Make a REAL difference in Moldova with Love Volunteers!

I was in Moldova for one month and I had a wonderful experience. Svetlana was extremely welcoming and met us at the train station when we arrived. My home stay Alyona was one of the nicest people I've ever met, she was so accommodating and we still stay in touch from time to time.

I imagine it would be a little difficult at times if you didn't speak Russian or Romanian but for me I had ample chance to practise (my Russian) and it helped me in the town and in the village. When I was volunteering there were 4 of us and so we also volunteered in a nearby village, which was extremely rewarding because I could really see how the children and adults improved over the month I was there.

Many people in Moldova are very motivated to learn English but they have a real shortage of teachers and Svetlana works extremely hard to provide lessons and opportunities for everyone, which is why it was such a great opportunity to be able to help her.

To start, volunteering in Moldova is a true volunteering experience. Unlike some other programs, which seem to treat volunteering more like a component within a holiday package, the position here as an English teaching assistance will feel like a full-time job. That being said, the position and its responsibilities are not daunting. Svetlana, the program coordinator, does everything she could to make sure that volunteers feel comfortable with their assignments.

In a way, too, by participating in this program, I feel like Moldova gave even more to me than I gave to its people. Both its land and its people preserve a beautiful soul that has almost been entirely forgotten by other parts of the world. Almost everyone I met there is extremely sincere and good-hearted. Spending time with these people, you will learn something about yourself too.

Svetlana was a very supportive coordinator and constantly checked in to see how I was doing, even when I was traveling. I had a very welcoming host family who had hosted several volunteers in the past, and they provided me with a comfortable and authentic Moldovan experience. Causeni was very safe and I was perfectly at ease walking around alone. Even the local children ran around unsupervised. The most important advice that I would give is to approach the experience with an open mind. The living conditions in Moldova aren't as glamourous as they are in the West, but they are quite comfortable and I believe that the quality of the fruits and vegetables is better than the kind you find in the West. There was a water outage for 3 days during my stay, but it didn't impact my experience that much. The stores in the town center had everything that I needed and there were many convenient currency exchange locations.

My time in Moldova was one of the greatest experiences of my life! I'm already planning my trip for next summer so I can stay for even longer. my host family were possibly the most generous people I've ever met and despite their lack of English and my lack of Romanian or Russian I made such a great bond with them. I also made many friends and most importantly the teaching felt very rewarding.

Do not go into this trip expecting to make friends with loads of other volunteers. For one, there are never more than 4 volunteers at a time and also for a week of my trip I was the only volunteer! However, this I surprisingly found as a positive. It made me strive more to connect with the local people and therefore I did and learnt a lot more about their culture and felt like a part of their community.

I could not recommend this trip highly enough. Moldova is a beautiful country with the most welcoming people.