Program Reviews

WorldTeach Colombia was an amazing experience. From the minute I applied and to this day as a part of the Alumni Community they have been nothing short of incredible. Once I completed my interview and was accepted they provided a ton of literature/guides about what to expect, what to pack and in general program logistics. WorldTeach provides in country support for the entire duration of your placement. We had 2 field staff due to the size of our group (32 volunteers). Our staff were previous volunteers and could relate exactly. They met us at the airport in Bogota' and provided all the transportation to our training site on a little farm outside of the city. They walked us through our Visa process, establishing our Bank Accounts, getting cell phones, our meeting with the Colombian President and with the US Embassy. They also provided 3 weeks of training for Colombia specific schools. Training included everything from developing lesson plans, dealing with co-teachers, classroom behavior issues, and keeping students engaged, to living with a host family, Colombian cultural differences, how to catch a bus and even daily Spanish lessons. For the first 3 weeks, everything was provided by the program. Once we completed trainings they provided transportation to our sites via plane and private busses. The Field Directors were with us while we met our families and when we visited our school sites. I cannot rave enough about our in country support. In our schools we had the freedom and independence to develop lessons and teach our classes. Our field directors were always there if we needed advice, recommendations, to vent or help resolving issues with schools or hosts.

Colombia is a beautiful country with the most hospitable, welcoming and festive people. My students and hosts were great and the culture was so much fun. I loved living with a host family because I really got to see and experience authentic Colombian culture. We lived in safe neighborhoods, but not fancy rich areas. We were able to integrate into the daily lives of our families and schools. We also had many opportunities to travel and see other parts of the country and visit other volunteers in other placements.

I cannot recommend WorldTeach enough. I taught for a few months on my own in Argentina the following year and had to complete all my bank account, Visa paperwork on my own and it was a nightmare. I now understand how hard all the staff at WorldTeach work to provide us with an incredible experience.

My time in Micronesia was a fantastic experience! However, this was not due to WorldTeach. In fact, going through WorldTeach added a lot of undue headache, and I would strongly recommend to anyone interested in volunteering in the Federated States of Mirconesia (FSM) to simply contact the schools directly and seek out employment, or go through a more reputable program like the Peace Corps.

I know that many people have had positive experiences with WorldTeach, but simply put, most of those volunteers did not serve in the FSM. While the FSM is a beautiful place, with wonderful people and a vibrant culture, WorldTeach did not live up to their pre-departure promises and were woefully unprepared to support their volunteers in country. Like other posts on this site, female volunteers during my tenure endured sexual harassment, which when reported to our director, went unheard. In fact, our field director admonished the volunteers victimized by sexual harassment and who had experienced multiple break-ins to stop contacting her and to instead, contact their landlord. At this point, it is pertinent to mention our field director skipped orientation sessions, disparaged the volunteers to WorldTeach office staff, thereby ensuring no sympathetic ear would head our security needs, altered a lease I had signed to exculpate WorldTeach from financial responsibility, leaving me on the hook if our employers failed to pay rent, and quit halfway through the year. And let's not skip over the "break-in" part, because that too was a major issue. Besides petty theft of sandals left outside, there were 4 major break-ins where doors were kicked in or safety bars ripped from windows, including one that was perpetrated by the very landlord we were directed to turn to in our time of need. At no point did WorldTeach conduct the safety assessment they promised, and instead, threatened to withhold future letters of recommendation if we continued to voice our concerns. These issues were not a result of one terrible field director, but indeed, the WorldTeach home office ignored our concerns of personal danger, which illustrates an institutional lack of regard for their volunteers. While none of the volunteers quit (except of course the field director), most of my crew believed WorldTeach was an unnecessary middleman that offered more harm than help.

All of these statements can be verified with email documentation and volunteer testimonials.

I went to Ecuador right after college with WorldTeach. Though the year was anything but easy, it continues to be one of the most important experiences of my life. I had some trouble with my host families and had to move several times. Each time the program director was very supportive and helpful. I also had a bit of trouble with my teaching placement, but again the program director was very supportive and helpful wit the change. Those were some of the challenges, but now almost ten years later I still reflect on Ecuador as one of the most important things I ever did. If you decide to go it won't be easy, or maybe "fun" all the time, but it will be something that really changes you and forces you to really think about yourself and the world around you. Ecuador was the place where I realized that I wanted to be a teacher. I applied to grad school from in-country and I'm still an English Teacher today. Even if you don't think that you will continue to teach after completing the program the experience is completely worth it.

I attended the English Opens Doors Program with WorldTeach and the Ministry of Education in Chile during the 2007-2008 academic year. Teaching in Chile was a wonderful experience! The guidance, support and structure of the WorldTeach program was extremely helpful, and the organization is very professional. I have recommended teaching abroad with WorldTeach to many of my friends and colleagues. I would recommend this organization over and over again! It was truly a wonderful experience to volunteer abroad, and were I to do it again I would most definitely go with WorldTeach!

