Brazil

Had a great time! Would do it again :)

Before leaving for my trip with IVHQ to Brazil, besides all the guidance, preparation and help received I seriously considered not going, out of fear.
The moment I got to our hostel in Rio I knew right away I had made the right choice. I worked 3 weeks in the sports program in the favelas.
All the people, the volunteers, the beaches... Everything made this trip unforgettable and without a doubt of the best experiences of my life.
I invite all of you to do yourselves a favour and embark on this beautiful journey too.
Forever in my heart <3

Thank you IVHQ

Before leaving for my trip with IVHQ to Brazil, besides all the guidance, preparation and help received I seriously considered not going, out of fear.
The moment I got to our hostel in Rio I knew right away I had made the right choice. I worked 3 weeks in the sports program in the favelas.
All the people, the volunteers, the beaches... Everything made this trip unforgettable and without a doubt of the best experiences of my life.
I invite all of you to do yourselves a favour and embark on this beautiful journey too.
Forever in my heart <3

Thank you IVHQ

I went to Rio de Janeiro for two weeks with IVHQ. It was the best two weeks of my life so far. It was easy for me to adjust to the culture because I had spent two years studying Brazil, learning Portuguese and I also have some friends that live in Niterói and Florianópolis. They helped me figure out what do, where to go and how assimilate.

I felt right at home from the minute I got there. The other volunteers were amazing and they matched my excitement and enthusiasm. I will really miss them. The hostel was great and if I ever go back, I'll stay there again.

Brazil is not perfect at all and I saw this when I went to Gamboa, a favela, to teach group fitness classes. It was sad at times, but helping those people work out or simply smile and forget about their problems was an indescribable feeling. The staff at the fitness center was friendly and people really enjoyed having me there.

IVHQ was the only study abroad program I could afford and I would definitely travel with them again. If you are wondering about whether or not you should travel. Just go for it. It's worth it.

I volunteered for two weeks in Rio de Janeiro in a Child Development project. It was very well organised in my opinion. Felipe picked me up at the airport and dropped me off at the hostel, on our way he explained me how the program worked and showed me a little bit around in the neigboorhood I was going to stay (Santa Teresa and Lapa).
On my first day of the volunteering program I went to the 'school' with an Irish couple. There were around 15 kids that day and throughout the program I saw between 10 and 20 kids every day. The children call it a school, but there are no classes. Our job was to keep the kids occupied in a good way, we played football with the older kids and rope skipping with the younger ones. Afterwards we went back to the school and let them draw or paint (they love painting!)
It was amazing but an advice for future volunteers is: prepare some games, they like to learn new things! And if you can teach them something new, drawing wise or arts and crafts, that would be amazing and it keeps them going for a while. They liked everything we did, but as kids are, they are bored easily so once they were playing for a while or drawing they wanted to do something else. Also, some basic portuguese can come in handy, you can get classes at the program and I suggest you take them! I already knew some Portuguese, but I was definitely not fluent, and people love you if you just try.

Overall I thought it was a very good experience, I learned a lot about Rio, children and myself. I would definitely recommend!

Side note: It was my first time travelling that far away from home and by myself, so I was a little bit stressed at first, but Felipe and everyone in the program immediately made this stress fade away. If you're a first time traveller/volunteer like I was, don't worry, you're in good hands!

Brazil is a great Country and happy land. Volunteering in Rio is the best way to use the summer time well and do something meaningful. Also, first-Hand experience could be obtained from working with the locals. This is the happiest time I have ever got in a foreign Country. Come to this Country to see for yourself. You will not regret the decision!

I volunteered for two weeks in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on a child development programme. I loved my time in Rio. This was my first time volunteering and actually my first time travelling alone so it was very daunting to begin with. Luis Felipe Murray who runs the Iko Poran charity in Rio made me feel so welcome and supported me thought my time there. I worked with a group of children between roughly 4 and 16 years of age, I've never met a more intelligent, considerate and warm-hearted bunch of children in my life! They made this trip for me and I will never forget them. I was told a tousand horror stories about Rio before I left about how dangerous it was and I found the complete opposite on arrival, everyone is so friendly. It is dangerous but as long as you are careful and watch what you are doing you will be fine. The poverty in the country is hard to observe, especially if you come from a country like mine where we take everything for granted. It's heart-breaking to see but just hold onto the fact that if you choose to visit these countries you are there to make a difference no matter how big or small that is. What an incredible journey I've been on already and I can't explain in words how humbling it is and how granteful I am to Iko Poran and all the other volunteers from all around the world who contributed to how fantastic my time there was.
I will most definitely be volunteering again and I'll for sure be back in Rio.

I was really nervous before arriving in Rio as it was my first time volunteering and also my first time travelling alone. I remember sitting in the car with Felipe, the Coordinator General of Iko Poran, and I was telling him how nervous I was, to which he told me "There is nothing to worry about, you're going to have the time of your life."

He couldn't have been more right! Everything about Rio was amazing. The volunteering program itself was really fun and eye-opening. The other volunteers I met were amazing! Rio really is a cidade maravilhosa. Most of all, Felipe and Iko Poran were amazing. The organisation and care they took for us volunteers were good, and I would recommend Iko Poran to anyone!!

I volunteered for Project Favela via the GVN Brazil Program in September 2014 and it was by far the most rewarding, eye opening and heartwarming experience I've ever had. Project Favela supported me before, during and after my trip and is always there to answer any questions you may have.

During my stay in Rocinha, I was working and living with wonderful volunteers from all over the world. I did the Teaching Program so I got to teach smart and enthusiastic kids every afternoon, as well as equally amazing adults some days of the week. At night we got to do some locals classes which was a lot of fun as well, I've never met more welcoming and friendly people than the ones in Rocinha!

The children running up to you yelling "Teacher!", grabbing your hands and hugging you, will put a smile on your face every single day. The lessons are great because the kids are genuinely happy to be there and eager to learn, especially when you put in the effort to make everything interesting for them (singing songs, playing games, reading stories, letting them act things out and draw, asking people to come up front to point things out etc.).

Arriving in a favela by yourself is daunting of course, especially when you don't speak Portuguese. All I can say is that it's SO worth it to jump in head first and go for it, you will not regret it. Sure, it won't always be easy but that just makes you a stronger, more independent person. The people you meet, the experiences you have, the things you visit in Rio will stay with you forever. My main advice: stay as long as you can!! I was only there for a couple of weeks and I so wish I could have stayed longer.

Huge thanks Project Favela, I can't wait to come back some day!!