Program Reviews

I loved my time in Ecuador! I was able to learn more about the healthcare system throughout the country and compare it to my experience back home. I gained a ton of confidence in my language skills, my ability to interact with patients, and my comfort navigating a new community and culture! I also was able to spend a lot of time exploring other parts of the country to get an even richer experience. Riobamba is a beautiful city which is generally safe for travelers, which made it the perfect place for one of my first experiences abroad.

I volunteered and stayed in Belize for 8 weeks in the fall of 2018. I genuinely enjoyed my time in Belize. I stayed in a bunk room of up to four people with a homestay family in town. I originally thought I was going to build sustainable earth bag homes, but I ended up helping construct a greenhouse of sorts. I didnt know how many people would be there before i got there, but i was the only person on the project and shared a room with another woman who was in in a different Belize program. That actually worked out for me! I really enjoyed how lowkey it felt. I want to go back to help and see the family again.

I had the most amazing time in Zimbabwe! I met the best people ( a lot of them local) and had an amazing experience! I worked with all kinds of animals from sheep and guinea pigs to lions and baboons! So the spectrum of animals you can work with is really wide and that was also a huge bonus! I learned a lot and I also had the opportunity to visit local schools and tell kids about some of the animals that I worked with on a daily basis! I was located in Bulawayo and it was completely different to anywhere I had traveled before! The local people I met were some of the friendliest, kindest and most humble people I have came across! They were also very family oriented and positive! And the food was also amazing! It really was an amazing month!

I spent 3 weeks in Cusco, Peru working as an intern at CEBE Don Jose San Martin, a school for kids with communication and intellectual disabilities. I worked in a classroom helping a teacher plan and create activities and lessons for the kids. It was an amazing experience and I am so happy to have done it. The Kaya team was so helpful and supportive throughout my entire experience and made it run very smoothly. The internship is now called a special needs internship probably because the job is more useful for people wanting to work with special needs children. Cusco is a magical city and I definitely wish I could've spent more time there. There's always an exciting tour waiting for you. The food is great, the people are friendly, it's a wonderful time. I strongly recommend it.

I'm a mature lady that for once had a little time to be able to visit South Africa and do voluntary work at SARDA riding school for disabled children in Cape Town. Despite my initial concerns whether I would be able to cope with the physical work in the stables and as a side walker to the riders, it was an extremely uplifting experience and a real joy to see the smiles of the children who all appeared to benefit from their lessons. The highlight was on my last morning when on two separate occasions my name was called out and I was waved at by children who had learning difficulties.
I was very spoilt and so well taken care of from being met at the airport, escorted to my homestay with my own en suite. I was taken on orientation and other trips, I made so many friends who were on the same or different projects.
If you're thinking of doing a voluntary project, just do it, it's a life changer.

Two amazing weeks volunteering for a local Turtle Hatchery, helping with conservation of 4 endangered turtle species. Hands on experience with many baby turtles, helping care for sick turtles, educating visitors to the site about the dangers facing this species, releasing turtles. The homestay on this project was superb!

Fantastic host family, really enjoyed my time with them learning about the Sinhalese Culture, Bhuddism and local foods. The meals provided were delicious and all Sri Lankan cuisine, they can cater for people who prefer less spice!

I visited Kandy (amazing cultural city), many Bhuddist Temples, Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage and Yala National Park. From hand feeding elephants, to spotting wild leopards, these activities were unforgettable.

I would highly recommend this project and Sri Lanka as a destination! The feeling you get after releasing a baby turtle is awesome! Sri Lankan people are extremely friendly and love to feed people!

Unfortunately I had an awful experience while on a volunteering project organised by Kaya Responsible Travel.

I was not picked up from the airport in India as was previously arranged with the company (which meant that I was left in a dangerous and scary situation as a lone traveller). Many of the other volunteers that I subsequently met who had also booked with Kaya had similar issues.

Additionally due to poor organisation and communication between the UK team and the team on the ground, I was only able to do my volunteering project for 5 days out of the 2 weeks that I had paid for (which was a substantial amount of money). I was promised that there would be English speaking members of staff once I was in India, however there were none. this meant that I was unable to understand anything that was said, which made the volunteering project pointless. When these issues were raised with the team (both in India and the UK), these concerns and complaints were dismissed with no apologies.

Very disappointing for a company that charge a substantial amount of money to arrange volunteering opportunities for those that want to help and provide for others. I had initially picked this company as they had promised to provide certain unique experiences for volunteers abroad, however they did not deliver on these promises. There are many other similar companies out there that provide a similar service to Kaya, and I would definitely suggest searching these out if you want to get more out of your money (rather than being let down and feeling quite helpless while in a foreign country on your own).

I’ve been “working” for Kaya now for few years and I will always go back to them for volunteering.
The staff have been amazing and truly helpful with all my needs and requests.
Philippines was an amazing choice, I went there after Yolanda tsunami and it was very “strong” what I’ve see but the smiles and light in people faces and eyes definitely left a soft spot in my heart. Plus, Philippines is simply amazing!!!
DO GOOD, IT FEELS GOOD.
Thanks again for everything.

I spent 2 weeks in Neapl. Originally I had signed up to work in a Kathmandu project, for a school which catered to "at risk children". However at the time of my arrival, a big festival was occurring and schools were closed for the holidays. I was therefore taken to a women’s farm cooperative which is also a part of another project with Kaya, situated in a rural part of Nepal outside Kathmandu. It was an 1&1/2 bus ride & 2 hour trek to the village. When we arrived at the house I was greeted with music and dancing and instantly fell in love with the place.

The village itself has a school where the children attend schooling and the women's farm also has a classroom where extra English is taught, the classroom is basic however that doesn't stop the children's keenness to learn. They always attended with smiles on their faces, spoke in English as much as they could, and were always in the mood to learn new things. The biggest challenge I had with teaching, was trying to cater the needs of all the children who were at different stages in regards to their ability to learn and understand. Classes will run a lot more smooth if there's at least two teachers working there.

The volunteer house had a couple women who live there with their children. A girl, who the project on the ground had "adopted", Plus girls and guys from the village and Kathmandu who worked and lived there on a daily basis. everyone was so loving and welcoming and treated me like family, keeping me involved in their daily activities. And if you ever wanted to go off the farm and do other activities for a few days, like trekking, the staff were always happy to help organise it for You.

Overall I enjoyed my time on the project. Things ran as smooth as they could, and when inevitable changes were made; I wasn't left in the lurch. I will definitely go back again in a few years!

I spent 3 weeks in Cusco, on the 'Teaching English in a Rural Province' project.
I would meet the other school teachers in central Cusco in the early morning, to be driven half an hour to the school is a smaller district. The facilities were limited there, with most classrooms only having a light as the electricity in the room. I would teach English to a class of 21 9-12 year olds for around an hour, though this varied depending on the day. To do this, I was expected to develop my own teaching syllabus and all my own materials - which was a struggle as I hadn't been told this prior to my arrival and did not have access to a computer. Still, the lessons went well and the kids were all very enthusiastic to learn. Another thing to note, was that I had been told only a basic level of Spanish was needed, which didn't turn out to be the case - future volunteers on this programme should be proficient, as no other staff members at the school speak English.

My homestay family were lovely and very welcoming, and luckily another volunteer with a different project lived very close to me, so we did lots of after work things together. Had there not been another volunteer it may have lonely though.
Over all, I enjoyed the project, but hope some minor changes have been made to make it easier for future volunteers.