Program Reviews

I had the most amazing time ever in Nepal. Staying with a local host family really gave me an insight into Nepalese culture and way of life. It's incredible how quickly you adapt to living with just a few hours of electricity a day, no shower and a simple diet of dal bhat (rice and lentils) for breakfast and dinner. The trips were fantastic - trekking through the Himalayas is something I'll never forget, and visiting Tibet was the most awe-inspiring and humbling experience of my life. But I have to say, the highlight for me was teaching. Where else would you get a roomful of children literally cheering as you enter the classroom, and kids running up to talk to you at break time? It was really moving to realise that many of these children had never been praised by a teacher before, and were completely bewildered by things we take for granted, like drama, games and storywriting. Even now, more than three years since my trip, I still think about my pupils and the smiles they gave me every single day. I would recommend this trip to anyone.

I couldn't have asked for a better gap year experience. One of the great things about choosing Oyster as a smaller company for my gap year meant that I personally knew the individual staff organising my trip and who were responsible for my well-being in Tanzania. They were extremely helpful, both pre-departure and whilst I was based in Tanzania (especially when I decided to extend my stay by another month because I was having such a great time.)

I chose to undertake a teaching placement, which I think does make you feel like you are being thrown in the deep-end a bit in a foreign country, but because I was sharing a house with other people having similar experiences we were always able to support each other when we had difficult lessons or children constantly misbehaving. By the end of my placement my classes were much more attentive, and it had become both rewarding and a joy to teach them (well most of them at least!) We also had the chance to set up after school clubs, which we created in music and drama, and the kids really enjoyed learning songs with actions like 'London's burning' with us. One of the great things about the placement was that we had the opportunity to do extra things like this, which were always gratefully received. My housemates and I bonded with the teachers at our school, who invited us for meals, and we really felt like part of the school community. So much so that two of us climbed Kilimanjaro to raise money to buy textbooks and start a small library in the school.

As well as teaching and volunteering at a local orphanage and an amazing place called 'Plaster House' which provides a home for Tanzanian children undergoing corrective orthopaedic surgery, we found time to explore the country. We visited Moshi and the amazing waterfalls, Zanzibar and the beautiful beaches, and went on Safari to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. We had to organise these trips ourselves but it was fairly easy to do in-country, and the previous volunteers gave us tips on what bus/tour companies they had used. We were also lucky that our in-country contact worked in the safari business so Oyster helped organise our safari trip at a great price for us.

There's a great sense of community with the other volunteers. I met some fantastic people, and being split up in a few houses around Arusha meant that we explored the city and met regularly for social events, both going-out and meals, which you could take part in as little or as often as you liked.

The experience I had with Oyster in Tanzania has been pretty formative in my career choice - I've been working for international development and human rights charities for the past year, and am undertaking a law conversion course in September with the aim of becoming a human rights lawyer. I'm not sure I would have ended up on this pathway without my incredible Tanzanian experience, and I'm so grateful to Oyster for making it possible!

My trip to Tanzania is probably the most valuable thing I have ever done in terms of my own personal growth and my current career. I have just started my first year as a primary school teacher and part of the reason that I have come to be in the place I am now I believe is due to my experience in Tanzania. The experience gave me such valuable skills in terms of teaching but also life lessons and challenges that have made me stronger as a person. It was a few years ago now that I went to Tanzania but it still often comes to my mind and the memories are still very clear and will always stay with me. I kept a diary when I was there which I would highly recommend! There are so many things that happen day-to-day, its good to get them written down so you don't forget when you look back in years to come.

My experience in Tanzania was one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done. I lived in a house with 4 other volunteers and it was just really good fun and we all supported each other. We also met up with some of the other volunteers who lived in other areas at the weekends so there was always a really strong support network of people who are going through the same experience.

Day to day, I was teaching in school in the morning. I would then usually go home and mark a big pile of books! Then in the afternoons we often went to volunteer at one of the orphanages. We also set up a creative club one day a week after school which the children loved. The house we were living in did not always have running water but it made it all the more satisfying when we did eventually get to have that shower (even if it wasn't always hot!). When it was the school holidays we went on a trip to Zanzibar which was absolutely amazing. We also went on a safari which was an unforgettable experience seeing all of the Big 5 and staying in luxury accommodation!

One of the main challenges I found was just being away from friends and family for such a long time as well as living in very basic accommodation. But this did become easier as time went on and I would recommend staying as long as you can as I found that when I got home it was more of a disappointment than anything! Once your home you can't go back so make the most of it while you can.

Overall I think Oyster is great if you want to volunteer in somewhere like Tanzania. You feel more of a sense of security and it means that everything is organised for you when you are there as well as having other volunteers to share the experience with. I would highly recommend it!

The Oyster volunteer programme was perfect for me. Once the initial induction, we were left to our own devices, and were given full independence. If something went wrong, we knew who to call and the help was immediate. I had an absolutely fabulous time.

I went in Tanzania this past winter, just to live something special. And I was not disappointed! Africa has to be lived like this. Going for a bit and live day by day with local people. Enjoy the problem with electricity, water, accommodation. And learn how lucky we are.
When I have a problem now, I just shut my eyes and remember myself the happiness from everybody there...
A great experience of life.

Went to Tanzania September 2008.
Based in Arusha a busy town, making money from the safari industry.

