- Belize
- San Ignacio
About Program
Belize is an incredible country with so much to offer, from jungles, to Mayan ruins, to Caribbean coastlines. It is a nature lover’s paradise, full to bursting with tropical birds, exotic fish, and fascinating mammals, reptiles, and more.
Volunteer or intern in Belize on a truly sustainable project, and you will be making a real difference in this awe-inspiring country. There are many projects to chose from, whether you are interested in teaching, farming, building sustainable homes, marine conservation, or something else, you will be supporting Belize’s environment and local communities.
As the only English speaking country in Central America, and renowned for its extreme biodiversity and distinctive ecosystems, Belize is a fantastic place to travel and find adventure.
Consider your impact: Volunteering abroad can be a rewarding experience for both volunteers and local communities, and at Go Overseas, we believe all volunteers should have the resources to make informed decisions about the type of volunteer project they want to partake in. However, despite best intentions, some organizations offering placements in orphanages may unknowingly place children in danger. You can read about the potential dangers of orphanage volunteering here. Learn more about how Kaya Responsible Travel is promoting ethical volunteering.
Video and Photos
Program Highlights
- Belize is known for its extreme biodiversity and distinctive ecosystems
- Projects ranging from teaching, marine conservation, dance therapy, film making and loads more
- Volunteers are based in San Ignacio, the largest town in the Cayo District
- The Belize Barrier Reef (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is one of the most diverse ecosystems of the world - and is a very popular diving and snorkelling spot
- Visit the Green Iguana Conservation project to learn more about the local wildlife
Response from Kaya Responsible Travel
In response to your review,Susanna, we at Kaya would like to respond and explain some of the experiences that you encountered. I know we communicated extensively with you at the time,
so just to respond to the specific points raised;
1. All projects offer different inclusions, and while other countries do include language classes, for Belize, because it is English speaking, we don't need to do these here. There are some Spanish-speaking Guatemalans who work locally, but the communities we serve tend to be the local Belizeans. We have never advertised language classes in Belize. This information would have been from one of our other country project information sheets which you looked at when choosing your placement, I'm afraid.
2. The accommodation we offered at the time was either homestay or volunteer house. At the time, no homestays were available and you were allocated a private room in the volunteer house. It was low-season and so there were periods of your stay when no other volunteers were there, unfortunately, but we don't have any control over this. Because of the lack of availability of homestays families, we have since removed this as an option we offer. The volunteer house is great quality accommodation in the centre of town, that most volunteers really appreciate.
3. We had worked for the Good Shepherd clinic for some time prior to your arrival. The individual you spoke with was not familiar with our name, but the people running the project were. The clinic had shut because of the elections, (these dates are not pre-planned, so unlike a regular public holiday we cannot accommodate for them with our bookings). Because there were some visiting surgeons in town at the time, the head of the clinic decided to proceed with a few surgeries on a skeleton staff, but would not accept any new volunteers in, as they wouldn't be able to do the orientations and introductions required. It was unfortunate that this did affect your placement, but there was nothing we could have done to avoid it unfortunately. Since this time, we have, instead, started working with the main public hospital, which, due to it's size is less affected by such incidents and allows the volunteer placements more stability as a result.
4. Our coordinator did not get into trouble for telling you how much the transfers were, but she explained that we pay for the placement as a package, with all the transfers included. If a volunteer decides the don't want certain elements of the program, we can't do customised , individual pricing each time, so we are unable to return for individual items like this.
5. For the last week of your placement you were offered 2 options - one working in the clinic locally, and the other an opportunity in Belize city. We advised strongly against going to Belize city due to our concerns for your safely, but when we spoke, you insisted that the opportunity was a great one and that you understood that by taking this option, we were unable to refund you the accommodation, which was already pre-paid in the volunteer guesthouse. This was agreed prior to your choosing that option.
6. As the company Director and the person who spoke on numerous occasions to both yourself and your family, I can assure you that I never asked "whose side are you on". I'm not sure what this refers to, but I am sorry if anything was interpreted that way.
7/8/9. Unfortunately, the government did call an election and the clinic did decide that on a skeleton staff they could not take responsibility for a new volunteer that week. I'm sorry if you think we were making excuses, but there are many factors in the developing world that we have no control over, and the need for flexibility in these situations is a must. Because you did have this unfortunate experience we DID give you a partial refund, Susanna, despite us paying 100% of the costs to the people involved. We commit to our communities that we will not take back any money we provide for situations beyond their control which is why we have to impose these conditions, to protect them.
I am truly sorry that your experience was not everything you had hoped, and I am very happy that the placement was fantastic. We do work hard to ensure that every organisation we work with has a genuine need - and we will continue to support the projects. Belize has consistently been a top destination for Kaya with so many volunteers falling in love with this amazing country and the great with which we are involved here.