Our Global Volunteering Reviews: Top Rated Recommendations
“I used to listen to what people said, and expected them to act in that way; now, I listen to what they say, and then I observe what they do“
- Confucius -
Volunteers’ Reviews
Watch Mark (Youth Director of SYCT, London), speak of his group’s volunteering in this video
2016, June: Dan & Ruth; Israel
We are both retired teachers and volunteer organisers, and joined this Give A Fig programme for 1 month. Organised and arranged by Paul who coordinated everything, including our accommodation and food. We loved teaching the monks, and had an amazing time in this fabulous country. Nothing was too much trouble, we were treated very well, and supported throughout. I would thoroughly recommend volunteering with GAFV; you’ll have an amazing time.
Watch Stuart, Youth Director of Knights Youth Centre, London and the Young Leaders talk about their experiences volunteering with us in Sri Lanka
2016, JULY: TRAVIS; STUDENT, CIRENCESTER, UK. RA UNIVERSITY
GROUP: VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT
I volunteered with 7 others with GAFV during my university vacation in 2016, and I had such an amazing time I’m hoping to lead a team back out here from my Uni in 2017. There really is something for everyone here, and they organise it really well. Any hiccoughs are sorted out straight away, and never become a problem. The accommodation was really good, and the transport went really well. (We opted for a mini-bus each day, which made life easy, and cost an extra £50 pp for the 2 weeks was really worth it.) GAFV organised a 2 day mini-tour for us to the beach and other sites on our days off, and were flexible with the programme. One volunteering day we went to a fantastic local hotel to chill, and it had a great swimming pool. One of the things I really liked was working a 4 day week, and so we had plenty of time to relax, without feeling too tired, because we did work hard. We were involved in an infrastructure project, but it could so easily have been about agriculture, organic agriculture, wildlife conservation, tree planting and reforestation, or education. We missed the herd of 100 elephants that live near the village, and the crocodiles, but we saw some amazing sites, natural, and archaeological – including dolphins, and elephants – on our tour. GAFV are clearly committed to the villagers they work with, as they got on really well with them all. We were welcomed by dancers, and had a great send off at the end, with a village meeting, presentation with a certificate, as well as participation in a Buddhist festival. I really loved the pottery, which we did at the temple. The potter and his family brought all of the clay to the temple where we were working and we had a go at this craft. Everything was really well thought out and designed to involve as many of the community, and provide as much work for the locals – who clearly have very little - as possible. This is something I’ll never forget. I still keep in touch with GAFV and follow them on FB, and I am amazed at the personal touch and time they put into working with us, and tailoring programmes for people. I promise you, you won’t get a better volunteering experience, or a better managed programme than with these guys.
Read an article that appeared in the UK’s Source Magazine about Travis’ experience volunteering in Sri Lanka
I interviewed Alice on completion of her month with us in Sri Lanka. She joined us after A levels and before starting at Oxbridge. You can hear what she had to say about us at the links below
Reasons Alice recommends GAFV (56 secs)
Reasons Alice chose GAFV (120 secs)
Work life balance (77 secs)
Volunteers’ food and accommodation (79 secs)
Alice audio: feeling safe in Sri Lanka (53 secs)