Program Reviews

As an aspiring medical student in the United States, I wanted to get hands on experience in the medical field before dedicating my life to it. Projects Abroad provided me with invaluable hands-on medical experience that reaffirmed my desire as well as the experience of a lifetime.
When I first heard about Projects Abroad in Kenya, I was hesitant due to the financial and time investment necessary to travel to the other side of the world as well as the prospect of traveling alone in a developing country (This was my first time traveling alone internationally). However, from the moment I got on the plane until now, I have not regretted it for a single moment. The 3 Week Medicine High School Special in Kenya was well-coordinated and smooth: the constant care and attention from the numerous support staff members left no questions unanswered or unnecessary downtime. My coordinator and driver, Nelly and Nick, were amazing in their knowledge of the area as well as their attitudes: their funny, bubbly personalities melted away any doubts I had. The host family I stayed with was welcoming and accommodating to my diet and lifestyle, making me feel right at home from day one. The hospital staff were serious when they had to be (it is a hospital after all) but always happy to explain and teach the volunteers how to do each task.
Along with the medical experience, the cultural experience from living in Kenya was truly eye-opening. The afternoon/weekend excursions and time spent with the other volunteers was my favorite part of the trip, and I made many memories that will last a lifetime.
I would highly recommend Projects Abroads’ High School Medicine Special in Kenya. It is an amazing experience that has led me to want to go back to Kenya again in the near future.

My experience with Projects Abroad was amazing and I can't wait to partake in another trip. I travelled to Cambodia for two weeks to join one of theirCare & Community High School Special volunteer programs. I was given plenty of resources and information prior to my trip in order to prepare and arrange my travels and was provided a lot of support from Projects Abroad in order to make sure that I was given every little detail of information and reassurance that I needed before heading off on the journey of a lifetime.
On my trip I got to experience the unique culture of Cambodia with the help of the Projects Abroad staff that accompanied the school aged volunteer group that I was with. They provided us with resources and materials to use at our placement in the local schools to help teach the children as well as to restore the school facilities.
I got to meet many new people whilst on my trip and made many amazing friends with people from many different countries around the world. A highlight of my trip was spending one of my final days at the school playing games and singing songs with all the smiley children and other volunteers as we had a farewell lunch in the schoolyard.

I would say the experience is worthwhile. Particularly because you are in Jamaica and not in the Jamaican/tourist resorts. Living in a parish with a host family, you really get to learn and you are forced to adapt to the local culture, the people, the food, transportation. My host family was great! On the weekends, it’s the norm to and you are encouraged to coordinate with the other volunteers weekend trips to go to the resorts, the beaches, the mountains and other cities across the island. This makes the experience with Projects Abroad even more worthwhile. Although the description of the Human Rights Internship in Jamaica with Projects Abroad is advertised as interns working alongside a human rights program officer, you don’t necessarily work alongside a human rights program officer. With my experience, I can attest that a “human rights program officer” is just that: a title. A better, less misleading title would be program coordinator/supervisor. Your supervisor doesn’t necessarily have any expertise when it comes to human rights studies. They function more as cultural brokers in that they can teach you about the local culture and what to expect. They will help you coordinate, plan and deliver your human rights presentations but you are expected to craft and write the presentation on your own. Which can be very difficult with very little direction given. I would advise any volunteer to bring their own laptop, if you have one. As it will make the research for the presentations easier. Not all of the desktop computers in the Projects Abroad office in Jamaica work properly (either they run slow, are not connected to the wifi or are not equipped with the resources that you need). I will say that I loved going to elementary schools (Grades 1 through 6) in Jamaica and delivering child rights presentations to children. We taught them about the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child with an emphasis on bringing awareness to child sexual abuse. We really did teach the kids things that they didn’t know before which was so rewarding!

After speaking with the other volunteers, some of them have done other projects through Projects Abroad in other countries. So the program service and staff support may vary from country to country and from program to program. With that being said a Human Rights Internship with Projects Abroad in another country may be better coordinated as well as better suited for you.

