Program Reviews

Overall, I found my year in the Marshall Islands to be meaningful, and full of rewarding experiences. The people in my town were welcoming and supportive, and it was a great experience to become completely immersed in another culture.
Having said that, the support system in place for volunteers in-country was lacking, and the field directors proved unable to cope with sudden or unexpected problems that arose over the course of the year. Whether it was the plane that delivered mail and supplies breaking down, or the ships that were supposed to deliver our luggage never leaving port, things don't always go as planned, especially in a country like the RMI, but our field directors often told us that they didn't have time to find another option, or were incredibly slow in going to plan B. The big issue my year was that about 2 months into our program, Dengue Fever arrived in the Marshall Islands and began spreading to all the islands. While our two field directors were passionate about their job and very nice, their lack of experience (it was the first year as field director for both of them) meant that they were quickly overwhelmed, and their communication with both parents and volunteers about Dengue Fever, and the steps they were taking to address it, completely broke down. As a volunteer on an island with no way of getting any kind of news, having my field director have nothing to tell me on our weekly radio check-in about how they were handling the situation beyond repeating the short memo that the embassy put out shook my faith in the ability of the directors to give us effective support.
In addition, we were told that the purpose of the program was to provide English teachers to remote schools while that school's English teacher went to the capital to get additional teacher training. However, as far as I know, almost none of the schools that had volunteers actually sent a teacher in for more training. I know mine didn't.
I would really like to recommend this program, because for me it was a rewarding experience and I formed lasting friendships with the other volunteers, who were all awesome and amazing. But given the inability of our field directors to provide effective support when serious problems arose, and the fact that Worldteach placed two field directors with no experience in charge of the program where volunteers are the most isolated and need the most support, I don't feel like I could recommend it to my friends.

My time with WorldTeach Tanzania was one of the most challenging, yet definitely one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I was a volunteer during the very first year the WT Tanzania program was running. I was living in a small town with another volunteer and teaching at a local government-run secondary school. I taught O-Level (the equivalent of American Middle School 7th grade-Level) English classes to Form 1 students at my school. Every day, I taught over 200 students - each of my 4 classes per day usually had 60 students in attendance. While the conditions were trying at times without electricity in my classroom and there being limited chalk to write with, I made the best of the situation with the help of my enthusiastic students and was able to successfully teach for almost an entire year with the program. Not only did I teach English classes, but I also helped organize and run a Spanish Language Club and a Global Citizens Club with some of my students. I also nightly voluntarily tutored adult women in my community who had never had access to English education and wished to speak English. The program was certainly worth attending. The wealth of practical teaching experience I gained from my WT program helped me earn TEFL Certification. I have used this certificate to help me continue to teach international students now that I am back home in the U.S. I am also still in touch with many of the people I met in Tanzania - fellow teachers and my former students - all of whom I was able to build strong relationships with. If you are looking for a warm, inviting culture, a challenging teaching environment, and desire diving right in then I would suggest volunteering with WT Tanzania. You'll certainly grow from the unforgettable experience!

The journey to Costa Rica was adventuresome and rewarding. I had the luxury of having been previously acclimated to the Country as I am married to a Costa Rican and had spent much time there already. The training in Orosi was wonderful. Again, I was already a teacher, so the teacher prep part of training wasn't necessary for me, but the language training was fantastic. They also did a fantastic job with cultural responsiveness training.
The placement was wonderful, I couldn't have asked for a better pueblo than Cerros Arriba. All in all, a great experience!

WorldTeach Marshall Islands is an extremely well-run program with tremendous support on the ground. The Marshallese people are warm and welcoming. It's inspiring to see how the Marshallese make the most of limited resources in their humble but beautiful tropical islands. Life in the Marshalls is a challenge, but if you're the kind of person that thrives on a challenge, you'll have an experience that will change your outlook and perspective forever. Highly recommended.

If you are ready to experience a very different culture and lifestyle, if you want to face yourself and surmount the challenges that being isolated bring, consider this program. Your mind has to be in the right place. You have to give your heart wholly to the kids. You will make connections, experience beauty and be surprised every day if you allow yourself to be. Highlights for me included singing with my students, seeing their awareness of the world open up ("What? Dragons aren't real?"), slowing down to life on island time, being close to nature and utilizing my creativity in the classroom. My favourite moment was being taken spearfishing one day and devouring the fish seconds later while still standing in the lagoon. The diet, isolation and discipline in the classroom were the greatest challenges for me.

