Program Reviews

I have had the privilege to do a medical volunteering experience in Galle, Srilanka. Firstly, we stayed with the host family which were very nice and hospitable, made sure we felt comfortable during our stay.
Secondly, the medical exposure was a bit of a let down. Due to the main reason being the language barrier between me and the patients as well as some of the healthcare workers, which made me shift my program from the pediatrics department to the emergency medicine department which was a much better decision, the cases I saw were much more interesting and the doctors their were more engaging. However, the overall medical volunteering experience felt more of a medical elective rather than a hands on experience.

Overall, our experience in Costa Rica was incredible. My friend Erika and I went together seeking to volunteer as Physical Therapists. We ended up having a wonderful host family and placement, with plenty of free time to explore Costa Rica on the side as well. The program directors ensured we had everything we needed to feel safe and comfortable throughout. I would say our only complaint was not receiving many details about our home stay and placement until we got in the country. We weren't given any specifics and were not guaranteed to be doing Physical Therapy before we actually stepped foot into the country, and this originally made us uneasy. The coordinators we spoke with kept repeating the same things regarding how they can't tell us more due to privacy reasons, and all responses to our questions felt vague. It felt a little sketchy and like we could be scammed, but we weren't at all and everything ended up being amazing once we got there. We felt safe within the country too as we always stayed together and followed basic safety precautions like not carrying valuables, walking alone or at night, taking Ubers instead of Taxis, etc. Despite our initial hesitations throughout the sign up process, we ended up loving every second of the week long trip!

Overall my experience in this program was a good one. With the help of this program I feel like I have grown so much. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with some of the most amazing people I have ever met.

My partner and I stayed with Michael and his family, which were all just incredible. Michael was an amazing host, he guided us throughout the entire two weeks of our program and even after we left to travel around the country, he was always ready to help through Whatsapp. Michael organised our daily transport to and from the hospital which was great. He also organised trips for us which were also so much fun. They prepared food for us every day which was delicious. He and his family are very caring and always with a smile on their face. They thought us so much about their culture. We will definitely stay in touch with them.

The actual medical exposure was also eye-opening. We could see how the medical team makes use of little resources to provide the best health care that they can. Nonetheless, my partner and I were a bit disappointed in the fact that the program was not a voluntary type but a more of a medical elective. We did not participate in any medical procedures, something which we both thought we will do.

Sri Lanka Medical experience was an eye opening experience I was able to observe and see medical pathologies and conditions that we do not really get in the western world. During my 2 weeks placement at the hospital I was able to appreciate the art of clinical diagnosis via examination, something that again in the western world is being lost due to the increase accessibility to radiological and laboratory investigations.

The host family that we were living with in Sri Lanka have been amazing, they made us (my partner and I) feel at home. Michael (Host), is an amazing guy, he used to help us and guide us through everything we wanted to do in Sri Lanka both throughout those 2 week while doing our medical placement and even after since we decided to travel around Sri Lanka after finishing the placement.

The only disappointment that both my partner and myself have expressed is that this is not a volunteering project but instead this is a medical elective, but none the less we still made the most out of it and we were still able to obtain some medical knowledge both from the doctors themselves and even from the other medical students.

My first volunteer experience in Cusco. Poor advice on local accommodation. Local transportation not provided. Feeding on your own. Language barrier a major factor. Limited site orientation. Airport pickup on arrival. Arranged a private accommodation. Feeding and accommodation cost should be separated from the fee. Provision of interpreter should be
explored. Overall, it’s a unique and interesting experience. Regular training should be offered to country coordinator and staff. Improving the presence of IFRE in a country should be made a priority.

My time in Kathmandu within the photojournalism volunteer placement was a fulfilling experience. My instructor, Ram, had detailed knowledge of photography and the city’s culture. All coordinators were accommodating and helpful making for a great support group. I highly recommend for those looking to embark on international experience as Nepal is an exciting and welcoming country for tourists. There are other volunteer options available which I’m sure are just as impactful, however, I’m partial to the photojournalism placement as it allows for travel access to city’s main attractions and newly equipped photography skills for which to store lasting memories!

I came here to explore Buddhism and basic living to train the mind and expand my knowledge of life. I was not disappointed. No Western curriculum could ever teach me what the Buddhist monks have made me realise. Due to the lack of basic luxury, hygiene and some forms of comfort you are forced to appreciate the small things in life, which I guarantee, you will do after this trip. Pratima (my guide in this adventure) was very helpful and reachable throughout the whole experience, as we’re the monks.

