I discovered NGOabroad a couple of years ago as I was trying to locate suitable volunteer opportunities in India. What a find! Ann McLaughlin is an absolute wealth of knowledge and information. Despite my ability to search the web, I could have never accessed the information that she was able to provide for me. And the fee for her services was very reasonable. And Mary Ellen Walker is also a tremendous resources for how to prepare and what to do in almost any country. Because of the great experience I had in India, I have returned to NGOabroad yet again for assistance with an upcoming trip to Ireland. By using Ann and Mary Ellen, t have saved considerable time, effort and money. I highly recommend NGOabroad.
You are here
Home › NGO AbroadNGO Abroad

I love river kayaking in South America--both in Ecuador and Chile.
This time I wanted to see a different side of South America. I contacted
NGOabroad to see about volunteering. The Director of NGOabroad, Ann,
recommended if I wanted something far from my ordinary life that I volunteer
in Bolivia.
Whoa. It was other-worldly being so high in the Andes! I had to spend time
acclimatizing so I could handle the 14,000 feet elevation.
In Bolivia, being so high and dry, it's hard to make a living. High infant mortality and high
malnutrition were the challenges that Ann proposed that I help tackle. (I am
trained as a nutritionist.)
Because I am so crazy about river running, Ann & I talked about me perhaps
going to Uganda next year with NGOabroad. The upper Nile has some great
white water I think, and this time I will see if I can help the Congolese
refugees in Uganda tagged on the end of some kayaking on the upper Nile. I am impressed with the depth of knowledge at NGOAbroad.
Last year I traveled with NGOabroad and it was nothing but fantastic! From the very start, Ann was very informative and gave me the necessary information about different countries to help me decide where to go. Her devotion to NGOabroad is evident as she wanted to make sure that I was going to a country where my needs and desires could be met, while also helping children in need. I volunteered for two weeks with my sister and we enjoyed every minute of it. We are one day hoping to do it again!
NGOabroad was very helpful to me.
NGOabroad placed me working with their Congolese refugee program. I helped them launch a micro-finance program and design an income generation project.
I needed more than my academic training to get a job in international work. I needed practical experience. The experience with the Congolese has been what has opened doors for me.
I was extremely disappointed and frustrated with Ann McLaughlin, the coordinator of NGO Abroad. She did not want to answer questions and she was not very nice over phone or email. She was pretty persistent though when it came to getting her $600.
She was more focused on moving me along the process to get my money than to make sure I would have a good experience. She is only a go-between anyway, so I still could have volunteered with my program without contacting her. I wish I had done so, as I would have saved $600 and been happier without her.
Considering that there are so many worthy organizations out there, please keep looking.
Comments