GVI, Ethical Impact: Volunteer in Costa Rica

Hi, my name is Berni. I’m from the UK and I have just returned from three months working on the GVI Wildlife project at Jalova, Costa Rica.
Well, where do I begin??? .....so much I want to tell you.
I’ve always had an interest in wildlife but I will confess to being an ‘armchair’ enthusiast. I love watching anything wildlife related on TV, have a love of being outdoors and take an interest in conservation but have never actually done any conservation work before. My work involved helping children and young people with emotional difficulties, so doing wildlife conservation work was very different for me.
Circumstances within my work environment provided me with an opportunity to take some time out.... a gap year. So I decided to stop sitting in the armchair, get out there and do something about my conservation interest. I knew about Costa Rica’s diverse wildlife and, in terms of places I wanted to visit, it was right up there at the top of my bucket list.
I started to do some research into companies offering ecotourism and was overwhelmed by the choice! I’d heard that some organisations would quite happily take your money and not give you a genuine, worthwhile experience, and I wanted to make sure I would be working for an organisation which was credible and was making a real difference on environmental issues. So I contacted several organisations and asked lots of questions! And, for me, GVI ticked all the boxes. After a lot of extensive research, I knew I’d found the organisation I wanted to work with.
The weeks leading up to my trip were busy. Flights; insurance; making sure I had all the right equipment... the list seemed endless, but finally the day arrived when I was ready to go. To say I was nervous was an understatement! But as soon as I was met by Vix, Amber and Ben at San Jose airport, I felt at ease and knew I would be well looked after. Some of the other volunteers and interns were also at the airport, and I met others when we arrived at the hostel in San Jose.
Then the following day, we were all transported to Jalova, which was going to be my home for the next three months. After a good night’s sleep, I was able to get used to my surroundings and I fell in love with Jalova straight away. Yes, the facilities are basic and not what I was used to at home; electricity is solar powered – Jalova is in the middle of a rainforest which meant that some days there was no sun - and therefore no power - so charging devices, and even lighting was limited to say the least; there was sufficient water to have a shower each day, but all other water came from the well. Still, base camp has such charm and I saw a multitude of wildlife within a few metres of my dorm. Oh, and did I mention that the beach (and the Caribbean) is only metres from the camp???
Very quickly after arriving at camp, the training began. As a mature traveller, it was several years since I’d done any studying and I felt as though I was never going to learn the names and characteristics of all the necessary birds, lizards, frogs and mammals. But the staff and other volunteers were so supportive. We would all study together and test each other on our knowledge. It seemed the staff’s motto of ‘we believe in you’ paid off and the studying, along with getting out in the field and seeing some of the species ‘in the flesh’ (which I did very soon after arriving at Jalova), helped me to pass the necessary tests.
As I’d signed up for the Wildlife programme, I became involved in all aspects of the project which was exactly what I wanted. Surveys were varied; - forest surveys, butterfly walks, night walks, nest checks, jag walk, jag cams, frog walks and bird boat. I loved going out on the bird boat – the canals which surround Jalova are absolutely stunning – so peaceful and calm, and we saw an abundance of birds and other wildlife (but be prepared to do lots of rowing!). But my favourites have to be nest check and night walk because that was where I had the opportunity to see turtles! For me, seeing these beautiful creatures in the flesh, after years of only seeing them from my armchair on TV, was beyond my wildest dreams! I got the opportunity to ‘work’ some green adult female turtles – this involved counting the eggs as she was laying them (what an experience!), measuring her, marking the nest and doing a body check. I can’t begin to describe the feeling I got the first time I did that. And then on nest check I saw baby leatherbacks making their way to the ocean – so many special memories that I will treasure forever.
Going to Jalova and working with GVI has truly been a life-changing experience for me. Every single person I met was warm, friendly, accepting and kind, and we all shared a passion for helping the beautiful creatures we encountered. The staff could not have done more to make me feel welcome, accepted, and that I was truly making a difference to the work we were doing. Their belief in me has really boosted my confidence. I can’t thank them enough.
If you are thinking of doing some wildlife conservation and considering going to Jalova, my advice would be ‘just do it’.

