GIVE Volunteers Reviews

This trip was honestly one giant, amazing 2 week blur. It's amazing how much can be packed in only 2 weeks! GIVE and all of the people who run it are really amazing people who love what they do and dedicate their time to make sure every volunteer is having an amazing time! Not to mention the amazing volunteers I met and became friends with. Everyone is nervous when it comes to traveling to a different country, especially if it's your first time but I never once felt unsafe. We got to bungy jump, trek elephants, visit temples, bamboo rafting down the Mae Tang River, and make crafts with locals while also making an actual impact in the community. Getting to teach Thai kids English and see them grow academically was really the centerpiece of this trip. You learn so much about the culture and the amazing people in Thailand, and you also get to appreciate the fact that you have the power and resources to help another human being(s). You will definitely gain more from this experience than by visiting the country as a tourist! Impacting a community, marking off things in your bucket list, and growing as a person; reserve your spot and get ready to talk about it for years to come!

GIVE's Nepal program is one of the best out there. After every GIVE trip, I feel more and more complete. You'll meet wonderful people, do meaningful work, and see a part of the world that people rarely get to see and feel. If you have the opportunity, take a trip with GIVE. The Nepal program will always have a special place in my heart.
You arrive in Kathmandu and immediately have a feeling to explore. You can go with new friends to see the sites in Kathmandu; see shops, visit the largest Buddhist monument in the world, or grab some food and see the views of the capital of Nepal.
The group travels to Pas Lang outside of Ghorka and all stay at a comfortable hotel which is owned and operated by welcoming and generous people. While working in the village of Pas Lang, I met great people who were eager to learn about me as I was eager to learn about them. You'll create such a close bond that you'll never want to say goodbye!
Luckily, the adventure part will keep you busy. I had so much fun on the white water rafting trip. I was laughing and feeling the rush the whole way. I also get to say I've seen Mt Everest face-to-face, during the base camp trek add-on.
If you feel anxious about going on the trip, don't be. The guides are knowledgeable and reliable, the people of Nepal are wonderful and trying new things and new food was worth it. Don't miss out!

I had many doubts about going on a service trip abroad, but GIVE absolutely proved my doubts wrong. To begin, GIVE makes sure to work with rural communities in an ethical way, only doing projects that the locals have expressed a need for. We also worked alongside the locals to learn from each other and enrich the experience.

Another thing I love about GIVE is that it gives you a really authentic experience, despite traveling with a group. We reached many places and had experiences that I could not have without traveling with GIVE. The adventure activities are rugged and active in the best possible way.

Finally, the relationships I made on my trip were incredible. The locals, the guides, and the other volunteers are all people I will remember for the rest of my life.

"Namaste" translating to "the light in me sees the light in you", is the Nepal way of saying hello. This is a beautiful preface to what you will receive by doing a GIVE trip. With adventure packed fun and immersing yourself into a new culture, you will meet your best friends who support you and push you out of your comfort zone until you hit growth. The food is amazing and guides make you feel safe the entire way along. The locals will show you love and respect like you've never encountered. On the safari day we saw elephants and rhinos, and walked through the tallest grass I've ever seen- it felt like I was in a scene from Planet Earth. My only advice to anyone considering on going on a GIVE trip is to just do it. Take a leap of faith. My trips have shaped me into the best version of myself. I now have connections and smiling faces all over the US from people I met from GIVE. #GOODVIBES

I had such a special trip with GIVE. The two weeks completely changed my perspective on the world and my attitude to life. One of the unique things about GIVE is that they converse with the village chiefs before starting projects to ensure that volunteers are giving the locals what they want and need! This makes you feel like you're actually making a positive impact on people's lives. You'll also gain a huge appreciation for simple village life learning so much about their culture and how to be happy as GIVE find culture emersion very important! My guides also shared how important it is to keep a positive attitude throughout the trip and this is something that has stuck with me helping me live a happier life. I really can't recommend this company enough and I can't wait to sign up for my next trip! Thank you so much!! 


My trip to Tanzania in May 2018 was hands down the best thing I have ever done in my life. Not only did I get to travel to Africa, which had always been a dream of mine, but I got to experience what the world has to offer. Zanzibar Island is a very special, unique, and beautiful place that I was not aware of before I found out about GIVE Volunteers. Coming into a new culture can be uncomfortable at first, and a volunteer trip like this may make some nervous; however, I had never felt more at home when I first arrived in Zanzibar. GIVE allows the volunteers to immerse themselves completely in the local culture which lets the volunteers expand their mind and become open to new experiences. Also, the local community is beyond welcoming and enjoys getting to know each and every volunteer. GIVE Volunteers is not only a way to help another community become more sustainable, it is an opportunity to change your life, impact the lives of those around you, and most important of all, become a global citizen. After my trip to Tanzania, my love for Africa and GIVE Volunteers has continued to grow and I continue to try to make a positive impact in my own community everyday.

