Program Reviews

Earlier this year I went to San Pedro, Belize, to do a healthcare project on the island. This involved medical outreach, where we focused on mosquito borne diseases and educating the community on the dangers and ways to prevent them. It was also national testing day when I was there, so we helped in getting a large amount of the island tested for HIV in Central Park. We also did mobile clinics 3 times a week - we provided free blood sugar and pressure checks to the community in order to help them get treated if there was anything of concern. It was an absolutely amazing experience, meeting new people, learning new skills, and living and working in a completely different culture to home. It taught me so much about myself and others, and I would absolutely go back and do it all over again. The staff were friendly and caring and helped me with any needs and questions I had, without hesitation. If you’re questioning whether to do it or not...do it!

This was an extremely rewarding experience that really broadened my horizons. Really eye opening and meaningful work carried out, my only criticism would be maybe we could have done a little more work and it felt a little disrespect staying in such good accommodation but I don recognize this was really safe but maybe an option of with a host family could be more grounding and give a more representative interpretation of Cambodian culture. It was so easy and the whole projects abroad community was so helpful with and problems.

Absolutely fantastic project! I was able to achieve my PADI open water certification whilst making a difference to the local reefs. I was also able to see a number of blue spotted rays, lion fish, puffer fish and barracuda. On top of that I was able to educate local communities on the impact and issues of micro plastics and contribute towards the transplantation of mangroves in efforts to combat coastal erosion and carbon dioxide emissions. The premises were comfortable with a pool and WiFi available and I was sharing an en suite room with 3 other girls of a similar age to myself. The on site staff were also friendly and approachable and often arranged social activities for the residents to participate in. I’d highly recommend the marine conservation project to anyone with an interest in sustainability!

During my two weeks in that project, I was asked to teach some english lessons to a class of 3 to 6 years old children. The class was separated into two groups : the oldest and youngest, for which lessons were more comprehensible. I was also asked to take care a play with them at certain time of the day. A few time, I cooked them some meals a washed their teeth. It was a breathtaking experience to contribute to make those children happy. They were most of the time smiling and enjoying our activities. During that time, me and other members of the project brought them many toys and more tooth brushes. For our last day, we had a great party with cakes. It was heartbreaking to leave them at the end, but the souvenirs are still incredible to that day. I would truly appreciate to complete another similar project. I have also great souvenirs of Cambodia, in which I was able to travel. I went for example in Siem Reap during the week-end. I would recommend this experience to anyone.

I joined project abroads conservation project in Thailand for 2 month. It was amazing to be a part of the team. To learn how to dive and make a different while diving was awesome. The instructors were very professional, and we learned about the different fish and coral, and also about coral diseases.

The Beach clean ups were tough in the heat, but it was definitely worth it, seeing all the plastic and cigarets we collected from the Beach.

The staff members were allways very helpfull. During my stay i Got a infection, the staff helped me getting to the doctor and stayed with me till i was feeling better.

After Work there was plenty of time to relax and have fun with the other volunteers. Or to Explorer more of the beautiful Thailand and the amazing culture.

In my time helping out at a local school I got to know the students, the staff and the people of the country.

From decorating the school, helping out in the nursery to teaching business class to older students everything I did felt like it had a purpose.

Doing this all with the support of the friendly staff made me feel welcome and love every moment, always being able to ask questions and find out more about the country while there.

This experience taught me so much, allowed me to open my eyes wider and most importantly leave with life long friends. To this day I still keep in touch with teachers from the school and many
other volunteers from around the world.

This is why it was one of the biggest impacts on my life. Even now I look back on it as a trip that experienced my entire outlook.

I spent less than 2 months in Cordoba, Argentina, volunteering in the children's hospital Niño Jesus (in the medical program) and in the girls' jail and foster home (human rights program). A part from the practical sides of my experience, it's been certainly life-changing for me, I was blocked in that moment of life, couldn't get ahead with my studies or figure out what else I'd want to do. This cultural exchange (for me it's mostly this aspect I value after 4 years) allowed me to shift perspectives on the world and on my life, and helped me to move on. Besides blessing me with incomparable longterm friendships: I'm regularly in contact with my host-mother who has become like an overseas aunt to me and I have to dear friends that I still meet up with once in a while. But of course the human aspect is also a question of good luck, as always.

