Guatemala

My project exceeded my every expectation - this was without a doubt the single greatest experience of my twenty-somethings!

The Home-Base and staff me feel so at home from the moment I got there. They are such an incredible group of people - and it was remarkable getting to know them. Plus, the food was to die for!

My volunteer placement was working at a home for children - very similar to what we might associate as an orphanage. It was run by nuns who did a remarkable job keeping things together but it really have the time to really dive into playtime and really work one-on-one with the kids. That were my group stepped in. I was only there for a week (wish I could have stayed longer) but even within that time we painted, made a mosaic, played games, made necklaces, and made a connection. Plus we in the mid-afternoons sowed pillows to leave once we were gone.

I went to Guatemala during the time of Day of the Dead; they do this huge festival were everyone comes into the cemetery and repaints and fly kites. The concept is that the kites build a colorful border to keep the evil spirits out. The staff took us the night before to a man within the community to see how he makes his kites which opened my eyes to how much this celebration is all connected to their history and cultural identification. I would have never seen this side of the celebration if it wasn't for CCS.

I have traveled with them before to Costa Rica and I plan to with them again soon. Where are you going to go?

I spent 2-months in Xela, Guatemala, living with a host family. I did the medical, volunteer project so I spent the weekdays in a small, local clinic. I loved my host family and plan on staying in touch with them. I felt very safe, being a girl in my 20s, and definitely recommend this location to others. The city and the people were absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed the food and clean drinking water was easily accessible. I had an intermediate level of spanish so I took 4 or 5 spanish classes, 2 hours each, which I found very helpful. The classes were one on one and my teachers were great. My in-country volunteer coordinators were very helpful as well with adapting me to the culture and with getting around the city and even the country for weekend trips. I hope to go back and visit Xela again in the future.

The personnel at the host agency in Guatemala were very friendly and helpful. I was fortunate to live in Antigua, a well-preserved colonial city west of the capital where the majority of the majestic churches were never re-built following earthquakes in the 1700s and survive in their destroyed state. In the mornings I took part in an advanced Spanish-language class with a great teacher. We spent our class time conversing only in Spanish since the teacher had limited knowledge of English. She gently corrected my errors in grammar to make my Spanish more polished.
Shortly after 12 noon I would take a bus to an indigenous village several kilometers away to work with children at an after-school child care program. What a delight it was to work with mainly 3rd grade students and also teaching English to a group of 6th graders. It's amazing how quickly the students became attached to me, and me to them. At the end of my month there, the directors of the after-care program had a going away party, and there was not a shortage of tears. With the ease of email, we are able to continue to communicate. Being retired, I am always ready to help somewhere, and would not hesitate to sign up again for this programme.

I sent my teenage son to Guatemala with Rustic Volunteer and Travel. The staff were excellent and very thorough when I had questions. They made me feel comfortable sending my son to a foreign country. Although I was in the country at the same time on vacation, I did not attend the project with him. My son really enjoyed the project (working in a rural hospital) and getting to know the staff there. He also said he really liked the host family.

Though my group's initial program was supposed to be in Nepal, Global Crossroad was very helpful in switching our project to Guatemala. Unfortunately there was confusion on whether we needed travel Visas (en route to Nepal) and it caused us to have to change programs. However, the Guatemala project was extremely rewarding and fulling. Our on-site contact Jillian Davis was great; she took us to our project and helped us know how to get around the city. Our host family was wonderful and I would recommend working with the project ; they definitely need the help! As for Global Crossroads, it was unfortunate so many things were unorganized and miscommunicated.

My time spent in Guatemala was a beauitufl opportunity and Rustic was amazing to work with. The projects we worked with included building stoves, working at an orphanage, a street kids project and painting a school. Our host families were very accomodating and were there waiting for us when we arrived. They provided us with education and orientation materials before and when we arrived. The coordinators would take us to and from sites to make sure we were okay. I would definitely work with them again.

Rustic Volunteer and Travel were very accommodating! They gave us insight and direction on everything we were doing. Our first night, our host families were waiting and we received informational packets that told us everything we needed to know. Often times they would take us to and from the sites to make sure we knew where we were going. I had a great experience with them and hope to use them again for future volunteering experiences!

I had a great experience in Guate. I arrived at the airport in Guate City and was picked up by the program's driver who took me to breakfast followed by the bus station. He sat with me until the bus arrived and it took me to Quetzaltenango. The program director met me at the bus station and took me to the house I was staying at. The process was pain-free and easy. I volunteered at a medical clinic for a few weeks and the doctors and nurses were super helpful and friendly. I learned a lot of spanish and had a great time. Overall the program was wonderful and I would highly recommend it to everyone.

My experience in Guatemala was amazing! Rustic Volunteer and Travel was very helpful during my trip. A group of 26 students from Illinois State University worked with several different projects. Some included working with orphans, street children, working in a farm, painting a language school, and building stoves. During the trip there was minimal complications.

We went to Guatemala to work an a orphanage that aids children living on the street- the program was great and Jillian Davis, the in country coordinator was more then helpful. At the end of our experience we all left feeling like some real good was done. Our one complaint was global crossroads- the company lacks any organization and as a result could not locate our deposits and donated funds for nearly two weeks- after we paid they continue to ask for the remaining balance and if our donor had wired the funds. We were also not told about the Visa requirement for India and as a result had to drastically change our plans last minute. I think they're motives are well intended but as a business they need to be organized and communicate better to their volunteers.