Program Reviews

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!

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!