Program Reviews

My time in Thailand as a part of the Projects Abroad Diving and Marine Conservation program was amazing and I know that I will remember my first dive for the rest of my life. Knowing that I got to learn a new skill, do something I love and help the environment at the same time drew me to the program and it was everything I had imagined and more. Our trips to the dive sites were the best part; the crew was very friendly, and we got to exchange a lot of life experiences and jokes. The food at the accommodation was some of the best I'd ever had, and the program coordinators were friendly and always around planning group activities.

My month in Ghana with Projects Abroad was anything but ordinary; it was, in simplest terms, a fantastic month which changed my life. But of course, as I left my home in New York and headed to JFK airport, I was more nervous than ever before. The butterflies in my stomach disappeared, however, when I met the Projects Abroad staff member, surrounded by 7 other high school volunteers, who was waiting for me at the gate. After quite a long flight, we emerged from the Ghanaian airport to find two more smiling staff members waiting for us. They helped us load the car, and then drove us to our final destination: Cape Coast. Upon arriving at our home stay, they dropped us off, to unpack for the month ahead. After about an hour, another staff member came and gave us a quick orientation. Over the course of the weekend, we met many more staff members and the volunteers who would be staying with us for the amazing upcoming four weeks.

Throughout our time in Ghana, the Projects Abroad staff was always attentive and caring. Our group supervisor, Saeed, quickly became a friend, and we are all still in touch with him. He always helped if we had any questions or concerns, and he is the reason that we all felt so confident in our medical work. Two other staff members, Grant and Enoch, helped teach us how to take blood and blood pressure, and taught us a lot about malaria and cholera, information we later related to students in schools across the city. In our workshop sessions when we would study health issues in Ghana, they answered every question and made sure even I, who has never so much as taken a biology class, could follow along. On the weekends the staff made sure we had plenty to do, taking us to the beach and even the rain forest! We also had cultural events like bead making and drumming and dancing, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

At home, we were immediately welcomed in by our host family, and though we did not often speak with our host mother, two of our host brothers quickly befriended us. They watched TV and played video games with us, and they helped us do our laundry by hand, an endeavor which all of us were wary to complete on our own. We also went out to restaurants with our host brother, and he truly felt like part of the group.

Overall, there’s no other way to describe my time in Ghana except with a radiating smile and the simple fact that it truly was the best month of my life, and I encourage anyone and everyone to experience it for themselves.

This trip was a lot of firsts for me. I volunteered through projects abroad on a high school special for medicine. It was my first time travelling alone, it was my first time staying away from my parents and it was my first time doing any sort of program like this. The process of signing up and convincing my parents to let me go, was one of the most difficult parts. But, projects abroad made it easier by allowing me to talk and meet with people in Projects Abroad headquarters in my home country. They gave me reviews to read, and even got me in contact with other people who had signed up. The project itself was one of the most different and exciting experiences I've ever had. At the beginning, it was a total change in lifestyle, and routine, but sometimes, that sort of thing is completely necessary for self growth and to better understand the world around you. The trip was a great balance of being immersed into the culture, gaining experience in the medicine field, as well as being a tourist and seeing all of the tourist attractions. My host family was amazing, as well as the other students on the trip, and I hope I keep in touch with all of them.

Hi! I am Isabella, a 16-year-old girl from a small town in Connecticut. About three months ago I began to search for something to do over the summer. In July of 2018, I flew out of the country to Bolivia, traveling for over 24 hours, and commencing by far the greatest and most humbling experience of my short life. After traveling for a mere 24 hours, by myself, and for the first time out of the country, I anxiously awaited meeting my host family for the first time. They were some of the kindest and most genuine people I met in Bolivia, next to the Projects Abroad staff. This is a service that knows exactly how to plan and execute a trip for high schoolers from anywhere.
On my trip, though many days consisted of shadowing medical professionals, my favorite work was the hands-on volunteer work that reflected new things we learned. For example, we learned how to take the vitals in the classroom on a Wednesday and the very next day we traveled to a nursing home and took the vitals of over 30 elderly patients. In another instance, and perhaps my favorite activity of the trip, we worked alongside two vaccination nurses who helped us vaccinate dogs for free in impoverished homes where the owners would normally refuse medical care. We ended up having to hike up rocky roads where cars wouldn't normally travel to reach the residences. In doing this I witnessed the most extreme cases of poverty I would encounter in Bolivia. I left that day feeling humbled and blessed-as cheesy as that may sound. However, my emotions were most harshly tested at an orphanage that services children and adults with disabilities, all of which are given extensive physical therapy through their primary physical therapist and volunteers. My partner for the day was a 27-year-old man who had weakened muscles from the waist down. Regardless of his immobility, we were talkative and friendly and a please to have worked with. I ended up donating the majority of the trip money I had to the orphanage is that the patients were low on diapers and wipes. It was the smallest gesture but a rewarding one nonetheless.
On my final day as I loaded my luggage into the car, my host sister gave me a little angel that says “renewal” that is sitting on my bedside table as I write this. I owe all the gratitude in the world to Projects Abroad for keeping me and my roommates who I am still in constant contact with safe and happy for two weeks that were the greatest of my summer. They are an organized, safe, and knowledgeable service that truly wants to better communities worldwide. I would recommend them to anyone and everyone and have been ever since.

