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