My decision to join WorldTeach Chile was to see if I wanted to continue on the teaching track and do so in a part of the world I had yet to visit. However, I got so so much more out of the experience than I could have ever expected. South America was a relatively "scary" place in my mind before I arrived and having WorldTeach as a support and structure really made diving into it much a much less nerve racking feat. My year as a volunteer teacher in a suburban public K-8 school and living with a host family was one of growth, reflection, and learning. The most valuable part of the experience were the deep connections with other humans I made whose influences continue to resonate with me today.

Looking back I don't think I knew just how important this summer would be to my personal and professional development. My summer with WorldTeach in Costa Rica was certainly a life-changing experience and placed me on the path I'm on today in international education. I was welcomed into my community with open arms by both my family and my school, and I got to experience a totally different way of life in a rural setting. All of the challenges (being thrown into a foreign language, adjusting to the isolation of a mountainous Costa Rica town, terrifying bugs big and small, first-time teaching, and so on) were very important to my development as I thought about how I wanted to live my life and what field I wanted to get into.

I thought about my family, my students, my town, and the experience for years and years after and longed to do it again - so I moved to South America to teach for two and a half years! I don't think I ever would have had the courage and ganas to do that without that first experience with WorldTeach. WT really expanded my world - not only internationally but also domestically, as I have connected with local immigrant communities in the States through ESL too. It was the perfect program for that time in my life, and an incredibly positive experience, with tons of support and cultural sensitivity. Not only that, when you're teaching you're making a direct impact on the community and you have a structured role, which is something that I really appreciated for the direction that it provided. WT is amazing!

The year I spent with WorldTeach American Samoa is one I will remember and cherish forever. It is very difficult work and patience is a must, so be sure you are ready to commit if you choose to go. I felt that the field support was adequate for my needs but I must stress that you must be flexible and patient as some issues are in the hands of the local administrators and not world teach. To get the most out of your experience you need to dedicate yourself to teaching your kids the best you can and also be sure to get yourself out into the community and participate in local happenings.

Our program director was the best in the business. When you talk professionalism you must be using her as a prime example of everything that should be done. Groceries shipped 7 hours across the sea from a boat that departs at 2am, don't even worry, she will buy them, pack them and load them for you.

WorldTeach is an idealistic organization, sometimes to a fault, but with employees like our field director you can rest assured your disillusionment will not get the best of you.

Do your extensive research before signing up. I trusted the fact that it was a Harvard-run program, and was completely misled. I have volunteered and lived in Ghana, Cambodia and Thailand, and this was by far the SCARIEST and most UNPROFESSIONAL experience I have ever had abroad. I was offered no support by my field director, and I ended up resigning after being there for two months. I have some stories about an ex-pat nearly getting raped by a local guy, and a volunteer getting broken into twice, (once while she was in her bedroom at night). In my case, I was placed in a home where there was a kava bar in our front yard, owned and operated by my host family every night. Despite WT's policy PROHIBITING volunteers to be placed where there are drugs and alcohol involved, I was never offered a different placement, even after I had complained about it to our program manager in Boston. I had to deal with 10+ drunk men coming over all the time and harassing us throughout the night. I would get "night-crawled", which means there would be a stranger knocking on our window and yelling things to get our attention- and possibly letting him into our bedroom in the middle of night. Apparently, that was the "norm", but I was not physically nor mentally prepared for such thing. After witnessing and hearing stories of my fellow female volunteers getting sexually harassed, broken into and robbed, I could not go to sleep at night. I was terrified to close my eyes and pass out when it was dark out, knowing that there would be a few men drinking heavily right on my doorstep. My field director failed to change my placement and offered little support-to me, and all the other female volunteers who had similar SAFETY ISSUES. He was apathetic to my concerns because his experience as a MALE volunteer was very different from mine. On several occasions, he was caught talking to other ex-pats about how "dramatic" the female volunteers were being, when they would express their fear of being home alone. I highly recommend you go out of your way and speak with WT alumni and current volunteers on the island before you sign up. I am not the only person who has had an awful experience with WT abroad. There is a reason why they have not been able to retain a field director in Pohnpei for more than two years in a row. In fact, last year's FD only lasted about 6 months on the island, due to the rough living conditions she had to endure. If you would like to see real pictures of my placement and chat about the program, do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Thanks.

I had an amazing experience in India. My time was spent with many beautiful people! I worked at a free school with children who lived in a neighboring slum. Many of my children had very poor access to education, food, water, sanitation, and shelter. During my time I grew very close to my students. Through my continued compassion, energy, and dedication to their success, many of my students increased their proficiency in English.

During my time I also worked hard to immerse myself into the local community as much as possible. I made friends with the cleAning lady on the complex where I taught and with many of the teachers. I am still connected with many of the families and individuals that I met during my time in India.

My experience was beautiful and challenging. Not a day goes by since 2012 that I don't think about my time with WorldTeach India.