As far as the volunteering work is concerned I have mixed feelings: the medical "internship" was not so exciting for me, coming from medical school most things weren't new to me and the aspect I loved most was the interaction with patients, observing the social and cultural habits of the families. I wasn't able to do anything practical, but that is normal in hospitals where nobody knows you.
Therefore I'd recommend the medical program mostly for whom has just graduated high school and is curious about the environment. Just know that you'll only get to watch.

That's also the reason for which I especially loved the work with the girls, both in the foster home and in juvie: we organized games to play, dance sessions, we taught the older ones how to write a CV and we always brought Coke and snacks. I loved spending time with them , learning about their stories and struggles and thinking that I had made their afternoon a bit brighter.

Regarding the ProjectsAbroad team I must say that they were all welcoming and helpful in explaining public transportation, how to get around from our home to our "workplace" and they were available at any hour of the day if we were having problems or doubts.
(I spent my first night at the airport because my tutor got my arrival date wrong on his agenda - but as I said, you need luck and you don't always get some. I didn't get much sleep but nothing bad happened to me, he was dreadfully sorry, over a hot cup of coffee we had a laugh about it and I had my first good story to tell).
Once a week they organized a "social night" (dinner, bowling, cooking class, etc) which was great to get to know volunteers of other programs and get to know the nightlife of the city a little better.
These get-togethers were also a perfect occasion to plan our 1 or 2-day bus trips for the weekends. In those occasions I've been to Buenos Aires (tango), Mendoza (winetasting), Salta (trip to the salt desert) , horse-riding in La Cumbre, hiking in Villa General Belgrano - with the night bus you can actually get quite far.

In conclusion I'd like to urge everybody who has the possibility to travel far, be curious, work with locals, talk to all kinds of people, challenge yourself and overcome your worries about what you could or couldn't be able to do. You have to give it a chance in order to find out! Whatever may happen and whomever you encounter, you'll always go home richer, more openminded and closer to being a "citizen of the world", what we should all aspire to become these days, at least in my opinion.

Good luck and enjoy your adventure!

Easily one of the most amazing experiences of my life! It was great fun and I made friends from all over the world. The locals we friendly and there is so much to see on the islands, we all learnt alot and I don't think anyone could forget there time there.

We were never short on things to do for the project and special activities were also arranged like talks from wwf spokes people, local dancing lessons and trips into villages and schools. The staff were all enthusiastic and happy to talk to you about what was going on and the dive tean were funny and always up for a laugh while also being very Profesional and keeping all divers under their care safe and happy.

I would love to go back again and would recommend this project to anyone who wants a new adventure!

While the concrete evidence of the impact of the the teachers aid program is difficult to gauge, the personal growth I experienced in Romania was unprecedented. It has been to this day one of the most challenging and exciting things I have ever done. The host families are great and the staff are amazing and really care about your experience. I found that they were constatl yg going out of their way to make sure that you were enjoying your time as much as possible. Local trips were weekly and the cultural immersion was complete ( I even woke up one morning to a traditional Romanian wedding party in our tiny apartment). Overall, if you measure this volunteer opportunity in personal growth and not the impact of the program itself, you won't be disappointed with the results.

I was only 18 when I participated to this program. It definitely changed my point of view and my future plans. I'm know becoming a lawyer specialized in youth law because I couldn't stand the fact that such young adolescents have to live in prison as they were just victims of big injustice and left alone. I want know to help them recovering from such situations. To experience such meetings with the girl was me tally hard to bare but also so unbelievable that you want to help them. This experience helped me also to dare facing homeless people. Now I am not afraid of them anymore, I see them as people first and not as poor. Being able to help them fulfill some important document to get insurance was also satisfying because I felt really useful.