Program Reviews

I had been thinking about volunteering overseas for a while and one day I had a brain snap and decided to stop talking about it and make it happen. I stumbled across the VP Bali page and applied straight away. I even managed to recruit a coworker to come along with me. I took part in Program Ubud.

Each day we would have our mornings free. Being in Ubud I got a yoga membership and would try to do at least one class per day. After lunch we would sit around in the courtyard of our accommodation and plan our lessons for the afternoon with our co-teachers. I had the two more advanced classes, which was quite challenging as they required lessons that were more thought out than lose with a lower level. We had two classes per day- 3pm and 4:30pm. The 3pm were the younger students who were boisterous, especially for a group of girls, but a lot of fun. We played a lot of games and did a lot of drawing which I was able to incorporate the days vocabulary into. My 4:30 class was older, around 15-16 years old. We spent a lot of time reading a writing. I did my best to allow them to gain practical skills with their lessons. I was fortunate enough to have the same class four days a week so I was able to create close relationships with my students. I miss them all and think about them daily.

In addition to the rewarding experience that teaching gave me, I was also lucky enough to have an amazing group of fellow volunteers in the time I was in the program. We travelled Bali together over the weekend, climbing mountains and surviving hurricanes, creating lifelong friendships.

To anyone thinking about taking part in this program I could not recommend it enough.

I had a great volunteer experience at VP Bali. It was awesome getting to know the kids in both classes, and I really enjoyed working with the other teachers as well, from all over the world. The program is smaller than other ones i've done in the past, which helped made me feel more a part of it, and get to know others very quickly. I felt like I was impacting the children. It was nice having a co-teacher to make lesson plans with, and it was cool being able to get creative and plan what we thought would work best.
Ubud is an amazing town, and where we stayed was such a great location because you could walk to everything, and enjoy your free time between class. I loved the Thursday dinner/drink nights and getting to know everyone. I like the flexibility of the program duration and timeframe. I felt like we were working locally, which is what I was hoping for. It was great getting to know the local teachers and be in a village where we could help the kids learn english.

Though I am quiet young and I have never left Europe before I always felt safe and comfortable druing my time in the program. The support is excellent and every one is very kind. During my time I have learnt at lot. I have learnt things about the Balinesian culture but I have also learnt a lot about myselfe. I can really recommend this organisation and it's programs. I am looking forward to visit Bali and VP Bali again though I don't know when I acctually will. But I will

A normal week day would start with preparing classes with my co-teacher (Rose). We would talk about what we had done with this class the previous day and what we wanted them to do that day. These preparations never took too long since usually you had to adjust your plans to the number of students present and to their wishes (Some days they would ask us to play a specific game which we would try to fit into the class plans if it matched the topic). Usually there was also time to do yoga or go to the market in the mornings if we wanted to. Classes started in the afternoon and in the beginning it was very helpful to have Rose with me who had been volunteering for longer and could lead the class. After a few days I wanted and was able to take on more responsibility. Teaching the students who were different ages and had very different English skills was always fun as they were very motivated to learn and seemed happy to be there. I was surprised by how polite and respectful they were with us eventhough we were younger than regular teachers. The only thing I found challenging in the beginning was how to explain some games or tasks to the younger classes (whose level of English was very basic) since I do not speak Indonesian and sometimes they wouldn't understand my instructions in English. But I learned very fast that there was always somebody around who could help me translate to Indonesian (Ami, Kimberley or Novia) and also the stronger students would help to explain to the weaker ones.
Over all, it was an amazing experience to see the students get used to me and my teaching style and open up to me and make a little bit of progress every day, even if it was just learning one new word. Their smiles and laughter will probably be one of the things I will remember and miss most about the program. I wish I could have stayed longer than 3 weeks and I would recommend staying at least 4 weeks to anybody who wants to volunteer with VP because after a few weeks the students really know you and you know them and have gotten used to Balinese life and culture and you will not want to leave then.
I found that all the girls volunteering with me were amazing people and I had a great time getting to know them and the VP staff. Everybody was extremely friendly and we would always help each other (concerning classes, visa, money or even food places). I will miss the people in this program so much because you grow very close to each other over the course of the weeks.
I think this program is one of the best things you can choose to do and will definitely make you realize what really is important in life.

I had an amazing time with the students. It took some time for me to grasp the difference in language (even though it's similar to my language). The kids are eager to learn and we feed each other's energy very well.

I found this volunteer program through a friend and I must say it has been one of the best experiences of my life. The kids are... well there are no words to describe them and you will have the chance to meet people from around the world. If you are hesitating, just do it. Seriously you will never regret it.

My time at the Program by the Sea was amazing and I learned a lot about the Balinese culture and people and about myself. The ambiance was great and I really bonded with the children of the school since I lived next to their doors. I defenitely learned a lot from everyone in terms of looking at life, behaviour and facing extreme situations. Thank you to everyone who made that stay in Bali unforgettable!!

In those 2 weeks working at the WG Project in Bedulu I met awesome volenteers, a great hostfamily and a lot of lovely kids in school. I would definitely recommand this project to everybody who wants to experience the balinese culture at his best. Plus: Pretty much all of the volenteer program fees you have to pay go to the local projects, which isn't necessarily the case in a lot of other volenteer programs around the world.

Thx VP Bali for everthing!!

Overall I really enjoyed my stay here, to me it was perfect.
Teaching the Kids was fun - although it was harder some days as they were exhausted or not motivated a few times, but this can happen to everyone right?! And we had some really fun days - the dancing part with the girls, I enjoyed the most.
Moreover I liked the evenings together with the all the other volunteers; good group, good vibe - lots of fun. Finally I think Ubud is a pretty good place for volunteers to stay, I felt absolutely comfortable here. Ubud has so much to offer and is absolutely interesting - so a great location to stay and be a volunteer. :)

I really enjoyed my volunteer work at VP Bali. We stayed at a lovely homestay, everything was clean and we had awesome breakfast.
In addition, all volunteers from one program stay at one homestay which makes it pretty easy to make friends and to feel like home in Bali. VP Bali is indeed a family of volunteers.
During my two weeks, I was able to teach two groups. The younger ones, roughly 8, and the older ones, between 13-15 years old. I enjoyed co-teaching and working with the kids, they were so enthused!!
I would definitely recommend volunteering with VP Bali. If you habe time, spend more than 2 weeks!
And also Ubud as such is a great place to stay. Friendly people, awesome food and restaurants, and a warmly atmosphere. Also for travelling at the weekend, Ubud is centrally located.