Program Reviews

I was completely immersed in the Spanish language and culture. I made lifelong friends in Mexico and was honored to have had the opportunity to be a part of a great cause. The best decision I ever made was to spend 3 months in Mexico through Village Book Builders. If you’re thinking about going DO IT. Working in a tiny school in the beautiful mountains of Mexico is not an everyday opportunity. The people I met there have taught me how to love and work hard and cook! Bring some suero and anything you can from the US to give to the kids❤️🇲🇽.

The purpose of the trip was to go and establish a library in a community where the children did not have any access to books. We brought books and laptop computers with us and set up a library in the bottom floor of a families home in the area. The kids were very excited to read and learn on their own. At the end of the week we did a cultural celebration with the community and they all came out. It was a blast.
We went up to some mountains and watched the sunrise one morning. Mount Everest was in the distant background. It was one of if not the most beautiful view I have ever seen. We connected with locals, ate with them in their homes, and read books to children.

This was a great experience with a terrific balance of fun time and service work time. A vacation overseas takes a lot of planning and is hard if you don't have a connection to someone in the area already. Village book does all of the planning and arrangements of tours, transportation, high adventure activities, sight seeing and lodging. I lived in the actual house with the people of Nepal, woke up with them, enjoyed their food, bonded with them after dinner. Well organized, 100% of time well spent.

I went to Coscomatepec Mexico to visit the El Olvido and Cuchapa libraries. I’m an avid traveler and this trip is one of the best I’ve been on! The host family was incredibly welcoming, the food was amazing, the sites were beautiful, and the kids and parents were so grateful for the opportunity to have books! It honestly couldn’t have been any better! Village book builders is doing amazing things for children, parents and entire communities around the world! I highly recommend volunteering with VBB. They are an organization that is changing the world and I want to be part of it 🌎

This was such a great experience! You get to see the people in the country you go to in a way that you never do through other travels. You can not only connect with locals but also see their appreciation for the help you are providing and the opportunities they are being given. The people love the chance they are given to empower themselves as a result of the service that you do and you get amazing travel experiences along the way. Everyone is kind and respectful and wants to help the volunteers and locals have the best experiences possible.

The Village Book Builder Experience in Belize was amazing. It was a great feeling to serve the children in a school that had minimal library and computer resources and see the impact we can make for their future. The coordinators were great, the contacts in country were great, and accommodations were great outside of the normal tourist areas. We also got to go on a couple excursions to see Mayan ruins and go cave tubing. This helped us gain an appreciation of the country itself along with the great relationships we met through the school. My 13 year old daughter also came with me and had a great experience. I would recommend it to anyone.

Village Book Builders is an incredible organization that brings hope and excitement about learning to communities through books. The travel experience is enhanced with the sense of purpose that develops when the group works together. Opening a library and working with the children provides travelers with the opportunity to immerse themselves into the culture of those with whom one may never have interacted if traveling as a sightseer. I can’t day enough about the wonderful experience I had opening a library in Malawi this past summer. The most incredible pet of the journey for me was teaching the librarian and teachers how to access resources using the RACHEL server. I am forever changed. I look forward to learning even more on the Kenya trip in July 2020!

Going to Nepal has always been one of my dreams, and I am so glad I had the chance to not only go but make a difference while I was there! I love books and it is so much fun to share my favorite books! This is my second expedition with Village Book and I will keep going on these trips as they are addicting!! Service is one of the things that brings me the greatest joy in life and learning about new cultures and people is a definite plus! This is a rural experience so not anything like a 5-star hotel but it is a 5-star connection with the people and doing something that really matters not just painting a wall but really making a life long difference in the lives of the people there! I would go again in a heartbeat and am so grateful for the experiences I have had!

The opportunity to work so closely with a rural village was amazing! We really were able to become part of the village and they let us become part of their community! I learned so much about their cultures and traditions and am better because of it! I was able to play a crucial part in planning the expedition and working with the leaders of the community even before we arrived. The leaders there are so passionate about helping the next generation succeed especially the young girls who have been held back by generations of sexism, but they want to change all that. Many of them are now my closest friends and will wish me happy birthday and reach out to me on facebook to see how I am doing. This really has been a life-changing experience and I am excited to continue to work with them.

Oh my gosh! where to start! My experience in Africa was life-changing with Village Book! Not only did it change the lives of the community we served but it changed my life as well! I had always wanted to go on a humanitarian trip like this, so when I found one that focused on my love of books it was a perfect fit. I will never forget sitting in front of the villager's home talking to them about the importance of reading and also hearing their stories and lives. Also, going from house to house being led by the children as they held our hands the whole way. I will also never forget seeing the excitement on the kid's faces when they went into the library and saw the hundreds of books and several computers. It was life-changing and I am so grateful that I found Village Book and was able to be a part of this work!