Program Reviews

Translated by Go Overseas:

We woke up at 6:30 to go to the hotel with all the desires in the world until we arrived at the van where we were waiting for a trip that was very, very long, but it was more enjoyable due to the games we proposed. We were exhausted, we arrived at the rafting that was in Chitwan Bay there they explained how we should put on the lifejacket and the Halmet. We engage in adventure and we all thought we were going to die. We divided into two groups each with two monitors there were parts where there was a lot of waves and we had to continue paddling, Enrique complained a lot because all the waves came to him and he ended up soaked he seemed handsome. At 5 km we made a stop to eat where we ate chicken rice and soup.
We resumed the trip about 10 km more which made us eternal since we had stayed cold when we had stopped to eat. After the rafting adventure we had to change since all our clothes were soaked then we took the van and went to the new hotel where they welcomed us very well. How it is raining heavily we could not do any activity and we had to stay our rooms since it was all flooded. We ended the day having dinner all together in the dining room and went to bed soon as the next day we got up early.

Original Review:

Nos despertamos a las 6:30 para ir al hotel con todas las ganas del mundo hasta que llegamos a la furgoneta donde nos esperaba un viaje muy pero que muy largo pero se hizo mas ameno debido a los juegos que propusimos. Estábamos agotados, llegamos al rafting que estaba en la bahía de Chitwan ahí nos explicaron cómo debemos ponernos el chaleco salvavidas y el Halmet. Nos enzarzamos en la aventura y todos pensamos que íbamos a morir. Nos dividimos en dos grupos cada cual con dos monitores había partes donde había mucho oleaje y teníamos que seguir remando, enrique se quejaba mucho porque todas las olas le llegaban a él y acabó empapado parecía aposta. A los 5 km hicimos una parada para comer donde comimos pollo arroz y sopa.
Retomamos el viaje unos 10 km más lo que se nos hizo eterno ya que nos habíamos quedado fríos cuando habíamos parado a comer. Terminada la aventura con el rafting nos tuvimos que cambiar ya que toda nuestra ropa estaba empapada luego cogimos la furgoneta y fuimos al nuevo hotel dónde nos acogieron muy bien. Cómo está lloviendo a cántaros no pudimos hacer ninguna actividad y nos tuvimos que quedar nuestros cuartos ya que estaba todo inundado. Terminamos el día cenando todos juntos en el comedor y nos fuimos a la cama pronto ya que al día siguiente madrugabamos.

I have been in Chitwan in a small village for 2 weeks volunteering at a primary school, orphanage and community field. This way of getting to know a new country is the best one I’ve tried so far. I had so much fun with my host family and with the kids at the school and orphanage. I also learned a lot of important values in life. There was always so much to do to keep yourself entertained, and the community was always so warm and welcoming. The agricultural work we did was also very relaxing and and excellent way of learning and feeling useful for many of the kids who truly need to support. Two weeks felt extremely short and I with I would have come for a longer period of time, which is why I hope to come back as soon as possible. Thank you very much!

The teaching part in the school has been amazing and very amusing, even if sometimes it was quite chaotic and difficult to communicate properly. But with our non-existant knowledge of nepali, a little bit of english and some sign language we hope that we have been able to help the kidd learn and expand their knowledge, both in science, english or maths.

Our host families were all amazing. I had the most amazing time with rita our host mother and grandma. Making spanish food for them was incredible. Exchanging cultural values and traditions is very important in order to be a complete and understanding person. My stay here has allowed me to do this and for that I am very grateful. I'm also grateful that you allowed us to be part of your daily lives, that you opened your homes to us, taught us important lessons and apprecieated our horrible dancing and singing skills.

All in all, this has been one of the best experiences any of us could ever ask for and the best three weeks of my summer, probably of my year too.