We spent a few days in a hotel before we were thrown in to the deap end.
Massive class sizes and minimal resources pushed you to really act on your feet. Was a good challenge.
And living conditions were basic to help you understand how your students are living.
Super cute children who really want to learn.

Had some fantastic trips to the coast/safari/zanzibar.
Swahili was an easy language to get the basics of and people appreciated you trying.

Living and working in Tanzania continues to be one of the most profound and rewarding experiences I have ever had. The depth of the cultural experience is something that cannot be learnt from any text book, you really have to integrate yourself into a community to grasp a world outside of the one you know and understand. Oyster gave me the opportunity to broaden my horizons and I will be forever grateful to them for this.

This is a fantastic opportunity. I taught 2 classes each day and spent my afternoons volunteering at orphanages & care-homes nearby. The staff were great, pre, post and during the expedition, and the location was perfect. The accommodation, was shabby compared to what we are used to, but safe and secure, and a cut above the local standards. We had a guard and walled garden and we never felt unsafe. The community was warm and welcoming, the schools were so grateful and gave you a free range when it came to running your own lessons.
We made the most of our time by finding some additional projects to get involved in, but your free time is to be spent how you like, however I would definitely recommend asking the Oyster staff for recommendations in the area of good projects to work with.
Arusha is a great city to explore on the weekends!
This trip has improved my CV ten fold and working on a structured project that Oyster offers has enabled me to improve so many skills which were invaluable when it came to securing a grad role in the city.
These three months have been the best three months of my life to date and I would highly recommend anyone considering a trip away to do this project.

My time in Tanzania with Oyster was the most important thing i've ever done in terms of my personal growth - in terms of my personal development (my growth in confidence etc) and my career trajectory, as I am now about to pursue a master's and career in International Development, having spent a year working in the Development sector. All this was inspired by my time in Tanzania, which gave me a love for all things Africa and a desire to work towards helping developing countries improve.

I was based in Sekei in Arusha. I lived in a small house with 3 other volunteers, and our house had no electricity or hot water - the only house not to have electricity out of the 4 host homes. This was often a point for making jokes at our expense but I loved it - it was great for moral all coming together with our headtorches and buying candles, and it creates a great sense of resiliency within you. You genuinely do come to think "Electricity? No big deal". It's easy to charge your phones in town in an internet cafe or somewhere else, or at the other volunteer's houses.

Teaching was incredible. I taught two classes who were all eager to learn, as well as leading after school clubs for activities such as football. It could be disheartening if students couldn't grasp a point I was trying to make but this wasn't very often, and the classes usual teacher would always sit in with me just in case something was lost in translation. I was generally allowed to do as much as i wanted and this made it all the more fulfilling. We also visited several children's homes which was good for when you had day's where you weren't teaching a lot.

Being in a city it was easy to go into town to keep in touch with your family over the internet and buy anything you might need - from goods at the Supermarket "Shoprite" to thigns for your camera - I bought an extra memory card specifically for climbing Kilimanjaro...

... which brings me onto trips and stuff. A fantastic luxury safari is organised for you for a snip of the price of what it normally would be, and it's a trip you'll remember forever, seeing the very elite of sights that Africa has to offer. Simply: do it. You're a numpty if you don't.

Over spring holiday we went to Zanzibar, whcih was great fun and easily organisable. I climbed Kilimanjaro which was arranged through a private company recommended to me - Ajabu Adventures, run by Judith, a lovely dutch lady! If you want to take time out from teaching that's fine - and me and a few others went to Mwanza in Lake Victoria to explore for a week which was really beautiful, and we even stayed on an island on the lake for a night. I've never met anyone else who's done the same.

Social life with your pother volunteers is great - you can visit them on weekends or even midweek in town if you want and go to orphanages together. We went out every thursday to a club called Via Via every thursday where we met volunteers from other agencies which was really fun - obviously if you're not into this sort of thing, you don't have to do it :)

I also had a incident back home which I required support for and the rep was tremendously helpful and supportive for me and helped me through it - and was available whenever I needed her.

All in all, a wonderful experience and it was pretty much my favourite thing I;ve ever done. If I hadn't, I would absolutely not be the person I am now and would not have done the things I have done or be going on to do what i'm doing now. Couldn't recommend Oyster Highly enough!

It is great to see this company on here. It has been quite a while since I made the plunge and traveled to Nepal with Oyster Worldwide; 6 and a half years, in fact. I went back in 2008 and since then it has utterly and completely changed my life. Along with finishing my degree, I have not stopped travelling since. I am now an English teacher in Kyrgyzstan which would have been an inconceivable notion to me back in 2007. I have lived in countries as far reaching and varied as Australia, Korea, Georgia, India and Spain. And none of this would have been at all possible without the care, support and great time that was offered to me by Oyster Worldwide.

Nepal still ranks as one of the most awe-inspiring, shocking, beautiful and, most importantly, damn good fun places I have been to. However, it is the village that will melt your heart. It won't be the bustle of Kathmandu or the peaks of the Himalayas-although, these are some of the best sites you will see, anywhere- it will be the family you stay with, the kids you teach and the village you eventually call home.

This experience will offer you the adventure and adrenaline you have been looking for while providing an incredible safety net that will always be there.

Miss this opportunity at your peril!

Sean.