Program Reviews

My dream was joining an international volunteering program, but I never expect will be one of my best and happiest experiences in life, live that experience in Saint Vincent influenced a lot. Learning about different topics provided by the school like permaculture and have the amazing opportunity to live in the community taught me many educational and spiritual things, the local people, and their incredible willingness to help and teach us about everything made the time there so special.
This experience expands my vision about the situations that we face in our world like poverty and climate change, things that we cannot wait to take action and also filled my heart and soul with knowledge and sweet people, I learned from their example and this is something that we cannot postpone either in our lives, the possibility to live and experience more emotions and feelings that makes us a little bit better human beings.

I'd say that having the opportuniy to do "Fighting with the Poor" program at RVA, changed my life. Since the first moment I had the tools to enjoy my experience at the maximum. I learned about permaculture, sustainable development, food security, Climate Change, etc. Working with the community was the best thing I could live. Before starting the program I finished my law degree and I didn't know about my real passion, for that reason this program was a light on my way, because nowadays, I finally can say that working with people is something that I want to do for the rest of my life. This program overcome all my expectations!

Being a volunteer in the Island allowed me to be stronger and grateful.
Every day of the program was possible to discuss and learn a new idea related to values, behaviors, cultural aspects, history, skills, and attitudes to grow mentally, emotionally, and intellectually. That opportunity to reflect on your posture to work together for a positive impact is the best achievement I got throughout the program.
I will say that any time you are considering to be a volunteer think about the words Selly Paterson from Rose Hall, told my team one day "Pass on all the knowledge and all the love."

A half-year spent in SVG with environmentally conscious people was an inspiring moment. I was exposed to various knowledge and skills and there was a motivational environment created by the peers. Initially, it was a huge challenge for my team to bond and cooperate together but through different projects and overcoming the ongoing struggles we faced every day during the service period in Belize, we got connected to become best friends for life. The other half-year in Belize was something very special. It pushed me to go beyond my comfort zone and little by little I learned that anything would be possible if the first step can be made! In the end, my team had a whole village of heartful family. This program requires you to be creative, flexible, and humble but I believe those are the features you won't regret developing.

Being at RVA has given me a better purpose in my life and I feel more in depth with myself. This has been the most memorable time where I got to experience a totally different perspective and discover new passions and continue with the development of myself. Richmond Vale Academy is definitely the place to start if you are young and have curiosity for exploring the world and getting to know about the different practical and theorial knowledge on Climate Change and Poverty in general. Not to mention the new friends you will make and share an intricate bond together. Thank you Richmond Vale for helping me to have a better understanding of who I am and knowing that I have an important role to play in the fight against Poverty and Climate Change.

I loved every minute of this program. It felt good to know that we were able to make an impact on different communities and give people the skills and knowledge they need to improve their lifestyles. I learned a lot of amazing lifelong skills. The staff at Richmond Vale Academy were all very supportive and positive, which made the experience even more enjoyable! We also had time for ourselves to explore and travel on our own which was very fun because we got to explore the neighboring islands and enjoy the views and experiences.

I was part of a 6 month program at Richmond Vale Academy on the beautiful island of St. Vincent. We were working in several smaller or bigger projects to take action against climate change. Our main project was to build gardens with people from the nearby town of chateublair to create food security and spread the message of organic, permaculture farming. During the project I learned alot, and although not everything is perfect and I don't agree with every the community of RVA stands for, the time and experience I had I consider to be amongst the best time of my life! While certain aspects of life at RVA were suboptimal when I was there (like the food we were not growing majorly ourselve at that point in time and the use of land on the property),most things that were suboptimal were in the process of change towards the better. Everything needs time and work and RVA provides a great environment for growth, an opportunity to take action and you'll meet plenty of nice people on the way. Besides work and the project... The beach and the gorgeous paradise Island of St. Vincent are stunning and the volcano hike is definitely one of the most beautiful hikes you can do in your life!

Hi,
my name is Henrik and I participated in the 6-months-program in 2019/2020. I had one of the best times of my life in Richmond Vale Academy (RVA)! Starting off with a group of complete strangers from around the globe, sharing similar values in terms of ecology and sustainable living was exciting. Together, with other teams and the teachers we lived at the campus, which you can see on the Youtube Channel.

The program consists of theoretical and practical pieces in the beginning. Getting to know the techniques of ecological farming and using them at the schools garden were my first steps into work. On top of gardening, we could choose an area, in which we would like to work. Maintenance, Kitchen, Garden or Promotion are just some of them. I enjoyed working in the warm climate and making the life in the school possible. As everyone had its one responsibillity in the group we all highly rely on each other, which soon created a familiar atmosphere.

Apart from all that work the freetime activities are amazing too. Hiking the volcano for an incredible view with the team, going for a dive at our own divecenter, enjoying the local beach or visiting Kingstown made me falling in love with the island.
The biggest project, "The homegardens" came soon and my team including our teacher moved into a house in the village RVA had chosen to be covered by the program. Finally we could use all our knowledge to build gardens and teach the locals about the potential right in their backyard. Within 6 weeks we had built 10 gardens and developed relations in the village, that still exist! Seeing the results after a few months and the thankfulness of the clients were a great feeling. We knew, that we did sth. right!
After that project we continued working at the campus and met the knew team. It was always great to meet new people and they welcomed us after our trip. Some evenings we played games together or the sports team organised another beach olympics.

In the end I always look back on that time as a wonderful experience, that opened my eyes for other cultures, gave me a lot of new friends and another home overseas!

Go for it guys! You´ll we love it.

Hello my name is Finn Widera and I am from Berlin in Germany.

In summer 2019 I finished school and didn't knew what to do.

Then one day I found Richmond Vale Academy on the Internet and was thrilled by it instantly.

6 Months in the caribbean on St.Vincent, doing something pertinent with nice people, thats what I expected from the program and that was what I get from it!

In the end of the program we all grew together as a big family and shared so much wonderful experiences.

The Vincy (short for vincentian) people are amazing and I had the possibility to live with a vincy family for nearly a month and it was such an intense experience, which expand my horizon. The culture of St Vincent coined me a lot in a positive way. Unfortunatly because of the Corona Virus I had to go home a few weeks earlier, which was very sad, but life goes on.

One day I will definetly come back to the beautiful Island St. Vincent and to Richmond Vale Academy.

What can I say. What an amazing experience. Directly involved with the fight against climate change, working in partnership with people who strive for the same. Gained experience in a range of diverse and exiting projects which you’re able to have a say in, such as Home garden construction, Solar installation and Biogas production, making it your own experience too. Great people doing great things in the most beautiful country, which you’re given a bit of time to travel around. Couldn’t recommend enough. Would go back in a heartbeat if I could.