountain provides stunning views of Rio from afar. Overall my experience in Rio was amazing. I will certainly be back. This city is not to be missed, the people, beaches, night-life and food are all incredible. I hope to make it my home some day.

This journey has been incredible and a real eye opener for me. The volunteer work allows you to experience the country instead of just being a tourist. The children I worked with were the most gentle, caring and inspirational children I have ever had the pleasure of being with. It's a very humbling experience and I believe already that it's changed my view on some things. You need to be prepared for the poverty in Rio, it is heart-breaking to see and if you are very emotional like myself you will struggle with it, especially knowing there is not much that you can do about it. Just keep in mind that whilst you are there you are contributing to the economy and helping support the communities with whatever volunteer work you choose to complete. This was my first time volunteering and I'm so glad I choose this programme and Rio, I felt completely supported by the leader of the programme (Luis Felipe Murray) and all the other volunteers. You get to meet many people from all over the world who are just like you, wanting to make a difference, no matter how big or small that may be. I also received Portuguese lessons which helped so much as many people do not speak any other language. I would recommend Rio de Janeiro to anyone !