IFRE Volunteers Abroad

Program Reviews

Yvonn
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Terrific Time in Tanzania

We took our family of 6 to Tanzania in June of 2025. We had an incredible adventure. One of the highlights of our trip was staying with and getting to know Mama Alice. She is one of Tanzania's prize resources. She has a lovely place to stay, provided amazingly delicious meals, looked out for our needs, gave invaluable tips, information, and guidance with what to do in our free time, spent quality time with us in the evenings and best of all became like one of the family. She is 11 stars out of 10.

The school administration and teachers at Longuo School where we volunteered were also incredible people. We were so grateful for our opportunity to be allowed in the school and help where we could. The staff threw us a lovely going away lunch that brought tears to my eyes. We will never forget our time in the beautiful country of Tanzania. Hoping to return someday.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
We would come earlier in the year so that it was during the regular school season. The one downside of our experience was that we came during the summer school break and were only able to work with those students who were still in school preparing for their testing and only half days. However, that was not the fault of the IFRE program, that was due to our limited schedule of when we could come.
Pros
  • Mama Alice - So helpful during every aspect
  • The new experiences/opportunities to see the world and different cultures that the program gave us
  • The extra time to do excursions on our free time and the opportunity to add on time at the end of the volunteer experience
Patricia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing experience

We had an amazing time volunteering at Millennium Elephant Foundation. The staff were so friendly and supportive and the mahouts were a lot of fun. Obviously our time with the elephants was just magical and we have taken with us some of our best memories and moments. Everything ran smoothly in the lead up to our stay and we were in communication before, during and after our experience. Would recommend for everyone. Great for anyone - couples, singles or families. Comfortable accommodation and delicious meals

What was your funniest moment?
Funniest moment was definitely Andrew trying the betel nut, but also some of the younger mahouts hanging out with us and taking plenty of selfies.
Pros
  • If you love elephants every moment will be a pro
  • Bathing with the elephants
  • Feeding time
Cons
  • It’s part of the job but who really likes picking up poo?
Tim
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great experience

My local coordinator in Kathmandu, Nepal - Anjana was awesome! She arranged initial transportation and lodging for me. She also assisted me with shopping for some items I needed for the monastery. She spoke excellent English and she helped me prepare in advance of going to the monastery and also checked on me throughout my stay. It was an awesome experience and it exceeded my expectations! Living in the monastery and teaching monks was a unique and rewarding experience and unlike anything I’ve done in the past. I also had time to visit some incredible sites around Kathmandu, as well as visit the Himalayas and see Mount Everest! I hope to go back to Kathmandu again! I loved it!

Pros
  • Living in a monastery
  • Meeting spiritual people
  • Learning about others and myself
Cons
  • Some challenging conditions - but those conditions also added to the rewarding experience!
  • Adjustment periods: adjusting to monastery life, the adjusting to home life after a month in the monastery
  • Experiencing jet lag
Jarrod
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Kenya Hospital Mission.

I felt very welcomed in Kenya and everyone that I came into contact with was very hospitable. I was very pleased with the volunteer program as well because while I have a medical background, my experience comes from time on an Ambulance. The group I was with in Kenya was able to place me in a hospital that had their own ambulance service and I was able to experience how EMS operations are carried out in Kenya. I was very please and recommend this group for medical working looking to volunteer in Kenya. God bless you all.

What was your funniest moment?
When one of the locals told me that the bars on people's windows were not for criminals, however, they were to keep monkeys from stealing people's food.
Pros
  • Exeperience
  • Gives you a broader world view.
  • Understanding how operations in your field differ in a foreign country.
Ophelio
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

One week with the monks

As a couple we had a great experience teaching english to the young monks. Our stay was short (one week) but already enough to get to know the kids we teached.

We stayed at Michael's house which was very close (less than 10 minutes away by scooter) from the temple. Overall great conditions and a lovely family welcoming us.

We had a profoundly human experience at the temple. You will also have enough time to go exploring the beautiful city of Galle.

