Location
  • Dominican Republic

Program Details

Language
English

Pricing

Starting Price
2000
Feb 08, 2019
Sep 26, 2016
14 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

The Dominican Republic is famous for its beautiful white sand beaches, vibrant culture and warm, friendly people - but as a volunteer with International Student Volunteers (ISV) you have the opportunity to delve deeper into this Caribbean culture and help improve the quality of life for the disadvantaged.

On ISV’s community development projects, you could be maintaining and developing local infrastructure, or working on children’s programs that include arts and crafts, music, recreation and health and education. Devote your time to enrich the lives of children and families in rural communities who have little access to quality education and employment.

As you volunteer in the Dominican Republic, your heart will be touched by the passion and spirit of the local people. For more details on how to make a difference, visit our site and sign up for the experience of a lifetime.

This program is no longer offered. View more programs from ISV (International Student Volunteers).

Program Reviews

4.98 Rating
based on 55 reviews
  • 5 rating 98.18%
  • 4 rating 1.82%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Impact 4.85
  • Support 4.95
  • Fun 4.5
  • Value 4.95
  • Safety 4.9
Showing 1 - 8 of 55 reviews
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Alison
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

ISV in the Dominican Republic

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157 people found this review helpful.
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Hasha
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

The People of El Castillo

My experience volunteering in the community of El Castillo in the Dominican Republic was unreal. I can't think of a single thing I would change about it except the length. I wish I could have stayed for much longer than two weeks. I had the opportunity to work in community development so I got to do a little bit of construction and also spend time with the children in the community school. Every night when I went to sleep, I thought to myself, "wow, today was the best day of my life". Although every day felt like the most wonderful day, I have to say that working with the children was the best aspect of my trip. Getting to interact with them and give them the attention and love they crave was the most amazing feeling in the world. I will never experience as much happiness as I did when I would chase a kid around and finally catch them and tickle them and see the sheer joy in their smiles. Meeting the families and connecting with the children is the most amazing part of this entire volunteering experience.

What would you improve about this program?
The only improvement I can think of would be to have a more accurate project overview. Once I got to the Dominican Republic and our trip progressed, I realized that most of what I had been told in the project overview was inaccurate. It wasn't a huge issue or inconvenience for me, but it could end up being one for trips in the future in other places.
163 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Kirsty
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Dominican Republic ISV 2016!

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143 people found this review helpful.
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Katie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My 2 weeks in the DR with ISV

I am so incredibly grateful that I found ISV to volunteer with this summer. I had been on two service trips with a different company in previous summers, which went fine, and I thought there was no way that ISV or any other company could possibly be better. But, ISV proved me wrong! I had a total blast. My group was incredible and we all meshed together really well. The projects themselves were awesome and very rewarding. ISV was significantly more well organized than the previous company that I had traveled with (which I realized once I got there and they all had everything put together for us), ultimately making the experience much more smooth. My leaders, Danyi and Pedro, were incredibly kind and very positive about the entire experience. They left each person do his/her own thing and fulfill what he/she came here to do which was a really great system. Overall, great company to travel with!

143 people found this review helpful.
Alexandra
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

We Built The Entire House From Scratch!

We worked on several houses in the community, and there was a house that we built completely from scratch. On the last few days of the project, three groups were working on that house while one group was teaching in the community school. We couldn't tell how shocked and upset we were when we first saw how small, shitty, and torn-apart the house was, and it was definitely not waterproof in rainy days. Everyone working on the same house, the final project felt extremely bonded and supported, that each of us was a very part of something special, together to make an impact to the community people! We formed a line when we were transporting buckets of sand and cement along the slope, and passing those buckets hand to hand made us great evil for such a collaborative and lovely group and excited to see the chances we will keep making in the future!

What would you improve about this program?
N/A
159 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Aislinn
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Just go for it!

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What would you improve about this program?
The only that needs to be improved in my eyes is making some of the information before the trip a little more clear and program specific.
151 people found this review helpful.
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Sarah
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing Volunteer Work & Activities- Just go for it!

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What would you improve about this program?
I wish that we could have done the cement floor rather than the mural during the volunteer project. Since ISV was partnering with Rancho Campeche, though, we didn't have much control over it.
166 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Madz
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Love Brings Life

His name is Dauri. This three year old boy with a sweet smile and shy eyes didn't speak much, this didn't stop him from becoming someone that I admire with every ounce of my being. These children weren't always fed during the day, so a couple volunteers and my self brought peanuts to school for them. Each child held out their hands graciously and we gave each of them a handful. Feeling pure happiness from just being alive, I began rolling around on the grass. This is when Dauri came up to me with with his last peanut placed between his pointer finger and his thumb. He looked at me and forced my mouth open, placing this peanut, his last peanut, right on my tounge. That was the best thing I will ever taste.

What would you improve about this program?
The quality of experience that is provided by this program is absolutely incredible. Nothing could be any better. That is me speaking honestly.
170 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers

I agree with Michelle, you don't have to BUT I highly and I mean HIGHLY recommend it. I wish I had taken a couple Spanish classes before my trip but I managed my way with the help of other leaders.

If you want the full experince of being in another country, do the 5-week program but if you don't then do the 2-week project!! I enjoyed the project and adventure more than I did with the Spanish cultural immersion week.