Affordable Volunteer Programs in Fiji from $340

I spent the first two weeks volunteering in the day camp aka kids club at a local village. It was during their 2-week school holidays. I had a lot of fun interacting with the children. Then the next 4 weeks I spent volunteering in a community kindergarten. They're too adorable and it was nice teaching them through games.

Food they served for volunteers to me was amazing and I managed to gain weight! The coordinators are all very friendly and I got along well with most other volunteers there.

Been sitting here for half an hour trying to find the words to describe my experience in Fiji but none seem to do it justice.
This experience will blow your mind. You will leave as a different person. Day after day you will start valuing a smile rather than a new phone, you will cherish company rather than dollar bills and you will comprehend that you have been oblivious for what feels like centuries of the true meaning of being rich.
They take you in as family. They share, they care, they give. You will never want to leave.
Everyday you will face new challenges that sculpture you into someone new. You can teach children that are eager to learn, you will experience true paradise and you will be blessed with the kindness of the happiest people on earth, THE FIJIANS who i love so dearly.
Before taking this big step of travelling alone for the first time, all I knew about Fiji was that it existed. Now i can tell you - If you go there you will never want to leave. I can only encourage anyone and everyone to come out of their comfort zone and JUST DO IT!
Au lomani noqu viti

I volunteered in Fiji recently participating in the kindergarten project and the kids club. I was nervous pre-arrival about doing the project alone as I had never travelled alone before, but I learnt very quickly there was nothing to worry about. The coodinators always made sure we felt like we were at home, the community was so welcoming and the kids were always so happy to see the volunteers every morning! The food was great, the cooks were very concerned and were careful with dietary restriction such as allergies. The home stay was better than I expected, but rooms were sometimes overcrowded but it was understandable due to the time I had gone (approaching the holidays and only had 2 houses open). The other volunteers I met were incredible and I had the best time of my life in Fiji! My placement in kindergarten was incredible, and tutoring in the villages made my experience so much better! You get to see not only the kids at school but also their living conditions. They welcomed us in their community like family and it was an amazing experience overall!

i haven't done a lot of travelling but have always wanted to. i had the time and the opportunity to volunteer which has been such a goal of mine. i was extremely nervous because i had no idea what to expect. after spending three and a half weeks in fiji, i can safely say that it was all so very worth it. i cannot describe the happiness and freedom i felt when i was there. i met beautiful people. people with stunning souls and kind intentions. i met other volunteers from across the world that made such an amazing impact on my life. i met so many local children and youth that owned close to nothing and were still smiling. i feel so incredibly grateful to have done what i had done. i can surely say that it was the best three and a half weeks of my life to date

i was involved in the renovation and construction project. it involved a lot of painting at a local school. it may sound like repetitive work but i thoroughly enjoyed it and felt i made a difference. interacting with the kids were a bonus. they were all so curious of my name and where i was from.

if you book something like this, you will not regret it. you gain another perspective on life and hope that perspective doesn't leave you. this encourages me to continue to volunteer abroad in other countries. i am so excited for my future adventures

I volunteered in a construction and renovation project for a local primary school in Narere, Fiji. After the first week of volunteering, I really began to realize and understand the positive impact that the project has not only on the school, but on the community as well. The friendliness of the students and the support of the teachers really made my effort feel recognized much needed.

When we completed the project, the teachers, staff and students coordinated a thank-you dinner, with lots of singing and various local dishes. Seeing how truly grateful everyone was really inspired me to want to volunteer again in the future. I have no doubt that the future volunteers in Fiji will have the same impact on the local community and enjoy their time there as much as I did.

Our local community, who we were renovating a kindergarten for, threw us a thank you dinner. It was by far my favorite night. I never went to Fiji with the purpose of working for a thank you. However, having that dinner and seeing how appreciative they were, made it that much more worthwhile.

I spent 5 weeks in Fiji doing the kindergarten program. It was my first time travelling alone, I can say I was never once scared in Fiji. It was the most rewarding thing about I've ever done. The people in Fiji are super friendly, every person you pass says "bula" (Hi) in Fijian. The community itself is happy, they have everything they need to live but not much more. The staff at the green lion are super helpful if you need anything they'll find a way to help you get it. The houses are basic, cleaned everyday and are super safe. The other volunteers are all super friendly, defiantly made some life long friends. In such a short time you start to feel like a family. If this is your first time travelling alone or someone looking to help a community out but not sure where to go Fiji is the place to be! You get to experience the true Fiji and see everything you could want on the weekends, enjoy yourself when you go! :)

