Inaccessible Special Needs Volunteer Programme for Disabled Volunteer - Costa Rica

After months of research into international volunteering companies I decided to embark on the Maximo Nivel Costa Rica Healthcare Special Needs Volunteering Programme. After many International phone calls and emails to ensure that I would enrol onto a programme which met both my interests and my needs, I was promised that with my upgraded price I would be housed in a ‘student residence’, a dorm-type setting with other volunteers, and that I would be volunteering on a programme supporting children and young people with special needs. All of which was a deciding factor when choosing which company to volunteer with. However, on arrival my experience was very much different from this…

It became apparent I had not been provided with an address of my residence prior to departure, therefore I phoned the company on the night before my departure to confirm my accommodation booking and my requirements for shared accommodation. I was informed that I was actually housed in a host family, after many strong conversations with the team they admitted their mistakes and confirmed that I would be housed in the ‘student residence’ but they were unable to provide the address due to data protection. I therefore embarked on the journey to the airport believing everything had been sorted and I would be met with the correct accommodation. Instead it was quite the opposite.

Upon arrival at the airport I was met by a Maximo Nivel representative who immediately stated that he would be taking us to our host family – something which I had stated on many occasions prior to booking and prior to the trip that I did not under any circumstances want to experience. I myself have severe Cerebral Palsy which requires me to travel with two full time personal assistants to meet my physical and social needs. Alongside this I also experience complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which can be triggered by being housed alone. Both of these details were highlighted on many occasions including the phonecall the night before leaving. I explained this to the Maximo Nivel rep at the airport, who was confused as they had no knowledge of any previous arrangements or what I was referring to by ‘student residence’. I requested to speak to his superior on the phone who insisted that I should ‘try’ with the host family. I felt as though they were completely ignoring and undermining my medical conditions despite the hours of conversations, I had had previously to ensure that this would not happen. After around 2 hours of waiting on the pavement outside the airport, a hotel was finally arranged for the night, something which I had to request multiple times before it was agreed. I initially had to pay for this myself, however after my parents battled with head office back in the UK this was eventually reimbursed. To get to the hotel that night we were taken there via an unmarked car which for three young, extremely jetlagged and vulnerable women travelling alone was a very questionable experience.

The next morning I made my way to what I knew as the ‘Hub’ after speaking to my parents back home and waiting for a solution to be found. It transpired that they assumed that I would like to be housed in a private host family, I assume due to my Cerebral Palsy, however this was contradictory to all of my emails and phonecalls which highlighted the one of my main reasons for volunteering - the social element.

It was clear that the ‘student residence’ which I had booked – and had in fact paid extra for – did not actually exist. I insisted on viewing a new host family before I would agree to stay with them, but it was evident that the vacant bedroom in which I would be staying was up a flight of metal stairs. Something which I could manage on a one time basis but not for a 3 week stay. After asking the Maximo Nivel staff if it would be possible to ask the other volunteers to switch rooms with me to allow me to have a more suitable ground floor room, I was informed that they cannot ‘force’ individuals to move. Whilst I could understand that this was a difficult situation, it was clear that despite the numerous emails and phonecalls I had made, the base manager had no information on my disability nor my requirements and had no safe accommodation for me to reside in for my 3 week stay. Fortunately, the volunteers who had been staying in the ground floor rooms were open minded and kind enough to appreciate my circumstances and swapped rooms with me for the duration of my stay. If I had not been so fortunate I have no idea where I would have been accommodated. Perhaps I would have had to find my own hostel or hotel nearby and bear the extra cost myself.

The next two weeks of the project were great. I met many likeminded people who I would now call friends for life. Here we travelled around Costa Rica on our weekends off and experienced all that the Country had to offer.

This was slightly soured by the travel required to and from our host family, Maximo Nivel hub, and the school. We were informed that we would need to take a bus between each location and upon our first day staff demonstrated how to navigate Costa-Rican buses. Unfortunately, at this point I was not informed that it would actually be three quite inaccessible buses that would be required to get to the school each day, adding an extra hour onto what is simply a 15-minute car journey, and in effect adding to my already very stressful first few days. I appreciate that Maximo Nivel staff may have been aiming to treat all the volunteers as equals and not single me out in this discussion, however, I felt that a simple conversation to explain the journeys could have alleviated this stress and prepare me for the shock I was about to get.

The project was a once in a lifetime experience, witnessing how Costa-Ricans treat their disabled and special needs community and engaging with them where possible. It became apparent, however, that despite highlighting to the Maximo Nivel Head Office prior to booking my situation. That my Cerebral Palsy limits what I can achieve within volunteering and that it was vital to me that I could participate in the activities myself, not simply watch what everyone else was doing. That the opportunities offered appeared quite limiting in terms of what I could actually participate in. Multiple discussions between school staff members highlighted that Maximo Nivel did not relay my expertise to the school as they struggled to find a suitable class to pair me with each day. I was left feeling that my personal assistants and I were more of a hindrance to the school rather than a help, something which increased my feeling of guilt for being there and affected my self-confidence rather than liberating me.

Midway through the second week at the school I, along with my fellow volunteers, were informed that we should not come in for the rest of the week and that in fact the school would be closed the week after. Fortunately, we rallied together to quickly book some more travelling experiences around Costa Rica for the remainder of the second week and weekend, again more expense which I had not anticipated. As I was away from base for the remainder of the week I enlisted my parents back in the UK to support me in finding out what my final week would consist of. After all, I had paid for three people to participate in volunteering for three weeks. I returned to the hub on Monday morning to eagerly explore what else I could experience for my final week in Costa Rica, I openly admitted that due to my Cerebral Palsy my options were limited – ie. The construction project would be a no-go. I was interested in exploring the conservation projects, but unfortunately, I was informed that this would not be appropriate for me. Instead, it was suggested that I should go into the childcare project. This is something which unfortunately I have no personal interest in. After informing them about my personal achievements back home in the UK, the equine programme suddenly became available as an option to me. I immediately ventured onto a site visit where it quickly became apparent that this was wholly inaccessible. I have spent 28 years exploring the most remote locations around the globe and I am often not easily defeated, but unfortunately this was somewhere that I had no chance of even reaching the stables to volunteer with the horses. The only option was that I could perch on a stool on the outskirts of the yard whilst others brought the horses over to me to groom and ride. The base manager who accompanied me at the time had no empathy towards my situation or understanding of what we were dealing with and made no effort to contribute to any kind of solution or offer to help make it work. After another phonecall back home to the UK we collectively decided that Maximo Nivel could not meet either my interests nor needs for the remainder of my trip and so I was left with no option other than to depart the Maximo Nivel programme a week earlier than I had planned and paid for. Only adding to the additional expenses that I had already been forced to part with due to their poor communication and organisation.

I am grateful, however, that Maximo Nivel refunded my third week, although I do not believe that the experience matches what was advertised to me nor what was promised to me over multiple phonecalls, emails and discussions even up until the night before my departure to Costa Rica. Compared to previous volunteering experiences aboard, I would not at all recommend Maximo Nivel as a volunteering experience, especially as I have been fortunate enough in the past to have had excellent volunteering expeditions with other companies, such as GVI, where I have felt welcomed, valued, and cared for.