Program Reviews

“It was an awesome experience. Varun (the Founder) provides patronage to local services/trades people with disabilities, provides food and support to families who are recently bereaved, and organises sponsorship of promising students to be able to continue their education. I took advantage of the Add On Tours and a highlight of my trip was the visit to the Golden Temple at Amritsar. I thoroughly recommend this organisation/volunteer placement. It has given me the confidence to travel to India again as a volunteer.”

“India at its best. Set in a beautiful rural part of Northern India the opportunity to spend time with families and assist with improving their education and outlook has been possibly the most fulfilling experience in our lives. iSpiice, especially Varun, should be proud of the work that they do as without their foresight and passion the opportunity to volunteer and assist would not be there. Keep up the good work!”

I worked with the ISPIICE team for a month in September 2016 in India. The experience of working with homeless/street youth and in the day care facilities complemented my professional skills and challenged me daily. The experience was life changing for me to assist in advancing education and social skill development for children and youth in the region ISPIICE serves. I encourage everyone to take your next vacation and sign up for this incredible experience. I would also encourage human service organizations to sponsor executive and management team building trips to complete projects for ISPIICE. Your personal mission will be enhanced and your value of resources will humble you in how you will navigate life moving forward.

The entire ISPIICE team is ultra professional, attentive and available 24/7 during your stay to assist all project members. The team housing is secure, safe and allows all team members to socialize outside of projec times. The food was very good and offerings varied.

The connections you will make with team members as well as those you will be serving through the various projects will be lifetime connections. I plan to return an assist ISPIICE in continuing its mission driven foxcus.

There is something to be said about organisations that do volunteering work, as it is not an easy job nor is there much profit (true non-profit organisations). Having said that, ISPIICE, is not an organisation that is truly a Volunteering organisation.

1) This is a 3-person organisation (4 if you count the landlord)
2) House - Considering the amount I paid in USD, the house isn't kept clean. It barely gets swept and mopped once a week. They expect volunteers to clean their own bathrooms and most volunteers do not unless you are one that follows rules and takes the time to clean. The girls bathroom did not have shelf space to keep toiletries and sometimes they have 6-7 girls sharing the same bathroom space (you can imagine the mess). There aren't any cupboards/drawers that can be locked. Therefore, you just have to trust that no one will steal your stuff. People come here from all over the world and it is difficult to trust that your money or whatever valuable you have won't be stolen while you are at work/sleeping/in the toilet. Bed mattresses have moulds and stains on them.
3) Since you have to do your own laundry, you need to dry them too. Girls intimate apparel is supposed to be dried inside the room! That means, room stays damp, the stuff doesn't dry for days, and not enough room as there are many room mates and not enough drying space.
4) You go for volunteering work 1.5 -2 hrs in the morning and 2 hrs in the evening. So a total of just 4 hours in a 24 hour day. It is not what I would consider volunteering when I travelled half way across the world. When I asked for more hours, they said that the driver would not be willing to take me around (?!) What else does this driver do? Nothing really, he just roams around. They finally agreed to take me to another volunteer place, yet I was not given the time to teach as the driver wanted to rush home.
5) I went on trips to Amritsar and Agra. The trips were well managed although the 2 star hotels we stayed in didn't have wi-fi in the rooms and had barebones furniture despite paying good money to stay there.
6) Since you do not know your room mates/housemates beforehand, it is possible that you can be stuck with people who have different interests than you. Now think about your own safety when people are drunk and staying in the same room as you!
7) If 1 girl is left to return to Delhi to catch her international flight, they ask the girl to travel alone by an overnight bus to Delhi. This is dangerous, as the bus drops you off at the side of some highway in Delhi (not a proper bus stand) at 5am (dark) and you are surrounded by autorikshaws that want you as their customer. As a lone girl, it is a very dangerous situation to be in! You do not know which driver is a crook and whether he would actually take you to your destination.
8) If you do not know Hindi (Indian language), it is hard to communicate with the locals. They do not teach it, as some volunteers had requested for lessons, but never received them.

Bottomline- I felt the program was not a proper volunteering experience.
It is not a volunteering organisation, it a mostly a tourist agency with some volunteering.

Volunteering at ispiice is a wonderful and satisfying way to give something of your time and effort to your community. I have been volunteering at ispiice once a week for over six months and I really enjoy it. You quickly feel like you're part of a family and I'm sure that's one of the main reasons that people keep on volunteering for years and years--some for decades!It truly is a special place. Just check it out yourself - it's the best place to volunteer.

iSpiice provides very important (and unfortunately - necessary) services to children who have been neglected or abused. I volunteered last year with a group from Dharamshala. Staffs of ispiice are very supporting and friendly too. I donated a box of school supplies and some other stuff they needed. I have to say, this place is a first rate facility. I love to go again.No child should have to endure pain, neglect, or suffering. I'm grateful ispiice and varun.

Others have commented eloquently regarding the quality care and affordability at ispiice. I want to express my gratefulness about for the way we were treated during our first experience at ispiice.The staff, volunteers and varun helped us find our way and make a plan.They were caring and compassionate as well as knowledgeable. They never treated us like we are from different country's' citizens. The place is awesome, having lots of fun, the staff have huge hearts to make up for it.

I am so glad I came!I usually do not like to talk about the good one does, but in this case, its more-so for the fact that others can join in and help them out when the need arises. If a teenager has to do volunteer hours this is the perfect opportunity to do so. What's great is after you work a lot of people meet up afterwards for drinks or food. So, you really get a chance to make some friends.

I volunteered here for several years here and it is an excellent place. I would tell anyone who is thinking about volunteering here to do it because I really found myself looking forward to the days I would come in and tutor. Any time I had a question about anything the wonderful Varun Verma was there to help and guide me.I really felt that I was a part of something special because reading has always been so important to me.

I volunteer at the ispiice and now my 3 years old does too. We have a good time giving our time and our money to such a great cause.In these tough economic times, there are more people than ever who need some help. You might be helping your friends, neighbors or even relatives. Hence, you might even need their help at some point.ispiice is a great platform which provides opportunities to help needy people with great supporting team. Supporting team is very professional and know very well their job. I am very happy with ispiice.