After my first year of medical school, I knew I wanted to do a volunteer project abroad but wasn’t sure where or how I would go about it. Then, at my school, one of our faculty advisors told us about Projects Abroad and how they had a program in Tanzania that aligned directly with my goals for a volunteer project: working at a local hospital, leading local outreach medical clinics, and getting to experience culture and learn about diseases endemic to the region.
Our hospital assignment was St. Joseph Hospital in Moshi, a government-owned hospital located about 5 minutes’ drive from our lodge. We were able to assist the doctors with simple procedures, observe surgeries, take blood pressure and vital signs, and go on rounds with physicians in the different wards. I got to watch 2 C-sections on the very first day at the hospital! During our time there, we saw the male and female wards, the labor ward, the pediatric ward, as well as the laboratories, pharmacy, and outpatient rooms.
In the afternoons, we would either go back to the hospital or have a culture class back at the Projects Abroad office. Over the 3 weeks I was there, we received lecturers on HIV and AIDS in Tanzania, a Swahili lesson, discussion of healthcare in Tanzania, maternal-fetal health in Africa, and we got a chance to meet with Tanzanian medical students and learn about their experiences. On our last night, we even had a cooking class in the office kitchen!
On the days we weren’t in the hospital, we led small outreach programs in the local communities. The community outreaches were a chance for us to really work one-on-one with patients. Because we weren’t in a hospital shadowing a doctor, it was up to us as medical students to organize patients, take blood pressure and vital signs, and even do finger sticks for rapid HIV and malaria tests. I thoroughly enjoyed these outreaches because they allowed us to have hands-on experience examining patients with a little more autonomy than at the hospital.
On the weekends we got to travel around Tanzania and see the beautiful countryside as well as other nearby cities. We toured local markets, hiked to a waterfall in Materuni village, got to make fresh coffee from coffee plants, hike around the base of Mt Kilimanjaro, go to craft shops and markets, and go on a day-long safari at Tarangire National Park. I wasn’t expecting to make as great of friends as I did while in Moshi, and the experience was so positive that I am planning to take a trip back for more medical volunteering in the future. I couldn’t have had a better experience volunteering with Projects Abroad!

I can confidently say that my three weeks in Ghana with Projects Abroad were three of the most transformative weeks of my life. To know a little bit about me: I am an 18 year old year from Manhattan starting at the University of Pennsylvania for undergrad with the hopes of eventually attending medical school. I spent my three weeks in the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital on three wards: pediatrics, OB/GYN and the delivery suite. Each department changed me in its own way. I bonded with patients, nurses and doctors. I still stay in touch with many of the people I was working with at the hospital. The most memorable nights of my life were my night shifts at the delivery suite. I was able to watch natural births, cesarean sections and other vaginal procedures. I fell in love with every baby I saw. The Projects Abroad staff in Ghana was incredibly approachable: I had every staff member on Whatsapp and felt comfortable reaching out to any of them for anything. I lived with a family who truly made me feel like I was part of their family. One thing to note is that anyone considering this trip has to be willing to really leave their comfort zone, but know that it is completely worth it. By that I mean you must be willing to talk to new people and explore new areas in order to make the most of the trip. To anyone considering traveling with Projects Abroad to Ghana, go for it! I promise you will not regret it. 

My 17 year old daughter just arrived home following a two week High School Specials Public Health Placement in San Pedro, Belize. This was supposed to be an amazing learning opportunity that would help her make decisions regarding her future including her desire to pursue Nursing as a career and to gain skills towards further travels abroad. The provided itinerary seemed very "full" and exciting with a balance of volunteer work time during the day and evening social/recreational activities. This seemed perfect as my daughter is a very active young woman who thrives on being "busy". The composition of the placement was NOT what the itinerary reflected.
Our daughter was one of seven girls participating in this placement. They traveled each day to the Projects Abroad office, which is where they spent more than 50% of their daytime hours each day. Sometimes, it was the whole day. The amount of time they needed to be in this location was a fraction of this - so much time was spent talking to each other or being on their phones/laptops to pass the time. The staff would not adjust the schedule and certainly did not work to find them other things to do. Any time spent in the field ACTIVELY volunteering (as my daughter had assumed she would be doing), was thoroughly enjoyed and rewarding. Following much time spent in a small office most days, the girls then went back to their very small apartment where all seven of them stayed. Some nights they had activities but when they did not, the girls had to stay from 5:00 pm onwards in this location as they were not allowed to leave unsupervised and there were no staff members to take them out. After we complained as parents, this slowly started to change but our daughter perceived that the request for exercise or outings in the community were an "inconvenience" rather than an expectation.
Most importantly, our daughter and her close friend who attended with her were ready to come home after a few days. They were bored, frustrated and very sad to be so sedentary in such a beautiful country with so many opportunities to volunteer, help and make a difference. To have sent them this far to primarily sit in office space or an apartment seems unacceptable - especially given how expensive the placement was and what we perceived the activity level was going to be. Following much discussion, we convinced our daughters to stay and finish the placement. They are glad that they did as there were rewarding moments but many of their lasting memories are not positive ones.
I am choosing to post this information as all of these complaints were raised with our placement supervisor throughout the two weeks. She was at times responsive but mostly defensive. Change was forced on the staff but we did not think that so much effort should be needed on our part to have acceptable conditions or experience. We would NEVER recommend this company to anyone moving forward and are very disappointed by the outcomes. We are hoping to protect others from the same experience and can only hope that by making the information public, it will result in some change moving forward.

I spent 4 weeks in Hanoi through Projects Abroad's medical internship program. I chose Vietnam because I have family just outside of Hanoi, so I never even considered any other destinations. My time overseas was truly an extraordinary, life-changing opportunity, all thanks to the incredible surgeons of bệnh viện nhi as well as the spectacular Projects Abroad staff.

