Institute for Field Research Expeditions - IFRE

I would not recommend signing on with IFRE. My daughter is currently an IFRE volunteer in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.. She was supposed to start her medical volunteer work today. However, the IFRE worker in Quetzaltenango told her she could not start today because of some cleaning work being done in the hospital! She is very disappointed, and we are wondering if a volunteer position was ever even arranged. IFRE stated that volunteers will live with local families who are respected members of the community. However, my daughter's "home stay" is in a boarding house run by an older woman. No family members are there. There is no shared living room, just individual rooms for rent. Her room has torn bedding and blankets. In addition, no towel or toilet paper is provided. If the situation is improved, I will post a follow-up review.

*I was with global crossroads for this project, although I did more than one project with GC so i could not submit a second review for it.* I spent three weeks with with the wildlife program. I was with Lumo Wildlife Sanctuary. This was truly an amazing experience. I am a Zoology student at The Ohio State University and I could not of learned the things I did here through any class offered there. I took a bus from Nairobi, where I was staying with my coordinator, down to Voi, which is where the bus stop was. It took about seven hours. From there I had the manager waiting for me to take me to Tsavo, where Lumo was located. That is where Lumo was located. I saw so many animals; cheetahs, lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, cape buffalo, and so many more.I worked closely with the rangers and the two students that were there. Every day I went on patrol checking on the animals, so I practically was on a safari all day. All the rangers were so knowledgeable of the animals and you could see how important these animals were to them and how concerned they were about conserving them. I stayed in my own room at the rangers site. The site was surrounded by electrical fence, so it was safe for both us and the animals. Everybody there was excited to teach me about what they did. Everyone was so welcoming and made sure that I had a comfortable stay. I learned about how the sanctuary helped the community that was by there, also where most of the rangers were from. On my last day, i was transported from Lumo to Voi, where the manager waited with me until my bus came. I made so many connections at Lumo, which is great for what I want to do with my degree, and was welcomed back to visit and research there when I was finished with my degree. I would recommend this to anybody who wants a once in a lifetime experience.