Program Reviews

The place I volunteered at the most in Costa Rica was at a school called Escuela Granadilla Norte. I was basically an aide in a kindergarten classroom. I felt like my biggest impact was making work a little easier for some of the teachers there. I felt like I could have contributed more during my volunteering hours if I had been teaching English. However, since I wanted to spend my volunteering hours immersed in Spanish, this seemed like my best option. The teachers at the school made me feel incredibly welcome. All the preschool and kindergarten teachers made a real effort to be nice to me and speak slowly to help me understand things. Saying goodbye to the students and the teachers was incredibly hard, but the hard goodbye reminded me how lucky I was to have had such a good experience.

Wow! What can I say?! I signed up for this program because of other people's reviews. I was not disappointed! I was looking for a program with a lot of hands on animal time and that is exactly what I got. One of the coolest things I was able to do while at the wildlife orphanage was microchip a hyena. They had rescued some hyenas and unfortunately, could not return them to the wild. My time spent there included prepping enclosures for them so we could move them to a better and more suited area of the orphanage. In order to move them, we needed to dart them, collect health information, microchip them, and then relocate before they woke up. It was so cool that the orphanage lets you do these types of things with their supervision. Also, while I was there, a monkey somehow got a cut on it's leg. We had to dart him as well so stitches could be put in. One of the volunteers there had just graduated from vet school so they let her administer the stitches with their supervision.

Through my experience in the Greater Kruger Area I was exposed to this side of life I had only seen in my dreams. Doing a wildlife conservation trip gave me some of the most unreal encounters with some of the most majestic and intriguing African wildlife. One of my most memorable experiences was during a night drive when a bull elephant looking for a mate charged our game vehicle. It was so dark out we could barley see 10 feet in front of us and we all stood frozen as we heard this giant run full speed for our car. Of course we knew in the back of our heads that we were safe because of our outstanding guide who experiences this kind of behavior on the regular. By banging the side of the car with his rifle, our guide stopped the elephant right in his tracks purely by using noise. It was amazing to be able to see these creatures in the natural environment and is a memory I can never forget.

When deciding between the various volunteering experiences offered at GoEco, I was most drawn to the wildlife orphanage because of the opportunity to work closely with a wide range of animals. I was not at all disappointed and over just two weeks, I was involved in the feeding and caring for lions, leopards, servals, a cheeky baby duiker, owls, and much, much more.

I wanted a summer that was not spent on a beech in a European country. I wanted adventure, to challenge myself and to do things I have never done before.

I choose to go to Sri Lanka for 2 weeks with GoEco and volunteer. Many of my friends thought I was crazy but the day I arrived and started I knew I had made the correct decision.

Over my time I volunteered on a turtle conservation center looking after disabled turtles who had missing fins, were blind or could not swim properly. Nursing them back to health, feeding them, cleaning them and helping them recover. It was very rewarding and such a unique experience.

I got to travel all over Sri Lanka, meeting some amazing people who were involved in the project. Tried all the local food and really got to understand what life was like.

It was everything I wanted and had such a great time. From start to finish GoEco where there to advise and guide me through any questions I had.

During my service in the school I remember showing one of the kids an American handshake from back home and he started smiling a lot and showing it to the the other kids, they all started to crowd around me and begin doing with me and smiling a lot.

This project was the best experience of my life. It has the perfect blend of freedom and structured time. It also immerses you directly into the most needy places so it feels like you're making real change. In the mornings you teach small school children, then you have time for lunch, then you either go surfing, swimming or sporting. The weekends are entirely free with hundreds of options of things to do at very reasonable prices.

My time with GoEco and the Bamboo Project was a great success. In fact,GoEco’s partnership with the Bamboo Prjocet should be considered as a win-win situation for all participants.

My trip began with a wonderful day of sightseeing in Bangkok – with lots of different impressions and first insights into the Thai culture. This day was topped with a great night out exploring the famous Koh San Road in Bangkok.

On the next day and night we had a fun bus and ferry trip to Koh Samui, where finally my work at the Beach and Build Project has begun. The weather has been hot and rainy at the same time. In fact, the conditions have been changing a lot and the work at the school has been challenging as well.

How did we face these challenges?

Well, we continued the work at the school with a big Smile, a huge portion of Fun, a mixture of Flexibility & Creativity and a Positive Way of Thinking.

That’s the Thai Way, Fellows!

Indeed, the Thai culture has to be loved. No matter what, Thai always stay calm, smile and find a solution. This is definitely something the Western Culture should adapt.

I have had competitive table tennis sessions, I have met wonderful people, I have had interesting conversations with different types of people, I have made great friends, I have seen beautiful beaches, I have swum with pigs and local kids and I have eaten tons of spicy food.

Simply put, Unique Experience & Great Times!

This trip was an experience I will never forget. The state vet we worked with was amazing. We assisted him on multiple game captures. One night we were out darting nyala until 10pm. Then after, we went to a bar in Cinsta for a much deserved drink! Along with nyala, we captured and transported blesbok and giraffes. The staff and other volunteers were all very nice and helpful. We all got to experience a variety of things while volunteering. One day we did pregnancy testing on cows with the project vet and other days were spent in the townships providing free veterinary care for their dogs and vaccines for the puppies. There was also a fair amount of free time, which was usually spent at the bar or in East London. I also chose to spend the morning at a game park where we could interact with elephants and cheetahs.

I spent three weeks in South Africa for the Surf and Adventure project, and it was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. The mornings were spent teaching at the preschools in the settlements and townships. While communicating with the children was difficult because some of the children had limited English skills, the children were extremely affectionate and lovable. I'm always going to remember their chants of "teacher! teacher!" whenever I walked into the classroom. In the afternoons, the surfing instructor would teach the volunteers how to surf. The children that were part of the surf project were extremely good at surfing, so the volunteers' main responsibilities were to monitor them while they were in the water and help them to catch a wave. Some of the children even compete for the national surfing team! Volunteers had the weekends off, so we were free to explore South Africa and do fun activities if we wanted to. I had the pleasure of doing a wine tour, shark-cage diving, bungee jumping, safaris, and hiking up Table Mountain. The SaltyCrax hostel that the volunteers stayed at helped to arrange the various activities and tours, making it really convenient.

I met some amazing people on this project that I will never forget, ranging from the other volunteers to the SAVE staff members. It was a truly amazing experience to have people from various backgrounds and cultures all come together with a common thought in mind: to help underprivileged children.