Fiji was such an amazing experience working in the villages with such humble, happy and beautiful people who truly valued our input an experience I’ll never forget. I would just like to also say a big thank you to Danielle, her approach to the project with such a positive and can do attitude was definitely notable, she went above and beyond to make sure we were all happy at all times. She did a great job of looking after us and her training/knowledge was highly commendable. Also Masi and Mere are absolutely fantastic hosts so very kind, nothing was ever a problem they are such beautiful people – safe to say Mere is a FANTASTIC cook too haha.
Vanuatu was also amazing! I had so much fun there and learnt a lot about marine conservation, even got a few surfs in ? Pele really was a little treasure such an incredibly beautiful place. Lynne and Willie both looked after me so well while I was there nothing was ever to much to ask. Being on my own I spent a lot of time with Lynne and the other people in the village outside of work it really became like a second home for me. Lynne looked after me so well always making sure I was taken care of and happy, very lovely lady.
So thank you again for the experience and all your help with getting me there!! Memories I’ll cherish for many years to come ?
Involvement Volunteers International
Highlights: Being able to see the Galungan and Kuningan celebrations up close and be given the chance to actively participate in it was a once in a lifetime experience.
Comments: The team made us feel right at home and we’re all very quick to help us with anything we needed. They helped us organize trips to the Gilis and Nusa Penida. The food was great for me, considering I have no eating restrictions, but wasn’t for my friend who has several food allergies and lactose and gluten intolerance. On the last few days, they ran out of her almond milk and didn’t get more because she was leaving soon, so she had only a hard boiled egg and water to eat for breakfast.
Improvements: My only suggestion would be concerning the food options. It would be great if there was a variety of options for individuals with previously mentioned eating restrictions.
Highlights of the trip:
Although we worked hard on repairing and painting the school’s rooftops, the highlight for me was being able to play soccer and volleyball with the students after the school day has concluded. Master Pate had asked if I could work with the children’s english on our off time. So as we played volleyball, I asked the children to count in english every time we hit the ball back up. We got it up to 23. They all loved it as every time the count had passed 15, their voices would start screaming 16, 17, 18, and so forth. That was so much fun!
Comments on the team:
The team was awesome! Very organized. Food at the end celebration at Masi’s house was excellent!!! Iri was an awesome host on the island as well!
Any improvements to help us be better:
Hard to say. For me being a carpenter, the next time I decide to volunteer, I’m bringing my tools with me.
Sri Lanka:
Highlights:
The highlight of Sri Lanka was definitely the team; the drivers, coordinators, managers, chef, cleaners – everyone was so helpful and lovely. Everything felt very well organised and I felt very comfortable to talk about anything with them. The people of Sri Lanka in general were all so beautiful and friendly.
Team, food and accommodation:
Again the team was amazing. The food was really good both at the accommodation and at the projects! I love spice, rice and curry so I was always happy. There was plenty of vegetables and plenty of food so always had enough to eat. The accommodation was clean, a nice temperature, hot and cold showers, lockers for valuables, good location.
Improvements:
Again I had originally put down to volunteer at a baby center, however on arrival I was told that that option was no longer available which was a real shame. I found other volunteer options which I ended up really enjoying but I was initially disappointed.
Highlights of the trip:
One of the highlights of this trip was that I got to immerse myself in a cultural-rich environment, Tacloban City. During the time, I have been given opportunities to interact and connect with the local families and children, which in turn, brought me immeasurable amount of love and joy. I was assigned to a community-feeing project at Cangumbang; and this experience was incredible from the beginning till the end — from planning, forecasting ingredients, buying extra things out of my own expense, cooking to serving there weren’t moments I didn’t enjoy. I really looked forward to each day visiting the community there and feeding the sponsored children of up to 35. After feeding, I have enjoyed the playing and chilling times with the children because they are all welcoming, amiable and simple! In addition, this trip has made me cherish all that I have, such as access to clean drinkable water and advanced public health facilities such as paced pedestrian roads.
Comments on the team, food and accommodation:
The team was welcoming and warm-hearted. I could definitely tell that my vision with the organisation, is alike. Because that the Philippines is predominantly a Christian (Roman Catholic) country, I felt much more spiritually connected to the land and the people. The food provided by my homestay was simple yet delicious! I had no issue with the local food there at all because the filipino cuisine is very much like my home dishes, which I have found soul-comforting. Except that I had experience epsiodes of diarrhoea at the same time with my accompanying brother when we had our first contact with the restaurant foods in an adjacent mall.
My homestay was neat and simple; just needed to overcome the fears of insects (cockroaches, lizards, mice etc.) and bear with the challenge of bucket shower and no flush toilet. My homestay nanay was nice and friendly and has always treated me like a family. I just needed to report an incident of break-in into my homestay house. My homestay was alert of this thereafter and has changed the lock of the back door and the team was aware of this issue. So I believe this security issue would be improved in a later term.
Any improvements to help us be better:
With the nutrition project, I think the future volunteers could accomplish more aside from feeding the community children. Outreach activities related to optimal nutrition could be planned out and developed, so that more and more young children and families will have a fair chance to learn from qualified health professionals and tackle the issue of malnutrition city-wide. Outside of placement times (mine was between 1pm to 5pm), I think we could have some site visits so we can understand what other sites are currently doing but again understand that the staff were busy with their own workloads.
