I had the wonderful opportunity to explore a new country that has been on my bucket list and make a wonderful impact and learn in hospital in Sri Lanka. I learned from many good doctors and made new friends both inside and outside the hospital. I was accomdated for amazingly in the volunteer house where they made you feel like family. We started with a day where they showed us around the city and it was a wonderful introduction to the city as i was worried we might be tight on time the following days.

The intro week was top notch for me and my family with 4 kids. We learned a tremendous amount about the country and customs. We were safe, comfortable, treated with respect and well informed. The volunteer week had equally kind, helpful hosts that treated us like family. Getting there was foolproof, and the experience was incredible. This was our 2nd trip and next Christmas we are going to Vietnam with IVHQ! To be able to give back in the world when we have been blessed with so much is such an important opportunity for all of us but especially the children. My kids were 9, 11, 16 and 17 at the time of travel. I wouldn't trade the chance to eat, sleep and live authentically in another culture for anything. We saw peacocks, monkeys, elephants and so much more.

This was the first time I had made a trip to volunteer for IVHQ and I chose Sri Lanka a tropical island country in the Indian Ocean next to India. I arrived in Colombo and was soon met by a smiling driver who collected two other volunteers as we drove through the tropical heartland to Kandy the cultural capital of Sri Lanka. We were soon met there by our friendly host and shown our rooms and dinner was served. The next day was orientation day where everything was fully explained and the requirements that we should meet were outplayed. The next day we had a cultural tour of Kandy. First we went to an Ayurvedic Clinic and were shown around the garden all the lovely specimens of plants where the herbal concoctions came from. Then given a chance to purchase local Ayurvedic medicines.we then were driven to a local tea producing factory and given a tour of how tea is produced.The next day it was explained to us that there were volunteers required in the coastal town of Hikkaduwa and four of us volunteer to do our time there so we drove four to Hikkaduwa where our volunteering started. I had a lovely large room with a very comfortable bed and of course ceiling fan for those warm nights. The next day we crossed the railway line and started our three week journey with 4 and 6 year olds. Every morning we would roll up and spent the morning with the children. First there was always traditional songs the children would sing and then the National Anthem and then my colleague and I would perform some dance actions to songs and the children would follow. Then the class would start and most days we would spend the mornings making craft items from recycled materials like bottles, ice cream sticks and CDS . There were lessons in numbers and basic English as well. Towards the end of the time it was Paya Day or Full Moon Day in Sri Lanka and we had an afternoon session of singing and dancing and story telling followed by a dinner of Barbecued corn potatoes and rice. We had a wonderful torchlight session where the children waved their torches in the darkness and at the end each child was given a gift in a small brown paper bag and finally fireworks ended the night. The next day was a rest day so I caught a Tuk Tuk to the town of Galle just 30 min away and had a lovely time at the Fort which was built in the 1500s by Portuguese and Dutch and I met quite a few locals as well before heading back. So everyday was full of morning classes followed by a wonderful lunch and then a free afternoon where I spent mostly in the pool at a hotel overlooking the beach which faced the sun setting over the Indian Ocean. After my swim I stopped off for a wonderful coffee made by an elderly couple at the local store and we would chat for an hour or so. Then it was the evening meal again cooked by our lovely husband and wife team. So the days melted into weeks and we had two beautiful trips away organised by our team leader. One weekend was to Yala a National Park with all the wild animals and then to Marissa a seaside town. The next weekend I went by Tuk Tuk to a coastal town to swim with the turtles that come close to the beach. A truly wonderful experience and I stayed overnight and the ocean swim in the late evening was truly therapeutic. At the end of my three weeks it was organised for me to stay four days at Ella high up in the mountains with gorgeous views and a nice day trip to two Buddhist temples one a very ancient one with a carving in the cliff and the other temple on a very high mountain newly built with golden statues of a sitting Buddha surrounding the inside of the temple. Truly beautiful. So that was my stay in Sri Lanka and I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested as you are well looked after and catered for . It is a great way to experience another culture.

I had an amazing time volunteering with IVHQ. This is my second volunteering experience with them, and it has been incredible. I did the medical program in Sri Lanka, and even though I'm a pre-med student, I felt so involved in the hospital.
The doctors talked to us all about what was happening, with me being allowed to visit the Emergency Department and also going into the operating theatre to see quite a few brain and cardio-thoracic surgeries. In terms of the local tea, they were beyond amazing and were helpful right from the start. I had a tough day at the hospital one day, and my coordinator was so supportive and made it clear he was available to talk to me if I needed to. I am planning on doing more volunteering projects with IVHQ and would highly recommend this to anyone who has an interest in travel and volunteering.

I am so grateful that I booked my trip to Sri Lanka with IVHQ, which led me to the incredible local team in Sri Lanka. The local coordinators truly went above and beyond to ensure that everyone had the greatest experience possible. The environment felt safe and loving. I truly feel like I have grown as a person after being around such amazing people while volunteering on my medical project. I was also very lucky that the people who were in the guest house at the same time as me truly became my lifelong friends. The connections I have made are immeasurable.

My Local team was absolutely amazing from the airport pickup, which was done in a very timely and organised manner in a very comfortable ca,r which had an A\C which was very helpful given Sri Lanka is sooo hot to my very last day there. They took really good care of us and helped arrange so many fun activities, such as visiting temples and gardens and allowing us to take part in local cultural activities as well as help organise our actual volunteer activities. I had so much fun and the food was great as well as the other volunteers. I had so much fun and hope to go back one day.

As a 16-year-old, I can say that volunteering in Sri Lanka through the IVHQ was one of the best things I have ever done, the local team made me feel safe and secure and made sure I had fun volunteering and I felt I had made some what of an impact towards wildlife doing what I did. Overall my favourite thing about this trip was getting up close to one of my favourite exotic animals, I would have never thought I would get an opportunity like this in my life, if you’re thinking about volunteering and you’re also underage and feel nervous about it and aren’t sure, just do it. You won’t regret it. I cannot recommend IVHQ more and will definitely be volunteering again one day.

I had this trip booked for about a year, and unfortunately the week before I got sick. Between the programme manager and the local team I was able to move my trip to two weeks later. The team was extremely understanding and very accommodating to anything that I suggested. Whilst away, my group and I were able to adapt the introduction week’s itinerary to what we wanted to do and see. The local team really cared about what we were doing and was able to advise the best places to get food, juices and which shops are less expensive.