Program Reviews

My trip to Nepal was fantastic. It gave me the opportunity to fly alone (well with my now amazing friend Marnie), meet friends from all over the world (Hong Kong, California and Leeds to name a few!) and provide the privilege of being able to feel you made a small difference to a country. There were many highlights of my trip including seeing the birth of a beautiful baby boy, teaching school children how to brush their teeth and visiting a care home for children with a range of disabilities and learning needs. On top of this placements within hospitals provided an incredible insight into what it was like to work in a hospital in a developing country (and as a long term goal of mine was extremely useful). Like most trips however, what made it was the wonderful people I met who 6 months on I am still in touch with and we talk regularly on video calls. Chris our group leader was amazing taking us to the bakery across from our hotel almost every night. All the projects abroad staff were lovely and we even managed to have a favourite Nepalese song by the end of the trip courtesy to our drivers! Trips like these are ones that change you as a person and change your view of the world, I would thoroughly recommend undertaking a trip the projects abroad.

San Cristobal is the island with the capita of the Galapagos and is the third biggest. It is not as commercial as Santa Cruz but it has beaches, hiking and places to drink and eat after work. You will stay 5kms out of town in a hostel with plain shared rooms and good food. Taxis into town are easy to get and there are many options for weekend activities on this island or on others. You will have a cross section of experiences covering sea lions, iguanas, petrels and giant tortoises. There is weeding, attacking blackberry and lantana with machetes and gathering otoy for the tortoises. We also painted a mural at a school.It’s a well supported project, and better than others whose volunteers I spoke to. You’ll feel safe and there are people of other nationalities and ages to share free time with.

This is my first time to set foot on the land of Cambodia, I was a little nervous at the beginning, did not know whether I could adapt to the local climate and poor conditions, and I did not know whether I could live and work happily with other volunteers.But when I got there and met Rich (who was my coordinator), I knew I could make a good living here.

I live in the hotel together with volunteers in many countries, to be there the next day is Saturday, we don't have to work.On that day ， Projects Abroad staff introduced the working content, matters needing attention for us, and arrange the cultural learning courses, let us in can understand the local customs and before the start of work.

Over the next few days, we began our child care work. We sailed to an island where we taught English to about 30 children ages 5 to 8 and played with them until their parents picked them up after work.This process is simple, but also very tired, because the children are very young, the class can be distracted, so we need to constantly use some ways to attract their attention.These children are very warm, every day when we arrive and leave will greet us loudly and warmly.They can only speak simple English, but they still keep chasing us to play and talk. They know that we can't understand, so they will use a lot of body language to express their ideas.This is very different from Chinese children. Cambodian children are warm and open, which makes us feel welcome and important to them.

This volunteer trip was very interesting both at work and on weekends. I made a lot of friends there and learned a lot about the economic and social situation in Cambodia from talking with them, which was like a new world for me.It can be said that this is a completely different way of experience from tourism, which allows me to have a deeper, more comprehensive and more real understanding of a country and a culture.

I'd been dreaming about a trip in Africa for a so long time and I achieved it with Projects Abroad! At the begining, I was a little shocked by Africa poor villages,but I felt very safe to have a PA staff with me all the time and when I saw the wild animals in the conservation, it's so amazing to me!! I was very happy to get to know people from different countries and they were all interested in environmental protection. What I remember most is the giraffe's graceful walk. The project of PA is of great practical significance to the local area. Our daily work requires a lot of manual labor, which makes me feel that I am helping the local people and animals.We are also helping to build schools for the poor primary schools in the area. The children are very lovely, but many of them don't have shoes. PA has made regular contributions to their daily necessities, and it is nice of PA to make such contributions for a long time. We also made a voluntary donation because I brought many gifts from China. If we go there next time, we will bring more Chinese gifts to them. One candy I've found everyone loves: white rabbit creamy candy！ If you don't know this, haha, get one from you Chinese friends~

This is my 5th project with Projects Abroad and definitely my favourite. Senegal is the most welcoming country and everything about the project was enjoyable - from meeting the children at the centre we were volunteering to picking up litter off the beach and driving over the dunes of the desert. We all enjoyed it so much we all want to return. We made great memories, friends and the volunteering was really worthwhile and enjoyable. Senegal has amazing food, scenery, people and culture - there is a lot to see and do. We were lucky to stay in an amazing and comfortable guest house with friendly owners who provided everything we needed. The staff at Projects Abroad were brilliant; they couldn't do enough for us and made sure we had everything we needed and helped us with any questions we had. They showed us all the highlights in Saint-Louis and took us on an amazing weekend trip to the Lompoul Desert. Can't wait to go back.

