Morocco

If you’re thinking of volunteering with IVHQ, you absolutely must! The confidence this trip has given me, even in a week, is incredible. Being my first trip abroad alone with ADHD, I was excited but quite nervous however IVHQ, the local team/host family and other volunteers were lovely and so helpful. I learned so many things - navigating a new city and public transport alone (with the local team available if I got lost lol), teaching in front of a class (the students were brilliant and so grateful), and socialising in different languages (with both locals and volunteers). Also having the opportunity to experience another culture was amazing. The food was beautiful and my French speaking came on a lot, even in a week. Although, if you can, I would recommend going for more than a week since there is so much to do and you won’t have time (and won’t want to go back home!). It also put me at ease knowing for sure once I was there that the organisation is ethical and actually contributes to the sustainable development goals! Overall, such a great experience!!!

Salam! I spent a week in the Atlas Mountains volunteering with IVHQ and it was a truly unique and fun experience. The family I stayed with was incredibly accommodating, there was always plenty of food. It was amazing to walk through the valley and mountains everyday with the sheep to find fresh grass, the views were beautiful. I would recommend this to anyone looking to volunteer in a small community to learn about the lifestyle of the locals and how they work together so that everyone can thrive.

Morocco was my first time volunteering abroad and I have to say that it was the best experience of my life. Booking and preparing for the trip was really easy as the OV team were extremely helpful and responded back to any questions I had emailed to them very rapidly. The detailed information on the website was also extremely helpful and honest.

When I arrived in Marrakech airport, I was collected by a friendly taxi driver who drove me to the volunteer house and conversed with me during the car ride which made me feel at ease. I was then collected by the main coordinator from the taxi who walked us to the volunteer house. He was extremely friendly and welcoming. He showed us around the house and the area which we was staying and also introduced us to the project coordinator. Both coordinators were very kind and helpful and looked after all the volunteers so well. They were always available to help us at any time in the day and make us feel extremely safe and secure.

The volunteer house was much bigger than I expected and so clean and nicely decorated. The house had all the resources and facilities we needed so I felt at home very quickly. The bedrooms were spacious but the beds were slightly uncomfortable and it gets very cold in the bedrooms at night. You can also hear quite a lot of noise from outside but after a few days you get used to it and it doesn’t effect your sleep or ruin a good experience!

We had opportunities to visit baby orphanages, special need schools, less privileged schools and also to feed the homeless and we were always escorted by the project coordinator. We were able to play with the children for a good length of time. We had freedom to set up our own activities and use our own equipment which was lovely, but the coordinators were always on hand to help and to translate if we required this support! All the volunteers and I felt so privileged and happy to be able to spend time with the children. I thoroughly enjoyed the projects. The OV website however over emphasises that volunteers need to bring a lot of equipment for the children from home. I therefore brought a lot of equipment but didn’t even need half of it. But I donated all the left over equipment to the schools so it still went to good use!

In our spare time, we had freedom to do any activities we wanted. The coordinators were extremely helpful as they always arranged everything for us without fail and escorted us to places so we felt so safe! We were able to explore Marrakech and we were able to learn a lot about the culture!

I would recommend this experience to everyone of any age and culture! My experience with OV was so amazing that I’m already planning another trip back to Morocco!

This was my first volunteering abroad trip ever. I was a little bit worry about traveling alone to volunteer but this all gone since I met the other enthusiastic lovely volunteers in Marrakech, Morocco.

Although my flights were delayed so many times, I did let them know about the changes, they were at the airport when I arrived to pick me up.

I spent two weeks with Original Volunteers in Morocco (August 28, 2017 to September 10, 2017) and it went so fast as if it was two days only.

I really enjoyed my time there.I loved the volunteering projects we did. We did the following activities:
- Cuddling and Playing with orphan kids in Baby Orphanage Centers
- Feeding homeless people.
- Painting old schools' walls for better children’s learning environments.
- Visiting villages to make children learning activities and games

Also, we spent our free time doing so much interesting things like:
Quad biking, waterfalls hike, and camel riding

Over the weekend, we stayed overnight at a barber house to learn how to cook some Moroccan dishes and mint-tea. In addition, we spent one night sleeping in the desert, the stars were so bright on the night it was really amazing.

At the end, basically, this trip is unforgettable as it is one of the best two weeks in my life. The other volunteers make my experience even greater. Original Volunteers coordinators were so friendly.

Thank you Original Volunteers!

I volunteered with Cross-Cultural Solution in Morocco for two weeks and it changed me forever. The program was based in Azrou. What a beautiful town and such open hearted loving people. Mohammed and his team were absolutely phenomenal. Professional and courteous and with every interaction. From pick up at the airport to return to the airport after two weeks, everything was seamless. I thoroughly enjoyed the Azrou program. Interacting with amazing kids who were so eager to learn English. I was inspired by how learning a new language can empower a child. I must commend Mohammed for the effort that went into arranging the Azrou program. I feel confident in saying it was a real success. Anyone who joins the teaching program on Azrou will immediately realize the impact they have on the community and vice versa. Those kids will stay in my heart forever.
I was lucky to experience Ramadan in Morocco while on the program. During the first week Azrou felt like home away from home, when Ramadan started in the second week I felt like I had known everyone for a lifetime. I have met Moroccans and fellow volunteers whom I will forever value.
The CCS Morocco program offered me a space to experience a different way to travel and I can honestly say it was the most rewarding trip I've ever done.
A huge thank you to the Morocco team for taking such good care of me. The food was always excellent, I felt safer in Morocco than I do back home and I will definitely be returning for another CCS Morocco experience.
I recommend the CCS Morocco programs to anyone who is looking for a volunteer abroad program. You will not be disappointed and you will definitely leave a better person.