IVI Volunteers- Bali & Lombok - Affordable & Authentic Projects

The Philippines were amazing, I felt really welcome by the family, the project and also the city of tacloban. Our host family were so good! The Gepate family made us feel like home! They where warm and loving.

Our project were fantastic to, the kids were so sweet and I really felt that we were needed there and that we made a difference. So all in all a beautiful and amazing experience at the Philippines.

The kids I taught, whom I will never forget. Originally I was meant to just be in the Kindergarden but ended up also teaching english in the high school in the afternoon. And spending time with local Indonesian people.

Comments on the team, food and accommodation:
We were a small team of volunteers (4) and that felt like being part of a team. The coordinators were amazing and very accommodating. The food was good, specially when the coordinators cooked since they were great cooks. The accommodation was great, I only had to share a room and bathroom with one other person.

Any improvements to help us be better:
I was not informed about the orientation week (it was just mention as a possibility in one of the information packages) which not only was required as very useful. This means that I only taught one week and I would have stayed longer if I knew this in advance.

The cultural experience and being able to live with locals and having the opportunity to experience the local life style. I also really enjoyed my teaching project. My highlight was teaching my grade 6 class and being able to notice an improvement in their English during my 2 weeks. This really made me happy to see that I have made a difference.

The coordinators at were very friendly and always helpful if I needed help with something. Some of the coordinators’ English wasn’t that good but communicating with them was still no issue. The food was mostly at high standards. I enjoy Indonesian food so this was no problem for me, I only would have liked more choice for breakfast. The accommodation was overall good, the bedroom was cleaned regularly and the bathroom was in good condition.

Overall my whole experience was always reaching my expectations and I would not have changed anything.

I hope this helps, I would again like to say that this was an amazing and mind-opening experience. I have learnt a lot from the locals, fellow volunteers and also the kids that I was teaching. I will never forget this and I am looking forward to volunteering again, perhaps in a different country next time.