My experience was so much fun. Not only did it let me discover a new culture but also help the community I was staying in. We volunteered in a school, we were painting the walls bright colours and adding murals to them to make their learning environment a mite enjoyable place to learn in. It was great fun meeting all the kids as they were so interested in us and loved to teach us new games that we brought back to England. But the trip wasn’t all work and no play. We were able to explore the culture on an evening and spent lots of time looking around stalls. We had a couple days off from our volunteering program and were able to truly experience the country, we watched the sun rise over the mountains. Overall it was just an experience of a lifetime.

I spent a month on the care program in Argentina and it was really an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life! Not only was it enjoyable but it was a huge learning experience in many ways: a new culture, being exposed to the language, working with children and living with a host family. Each day we would spend time at a day care centre, overseeing children and helping with their daily activities, and in the afternoons I had a Spanish lesson and usually finish with a fun activity in the evening. On the weekends we would also go on cultural excursions eg to national parks (beautiful!) or the inner city for example. I was never bored during my time there. The staff were all so friendly and helpful and overall I had a wonderful time.

Last summer I spent two weeks of my summer in Peru and can honsetly say that going on that trip was the best decision I have ever made. Not only did I learn so much about animals, plants and the rainforest but I also had so much fun with my new friends and the staff! I still keep in contact with my world wide friends and I am so thankful I got to meet them, thanks to Project Abroad! I sill have dreams about Taricaya and when I wake up I wish I culd go back in time. I always felt save during my time traviling to and from and during my time at Taricaya. I grew so much as a person and I am truely and utterly grateful for this trip! I have recomended Project Abroad to all my friends and family and there is no doubt that I do some more volenteering abroad using Project Abroad.

The whole experience was perfect and I hope Project abroad get some recognition for their amazing work!

I travelled to Peru to participate in Projects Abroad's Wildlife Conservation project in the Amazon Rainforest. As an 18 year old girl travelling on her own for the first time, I could not have felt more safe, welcomed, and impactful on my project. Mikaela, the volunteer coordinator is an amazing, reliable, and responsible girl who made the adjustment as smooth and comfortable as I could have hoped. Not only did I make connections with other volunteers, I also had the opportunity to make friendships with South Americans living and working at the reserve. My six weeks spent in Peru were an amazing experience. The week days can be hard work, especially in the heat, but the evenings and weekends are relaxing and tons of fun! The Amazon, along with its biodiversity, is disappearing at an alarming rate. Taricaya Reserve definitely deserves the work and resources provided to it by volunteers.

Right from the start the team at Projects Abroad was the BEST! They were always attentive and answered any question I had right away. I started my quest a year ago for a company that had volunteering services anywhere in the world and I am so glad I choose Projects Abroad and Asia! The Team walked me every step to my first trip to Asia. Their travel division set up my flights and from beginning to end, it went off without a hitch! Overall my experience itself was above & beyond my expectations. Once I arrived in Cambodia at the Phnom Penh airport, I was taken to my accommodations for the next 14 days. I could not have asked for anything more comfortable. I meet people from all over the world who were giving their time in the medical, dental, educational and financial fields to help people & businesses advance into a healthy and successful environment. Clearly Projects Abroad certainly has made a big impact on Cambodia, working to move it from its difficult past to a hopeful future.
Being in the “50 & over group” I learned the tragic history of this country, yet I was impressed with the Cambodian people who always have a smile on their faces. I was exposed to their creative side of puppet making, native cooking, theater and their beautiful architecture such as: The Royal Place, Temples & Pagoda’s. I learned about their tragic history of the Cambodian genocide carried out by the Khmer Rouge back in the 70’s. I spent one weekend on a rice farm, enjoyed a beautiful trip to Siem Reap & visited the floating village and Angkor Wat
My favorite time was being in a classroom of children from the ages of five to fourteen and helping them with their English. My English teachers would have been rolling their eyes and I was nervous at first, but the children were exceptional and smart. What an experience!
My motivation for this travel experience was to give back, and I hope I did in my own little way, however I walked away feeling that this country gave me something I will always be so thankful for and never ever forget! Thank you so very much!