The area is also great for surfing and relaxing at the beach. A trip full of adventures, cultural discoveries and the kids... joyful and always smiling.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
If you come to teach english to kids or monks, come a little bit prepared. Come with some ideas of activities. The kids are going to love it. It is not too much work but the better prepared you come, the best the experience will get. Both for you and the kids.
Pros
  • Convenience
  • Experience
Nursemin
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Sri Lanka İnternship

I have visited Sri Lanka for two weeks with my family. And made an internship in hospital. And i can clearly say that everyday in Sri Lanka was awesome thanks to Michael. He helped us in everything and everyday. He arranged our trips in Sri Lanka and also the internship in hospital. And he was very kind and helpfull. I met new cultures, students from many countries and cultures came, I met them and learned new things from them. I tasted the cuisine of a different country. I loved Sri Lankan food.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
Everything is very good
Elizabeth
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Encounter with Elephants

This experience allowed me to see elephants close up - feeding them, cleaning their 'beds', washing them in the river, or just having fun with them. At the end of one week we felt we knew them personally - we knew their history, we knew who was sick, who needed extra nutition and so on. I don't think this close connection could have been achieved in a larger organisation. Even better than this though was the chance to interact with the amazing and very friendly staff - to learn about their lives and get to know them in the short time we had. The lovely Dhamli, photographer's assistant, acted as interpreter on some occasions so I could ask the mahouts many questions. This was something I hadn't expected. All in all, it was an experience I would like to repeat.

What would you improve about this program?
A list of volunteer duties/suggestions would be helpful. We often found ourselves at a loss to know how to be productive, as our supervisors were often busy with tourists. We enjoyed the tasks we were given and felt we were 'earning our keep' when we were cleaning the elephant beds etc, but feel we could have done much more. Being there for one week only wasn't really enough time to become familiar enough to show too much initiative. A booklet listing local attractions and advice about public transport, prices etc would also be appreciated by volunteers.
Pros
  • Getting to know the awesome staff at Millenium Elephant Foundation
  • Being welcome to engage in any activities with the elephants
  • Learning about elephants and their mahouts
Cons
  • Lack of direction at times
Chye Lin
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A eye-opening experience teaching in Bali

Last week I volunteered for a one-week assignment with Global Future Institute to teach English to primary school students in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. Many low-income families cannot afford private language lessons for their children, and access to quality education in Bali public schools is severely lacking. The primary school I was assigned to had only 1 English teacher, so there was one English class per week per class. The level of English for these disadvantaged children is very basic. Volunteers help these students speak conversational English so they will have a future in the tourism industry that pours millions of dollars into Bali every year.

This volunteer opportunity is an eye-opener for me. Amidst the wealthy tourists and affluent hotels, more than 150,000 Balinese live in poverty, and school facilities are woefully inadequate. Many of the air conditioners are installed but don't work, and neither do most of the audio-visual equipment. English classes are conducted in Indonesian. Students welcome English teaching volunteers as it gives them the opportunity to practice conversational English. I find the students very enthusiastic, friendly, and willing to learn.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
I am very surprised to have such a warm welcome, not only from the teachers but also the students. They ran up to me and greeted me the Indonesian way every day when I was at the school. Some of them were also practicing their conversational English with me.
Michael
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Teaching English in Morocco

It’s fun teaching and helping the nursery pupils to learn and improve their understanding of English Language. With a playful environment they are energize and eager to learn. Their competitive learning spirit is fascinating. Frequent short time learning sessions encourage their learning. Reviews of previous lessons create better understanding. The teachers teachers were enthusiastic and dedicated. In addition to teaching, the teachers created and ensured a conducive learning environment. My interest in volunteering to teach English abroad was invigorated by this trip.

What was your funniest moment?
Playing with the pupils.
Pros
  • Opportunity to teach
  • Contributing to the education of future leaders.
  • Satisfaction
Cons
  • Local challenges
  • Communication barriers
  • Travel challenges
Danielle
3/5
No, I don't recommend this program

Review - Orphanage

Although I enjoyed my time at the orphanage, I felt as though there wasn’t much I could do to help. If anything they just need money.

I would have liked to have been told prior that the majority of the children would have been away and not on the day of arrival in Nepal as I would have been able to rework my schedule for when there were more children there.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
Come at a different time when more children were there
Pros
  • New cultural experience
  • Build further appreciation for the small things
  • Seeing kids smile when they experience something for the first time
Cons
  • Felt like I was wasting time when trying to offer my time
  • Poor communication in regards to children not being there