Date: 04/04/08 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Teaching English

Pre- Departure: "Pre Departure information was helpful as well as in-country orientation given by Sambo"

Arrival: "09.03.08. Sambo picked me up and took me to a guesthouse, it was smooth"

Placement: "English teacher in OOO. It has been awesome and everyone are so nice. I wish I could have stayed longer. The students are very committed to learning English."

Home Stay / Coordinator: "Guesthouse. Meals at the organization. The guesthouse was great, clean rooms and all the space I need. The food was good. I have never eaten so much rice in my life. The other volunteers/teachers have been helpful. They are great people and I wish them all the best in future."

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - "YES for sure!"

Hildigunnur Finnbogadottir , Iceland

Date: 12/02/08 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Teaching English

Pre- Departure: "Anurag always replied to my e-mails in a timely manner and any questions I had were answered quickly.."

Arrival: "I was picked up from the airport by the staff. They were very welcoming and friendly, they gave me lots of information about Cambodia."

Placement: "The volunteer project has been very rewarding. It has been and honour to work with Khmer people as they are warm and welcoming and so willing to learn. The staff have been supportive and helpful and are always there when we need them."

Home Stay / Coordinator: "The volunteer house is good and basic and the food was good."

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - "YES, Definitely!!"

Verity Ellis, Aylesbury- England

Date: 04/02/08 - New Delhi, India - Women's Empowerment Volunteer

Pre- Departure: "All information provided was very thorough and the project coordinators were very prompt in answering all of my questions"

Placement: "My Placement was very nice and the people were all very kind. It was tough but enjoyable to work at Narela."

Home Stay: "The family was very kind and treated me as a part of the family. The meals were always very nice."

Coordinator: "very nice and helpful and answered all my questions promptly"

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - "YES."

Sharon Hurley, Elmira, NY - USA

Date: 04/02/08 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Orphanage Volunteer

Pre- Departure: "Interaction with Volunteering Solutions staff named 'Anurag' was excellent, we found him extremely helpful."

Arrival: "Sambo was at Phnom Penh airport waiting for us. He escorted us to a hotel that night."

Placement: "Organization in Takeo province has been amazing. Everyone has made us feel so welcome and at home. The teaching has been a wonderful experience."

Home Stay / Coordinator: "We stayed at the organization with the students and teachers. Our bedroom was comfortable and secure. The meals were healthy and delicious and fitted my vegetarian needs."

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - "YES, sure we would."

Sally Roberts & Gavin Water, Warwickshire - England

Date: 11/01/08 - Kathmandu, Nepal - Orphanage Volunteer

Pre- Departure: "Good communication about Volunteering Solutions and any questions I had were answered quickly.."

Arrival: "Good"

Placement: "Nepal Child Conservations home had a very warm and loving environment for the children. I was made to feel welcome by all staff and it was easy to interact with the children. "

Home Stay / Coordinator: "Home stay was excellent and Uma was an amazing host making me feel welcome and at ease in a new environment. The meals were also excellent with plenty to eat and a good variety of food. Uma cooked traditional Nepali food which was very nice."

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - "YES, Definitely!!"

Jacqueline Caston, Adelaide - Australia

Date: 11/01/08 - Kathmandu, Nepal - Orphanage Volunteer

Pre- Departure: "the initial response to the first enquiry was prompt. It was great that Anurag kept in contact via e-mail on a regular basis.."

Arrival: "was good..."

Placement: "I enjoyed the placement and it was clear that Angels heaven NEEDS help. There are 17 children, so it was a bit of a pressure sometimes. The orphanage is working for a very worthwhile cause.."

Home Stay: "Uma is EXCELLENT!!! She is friendly, thoughtful, honest & helpful. She gave us each a language book and a map. The room and facilities are great. The meals were also fantastic. I feel grateful to have Uma as a host & will be sad to leave. I plan to keep in touch because she is a person with substance."

Co-ordinator: "Organized & Professional. She was able to answer any questions we had & directed & supported us wherever we needed anything. THANKS!! :)"

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - "YES, Definitely!!" "I'm pleased to have had a chance to work with an organization that feeds the money back into the local people and community. Thanks again.." Natalie

Natalie Costello, Adelaide - Australia

Date: 11/12/07 - Nairobi, Kenya - Orphanage Volunteer

Pre- Departure: "were very helpful, emails answered very quickly and lots of information given about program and things we needed to bring along."

Arrival: "were picked up by Nick & Joe, everything was Ok."

Placement: "We loved the orphanage we were placed and think it would be a great place for other volunteers, they appreciated everything we done for them and never expected anything else from us like money. They made sure we were safe at all times."