Hi my name is Christina . I volunteered with IVHQ in June of this year. It was my first time going overseas. I was 19 at the time. And I wanted a whole different experience that I probably couldn't do with a family trip. I was on my own getting out of my comfort zone. My parents weren't sure about this program but I promise that everything would be OK. Fiji was a perfect trip for me because they speak English there. Mom wanted me to go to a place that speaks my same language. I've never traveled on my own before. IVHQ helped a lot with getting all the stuff together that needed to be done before my trip. You get to meet so many wonderful people around the world that are on the same boat as you. I recommend Fiji for the first time it's a beautiful place. The kids are wonderful and you will not regret anything. Because it will be the best experience that you will never have if you didn't do it. I'm going on my second IVHQ trip in January of 2017. It's the best way to travel abroad and volunteer along the way. I love to help people and IVHQ gives that opportunity to help people. It's affordable. You get to travel. And meet new people, come out of you shell because I did. I'm a super shy person but I couldn't be shy becuase you need to work with other volunteers to get your project done. So register, apply. Just try something new. Whoever is reading this, you are young in your 20's or still a teen. Life is short. Do what makes you happy. If you are scared traveling on your own, don't be because you're you are not alone on this amazing journey with an awesome opportunity/community, to do something big. Hope this was helpful in way, not a really writer. Sorry about that.
- Christina Vierra

This is the first time for my boyfriend and I to go volunteer overseas. Frankly, we had no idea what's in front of us: Is it dangerous? Interesting? Or is it a total waste of time? After some discussion, we finally decided to go for only a week to give it a try and Fiji is a place we always wanted to visit. It turns out to be the most unique vacation experience we ever had. When we landed at the Nadi Airport, the local Green Lion staff greeted us and we took a bus from Nadi to Suva for another 4hrs. The volunteer house was located about 40min away from Suva city. To be honest, the accommodation and facility at the local volunteer house is nothing fancy. It's basic but clean and safe, and you can always find friendly staff members for help whenever you have any questions. During the orientation, we met with our project coordinator who is one of the original team of the Green Lion Fiji. Under the guidance of the local crew, all of us helped to lay the foundation for a kindergarten that will serve about 30 local kids, who now have to travel at least 1 hour to go to another kindergarten far away from their home. Everyday we worked for about 2hrs in the morning and then 2hrs in the afternoon so the overall work load is not overwhelming. Whenever we returned back to the volunteer house, there's always food ready for us and we can just relax. In the volunteer house, we also got to meet people from all over the world such as Germany, Australia, US, China, Japan etc... It kind of brought us back to the college time when we met with new friends every day. At the end of the program, it's so hard to say good-bye and we really wished we had more time. We would like to come back in the near future and visit the place we helped to build!

One of the most amazing experiences,

Early 2016 my girlfriend and I decided to volunteer with ivhq in Fiji, when it finally came to the time to leave we had no idea what to expect! Our lives changed once we met the beautiful family we spent most of our time with at mount olive preschool in wainabuku. Some of the kindest children I have ever met and a mother that wanted to give them the world. We spent our mornings singing songs with them and dancing and praying and then we would go back to the house for lunch. In our free time in the afternoon and weekends we would head back to mount olive and build the roof and walls for the school! Mount olive was a completely volunteer funded project so we set up a gofund.me and with the support of our families and friends we managed to finish the roof and walls! We made such and impact on these children's lives and they made an even bigger impact on mine.
When we first arrived I thought the hardest part of the trip would be getting use to the hard beds or the mosquitoes, turns out the hardest part was saying goodbye to the beautiful family that gave us so much.

