I attended this program with my mother, who verified that our experience was not in keeping with the program she had been on before with a different group (Globe Aware). To keep a long story fairly short, our experience was so negative that we left the program a week early to simply go explore South Africa on our own for a few days so that we wouldn't feel like we had completely wasted our time. While on the program, we were not given the opportunity to participate in nearly as many activities as we were told we would. Although we were in Africa, we were not allowed to be outdoors most of the time, since we could not venture far from the main building without guides, and no one would help in this matter. Guided walks were few and far between. Actual, hands on work was incredibly minimal. Most of all, it was very unclear that we were helping the reserve in any way. It felt as though we were simply there for the money that we had paid, that it was only our dollars that were wanted and not our volunteer labor. The whole thing seemed like just a way for the few guides to get to do what they wanted to do. The extra trips cost exorbitant fees, we were not given the means to get around on our own, and (one of the worst things, and exacerbated by this last part) there was a quite serious food shortage. The town was easily accessible by the guides, only a few miles away, and yet they allowed our food to run so low that there was only some flour and margarine left in the kitchen at one point. It was absolutely ridiculous. The guides had food, but the volunteers did not, and nothing was done until we complained forcefully. At this point, a loaf of bread and bag of oranges were purchased. I'm sure this sounds unbelievable; it certainly was to us at the time. As the absolutely unnecessary food shortage continued, we decided to leave.
I think that there are probably other global vision programs that are not like this. I believe that the irresponsible, neglectful, unprofessional, and even endangering behavior that we experienced was due mainly to the staff of the program that we specifically were on, namely the woman in charge (Rene). However, after experiencing the conditions of hunger and uselessness on this program, I will NEVER, EVER go on another Global Vision program, and hope that those who read this will not make the mistake of going with them. It is not worth the risk - such a trip should be the be the adventure of a lifetime, not a tedious and sometimes physically harmful experience.