I chose to go overseas to Ghana and work on law & human rights related issues. Going into the program I wasn't too sure what to expect, but I can confidently say it was the best decision I could have made and the experiences and friends I made will surely last a lifetime. The pre-departure stages of my trip were extremely smooth, made possible by Projects Abroad staff and the MyProjectsAbraod page. Once I arrived in Accra, Ghana, I was immediately greeted by friendly Projects Abroad staff and quickly brought to the host family's house where I met a few other volunteers.
The accommodation far surpassed my expectations in relations to cleanliness, space, and food. Everyone in the house was extremely friendly and was ready to accommodate every need you had. Projects Abroad has a multitude of staff in country to assist with your trip. Each High School special placement has their own supervisor who is with you just about 24/7. This interaction provided time to learn about Ghanaian culture and way of life in a casual environment. Being someone who did a 4 week high school special, I had to opportunity to get very close with my supervisor, and we still communicate! The supervisors really do a wonderful job of making sure you have everything you need and check up on you even at the host family's house.
We had the perfect mix of volunteer work, and sight-seeing. During the weekends we went on trips to Cape Coast, Shai Hills, Laguna Beach Resort, Boti National Falls, and more. During the week we met with locals to discuss topics relating to human rights and social justice which was very interesting and eye opening. We also met with lawyers, chiefs, visited the Supreme Court and Parliament, and also taught about human rights in multiple schools.
Regarding safety and health, I think Projects Abroad did a wonderful job of making sure we were aware of our surroundings and that we knew ways to keep healthy and clean. They provided us with bottled water at all times and helped us find street food that would be safe to eat. A few girls in my project did get sick and the supervisors wasted no time taking them to the hospital as soon as the volunteers mentioned they weren't feeling well. Then, they checked up on them everyday to make sure they were taking their medication, etc.
The most amazing part about my experience with Projects Abroad was my opportunity to meet fellow volunteers from around the world. Everyone bonded so fast and being in such close quarters with each other everyday allowed us to become very good friends. This unfortunately made the goodbyes unbelievably difficult, but I'm lucky to have made such good friends that makes saying goodbye so hard.
Overall, my time with Projects Abroad in Ghana was invaluable and irreplaceable and I would recommend this project to anyone looking to learn about human rights, see/visit a beautiful country, and is open minded to new cultures, foods, and experiences!

Overall, I had a lifechanging experience in Italy with Projects Abroad. As a future social worker who wants to work with refugees in the future, I was really excited for this experience and to gain experience in my future career. This experience really gave me a hands on experience to help with my career and has become increasingly important when it comes to my job for the next year. Throughout my time in Italy, I was able to work with Syrian refugees and refugees from African countries, along with working with the local population. Most of the time, I was in a community building role where we were working on integrating peace in the community. This was done whether working with a children's summer camp or with the local women.

I also had a great time with the other volunteers and staff members. I stayed in a newly redone house with 5 other volunteers. Once more volunteers came, it was a great experience and we created some really strong bonds. All of the volunteers ate meals together, had social events, and worked on the projects together. The bonds that I made with other volunteers are ones that will last awhile and I was able to connect with so many other young adults who were interested in the same ideas that I am. It was a great networking opportunity! The staff was also mostly wonderful. There was a bit of a managerial changeover while I was in Italy, which caused a lot of tension and caused many of the projects to not be completed. If the staff turnover had been resolved more quickly, I feel like I could really have made an impact on the project- it was just unfortunate timing.

As far as the projects go, there was such a wide variety of things to do that you were really able to get involved in whatever you were most interested in. Most of the projects involved working with children, which was great for me- but just beware! I also felt that some of the projects weren't entirely useful to creating long-lasting future and involvement with the refugees. My only flaws with the program would be that we didn't get to interact with the refugees in the project and that the projects could be better worked through if the refugees were more involved.

Overall, this was a great program and I would love to go back!

My name is Julia and I will be a senior at Hamline University in Minnesota. I am a public health major and have a great interest in gloabal public health. This was such a great experience! I loved my host family and the support staff in Belize. My host mom loved to hear about our experiences and share her's with us. The support staff was always helpful and there when I needed them. One night I became very ill and one of the supervisors was right by my side at 12 in the morning. I also felt a little homesick at the beginning of my time in Belize and the staff was always there to listen and help me through that. I loved the work that we did as well. I learned so many new skills in my short 4 weeks. The outreach work was very necessary in the communities and it made you feel like you were making a difference. I learn so much about these issues and this type of work in my classes at school so it was nice to be able to experience it first hand. I also made sure to develop relationships with the people in the community and that made it even more rewarding.

