Program Reviews

The marketing for this program is slightly misleading. The descriptions portray an in-depth and first-hand experience working with doctors. Unfortunately this is not the case, most of the work was observational. To be fair, unless you are a trained medical professional, I wouldn't want you making decisions about my health either. The program does put you in the hospital, and for a go-getter personality, you can interact with the doctors; asking questions, learning about the healthcare system, and the public health concerns of the community. I found that aspect incredibly rewarding.

Everything is in Spanish, you don't need to be confident, but it helps if you can put together sentences. After spending two months there my ability to listen to Spanish increased tremendously. The Projects Abroad Staff do speak English, but why deny yourself this great opportunity. The first time I realized I was having a conversation and not 'thinking' about the words was an amazing moment!

As of the time this post is written, the medical program is not a high level of time commitment (only half day). The current coordinator is working to augment the community service component and opportunities to make more busy work. I found the people of Cordoba to be very friendly and easy to make friends. Additionally, if you have the motivation, you can find additional ways to get involved with the community (for example, I was working with AIDS Health Foundation Argentina). There is always something to do, and the night life is insane (starts at 2AM goes till 6AM)!

The program does offer housing, insurance, and guaranteed food from your host family. However, the traditional style foods or Argentina lack variety. After a few weeks, your flavor palate will crave something different, so be prepared because sometimes you may want to treat yourself to ice cream, beer, coffee, or a full-dinner.

Lastly the tourism part, it is very much doable, at your own expense. The country is HUGE and there is a lot to see. The most cost effective means of travel is bus, but expect half-a-day journey just to arrive. If you choose to fly the cost adds up, but it can be very quick. I choose to do a bus overnighter as the seats are semi-cama (half-beds) and lay flatter than an economy airplane seat. This saved on the cost of hotel for a night and mitigated travel times.

I recently just returned from volunteering abroad in Nepal with Projects Abroad. It was one of the most meaningful and amazing experiences in my life. I was able to work with a local school, repainting classrooms and teaching children, all before I was 18. We were able to provide the school with freshly painted walls and provide the children with new toothbrushes during our dental outreach. I had amazing coordinators who were with us the whole time we were in Nepal. They were always by our side and took great care of us if we felt upset. Not to mention how much they made us laugh! Not only did I have great staff present, but I met some of my very best friends on this project; we became our own little family in this short time period. Not only were we given a prime opportunity to give back and help the people of Nepal, we were able to visit cultural UNESCO heritage sights along the way. We took a weekend trip to Pokhara and were greeted with sprawling views of the Annapurna Himalayas. Projects Abroad provided us with clean hotels, delicious food (providing for all dietary preferences) and working Wi-Fi, which was great because I was able to still speak to my family at home. I would completely recommend this trip to anyone wishing to travel to Nepal. Projects Abroad truly helped us immerse in the culture of Nepal and motivated us to do our best work. Nepal is the most amazing country and I already have plans to return! I am so grateful for the opportunity to give back and experience the most beautiful country. I can guarantee that you won't regret this experience!

The two weeks I spent in Chitwan on the high school special medicine project might have been the best 2 weeks of my life. Not only did I help out at hospitals and acquire a passion for a doctors work but I also made friends from around the globe who shared the same aspiration and interests as I did. Each step of the way our coordinators made sure we felt completely safe and addressed any complaint or problem positively and made us feel completely at home. Our placements were interesting as each day we had a different hospital and were able to see surgical procedures and everyday doctor-patient interactions and all the doctors were really friendly and answered all our doubts and sometimes asked us to help out to get a hands on experience. Our project had exact mixture of free time, nepali culture and medicine, We had enough time to ourselves to strengthen friendships, enough time to learn about the country we were in, explore it and go sightseeing, along with enough time to learn about why we were on the trip.
Hands down I would recommend any this trip to anyone who wants an experience abroad.

In December 2017, I travelled to Chitwan, Nepal with Projects Abroad to undertake the High School Medicine's specials project. I first encountered Projects Abroad at a university function and from the get go, my first impression of Projects Abroad was that they were extremely helpful in preparing me for my journey; a thorough explanation was given in regards to the culture, project and Nepal itself.

My trip to Nepal was my first time travelling alone, and initially, I was incredibly nervous to be away from family for 2 weeks. My fears were put to rest in the second day, after I had enough time to settle in and adjust to the time zone changes, meet the other volunteers and staff, as well as explore the beautiful streets in Kathmandu (where we flew in from). I definitely established a family in Nepal, not just with my fellow medical volunteers, but also with some of the volunteers from the care and community project. The other volunteers definitely contributed to my love for Nepal, as they all possessed the same love for helping others and interest in medicine.

