Will forever be one of my most cherished experiences and memories. Volunteering in Fiji not only provided an opportunity for me to be independent and travel solo for the first time, but also re instil my interest for childcare and education. IVHQ provides amazing programs for anyone, but I would highly recommend them for young people wanting to travel and volunteer overseas. IVHQ ensures you feel safe, cared for and nurtured while away, allowing you to fully focus on your experience. From the moment I got to Fiji I felt supported by the local team, they delivered not only what I requested but continually went above and beyond. I will always remember my local co ordinator fondly, as well as the fellow volunteers and people I met.

When I arrived on Fiji, I had no expectations but held on to the possibility of developing once in a lifetime, multicultural relationships, through giving, in an environment where I could rest and heal my heart: physically. From the time I made contact with our local time until the time I left the center in a taxi for my return flight to Oregon, I experienced so much more that I could have imagined or expected. Within the culture of Fiji, relationships were built with staff, other volunteers, and my program participants that spiritually healed my heart ad touched me profoundly. The Fijian people were so genuine, simple, caring, cooperative, and reminded me of things like true community, openly sharing culture with no expectations, family, and a return to simply remembering what is important. I’ve never felt so unconditionally accepted and welcomed or such happiness, despite challenges to daily living. My cooperating teacher provided me many opportunities to work directly with students in a meaningful and impactful way, which created relationships with students that I will carry forever.

From the program standpoint, the local team met every dietary and food restriction I have, and was respectful toward and supportive of my health and wellness. Being chief of our tribe, leading the kavu ceremony, and “conducting a wedding”, were especially unique. Meals and free time with other volunteers developed genuine lifetime connections due to an environment where everyone was themselves.

I arrived on Fiji with a physically and emotionally broken heart and through my experience, left healed and with abundance. Fiji, and my IVHQ experience impacted me in ways that gave me perspective, hope, and recovery. Forever grateful and cannot wait to go back.

Au sa lesu tale. Sa vakabulai na lomaqu. Au na rarawa kina iko. Vanaka Kalou .
Translated: “I will return”. “My heart is healed and my spirit is restored”. “I will miss you”. “Thank you, God”.

I had the most enriching and amazing experience on my recent volunteer trip to Fiji. The local team was incredibly supportive and made the accommodation feel like a home away from home. I learnt so much about the local culture and formed meaningful connections with the community. Everyone was so supportive and helpful and I felt like I could really contribute to the program, realising that even small acts can make a big difference. I met so many amazing people, including my fellow volunteers and could not fault the experience one bit.

Amazing experience. My team was exceptional providing a lot of fun and the ability to give back. It was life changing. I learned how to live by myself travel by myself and work with so many amazing people. Also incredible to witness how many people care and love you. I feel so blessed to have met all these people and feel grateful that I’m able to be part of this group and excited for the future cause I definitely want to travel with IVHQ again. So much to say very few words, but I will continue to share that they have taught me trust and also patience not everything is at your time and come from the US so I had to learn to just wait but it wasn’t that long and honestly it was worth it so I’m just grateful for being part of this amazing group and to be part of a community and the connections were incredible. The group leaders were there for you if you needed anything and if you felt that you were lonely or sad, you always have that support of the group to be there and the participants came from all over the world. I was learning so much from them and I was just appreciative that I was able to Fly from so far away by myself and be with a wonderful group that just knew that you were gonna be OK and you’re not gonna be by yourself and you can figure out things and if there’s anything that you need from anybody, they were always person and forthcoming able to help you.

I recently went through IVHQ to volunteer in Fiji, it was my first time volunteering and I really did not know what to expect. IVHQ was such a great choice and I’d recommend it to anyone. They have so many volunteer options in so many locations, the volunteer program leader was so useful and responded quickly to any of my questions, I was given a program guide that was thorough and covered everything I needed to know and I felt supported through the whole process. I also had compared IVHQ to other volunteer companies and felt that IVHQ was well priced and clear on how the money was used. I am already planning my next trip with IVHQ!

The more time goes on and Fiji seems like years ago the more I find myself missing it. Every memory I have is full of smiles and laughter if not only myself, the coordinators and the rest of the group but the Fijians I met and the beautiful children I interacted with. I can truly say it was the best experience of my life. I’d go back there in a heartbeat. It was just incredible, words will never simply be able to explain the emotions I felt and gained from this experience. The children will always have a very dear and special place in my heart.