My name is Kristine and I am from the state of Colorado in the United States. I decided to make a career change into nursing after about 6 years of working in administration. I decided nursing was my calling and was really looking for a way to jump-start my career. That’s where Projects Abroad came in! I was looking for a combination of volunteer, international, and healthcare experience. I knew I needed to check off those boxes on the resume and for nursing schools, and Projects Abroad was able to offer that for me. After researching the program, I signed up and found myself on a plane flying to Belize a few short weeks later!
From the beginning, I was really impressed with Projects Abroad. My pre-trip advisor was phenomenal and very helpful. I was also impressed because one of the Projects Abroad staff in Belize was there waiting for me upon arrival in San Pedro (even though I landed a couple hours early). She took me to lunch and we went over all the policies and then she gave me a tour of the island. I was taken to my host family’s house and had a chance to get settled. The next day I was greeted at the office by my volunteer coordinator who had an immensely full schedule of tasks and activities for me to accomplish in the next month. Needless to say, this was exactly what I was looking for and was very excited about all of the projects I would be working on.
As mentioned above, the month that I was in Belize was jam packed with public health related activities. I helped with the mobile clinic 3 days per week in various neighborhoods around San Pedro and I helped organize an HIV clinic (and even went on the Reef Radio TV Morning Show to advertise the event), and did intake forms all day for the event. I also helped prepare and start a mosquito borne illness campaign because rainy season was just about to start as I was leaving (and mosquitos were about to be a big problem on the island)! Furthermore, I helped at a dental clinic and checked for lice on children. Finally, I was able to observe in a medical clinic on San Pedro for about 12 hours while down there which was a very interesting experience for me to see the differences between healthcare in the US and healthcare in Belize. Overall, these assignments were perfect for me and I was extremely happy I got to experience all of these different things. I even got trained on how to check for blood sugar levels while down in Belize, which I hadn’t gotten trained in for my nursing assistant program in the states. I thought that was really cool and beneficial for my career!
I absolutely loved my volunteer supervisor. She was professional, friendly, and flexible. I really loved the activities she assigned to me—they were so fitting for me. And I really liked how approachable she was with anything you wanted to discuss. Having her around definitely made a huge impact on my overall experience in Belize. The other staff were very friendly and answered anything I asked them. They also planned a lot of fun activities for all the volunteers. I really appreciated those.
To touch on my homestay, I stayed in the neighborhood of San Mateo. I stayed with an extremely nice family that made the most delicious food. Staying with a host family was such a fabulous part of the whole experience. I was able to attend church with my host family a couple of times, which was very interesting. I also lived with two Danish girls the whole time I was there. So, I was exposed to two different cultures simultaneously while down in Belize. One of my favorite parts about the host stay and experience was that every day, I chose to ride my Projects Abroad bike to and from work right along the beach. It was a beautiful ride and a perfect way to start and end the day. The host family lived right near the beach so I would just love to do that daily. It was also very interesting because I got to meet so many different family members staying with this host family. I met the mom, grandmother, son, son’s girlfriend and mom’s fiancé. I got to know each one over the course of a month and really learned a lot. I found it to be a great growing experience for me.
Belize is a very interesting and beautiful country that has a lot to offer. There were a few bumps in the road for me along the way, but overall, my experience in Belize and with Projects Abroad was superb. I highly recommend Projects Abroad (especially Belize) to anyone looking to make a career change, do something different, help out a community, and learn new skills. It was an experience of a lifetime and I will forever more keep this experience on my resume.

My name is Alicia Gant and I am a senior at the University of Nevada, Reno. I plan to attend Medical School the following year. I will always be grateful for the experience Projects Abroad allowed me to have in Nepal.

I was placed in the local teaching hospital in Chitwan, Nepal. I was able to observe numerous surgeries and ask as many questions as I felt were necessary in order for me to understand everything. The language barrier was only a minor part of my experience in Nepal because the people there were so caring. The supervisors that Projects Abroad had stationed there would always go out of their way to make my stay there enjoyable.

After living in non-tourist parts of Nepal for a month I have more gratitude for the life I am given now. I was adopted from China when I was only 6 months old. Had I not been adopted I would have grown up in an area very similar to the one I only spent a month visiting. Projects Abroad gave me this opportunity and for that I will always be grateful.

I traveled to South Africa in May for the Nutrition Project. Living in Canada, it took me 3 flights, a 12 hour layover and 2 sleepless nights full of excitement before I finally landed in the beautiful Cape Town. Upon arrival, I was kindly greeted by one of the Project's Abroad staff who drove me to my host family's house. My host family was amazing, kind and generous, making my experience all the more comforting.

When I started my first day of placement, I was unsure of what to expect. Every day was different in regards to what we would do. One day would be based out of the baby clinic, another we would go teach at a small township just west of us, and on other days we would cook for the children of the Surfing Project. We worked with various age groups, ranging from infants to the elderly, however, every day was just as amazing.

I had the most humbling experience working on the Nutrition Project, and coming home to Canada, it made me realize just how much of a difference an organization can make. The people at Projects Abroad impacted my life greatly, as did all the wonderful locals, staff and other volunteers. I don't think I could have had a better experience. I can't wait to go back!