ISV - Volunteer Projects in Thailand

In the Email from my project leader prior to my departure to Thailand, I was informed (the sentence underlined and strongly emphasized) that I would be assigned to teach English. However, as our group arrived for our first day of work, it quickly became apparent that the majority of what we were doing was manual labor. I would not have as much of a problem with this if we had been simply told upfront, but instead we were assured that we would be teaching English with literally not a single word about construction work only to get there and LITERALLY ONLY HAVE SPENT 2 HOURS OF A SINGLE DAY THE ENTIRE 2 WEEK TRIP teaching English with very short supplies. The rest was all construction work, helping cook, or babysitting children in highly unproductive settings with no teacher or staff present (the activity was literally called "babysitting"). The construction work in which we spent most of our time doing was highly unorganized and slow with half the group ending up standing around because they were unable to do anything. With a $4k+ program cost , I seriously question where all our money is going. The travel manual's program cost breakdown is vague and most of it seems to go to isv employees. The initial program cost that you see listed on their website is also not at all accurate. Expect to pay at least double that amount in the end with flight costs, "mandatory insurance", shots and medications, b.s. fees such as an extra $100 if you book your own separate flight from the group (dont pay it) if you do not live near LAX, an "optional " activity package and so on. The majority, if not my entire volunteer group of 15 people feel the same way and I personally would honestly not recommend ISV. There are plenty of other programs of a similar nature out there, where you can walk away feeling that you have made an actual impact, not spend 2 weeks to build 1/20th of a structure due to bad organization, chop vegetables , babysit a room of screaming children and spend under 2 hours actually teaching English the entire trip, and making no real impact.

My ISV trip to Thailand was a disaster. The trip overview I received was nothing like the trip. The program's disorganization was appauling. From the Thai side, they could not have been more open and friendly. But from the ISV side, it seemed as if everything was strung together last minute. The outline sent to the volunteers described our work as "teaching English" but upon arrival was actually manual labor. Either way, I would have signed up, but that was very disleading. Also, having one leader guide and entire group of individuals in a foreign country was not enough. The amount of times my leader was not around was concerning. If something was needed and she wasn't close by, nothing got done. Overall, this organization is a disgrace to other international student volunteer services and it is astounding they have been able to stay afloat for so long.

I would definitely recommend travelling to Thailand with ISV. They arranged everything and took a lot of worry off my mind. I had the best time, and met lots of new, interesting and friendly people. It's a great way to make new friends!

Trip of a lifetime! feeding, bathing, observing, caretaking for the elephants was breathtaking, learning and being amongst the elephants was incredible. You become carefree and change your perspective

This trip was the best thing I've done for myself. Ive wanted to go to Asia for a little while, and when I heard about this, I took the plunge. As a solo traveler, it was great having ISV organize everything for me. I met people on this trip who are still my friends and now I have contacts across the globe. I loved being able to impact the country I was visiting, but also experience all it has to offer. I always felt safe, even when we would go out on our own. The guides helped us to have fun but also be safe when in a different country.
It was a bit expensive and getting the money together was a little difficult, but in the end it was worth every penny and I would do it all over again.
Best trip of my life, hands down.

ISV is unique from other programs, it separates your trip into two parts, volunteer work and adventure tour.

VOLUNTEER Project: I was at a Life Development Center (LDC).

We raked a forest to help prevent spread of fires, we built dams to help slow the flow of water during the rainy season, we built a cement wall to stop flooding during the rainy season, and we taught local Thai kids English and played with them.

At night our project leader Racha taught us basic Thai phrases and discussed various topics including tourist vs. traveler, sustainability/development, and culture. She is super knowledgeable and answered all our questions.

We slept next to each other on mats on the floor, while surrounded by mosquito nets. We woke up to roosters crowing every morning at 5am.

Weekends were open. Our first weekend our host Manop gave us a tour of the hill tribes and background info on the land and the tribes, and our project leader Racha took us (we paid for taxis and entry) to a waterfall, hot spring, and cave. She also showed us a nearby hotel/cottage we could stay at the following weekend, we all agreed. For 4 cottages with 4 people in each, a lot of food and alcohol, and some unforgettable memories we each paid around $20 for that weekend. It was a great bonding experience.

Our project leader Racha is now the head of volunteer projects for the ISV Thailand programs. I still keep in touch with her, she has stayed with me twice now while visiting Los Angeles.

This was a very fulfilling and meaningful experience and great send off in to the adventure tour. I learned a lot and the living conditions were completely out of my comfort zone.

ADVENTURE Tour:

Included rockclimbing, a Thai cooking class, temples tour, couple day jungle trek/hike, white water rafting, Elephant Nature Park (favorite spot), lake tour, kayaking, young locals boxing, locals playing with fire, islands (some of the most beautiful places I have ever been).

We had a couple free days, our adventure leader Milk suggested stuff to do. I went zip lining with some people from our group one of the days, we could also just hang out and walk around if we wanted. We had time to do some lunches and dinners together. There were a good amount of fun nights out and everlasting memories in here as well. Our group had 4 birthdays during the adventure tour, and our adventure leader Milk got each of them a cake.

We only stayed at one typical hotel during the adventure tour. The rest were more like cottages, felt natural and outdoorsy, made of bamboo and wood. One even had a closed in outdoors shower and bathroom, this was nice with the touch of natural light. I absolutely loved the places we stayed at, they were mostly near beaches, rivers, or mountains, they were all beautiful and felt different like we were more immersed in the society. We were warned of monkeys getting into our stuff at some of the places, we had to ensure windows were closed and food was not left out. There some spider and lizard freak outs as well.

ISV:
- I like that ISV separates volunteer and adventure... Our volunteer project leader was perfect for her position and our adventure tour leader was perfect for her position.

I am still close with several people from my group. I am lucky to have grown such a close bond with them. They are what made the trip so amazing.

My day to day experiences in Thailand for the volunteer experience included learning about organic farming, and helping to plant a variety of fruit in order to help encourage the development of sustainable farming in the area. We met some different tribes, and also went to a local school where we taught the children some english, as well as played games with them.
The following two weeks was the adventure part, and my favourite part of that included the island hopping. The scenery is amazing, the most beautiful I have ever seen, memories of Railay beach are still so vibrant in my mind.
The people I met were also awesome, I had never travelled by myself before and our group was made up of such chill people, we all got along so well.
Definitely an amazing experience for what it teaches you about the world and yourself.

This was the best vacation I had ever had. I am so thankful I chose to stay for the adventure tour, because I would not have seen/done as much if I went on my own. I won't soon forget the incredible experiences I had volunteering with the elephant nature park, the unique experiences I gained, and how much I learned! Not many can say they bathed, fed, treated, and even were kissed by an elephant, and I hope prospective employers (I'm a zoologist) with recognize that.
The hill tribe village was an other experience entirely. My experience there so was extraordinary, I can barely put it into words. The feeling you get when the shy children begin to trust you, then become so comfortable with you that they take pictures on your camera, play with your hair, and demand piggy back rides, even when you can't verbally communicate, is incredible.