I want to start by saying that this review is coming from 100% my heart and the experience that I had, which I am deeply grateful for. To begin, I would like to talk about my experience prior to the trip. My IVHQ coordinator was incredibly helpful and answered all of the questions that I had as well as communicated diligently to the local team on my behalf to provide me more answers to any questions that arose. This made me feel very valued as a guest signing up for this experience and set the stage for an amazing experience.

it all started at the airport. The local team were very quick for communication which I was grateful for in which showed reliability. They were also very punctual in the time they said the meet-up would be once we arrived at the airport. Originally, the local coordinator wanted us to take a public bus that they would pay for (since airport pick-up was included), but because one of the three members in our group was severely ill with a stomach bug, they arranged a private taxi to take us to the accommodation. This was very thoughtful of them as I know a bus would've been incredibly uncomfortable for her.

The meat and potatoes of this whole experience was the volunteer work. I signed up for Intro week activities in the morning and the Sports Education project in the afternoon. This kept my day busy as in the morning, me and a lot of the first week volunteers would go out with the staff to some pretty insane local spots. The waterfall and sand dunes were a highlight as it really showcased Fiji's natural beauty and power. In the afternoon during sports, it was rewarding to see the kids smiling after playing sports with them. To be honest, I wish the minimum time to volunteer would be two weeks. In my opinion, one week went by too quick and we only participated in four days of the volunteer work. You could obviously tell that the volunteers that had been there three weeks and over had such a strong relationship with the kids, almost as if they were their own. You really need to immerse yourself for 3+ weeks to get the whole experience of volunteering and living life there, cause I know if I would have done that, I would have benefitted greatly. Even though the cost of the program for just that one week was expensive, it was comforting to know that the local team received a good portion of the program fees!

Another big part of the experience that I did not even think about was the amazing social connections I made. I have lived a very basic life with not a ton of social interactions back home (I tend to be very socially isolated for various reasons), but having participated in this volunteer program along many like minded and good hearted young individuals my age, it gave me a sense of purpose and motivation knowing that there are other people like me out there, and there are so many amazing connections to be made out in this world that we don't even know about, but these incredible organizations help to provide an outlet and facilitate these connections with people all over the world.

The food in the program was SOOOOO much better than I had thought. So much that the chef of this program should win an award. Along with Fiji, I went to Bali and Thailand as part of my gap year experiences, and by far the food in this program was the best. I am so so grateful I got to experience it. You can taste the love that the chef puts into the food. Some of my favorite dishes that she has made that I haven’t forgotten about is her Fijian pasta and eggplant! So good!

To conclude this review, I am just going to briefly explain a couple things that I would classify as areas of growth for my experience. First and foremost, I would change the minimum length of time of this program to be two weeks at least. Recommended, it should be three weeks. I don't feel at all satisfied with the amount of volunteer work I did and my overall experience regardless of how amazing it was. Secondly, my friend was very sick, and even though the kitchen staff were pretty good at accommodating the meals for her sick stomach and also accompanied her to the local urgent care clinic for a check up, they could've checked on her a lot more back at the accommodation and provided her with much more support.
These were my areas of growth, however they are not deal breakers for me.
I had such an amazing time and I would do this again in a heartbeat! The local team even told me that I am welcome back any time after singing us the sweetest farewell song (one person from my group was crying because she was so touched by it!).

Overall, the project was a whole lot more than volunteer work which I appreciated! I love the sense of community, hospitality, and love that permeated through the whole experience from both the amazing staff and from my volunteer peers. I absolutely can't wait to come back one day.

I have just returned from my IVHQ trip to Fiji.
The IVHQ team did a wonderful job all the way around. From the pre-trip planning to the last night closing ceremony. Nothing was missed.
The local staff was nothing short of awesome. From the greeting at the airport, transportation, accommodations, and the food.
The introduction week was fantastic. We got to see some of the local attractions, such as a waterfall, the sand dunes, the beaches, a kava ceremony. We also learned about the people, the language, and the culture. We enjoyed a cooking class, a dance class and some weaving.
My only regret is, I didn't choose a longer stay.