This was my first time traveling abroad by myself, and it could not have gone better. From the beginning, the staff and other volunteers were so welcoming and kind. With our community work (pouring concrete, fixing plumbing/water pipes, cleaning up trash, digging up old tires), I feel like we were really able to make an improvement in the community. We did have quite a bit of free time in the afternoons, so sometimes there wasn't much to do. During the adventure week, we went white-water rafting, camping in an eco-lodge, hiking, zip lining, and rappelling down waterfalls. This was all super fun and the entire trip really opened me up to so many new, amazing experiences and introduced me to so many great people. The highlights of the trip for me were zip lining and white water rafting.

In March 2018 I had the most amazing adventure living for a month (very basically) in the middle of the Costa Rican Jungle thanks to GVI Jahlova Costa Rica. Waking up to the sounds of bird calls, capuchin monkeys raiding our compost and footprints of jaguars just outside our camp. We saw the most amazing wildlife and contributed to some extremely important biodiversity studies. Data analysis from all of the canal, jungle and beach surveys demonstrated that the number of species in rainforest that had been conserved for 10 years was significantly higher than that in an area conserved for only 3 years. This is evidence that conserving our natural areas is successful and will hopefully help convince governments to protect more areas. Working at this camp with other like-minded people was inspiring and has convinced me that I can have an impact on conservation back home in Australia.

This trip was the most amazing and impactful trip and experience of my life! When 14 of us strangers went from my university to this little, beautiful town of Quepos, we came back with a family and a whole new perspective on life! We learned to value nature, learning that even with the little the people of Costa Rica have, they put in so much effort to taking care of where they live and protecting their precious animals. Now we all recycle WAY more than before and even prevent using straws so we can join the impact! We learned to value friendship and family, seeing how welcoming everyone was there; with our daily village lunches after our hours of work, we not only came to an amazing meal yet were taught how to make it by our wonderful host. With this language barrier, you would think that we would have a hard time communicating with them, but their hearts were so open they knocked down this barrier and let us into their families. On our free time, we enjoyed the most amazing parts of the world I didn't even know existed, and it led me to this desire to travel the rest of the this world. But, most importantly and above all, my connection with the children we helped was the best part of the trip; even with the lack of education for many of the kids, they were still so smart and wanted to learn everything we were teaching them, showing me that people with so little can be the most grateful humans and even go and teach you more than you taught them. I am hoping to be a pediatrician one day and this trip solidified that I definitely want to be around kids when I am older. And I cannot wait to travel with GVI again and experience another trip of a lifetime!!

I participated and supported the GVI Community Projects in Quepos, Costa Rica in April 2017 for two weeks. During this time, I got to experience the Volunteer with Children program and the Teaching English program. The thing I liked most was that all the programs occurred within the same community, which GVI has been working with for several years. The inclusive nature of the programs, which happen in partnership with local people, helps to create sustainability and longevity in the work being done. For both programs, under the excellent guidance of the staff, as volunteers you get to plan out lessons and activities for either the children or the English students. In addition, there were always others projects happening, like the construction of a new community centre, which volunteers could get involved with. Apart from the amazing programs, Quepos itself is great, with Manual Antonio’s beautiful beaches and National Park only a bus ride away. I would also say it’s a great way to start off a backpacking trip, as it means you have some structure in place before you go! I would highly recommend these programs, especially because the staff there are some of the most dedicated, inspiring people I have ever met! What are you waiting for!

During my stay at Jalova, I worked a good deal of time on the Jaguar Project, usually by traveling up and down the beach between mile markers 18 and 14, where cam traps had been set up near the beach or near a recently predated turtle carcass. Carcass cameras were set up whenever a new turtle carcass appeared on the beach and would remain there for almost up to a week. Mile marker cameras, on the other hand, would remain where they were set up every week, with only their SD cards being swapped out every Tuesday on Jag Cams. Once we returned to base after Jag Cams, we would review the footage we recovered to see if any jaguars were still in the area. On Thursdays, if you had the stamina and endurance for it, some of us would go on what is called Jag Walk. It's the 14.5 mile walk you've probably already heard about. During that walk, I would alternate with others every 3 miles different positions we were given: GPS tracking, noticing whether we saw any jaguar tracks, noting how many turtle nests we saw, counting how many turtle tracks there were, or recording data at every half-mile. At the end of Jag Walk, we were given the chance to have a nice meal in the town of Tortuguero.

Living accommodations on base were very basic. The diet was very vegetarian-oriented due to a lack of a working fridge. We would get fried or grilled chicken every Friday from Tortuguero. Showers and dorms were co-ed, but we did have locked doors for showers and toilets. Washing was very basic and had to be done by hand, and drying clothes might take some time due to the constant humidity and unpredictable weather.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience. The people at Jalova were very welcoming and a lot of fun to work with. I thoroughly recommend to anyone, who shares a passion in environmental conservation, to go to Jalova.