Home Stay: "The family were very nice and a great help, i would definitely recommend it to other volunteers. It was clean and I felt safe there, she supplied us with 3 meals a day, which were very nice. "

Co-ordinator: "VERY GOOD, in contact regularly, always visited to help and advise us. Helped us to visit other orphanages etc. to experience different things."

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - "YES, Definitely!!"

Natasha Sloan and Laura Robertson from Jersey Islands - UK

Our Coordinators Comment about Natasha and Laura - " They have been excellent girls and have served at a number of orphanages. They have been very popular at the orphanages and with their hosts. Their creativity and innovativeness is beyond other volunteers of their age group."

Thank you Natasha and Laura for bringing a memorable change to the lives of Children in Kenya!! 

Date: 10/01/08 - Sri Lanka - Teaching to Monks volunteer

Pre- Departure: "it gave me the opportunity to teach English to the monks - something I'm definitely glad I did!!.."

Placement: "Totally amazing, I will never forget this experience! Teaching English to the monks was so wonderful & rewarding. They are lovely boys. Supporting the disabled people at the home was also richly rewarding and very inspiring. "

Home Stay: "wonderful, very friendly and welcoming. The food was incredibly great and I'll definitely miss it!! I will also miss the family and learning Sinhala and about Sri Lankan culture with them."

Co-ordinator: "was great, very friendly & supportive and really made sure I was safe and that I felt 'at home'."

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - "YES, Definitely, one of the best experiences I have ever had!!"

Kataleen Sheridan, Cheshire, England

Date: 17/11/07 - Kathmandu, Nepal - Orphanage Volunteer

Pre- Departure: "Most of my questions about going to Nepal were answered in a timely fashion. Volunteering Solutions provided with a good packing list and things to keep in mind while in Nepal."

Arrival: "Besides I lost on of my bags initially at the airport, the pickup went very well. it was very easy to find my host contact."

Placement: "I did my volunteer work at the children's home in Ksibu and it was a wonderful experience. I was able to interact with children ages 4-9 years and helping them with their school work and teaching them fun games filled most of my days."

Home Stay: "I always had more than enough food!! meals were tasty and provided three times a day. I enjoyed staying with my host family because we were able to do many activities and I still had a lot of time for myself. I had my own room which was also very nice. "

Co-ordinator: "kept me well informed and prepared prepared for all parts of my volunteer & travel trip."

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - "YES, I would recommend anyone interested in the lives of young children to embark in any volunteering experience like this one, please feel free to contact me for any questions about my trip."

You can e-mail Monica is you like at monica.colts@us.army.mil

Monica Colts, Florida, US Army, USA

Date: 21/10/07 - New Delhi, India - Orphanage Volunteer

Pre- Departure: "Very good communication, staff were very prompt and helpful."

Arrival: "Satisfactory and I was well looked after, personally taken care of"

Placement: "Excellent, everything I could want, good support throughout. The hosts and the children were fantastic and made me feel very welcome and part of the group."

Home Stay: "Again, Excellent, every effort was made to look after me. Fresh food each day as much as I liked and good quality as well"

Co-ordinator: "Perfect service and well looked after. I felt I had support and people who would help me if I was in difficulty, which I didn't need thankfully."

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - YES

Frank Walsh, 20, Victoria Road. Cork City - Ireland

Date: 3/10/07 - Colombo - Galle, Sri Lanka - Orphanage Volunteer

To,   Volunteer Solutions

To be a volunteer in Sri Lanka is an amazing adventure and a great experience. With my volunteering solutions organization experience has been fun and rewarding. The people are very helpful and sweet always with a smile on their faces.

My Coordinator picked me up from the Airport and taken to my placement which was great. My host family has been very welcoming. During my stay in Sri Lanka I have been working in a children orphanage for almost two weeks and have been fantastic, an experience I will never forget. It has been amazing to be a part of a total different culture. It has really given me another point of view. It is something everyone should try.

It has been so great to live with a host family and especially with this family. They look after the volunteers very well and provide good Sri Lankan foods and also it’s really nice to live with someone who cares about you too. The family is lovely; they are always there to answer any questions I may have. My host family made me feel like a part of there family and was always ready to help with everything. That made me feels safe.

On my first day the coordinator showed me around Galle and the Fort and also Tsunami effected areas, which was very interesting and helpful. My placement at the orphanage has filled me with joy. The children and the teachers at the school are very warm and giving. I feel I have taken a lot with me from this experience. The host family is a wonderful family and hosts a great placement all which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks you and your family, always so kind and we always had a lovely food cooked for us.

If you want to learn about the world and all the amazing people in it, this is the program I would really recommend to you.

Thanks, 

Colette Ann from Oxford, U.K.

