A short review about the childcare project in HoChiMinh City, Vietnam (6 weeks)

The childcare project in Saigon was great due to a good accommodation with a well working hosting organisation called CSDS, who actually made it possible to join and help in two different places.
In the projects we took care of orphans in the Tam Duc Orphanage and the disabled children in the Ky Quang Pagoda.
The children are lovely.
I personally learned a lot and it was hard to say goodbye.

Hi there , I loved working with the children it was amazing and I would do that again . I felt the first day was a bit of a waste of time . Orientation was only a 3 hrs and we all wished we could have started in the afternoon rather than the next day Please look at this as constructive criticism but the place I stayed at was dirty 😞 I have stayed in far worse accommodation but it’s always been clean . The kitchen especially . You were going to charge me 25 dollars a night if I wanted to stay on longer . Where does this money go ? Labour is so cheap , there’s no excuse . I have photos if you would like to see them . I did mention at the orientation the bathroom was then cleaned but the kitchen really needed a good scrub . I met some amazing people so thank you

It was truly an amazing experience . The organization was very organized and the orientation to the city and with my placement went smoothly. I felt a sense of connection with the people and the culture . I would like to work with them again and I highly recommend this organization to everyone . Thank you Volunteer Solutions for allowing me the opportunity to do a medical mission in the Philippines.

Hola!!! para ser la primera experiencia me gustó, fue una buena experiencia.
Sólo algunas recomendaciones, cuando llegué al aeropuerto pensé que alguien de la organización iba a estar ahí, incluso con mi nombre o con el de ustedes para ubicarnos mejor, pero no. vi un grupo de jóvenes en grupo como que esperando a alguien y creo q se dieron cuenta que yo también buscaba a alguien hasta que me preguntaron. por otro lado, creo que sería bueno que informen que cuando una va se encuentra con diversas organizaciones de voluntariado, sobretodo para los que van por primera vez, ya que al inicio entré en dudas ya que cuando me encontré con un grupo en ele aeropuerto, yo preguntaba a los otros voluntarios y ninguno era de Vol Sos, lo cual al inicio me preocupó. Asimismo informar a los que nos acogen (Stay Africa si no me equivoco) que hay personas que tienen un safari de fin de semana incluido, al parecer no lo sabían y nosotras teníamos que preguntar por ello, claro que todo se coordinó de manera rápida y cumplieron con lo que ofrecieron, pero eso también puede provocar confusión en incomodidad. Por otro lado, el trabajo del voluntariado en sí no fue arduo, era en un lugar donde no era muy pobre, tal vez pensaba que nos iban a enviar a oras zonas, entiendo, y nos explicaron que hay zonas de extrema pobreza pero también son inseguras y no pueden exponer a los voluntarios. Lo que sí me gustaría es que se coordinara con estos centros a los que van los voluntarios y, si bien es cierto vamos a apoyar en lo que se necesite, me pareció algo desorganizado el trabajo, al menos en el colegio donde apoyé, a veces las profesoras simplemente te preguntaban si podías ver a los niños, que si bien eran pocos, se iban y te dejaban sola. Al menos en ese salón nunca vi una clase. Comprendo que una tenga que hacer pro activa y sugerir actividades, como sucedió con las chicas con las que compartí el proyecto, pero creo que sería mejor que haya orientación por parte de los colegios también, recuerden que muchos voluntarios (tal vez la mayoría) no tienen experiencia laboral y otros recién están viendo qué estudiar. Me pareció que en otros centros a veces también como que te daban un grupo para hacer deporte pero nadie te guiaba sobre lo que se tenía que hacer. Sería bueno que se organizaran (los centros, colegios, etc) de mejor manera o que se vaya a proyectos más específicos así se podría aprovechar mucho mejor el tiempo y energía de los voluntarios.

Every aspect of my recent trip to Rio was excellent. The logistics of the trip were all handled in advance for me. The kids were wonderful as was the Community in Action team that I volunteered with. Visiting the favela was a unique cultural experience. I found everyone I encountered to be very welcoming despite my limited ability to speak Portugese and at no point did I feel endangered. Thanks again to everyone who made this possible and I would highly recommend the trip.

