Pod Volunteer

This is a fantastic placement. The centre is right in the middle of Huaraz, so that you have everything you might want or need at your finger tips. The accommodation, although not luxurious, is comfortable and again, it provides everything you might need. There is hot water and very good wifi! I volunteered during their long summer holidays, so that we only worked during the mornings with the children. We did also teach English to adults in the evenings, but as this was shared, it meant that you do not work every evening. It is the interaction with the children and the adults that make this placement so rewarding. The children are very responsive and enjoy meeting their new teachers. If you do not speak much Spanish, this does not matter as everyone is quick to help and to understand what you would like to say. It does though, give you a wonderful opportunity to learn Spanish and there is the possibility of having private Spanish lessons if you so wish. I found I was given a chance to be creative in what I did with the classes. We did not have to keep to a strict program but could teach them English, do art work with them and play games in a way that we found useful for them and interesting for us. My time there passed very quickly as we were busy every morning and then there was plenty to do in Huaraz for the rest of the day. At weekends, it is possible to explore the beautiful places around Huaraz which is right in the middle of the Andes. There are lots of opportunities for trekking or for tours high into the mountains. I quickly built up strong friendships with the other volunteers and was made to feel very welcome form day one, even though I was much older than any of the others there. Peru is a wonderful country. It is extremely varied in its geography and it has such a long and rich history, that there is a lot to learn about and to explore. Travelling around the country is very easy and not expensive. I spent time on my own visiting different places after I finished volunteering. I felt safe and wished I could have stayed on longer as there is so much more I want to explore. It was very easy to join tours if you do not want to be on your own. I only booked them the day before. They are a great help as you can get to places that it is difficult to go to on your own.

I would recommend this placement as it is one of the best ways of integrating into Peru.

My experience as a volunteer in Sri Lanka was probably the best experience I have had abroad in the last years. The people of the project is amazing, they care about the animals, they care about the people and they care about you, they want you to be happy. The job done in the organization is varies a lot, an can be from planting trees to make sand traps and to observe the elephants. The job is much related with animals and nature and you will spend a lot of time in the jungle and you really feel that you are helping to diminish the human-elephant conflict.

Volunteering in India was by far one of the best things I did whilst travelling. The programme was well thought out and although I was only there for 3 weeks I felt as though even in my short time I made a bit of an impact on the children I was helping. The programme is well split between the school, the boys home and the rag pickers community too. Ravi and Gurav were excellent in supporting us the whole time and I never felt out of my depth with them around. They were very good at explaining the wider social issues which have led to the wide scale problems India is facing. Since my time there all I have wanted is to go back and visit, but this time for much longer. The volunteer house was also such a lovely environment to live in and was a lot of fun too! Ravi’s Wife Neha cooked the most incredible food and it really felt as though we were having a traditional Indian experience whilst living with them. She also gave us cooking classes which was so sweet, and has meant we have brought a little bit of India home with us! This programme is most definitely for you if you want a like no other experience, as well as the chance to help a community which is advancing and make life long friends.

This was a large and expensive learning experience. My advice is to never go through an agency like Pod Volunteer. I wasted so much of my hard earned money when I could have volunteered and given my money to a legitimate organization. Pod assured me my vegan diet would be accommodated and it was not. The center was extremely disorganized and offered more opportunities to those they would benefit more from. The conditions weren’t really safe as far as having amateurs go into cages, while being barked at by the kitchen manager. When I brought these issues up to Pod, they only covered for the center and brushed my (valid) concerns off. This is a money making scheme on all ends. I love to volunteer my time, which is actually more valuable to me than money, but I could have used my resources and went somewhere that appreciated my help. I wasn’t given the name of the actual center until right before I left, and conveniently after I paid. Next time I will go to the organization directly to make arrangements and i will never trust an organization like Pod in the future.

I spent months looking for volunteer opportunities overseas and it wasn’t until I came across this one that I knew i’d found the perfect fit. Having the option of working with both children and animals was what made this program stand out above the rest. The brothers who run this program are very passionate about their work in their community in Udaipur and are super supportive to their volunteers. The entire experience was extremely fulfilling and that is in large part to the environment that the brothers have created for both the volunteers and the people they help. I felt so comfortable and safe and truly had the time of my life in the few weeks I spent on this project. Leaving STEP felt hard as in only a few weeks they became family. I highly recommend anyone to take part in their projects in India.