St Joseph’s is a relatively small hospital, but there’s still opportunities to get exposure and be useful. Important things for future volunteers to know/ recommendations: -learn basic Swahili, at least greetings
-learn at least numbers 1-10
This will ensure you get treated fairly around town and make you more useful in the hospital.
Be proactive and don’t be afraid to speak up to get opportunities around the hospital. If you can see an area for improvement, approach it gently with respect and consider their culture before actioning anything.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about their culture by working in a team and interacting with local patients. Some of the experience I had at st Joseph’s I’ll cherish forever. There is periods where things are slow which can leave you feeling unhelpful, remembering the term ‘pole pole’ is important. Also using this time to research local diseases and educating staff on different things is a good idea.
Your hours at the project forms only part of your volunteer experience. Tanzania is truly spectacular. The culture is peaceful, sure there is crime like any developing country, however overall it’s very safe. Moshi in particular is such a great place to explore, a very underrated country.
Staying with Deo in his volunteer house was a great experience, I can’t speak highly enough of him and his staff. Honestly these people will help you however they can, their hospitality and genuine kindness is beautiful. This experience in itself is worth the money.

I spent seven weeks in Peru, six of which I volunteered and took spanish lessons. I was in the orphanage with teen moms and everything was great, I bonded well with them, along with painting the kids’ room and having a “Princess Day” with the moms. I was 17 years old throughout the time I was there, and everything was made very safe for me and the other volunteers I lived with. María, my host mom made three meals, and lunch was always packed to go. Lots of time on the weekends to see and experience Peru, along with some kind of festival that’s always happening in the Plaza. I gained so many close relationships through this and I hope to one day come back and see the moms again and enjoy the culture that is so prominent everywhere you go. I recommend this program, but be careful if you are doing teaching because another volunteer wasn’t told about the school not having two weeks of vacation..

Translated by Go Overseas:

We started the morning working in the garden where we divided the tasks. some were in charge of removing the earth and others of removing the weeds. Thanks to the hose we were able to survive the heat and do a good job. When we finished in the garden, we went home to regain strength and then teach and play with the children. Once at school, each one went to their respective classes to give the agenda that they played and between class and class we took the opportunity to make games such as the rope, football or paint on the board. Once the school day is over we use our well-deserved rest to take a shower and sleep for a while. At half past five we were at school with the children of the orphanage playing frisbie, soccer, making bracelets and many other activities. Finally, after dinner we all gathered to play cards for a while and went to sleep.

Original review:

empezamos la mañana trabajando en el huerto donde nos dividimos las tareas. unos se encargaron de remover la tierra y otros de quitar los hierbajos. gracias a la manguera que había pudimos sobrevivir al calor y hacer un buen trabajo. cuando terminamos en el huerto, nos fuimos a casa a reponer fuerzas para después enseñar y jugar con los niños. una vez en el colegio, cada uno se fue a sus respectivas clases a dar el temario que le tocaba y entre clase y clase aprovechamos para hacer juegos como el de la comba, el futbol o pintar en la pizzarra. una vez acabada la jornada en el colegio utilizamos nuestro merecido descanso para ducharnos y dormir un rato. a las cinco y media estabamos en la escuela con los niños del orfanato jugando al frisbie, futbol, haciendo pulseras y muchas otras actividades mas. por ultimo, despues de cenar nos reunimos todos a jugar un rato a las cartas y nos fuimos a dormir

GO OVERSEAS TRANSLATED REVIEW

Yesterday was a very intense day full of activities. Early in the morning, seeing that it was raining heavily, our jungle excursion was canceled, and we proposed a bike ride. What we thought was going to be a simple walk through the town turned out to be an intense tour of the Nepalese landscape in which we found several animals such as elephants, deer, horses, cows, dogs or ducks. In addition, our favorite moment was when we had to cross a puddle that looked like a river as it covered us to the hip (shoutout to the leech that stung Barbara). It lasted longer than many of us could endure and some even got lost but we really enjoyed it. After a well-deserved rest, and seeing that the river still did not go down, a jungle jeep excursion was organized. Before we entered, we were lucky and honored to have been able to attend a wrestling battle live between two 12-year-old children, there were no injuries ... They warned us that silence was needed to see the animals, which It took us a little to respect, that may be the reason why we "only" saw deer, monkeys, birds and crocodiles. At the time of resting we were playing board games like the Resistance or the high pencil in which we discovered new colors such as sapphire, pistachio and persimmon. We ended the day watching a somewhat peculiar local dance that surprised some and disappointed others. And finally, Quique and the Javis woke up for dinner.