Date: 17/08/07 - Jaipur, India - Orphanage Volunteer

Pre- Departure: "My contact person at volunteering solutions was most helpful and prompt in his replies to my numerous queries, thereby allaying any worries i had in coming to India on my own."

Arrival: "Not Applicable - I choose to come on my own"

Placement: "I was very pleased with my placements in both the community and with the young boys in the home. The children were a real pleasure and I felt humbled by their openness and kindness to us. I know I have learnt a lot from them."

Home Stay: "Our host family were very helpful to us and always pointed us in the right direction. By staying with a family I felt I was getting a more authentic Indian experience. The food was delicious."

Co-ordinator: "Was always available and very helpful."

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - YES

Aine Marie Cassidy Hynes  - Dublin, Ireland

Date: 10/08/07 - Kathmandu, Nepal - Healthcare Volunteer

Pre- Departure: "I found it very easy to prepare for this program as Volunteering Solutions gave useful information on things, like what to pack, which vaccinations to get etc. Any worries or questions I had were quickly answered via e-mail."

Arrival: "Pick up was very eventful as there was a strike on that day... however the coordinator looked after us very well and felt very safe with her"

Placement: "Placement was at the Suhrav Hospital for infections and typical diseases. This was a fantastic placement to have as it was such a contrast to hospitals in the UK in terms of disease prevention and facilities available. There was plenty of opportunities to interact with the doctors and the patients and we were never left feeling out of our depth or at risk."

Home Stay: "Host family were amazing and definitely made my experience of Nepal a memorable one. It was comforting to have a home to come back to after a long day at the hospital. It was also fantastic to learn in-depth about the culture and traditions of Nepal. A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR HOST FAMILY!"

Co-ordinator: "We stayed at our coordinators house, the mummy made sure we never went hungry! Dinner time were flexible and you were free to eat as much or as little as you like."

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - YES

Amy Penthea Bownes - London, England

Date: 15/07/07 - Kathmandu, Nepal - Heathcare Volunteer

Pre- Departure: "Information pack was useful but more details of what books to bring could have been useful"

Arrival: "Was very useful and smooth considering it was a Saturday and a Nepal bandh!"

Placement: "The staff at the hospital were quite helpful and tried to talk to us as much as possible... It was nice working at this placement"

Home Stay: "The family were very friendly & welcoming. They made our stay very pleasant & comfortable. They provided good advise on things to do and the food was Very good - it was good to eat traditional food."

Co-ordinator: "She was very helpful and accommodating to our needs"

Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? - YES

Justin Patrick Smyth - London, England

Date: 07/07/07 - New Delhi, India - Orphanage Volunteer

Pre- Departure: "My decision to come and volunteer in India was very last-minute and my contact at Volunteering Solutions - Anurag was very helpful answering questions and processing my paper work quickly. I received fast responses to all of my inquiries."

Arrival: "My airport pickup was waiting for me with a sign and was very easy to find. He drove me directly to my home stay and was very helpful, although his English wasn't very clear."

Placement: "I am very happy with the organization I am placed in. I am gaining valuable experience in the office, as well as in the orphanage with the children."

Home Stay: "The family I am staying with is very nice. They speak very good English and have been very helpful with all my questions I have so far. Food is always available, as well as filtered water. They have also helped with travel arrangements, information about India and have made me very welcome."

Co-ordinator: "He has been very helpful as a coordinator. I had some adjustments I wanted made to my placement responsibilities and he was sure to call the organization and support my wishes."

"I would certainly recommend this experience. It is has been rewarding work and a great place to visit. The first day I arrived, I was hesitant, but after adjusting, everything has been fantastic!"

Megan Trewartha - Toronto, Canada

“Volunteering to teach English in rural Thailand was a huge success for me and I had the most incredible experience. I was already familiar with Thai culture and had traveled through the Northeast, but to live, work, and play with the local people was the real deal when it comes to travel experiences! If you are flexible and easy going and can say ‘mai pen rai’ then Thailand is for you. I did additional teaching at other schools as word spread that there was a volunteer in town. I could have continued forever with all the opportunities that were presented (so I take it they liked me). It was one big love affair with my host family, fellow Thai teachers, and students.

Thanks to all involved from the bottom of my heart for one of the best experiences in my life!”

Dennis Pattyn, America

“My homestay was great! They made me feel very welcome and comfortable, and they were always ready to do anything for me, whether I asked or not! The teachers at the school were equally nice, they were short staffed due to sickness but did all they could to support me and they always asked if I was OK, and how things were going with my host family. Thank you for letting me be a part of your team, I had a great time that I will never forget.  I met so many lovely people in Thailand who I want to thank too: your staff, the teachers, my family

and of course the other volunteers!”   

Claire Stephens, America