Hi there fellow adventure seekers! My name is Kirsten Svitich. I am a 20 year old country girl from Alberta, Canada planning to attend Journalism school in the future. I am currently travelling the world to discover all the adventures it has to offer! After graduating high school, I had a desire to escape my small hometown and see the world, while making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than myself. I knew that I wanted to volunteer but I also knew that I couldn’t do it alone. So, I began my search to find the program that was right for me. After a lengthy, intensive search I found exactly what I was looking for. At 18 years old, in March of 2016, I joined the Childcare and Community Development program in Costa Rica with GVI. And it was the best decision I could have made!

How did I decide to join GVI? Well, like any millennial, I took to the internet to do my research. I found many comparable companies in terms of quality of programs. However, as a recent high school graduate my budget was not significantly high. When I came upon the GVI website I was immediately intrigued. “Is this too good to be true?”, I thought, as I read the descriptions of the programs and their corresponding fees. I continued reading reviews and watching testimonials from former GVI members and quickly realized that no, it was not too good to be true... it was a perfect fit! Yes, there were other volunteer companies that offered similar and less expensive programs, however Global Vision International is committed to abide by the UN’s sustainable development goals while working WITH the local communities in order to ensure that only the most important and effective help is provided. This was a very important factor to me as I wanted to ensure that I was working on a project that was directly beneficial to those who needed it most.

So now that I had found the organization for me, all I had left to do was the fun part; pick my program! Now you think that this would be easy. However with the possibility to go to so many countries all over the world the decision was not so simple! There were so many interesting and different programs that narrowing it down to just one took some time. I have always had a passion for working with kids so the childcare programs drew my attention. But with many other options such as marine conservation, construction or women’s empowerment, there is definitely something for everyone!

I eventually decided on Costa Rica as my destination. The program that you choose is purely a personal decision based on how comfortable you will be in certain situations. Costa Rica attracted me because of the remote location of the project and the simple way of life at the volunteer house as well as all the beautiful activities Costa Rica offers as a country. Again if this isn’t your thing, there are other programs that may be a better fit. One thing to keep in mind is that some of the placements will be offered in what are considered “developing countries”. So be prepared for a more simple way of life such as shared rooms, bunk beds, local food and no hot water. But don’t let this stop you! For me this was one of the best parts of my experience! To be able to let go of the material world and prioritize things differently really opened my mind. I loved everything about my accommodation in Quepos, Costa Rica including the staff!! From the very first moment I arrived I felt so comfortable and supported in whatever I needed!
The training I received was very informative and I felt that I was prepared to handle the project with professionalism. As a group, we would spend every Monday planning our week of activities for the children. Then Tuesday to Friday would be spent on the project site providing instruction to them, usually in the form of crafts or games. All of this was done under the supervision of GVI staff, so if we ever had any questions they were there to help! Seeing the smiling faces of the children each morning when I arrived at the project, and spending the day sharing with them the program we had developed gave me a real sense of purpose and accomplishment. Then the weekend was free to spend however I chose. This was a perfect way to explore the country and get closer to the other volunteers!

The people I met while volunteering became some of my closest friends that I still keep in touch with today. We had so much fun planning lessons for the project and exploring the area surrounding our new home on the weekends! There was a perfect mix of work and free time but no matter what we were doing we were always having a great time. I had some of the best moments of my life volunteering in Costa Rica and I made memories that I will cherish forever. So if you are thinking about volunteering with Global Vision International, do not hesitate. It changed my life and I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of their amazing team and help do my part to make the world a better place.

This U18 wildlife conservation course in Jalova was certainly an excellent and rewarding experience! It has helped improve my future as all the volunteers that I went with learned to become more independent and can be used on our CV and personal statement so that we can stand out from the crowd, it is definitely worth it. Together we overcame the smell of our dirty clothes, the harsh thunder storms and the language barriers with a true sense of accomplishment, we all did our part in helping the biodiversity of the Costa Rican jungle. It was truly spectacular to witness things on this trip that most people would never experience in their lifetime, for example seeing a green turtle lay her eggs on the beach during the night was simply breath taking. It was truly inspirational to see the work that GVI has done conserving the growth of the country and the unique and spectacular marine and wild life that it has to offer.