In placements, we got to witness various cool procedures in the operation theatres, and we watched procedures that we would never get an opportunity to witness in Australia. I have learnt many invaluable life lessons in the short duration of my stay in Nepal, and I am really thankful to be able to travel to Nepal with my lovely Project Abroad family :)

Projects Abroad was a helpful, informative, useful, inspiring and genuinely kind company to deal with. I was never worried that I was being scammed or taken advantage of at any point during my stay in China or during the application process. From the initial steps of signing up for the program I was well taken care of and maintained close contact to my program supervisor. Projects Abroad had all their bases covered regarding housing, cell phone usage, flat mate meetings, hospital proximity and EVERYTHING else you can think of. This program taught me a lot about, not only medicine, but also strengthened my own personal confidence when placed within a diverse and completely different culture than my own. I would strongly recommend Projects Abroad to anyone looking to expand their comfort zone while learning your desired field of study - it is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

My experience with Projects Abroad in Argentina was absolutely incredible! From my first point of contact with them, I was sure I made the right choice, and felt supported every step of the way. Upon arriving, I quickly felt at home with the Human Rights and Law team and the rest of the members in the office. The field placements were truly unique and meaningful. I wouldn't change anything about my experience, except for maybe the fact that I wish I could have stayed longer. My host family was incredibly welcoming and my coworkers made every day worth it. It isn't easy to work in Human Rights and Law; nevertheless I would recommend this to anyone willing to try. I felt as if though I was able to make a small difference every day, and gained as much back. Since returning home, I constantly refer back to my experience and have taken it forward with me every day since.

My name is Brooke Stoddard, and I travelled to Kenya in October 2017 to volunteer with Projects Abroad. At first, I was quite nervous about the whole adventure, since it was my first time travelling so far from home. Not only was I travelling far from home, I did not know anyone either. When I first arrived, I, as well as many other volunteers, thought "What am i doing here?". However, once I arrived to the Projects Abroad office in Nanyuki, all my stress had dropped off my shoulders. I was so relived. The staff was extremely welcoming, and make 100% certain that all their volunteers are safe at all times. The volunteers felt like family to me for the 3 weeks I was in Kenya. The volunteering was a life changing experience. I was working in the orphanages, and the children are so appreciative of everything we do for them. They simply may just need a smile, or a hug to make a difference in their day. It is truly heart warming. Every week day, all the volunteers were brought back to the Projects Abroad office where we could all interact and socialize with one another, which truly was great. Also, the staff organized social events every week, in order for the volunteers to simply get together and have fun. I guess i could go on and on about this volunteer trip, but if i have one last thing to mention, its that I highly recommend Projects Abroad. They are all simply amazing. From the moment you sign up for the trip, until the last day you leave the destination to go home. I, for one, loved every second of my adventure, and I will certainly be back to volunteer soon with Projects Abroad.

Volunteering with Projects Abroad was a life-changing experience. I was nervous going to a place so different from anywhere I had ever been before, without my family or anyone I knew, for three months, but the support from Projects Abroad made it seem possible. From the get-go, the Projects Abroad team answered all my questions at their office in Toronto, and by e-mail. They sent me all the information I needed to know, and then some, so that I felt prepared for my trip to Tanzania. In country, they picked me up from the hotel I was staying at with my family (I went on a safari trip for two weeks before starting my internship) and took me to meet my host family. They gave me a thorough orientation of the city and how to get around and made sure I knew exactly how to get to my placement using the dala-dala bus system. My internship at Inherit Your Rights, a local non-governmental organization that works with local widow groups in the surrounding villages regarding human rights issues, particularly inheritance and property law, was an incredible learning experience. I was able to meet and work with the local people, as well as with other volunteers from all over the world. My host family was also so welcoming and made me feel like family. I was continually pushed outside of my comfort zone, but through it all, Projects Abroad was there to support me and make sure it was a positive experience, one that expanded my view of the world and taught me more about myself and the world I live in. Hands down – I would recommend Projects Abroad for anyone looking to volunteer abroad for the first time!

Hello!
My name is Kevin, I am an American university student who recently went abroad to Shanghai China with Projects Abroad. It was an amazing experience, and I would recommend it to anyone. I was excited to volunteer abroad and was initially nervous. But Projects Abroad made me feel prepared even before I left the US. When I arrived in China, they made me feel warmly welcomed and continued to show me the beautiful large city of Shanghai. I made several friends in the city through Projects Abroad. We had a lot of group events which I appreciated because this way I can connect with locals, other volunteers around the world, and engage in the setting. Soon I fell in love with Shanghai. I feel like my placement where I worked in Shanghai is perfect and is everything I looked for that matched what I wanted to do and similar to my studies. I was very gracious to have this opportunity and would 100% do it again. I would recommend Projects Abroad to anyone!

I had a great experience with Projects Abroad. My parents were a little worried about security and the political situation the country I would volunteer in would be so I picked Peru and it was a great choice! Projects Abroad always made sure we were happy and if we wanted to do change something in our schedule all we had to do was ask! They were very welcoming. I met so many great people like my host family, other volunteers and the staff. Not only did I volunteer but we visited Peru and its various cultural sights. Overall I had a great time and I would definitely do it again!