The program was great! I just would have like being told I was voluteering with friends for asia, not volunteering solutions, and also the elephant camp name.

I took part in volunteering program in Arusha Tanzania. Everything went well except two things: 1 There was nobody to pick me up from the airport when i arrived to Arusha. 2 I was telling many times to one of the local VS workers i would like to work/visit at least for one day public hospital to see the difference to private hospital in which i was working at the time but they didn't arrange that during my stay even though I mentioned about it several times. I guess they always forgot to get the permission for public hospital or postponed it or something. Anyways that's very unprofessional.

For other upcoming dental volunteers i would recommend that they should work in both private and public hospital to understand the difference and to get the best conception about dental care in Tanzania.

Overall I was pleased with my experience. Positives included that the website and registration/payment system was easy to navigate and we were able to get timely responses from people who work for volunteer solutions.

Negatives were that I felt I didn’t get to help in my placement enough for what money I paid and what skill set I have. I am a registered nurse in Canada and was placed at a hospital where it was mainly observation and not much going on. I felt I wanted more of a purpose at the placement. Perhaps it is better to have a skill set questionnaire and then place people appropriately so they get the experience they want.

Staff at the volunteer house were lovely though and made us feel at home and like a family.

The teaching experience was really good, but only the intial communication and cordination should be better. I've was only able to got into contact with the local cordinator the last day, the contact info in the booklet should be updated constantly. Thank you!

I just spent two weeks volunteering at an Autistic Child Care center in Hanoi, Vietnam and could not be happier with my experience. From start to finish everything was seamless.
The NGO I was paired with in Hanoi was fantastic as well. I highly recommend Volunteering Solutions to anyone looking for a volunteer program.

I recently volunteered with the Street Children Project in South Delhi. The overall experience was life changing and very fulfilling. The support from Volunteering Solutions staff was fantastic throughout the process. On arrival to India we were greeted by one of their staff who brought us directly to our accommodation. There we meet more staff responsible for supporting volunteers at each accommodation. Any questions or concerns were always resolved as the staff were always willing to provide advice and information necessary. The actual experience of working with the children was incredible. The children are so loving and willing to learn from volunteers. They welcome you with open arms and hugs and make you feel that your time there is so meaningful. The memories of my time there will live in my heart forever. I would recommend anyone thinking of offering their time to volunteer to use Volunteering solutions.

Patirtis neįkainojama. Viskas sustyguota, aprūpinta,tikslu ir aišku. 🙂

There were difficulties on the first day getting from the airport to the hostel, with me initially being dropped off at a hotel and the driver not approaching me or holding a sign with my name at the collection area.
Other than this, I had wonderful experience in the hostel and the hospital.

I had a great experience in Delhi tutoring children. The organization was very helpful in picking me up from the airport, informing us on how to get around, and providing a simple breakfast and dinner. We had support in our efforts with our questions and concerns answered. The apartment I stayed in was in a safe area and the experience with the kids was wonderful.

Volunteering in Tanzania was an amazing experience that I will never forget!

Great Experience!

Great experience! I met some wonderful people and enjoyed beautiful nature. I expected more patients though.
The location could've been better ; the views are beautiful and all but the dental portable clinic would've been busier and more productive if there were more patients who actually need treatment. After arrival, I learned that people in Palampur and neighboring areas don't need dental volunteers much. Citizens below poverty line (the vast majority) are eligible for full access to medical and dental care free of charge for most services.
If I had known better, I would've traveled to a location where people don't have access to healthcare. For example, camps for Myanmar refugees or Syrian refugees which I plan to visit with a local saudi team sometime in the near future.
Overall, It was a very enriching and humbling experience.
Thank you for everything.

Dr. Abeer AlSwailem

this trip was a great experience and possible one of my best so far. it was interesting meet new people from different places around the world. thank you very much

Amazing program with amazing coordinators. Joe took care of us so well and our homestay host Paul was incredible.

Everything was great especially Paul and joe