Going to the Marshall Islands for a year was the best decision I have ever made. I'm not saying the experience was easy– dengue fever, attacking dogs, dealing with drunk island men, and working as a teacher in a community that doesn't really need Western-style learning for survival or daily life were some of the challenges I faced. But it was definitely a journey whose ups and downs opened my mind to a different way of living, a different set of ethics, etiquette, mode of communication, and cultural traditions, and made me more able to understand and analyze the society I came from and the unspoken tenets I had adhered to and unwittingly accepted as a member.
This is not a program for someone who wants constant supervision and support, but rather for someone who enjoys being thrown into the water and having to figure out how to swim. Your communication with the field directors consists of one or two radio calls a week–maybe. There really aren't any curriculum books to guide your teaching, no teacher training/ mentorship, and no copy machine. I liked that freedom to do whatever I wanted and teaching was a constant experiment. That said, island life on Namdrik (the island I was placed on) is in many ways a lot less stressful and scary than life in urban centers. You have time to chat with your host family and neighbors, play with neighborhood kids, swim in the lagoon, cook, take jambos (walks), and snorkel.
I will admit that a few of the other volunteers didn't have quite the positive experience I did. For example, there was a drought my volunteer year and while Namdrik was fine because it's in the far south by the Equator and receives lots of rain, there were food and water shortages in the north and a volunteer had to be evacuated (this was after her host family stopped giving her sufficient food). In additions, a couple of the volunteer teachers were teaching far more students than should be possible (think close to 50 kids in one classroom), and one volunteer ended up being the caretaker for her host family's children when the parents decided to take off for the main island for the remainder of the year. But for the vast majority of volunteers, our year with WorldTeach in the RMI was a transformational, challenging, and wonderful experience we will revisit regularly in our minds for the rest of our our lives that strengthened us and helped us grow our souls a bit. And in my case, my time on Namdrik also guided me to a career path that I am excited about and fits who I am after years of wandering aimlessly through different job experiences after college. A great gift indeed.
So to sum it up, do this program, or something like it that gets you out of your comfort zone and introduces you to a different world.

Right before my senior year of college, I made the decision that I wanted to teach overseas. I researched organizations and programs for several month before selecting and applying for WorldTeach, and I couldn't be happier with my decision. WT provided a ton of information and support before I got to Colombia, and continued to do so after I had arrived. The field staff was incredibly helpful during my transition into teaching, and was always available for questions and feedback. This is a top-notch organization if you're looking for one that is both truly committed to what they do, and transparent about administration and finances.

I participated in the Costa Rica program in 1991. It was a very challenging but rewarding experience for me. Today I practice corporate law in one of the Twin Cities' largest law firms, where I'm also a partner and a member of the firm's Board of Directors. I can say without a doubt that my experience as a WorldTeach volunteer has been instrumental in giving me the skills (primarily patience, passion and persistence) to succeed in the workplace. To this day, I am very grateful for the opportunity given to me by WorldTeach. Assuming the program has only improved since 1991 and you're a person that is self-motivated, tenacious and positive, WorldTeach is worth looking into, as it will pay lifelong dividends.

On an outer island flexibility and curiosity was a must. Life was *completely* different than what it was back home. This meant I had to give myself readjustment time. This meant allowing myself to feel either blue or homesick, but always trying to take a look at what I did have.
I had an excellent host-family and, on an island of about 400 inhabitants, it's hard to not feel like everyone is somehow "extended-family".

The airplane didn't work all year, which was frustrating, but I had mentally prepared to stay on Mejit the entire time, so it wasn't as difficult as if I had hoped to return. Joining the choir for Christmas and learning the dancing was a highlight of my time. Did I actually know all the words I was singing? No, but did everyone (myself included) appreciate my attempt? Yes we did.

Mejit and the RMI were beautiful and amazing though, most decidedly worth a visit!

WorldTeach gave me the opportunity to spend a year teaching in the Marshall Islands. Being able to live and teach in the Marshall Islands was an absolute privilege. My Marshallese students and the community welcomed me with open arms. The training WorldTeach provided right before I went to my placement island, helped me to understand cultural differences and be respectful right from the beginning. I felt supported from the moment I started the interview process. I highly recommend WorldTeach as well as the Marshall Islands placement to everyone who is interested in teaching abroad.