Vinaka Fiji

As far as the actual staff goes, all of them are honestly great - friendly, dedicated, and focused on what they're trying to do. You can absolutely tell that they truly care about what it is they're trying to do. Our staff leader would go out of his way to take up his free time with things that were still related to the program - he honestly truly cared about all of the volunteers and the volunteering itself.
This review is in no way a review of either Suva or Fiji in general - the country itself is incredible and opened my eyes to many things. Anything negative that I have to say is NOT in any way directed towards the country. This review is not describing my entire journey, simply the ivhq-related aspects of it - which did take up a majority of my time.
The hard truth is that a very, very small minority appeared to actually care about the placements or the people they were supposed to be aiding in the programs. Unfortunately, the blame does fall slightly on GreenLion itself - the actual charitable organization we were working for. Many in the teaching program had problems with organization - at times they were simply placed in a classroom by the teacher without any explanation or advice. As it seems people here were very easily accepted - no degree or prior teaching experience whatsoever is required if you want to enlist in the teaching program - this didn't end up doing much for the students or the volunteers. On top of this, there were a huge amount of volunteers who didn't seem to care much about the projects either way, instead always focusing on out-of-work activities, bars, clubbing etc.
At least as far as the Greenlion Fiji program, all of the volunteer stereotypes seem to be somewhat true. There were those that would occupy us to our construction site and watch us work while taking photos with the impoverished schoolchildren that would soon decorate the walls and profile photos of their facebook pages. Even in the three months of construction that I did, those that initially seemed to want to have no part in activities like that and falling into the blurred line of volunteerism>voluntourism>tourism ended up being converted into something like tourists by the end of the whole thing - in part much of the blame was certainly on the organizers of greenlion themselves (costs are somewhat pricey and a lot of money seems to be going into the organization yet we work with two shovels and have to wait days or even weeks to receive simple materials like wooden posts), but the apathy of the larger volunteer populace didn't exactly do much to help.
Coming out on this journey it seems like the goals and the thoughts that I set out with don't match up with many of the people - most seem unconcerned about immersing themselves in the culture or the natural beauty of the country, instead doing activities that they could do in practically any other country pretty much every day - e.g clubbing. I now realize that my viewpoint may have been slightly unrealistic, but I don't think - well, didn't - think that assuming fellow volunteers would be as motivated as I would would end up being a wrong assumption. I stand corrected.

Fiji was my first volunteer trip and I can't even begin to describe how nervous I was about it. I didn't have any prior teaching experience so I was worried about not being good enough to do my program, and I had no idea who any of the other volunteers were so I was nervous about making friends and fitting in.

Now, 6 weeks later, I think going to Fiji was one of the best decisions of my life. The coordinators at Green Lion are the sweetest, most helpful and most positive people I have ever met. They made me feel welcome from day one and made my stay so enjoyable. The other volunteers were also really nice, I made some really good friends and I had such a good time with them.

After having heard about the other organizations that send people to green lion Fiji I think IVHQ is definitely the most affordable one out there. I am so glad I went through them and I will without a doubt do it again some time.

Volunteering was one of the best experience of my whole life. From the very start to the end of the adventure, I went through so many emotions that made me grow up and feel a bit more human. Working with children might be the best thing in life. They give you intense love without any boundary, in the honestest way.
On my way to Fiji, I was wondering "will they accept me?", "Would they like to play with me?", "Will they listen to me", "Will I be able to teach them?".
Along the first day, I was the shyest and didn't dare to approach them, thinking they would push me away. But actually, they came to me at the first glance, yelling with such smiles on their tiny faces "Teacher ! Teacher! Teacher !". They didn't event know my name yet, that they were already considering me as their teacher !
That was the beginning of a - too short- love story between them and I.
Then I spent 2 weeks teaching them English, playing with them. I remember the first week's theme was about Planes. So I took a sheet of paper and started to make an origami plane for each one of them. I couldn't even imagine how simple sheets of paper could make them so happy !
I think the aim of a volunteer trip is to understand what is going wrong in the world and to do our best to help people. It's not about skills, or job, or personality. It is just about spreading love. It is all about empathy. It is not feeling complete with helping people, but feeling complete with people.
To me, this is the best thing is life. Sharing the same smile.

The kids here in Fiji love to play games. They love to when the volunteers join in and play with them. The program was a great way to get use to the people and the way they live. I love every min of the program and people.

After much research, IVHQ was the most affordable program I found. The on-site staff were very friendly and helpful and cared deeply for you. The one week orientation really helps you understand the culture and language. Overall, I feel that IVHQ is good for those who are on a budget.

Words can't describe my experience and all the amazing people I met along the way! This is my third time volunteering abroad, Fiji is definitely somewhere you should consider going to! There are so many friendly and welcoming people here on this island.. I feel like I'm at home! Although it's nothing like home.. here you will be living a whole different lifestyle, but that's one of the many stories you will be able to tell while you embark on this incredible journey! Personally, I will always remember the children I got to teach at the kindergarten school. They made a huge impact on me! Each one of them have the cutest personalities and touched my heart. Even though I came there to teach them what I know, they taught me as well. I also enjoy learning different cultures, here you will! The first week is orientation week- you get a tour of the Capitol city, you get to take a cooking, weaving and language class. You learn a lot and that's exactly what I love doing! So if you're up for learning and experiencing the world, making a difference for others and having fun.... Volunteer abroad!! I promise you it will be the best decision you will make and it will be worth every penny that you save!:)