Primarily, I simply spent my days observing surgeries. However, in the last few days of my internship, I was presented with the amazing opportunity to close after a laparoscopic surgery. On my last day (which was also my birthday) I was granted the unforgettable chance to close a neurosurgery, which was the most exhilarating and fulfilling experience of my life. I am so unbelievably grateful to the wonderful surgeons at BVN for the many learning opportunities that they provided for me.

The Projects Abroad staff truly went above and beyond to ensure that my trip was as fantastic as possible. I truly felt that they valued me as a person rather than viewing me as just another volunteer that they had to talk to because it was their job. In fact, I really felt like the staff were my friends, and genuinely enjoyed my company. Without their sincere concern and care, I wouldn’t have felt so safe and secure. During the majority of my stay, there were only about 2 or 3 other volunteers in the house with me, which meant everybody got their own room. I felt like the smaller amount of people allowed us to get closer with each other and develop stronger bonds. In fact, we still talk most days in our group chat, even though we’ve all gone our own separate ways now. The relationships and bonds that I formed in the house are just one more of the abundant takeaways that I will cherish forever.

This was an amazing experience!! Nepal was such an influential country to visit and opened so many opportunities for me to continue travelling all thanks to Projects Abroad. It was very easy to connect with in country staff members to have my questions answered and help
me with any needs I may have. My first day there, my supervisor showed me around Thamel and where the ATMs, grocery stores, health center and shops are.

My host family was amazing. They always made sure I had enough food and safe drinking water. They showed me the way to my placement and the local stores to get snacks and cash. They were incredibly nice and the house was very clean and not far from the school. The other volunteers are people whom I will never forget. My fellow volunteers made my trip so much fun.

My placement was amazing. The kids were so eager to learn and excited to see me every day. I taught them everything from Math to English to Geography and Dancing!! It was such a beautiful school and the staff was so helpful with communication between the students and I.

Nepal was an amazing experience that I would do all over again if I could!!

When I volunteered with Projects Abroad, I was a junior and biochemistry major at Northeastern University. I traveled to San Cristobal island, in the Galapagos, from Boston, Massachusetts during my summer break in May-June of 2018. One thing I would recommend, if traveling from the east coast, is to book a hotel room in Quito at the Wyndham near the airport. Typically, you arrive at the airport at around midnight, and the Galapagos flight does not leave until 9 or 10am; by booking a hotel room, we got a few hours of good sleep that worked wonders the next day. I volunteered with the ESL program, joining other volunteers to teach English at a rural location. When you arrive at the Galapagos, you are greeted by an open-air airport security center and a beautiful view. This is a far cry from dreary Logan airport in Boston! William Puga, the coordinator from San Cristobal, greeted me and my traveling partner Lindsay; from there, we took a pickup truck taxi ride (get used to these!) to our volunteer camp.
The volunteer camp is a beautiful, well-maintained row of dormitories about a 15 minute ride from the main town on the ocean. There are free bananas hanging from vines, comfy hammocks, and a clean common area where all the volunteers hang-out and get to know each other. We were taken care of by our host family, a couple in their twenties with a beautiful baby girl. My host family was nothing but professional and friendly. The rooms were kept clean, the meals were plentiful and nutritious, and I got a real taste of San Cristobal by living with them. The host “mom”, Abi, even did our laundry with a one dollar deposit per load! Speaking of food, they were also able to accommodate my traveling partners unique dietary restrictions, something that really left a positive impact on our experience.
As aforementioned, my traveling partner and I worked teaching English at a rural school in Northern San Cristobal, about a five minute walk from our placement. This was an incredible experience; we taught 7, 40 minute classes per day, from 7:15 to 12:30. If we had to form a lesson plan or do research, we would typically stay from 12:45 to 3pm at the volunteer office in town until our job was done. The teachers were very accommodating of our impromptu class scheduling and seemed excited about their students learning English; with so much of San Cristobal’s jobs being related to tourism, it makes future employees very marketable if they know even a little English. We formed our own lesson plans based on given material, and taught each age level at a different pace. I am happy to say that we finished the majority of what we had set out to teach by the end of our placement, namely high-yield vocabulary and verbs. Forming relationships with the kids and watching their English knowledge progress made getting up early really easy. All of the inside jokes and play-time during “Recreo” (recess) made teaching the kids a lot more fun and engaging. When the kids had a week of school off during our last week of placement, our coordinator, arranged for us to work in the tutoring center in the center of town. Here, we worked with three age groups and two other volunteers. It was very interesting to see how Lindsay and I viewed teaching English compared to the other volunteers, as we had been designing lesson plans independent of one another; the majority of the teaching was very similar and flowed cohesively with me and Lindsay’s knowledge.

Volunteering with Projects Abroad in Nepal was absolutely incredible! It was an amazing experience. When I first got to the airport in Kathmandu, I was picked up by a taxi organized by Projects Abroad and went straight to Prince Hotel in Thamel. I had my orientation there. During my time in Nepal, I did three projects. I did the Teaching Project, Himalayan Conservation Project, and Building Project. Each one gave me new and exited experiences and unforgettable memories. The staff was friendly and welcoming and they were always there if you needed anything. All three projects were organized, and I always felt safe.