Saying GIVE volunteer trips will "change your life" isn't a gimmick. There's a reason I will (and constantly do) spend hours talking about GIVE and my experiences on these trips. Even though my vocabulary always shrinks to one word: amazing. Amazing trips, amazing countries, amazing cultures, amazing food, amazing adventures, and amazing people. With GIVE, you're not a typical tourist, you're a volunteer; you become a part of these countries and the countries become a part of you. The Thailand excursion was a fantastic way to experience the country and culture, while making a big impact with a lot of great people. I felt very safe and cared for the entire time. There is plenty of time to explore and so much to do on this trip. I highly recommend joining GIVE Volunteers!
Change your life, change the world, and be the roots of change.

Deciding to go to Nepal with GIVE was easy, I've been on multiple trips and have loved every single one. But I wasn't quite ready for the impact this place would have on me. After arriving and heading to Gorkha with the rest of the GIVErs, we began our project of helping the residents of Paslang village rebuild their homes. It was such a moving experience to hear about what they went through during the earthquake in 2015 and how it completely changed their lives. What resilient people. After sweating it out in Paslang with the locals and GIVErs, we rafted down a river for 2 days, which was an absolute blast, and headed on a safari down south in the jungles of southern Nepal. By the end of two weeks it was hard to say goodbye to all my new friends, but we still talk all the time! I also chose to continue on with a small group and hike up to Everest Base Camp. The EBC hike was one of my favorite parts of my time in Nepal. It was amazing to hike everyday with the team of Sherpas and Yaks and other GIVErs to finally reach Base Camp.

I went on the Nepal Volunteer trip with the added base camp excursion, and it was the best spontaneous decision of my life.

I have always been a crazy adventure nut, and I was tired of the routine lull. I saw a flyer for GIVE and signed up for it without reading more than the one of these online reviews. I was excited to volunteer and hopefully help improve the lives of the people I worked with (with awesome adventure) not realizing my life was and will continue to be changed by the people and experiences there. Being immersed in the rugged beauty of Nepal and working alongside and spending time with the most tenderhearted people, it wasn't long before it felt like I was part of a family.

After volunteering for a week, the trip ended with a bang. Paragliding and white water rafting for two days then onto the Everest Base Camp excursion.

Before you get caught up in my crazy EBC experience, you should know it is one of the most amazing adventures of a lifetime and I will be going back to do it again even after what happened to me.

I started trekking with a bad cold (would not recommend) thinking I would be fine. I ended up having to be medically evacuated by helicopter with a final diagnosis of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) with URTI. The people who work for GIVE and the CSA travel insurance bent over backwards to make sure I was properly cared for. I cannot emphasize enough how safe and under control I felt despite the worst case scenario playing out before me. The GIVE team was fantastic and CSA insurance that GIVE recommended was absolutely worth it, they reimbursed me without a fight. I also had purchased GeoBlue insurance on my own just in case I came to be in the situation where I needed to go the hospital and that insurance reimbursed me for the helicopter evacuation and the hospital stay.

I would like to thank GIVE; the amazing guides, the sherpas and everyone who played a part in organizing my unexpected evacuation. I will never forget this experience and I can't wait to go volunteer with GIVE in the future.

We spent 2 weeks in Nepal; one week was spent rebuilding a village in Gorkha destroyed by an earthquake from 2015, and the second week was spent adventuring. I'd never been outside of the USA before, and I didn't want to take some generic touristy vacation, visiting a bunch of landmarks, I wanted to make it my OWN adventure, to see what it was like actually LIVING in a third-world country, and GIVE made this possible. And best of all, I got to meet and share this amazing experience with 20 other awesome volunteers, who i'm still friends with today :) Our entire itinerary was planned out for us every day ahead of time, including our meals and transportation. We got to raft down a river for two days (which was amazing), see some temples in Bhaktapur, visit shops in Kathmandu, and see elephants then go on a safari in Chitwan. The work wasn't always easy; it was back-breaking sometimes, and the food was pretty minimal, but that's what I expected and what I signed up for volunteering in a third world country. Fortunately no one in our group got sick at all, which is what I was worried about.