I spent 4 weeks volunteering at the hogar "Juana de Aza". I had the opportunity to get to know the incredible and sad stories of the young mothers living and working there. During the day I usually spent my time playing with the kids and taking care of the babies. I was responsible, together with another girl working there, of 11 kids, ranging in age from 5-6 months to 5 years old. I have to admit it wasn't always easy dealing with these kids, but in the end these young, energetic and curious human beings gave me a lot more compared to what I gave them, and for this reason I will always remember them and this incredible experience.
The support from the organization was helpful at the beginning, with their in-country coordinator being always there in case of necessity. The families that collaborate with IFRE were super nice and made me feel like at was at home.
Sadly there were not other volunteers while I was there, and even if there were, probably the opportunities to interact with them are not really facilitated by the way the program is organized. Of course I had the opportunity to meet other people during my freetime, but I feel the need to say that this volunteering program does not facilitate social interactions, so be prepared for that.
Also it is better to know some Spanish to better interact with the kids and the moms. This is not mandatory of course.
The cost of the program are overall okay, not cheap imo, but the quality of the accommodation is high.

As a medical doctor, the volunteer organization IFRE placed me at the Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh for 2 weeks.

The application was not difficult, and I got a placement very short term (2 weeks) as I had been hoping.

Upon arrival, everybody got an introduction concerning the history of the country and local habits. Some even got an organized tour of Phnom Penh. The local office of IFRE was available almost night and day, every problem was solved promptly and very friendly. They even organized private trips for the volunteers on the weekends on request.

I stayed at a rather basic hostel, together with 8 other volunteers, mostly much younger than me. While the other volunteers were working at schools and orphanages, I was the only doctor.
That hostel already was quite an experience. No A/C. No pool or outdoor sitting area. No toilet paper (you are told to bring your own). The shower is very basic, too. Constant noise as the roads are very busy.

Of the three meals that are prepared for you every day, they wrap up your lunch nicely so you can eat it at the hospital.

I was introduced on the plastic surgery ward and immediately started working.

The work is pretty much organized the same way as in Germany ( and probably other western countries, too). Ward round, then surgery, once a week you work at the outpatient department.

The kind of medical conditions though are really not what I was used to. The Soviet Friendship Hospital, built in the early 1960s, was at some point the largest hospital South-Eastern Asia. It is built in a way that the wards are long balconies and the rooms for the patients are connected to this long balcony and have small openings in the wall facing the central courtyard. The rooms are cooled that way by the little bit of wind that is blowing. A good system, if flocks of birds would not fly in and out all day long.

My ward had 25 rooms with 4 patients each. And the amazing thing: healthcare is absolutely free.
Only the poorest of the poorest go there. The hygienic conditions are not optimal, of course. The materials rather old or cheap.
But staff does an awesome job there!

As most of the patients come from the really poor parts of town or remote vilages where there is literally no healthcare (and they couldn't afford it anyway), they show up with very advanced conditions. Bone tumors the size of oranges, having penetrated the skin weeks ago, infected all over. Weeks old open fractures. Chronic wounds. 10 huge lymph nodes on each side of the neck.

On my third day they started to let me do most of the surgery. The Cambodian doctors and students assisted me and asked many, many questions. It would have come in handy if I spoke French. But some of the colleagues spoke some English, and most of the reports were written in Roman letters, so communication worked quite well considering.

The workload sometimes was massive. The smell was unbelievable. But all in all it was absolutely enjoyable to work in such a motivated and interested environment.
Prepare though to struggle with the fact that the patients get absolutely no after treatment but a few antibiotic pills. Chemotherapy or Physiotherapy are not available. It must be hard for the doctors here to know, which ever effort they make, the outcome will be less than ideal. Most of the colleagues I met were at least partially trained in France or Korea.

At the end of the work day one passes the patients' relatives who live, wash and cook on the hospital premises, and take a TukTuk ( 2 USD) back to the hostel to have dinner with he other volunteers. The food is amazing, by the way.

You have to be flexible of course. Things don’t go your way all the time. You sometimes have to search all operating rooms on all levels of the hospital for scrubs. There will be no change of scrubs, and after the first surgery everything is wet with sweat. The sterile gloves have to be handled with care, the material tends to tear. You cannot do the same surgery twice back to back, they have each set of instruments just once.

Bring a white gown or 2, and blue T-Shirts, as well as toe covering shoes. You will need the shoes in the operating room, as special shoes are not provided. Bring a small bottle of hand sanitizer, as it is not always available. Bring a lock so you can lock in your belongings at the hospital while you work.

So, this exoerience is not cheap, but very well organized and vey rewarding and interesting.
It was my first time volunteering abroad, and I can absolutely recommend it!

My contact, Pratima, was well organized and helpful the whole time. Efficient and easy airport pick up. Orientation at the volunteer house. Got me a new sim card. Next over to my homestay which was with a very nice Grandad/Granddaughter pair. Then she helped with my first lessons and meeting the monks. Spending time with the kids was very fulfilling and I enjoyed it a lot. Everybody I met was helpful and cheerful. One day the main monk had some business across Kathmandu and invited me along and we spent the day, along with a couple of his friends who spoke very good English, in a historic area. Overall it was a great experience both with the kids and with some site seeing.