ORIGINAL REVIEW

Ayer fue un dia muy intenso repleto de actividades. A primera hora de la mañana, al ver que estaba lloviendo a cántaros, se anuló nuestra excursión a la jungla, y nos propusieron un paseo en bici. Lo que pensábamos que iba a ser un simple paseo por el pueblo resultó ser una intensa vuelta por el paisaje nepalí en el que nos encontramos varios animales como elefantes, ciervos, caballos, vacas, perros o patos. Además, nuestro momento favorito fue cuando tuvimos que atravesar un charco que parecía un río ya que nos cubría hasta la cadera (shoutout a la sanguijuela que le picó a Barbara). Duró más de lo que muchos podíamos aguantar e incluso algunos se perdieron pero lo disfrutamos mucho. Tras un merecido descanso, y al ver que el río seguía sin bajar, se organizó una excursión con jeep a la jungla. Antes de adentrarnos, tuvimos la suerte y el honor de haber podido asistir en directo a una batalla de lucha libre entre dos niños de 12 años, no hubo ningún herido...Nos advirtieron de que se necesitaba silencio para ver los animales, cosa que nos costó un poco respetar, puede ser ese el motivo por el que "solo" vimos ciervos, monos, pájaros y cocodrilos. A la hora de descansar estuvimos jugando a juegos de mesa como la Resistencia o el alto lápiz en el que descubrimos nuevos colores como el zafiro, el pistacho y el caqui. Terminamos el día viendo una danza local un tanto peculiar que sorprendió a unos y decepcionó a otros. Y finalmente, se despertaron Quique y los Javis para la cena.

The helpless colony is an exceptional place to volunteer. The place is clean, and the children are happy. You are provided a clean bed, private bathroom and have good wifi (for Nepal). And above all the brothers and sisters that work there are very friendly and willing to help you. It was the students exam period during my stay so I helped them study. But normally you will be playing with them, teaching them, and helping with chores around the house. They are very relaxed and nothing is set in stone. If you need a break, or want to travel during the day you have complete freedom. Ujjwal and his mother Nanu are the main staff members. They are very knowledgeable about the area and can recommend places to you if you need a haircut, to go to the hospital or have a plate of momos. I I highly recommend volunteering here.

I think what makes this programme good is the experience you gain from loving with a Peruvian family and meeting people in the clinic. I really enjoyed my Spanish lessons with Karla, I learned more than just Spanish but also about Cusco's culture. We did fun trips on Fridays, including the chocolate mesum and a zoo. Our country co-ordinator, Roger, was great at making me feel welcome and safe her in Cusco. He organised fun activities and helped make Cusco feel like home. I don't think I would of enjoyed half as much if he hadn't been there. The clinic would be great for anyone confident in speaking Spanish or if you just wanted some to clinical experience. But as a doctor with limited Spanish I was very limited in what I could do. Was great to see how the clinic worked and what the population in Cusco needed.

Volunteering in Costa Rica this past month was honestly one of the greatest experiences I’ve had. As someone who is interested in seeking a career in caring for animals who have been rescued and need rehabilitation, NATUWA has not only been a great way for me to gain insight, but I was able to learn the differences between how sanctuaries/zoological facilities are run outside of the United States. The employees and other volunteers were so helpful and amazing! They were so excited to help us practice our Spanish and were also excited to learn new things in English as well! While living on site, you share a cabin with three other people and typically one fan. All of the water on site is clean, so you are able to drink directly from the faucets without worrying about potentially falling ill. Although the nights were hot, the days work made it all worth it. From preparing the food for the animals to watching them play with the enrichment you’ve created for them, this experience is a 10 out of 10! This has been such an amazing experience and I can’t wait to return to NATUWA. Pura Vida!