Globalteer

This was an absolutely unreal experience! Was out in Peru for my university placement. Cusco was an amazing place and Globalteer is a great place to build working experience! Can’t recommend to anyone enough!

My Globalteer experience in Peru has been wonderful and I totally recommend anyone who wants to make a difference volunteering in any of the projects. Everyone I have met is kind, lovely, welcoming, and really dedicated to the work, always trying to achieve the best for the kids and for the animals. Particularly, my work is as an NGO Assistant in the Picaflor House, an after-school program for poor and vulnerable children, and I could not be more positively impacted. The project really makes a difference in the life of kids, giving them the support they need on their learning and also providing many leisure through art classes, sports etc. All of the kids love Picaflor and consider it a fun, safe and happy environment.

I loved volunteering at the Dog's Shelter, you can see that the staff there love the dogs and put their needs first. It was so fun to play with them all, they're so cute and all just want to be loved! The volunteer house was great, I enjoyed meeting people from all around the world and everybody got along so well. There was a mixture of volunteers and Globalteer interns, so meeting the Globalteer staff was really nice too. Cusco is an amazing city, there is so much to do inside the city and in the surrounding rural areas. Great restaurants, bars, museums, shops, and there are so many companies offering day and multiple day trekking trips. The cost of living in Peru is super cheap, and with food and accommodation provided I only spent money on socialising and excursions. Machu Picchu was unreal and the Salkantay trek is a must do!

I loved the time I was able to spend with Magali (project founder and owner) and her animals. She’s incredibly passionate, and the animals were a joy to work with. I loved preparing their food and collecting leaves for the monkeys from the surrounding jungle. The accommodations were comfortable and the food was good, making the experience all the more enjoyable. I hope to return someday!

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I really enjoyed working at the Peru Dog Project. Though some dogs arrive in bad condition or have suffered neglect/abuse, they’re still happy dogs at heart and a joy to work with. The owners of the project are passionate and well-organized, and it was a pleasure to spend 2 weeks with them and their dogs. The facilities/kennels are simple, but the dogs have lots of space to run around, and are overall healthy and happy.

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I volunteered at the dog shelter in Cusco in 2017 at which time it was not possible to leave a review or if it was I was not aware of it. My experience was rather negative. I was very upset by the conditions and the way the dogs were treated to the extent that I had to stop going there after the second day. I informed the Globalteer office in Cusco of my concerns and they took quick action to address the most serious of these. After I returned home to the UK, I wrote an email to Globalteer detailing what I had seen and also setting out suggestions as to ways in which the dogs' welfare could be improved. I have been involved in animal welfare all my life and have volunteered at numerous shelters in various countries and therefore thought that my suggestions would be useful. As a Iawyer I am familiar with the UK standards. I received a response from the manager which I was not happy with as the statements contained therein did not correspond with what I had seen myself at the shelter, and direct questions were not answered. I asked him if my complaint could be forwarded to the trustees but did not hear anything from them. I then wrote a letter to each of the trustees at the company's registered address but did not receive any replies. I don’t know if my letters were forwarded. I then asked my member of parliament (MP) if he would write to the trustees for me. He kindly tried to do so but only received a reply from the manager. I am sorry to say that in this reply, which my MP sent to me, the manager stated that I was making things up about the shelter because I wanted to get a refund of the fee I paid to do the volunteer placement. It also contained the same kind of inaccurate statements that I had received myself. My MP then contacted the Animal Welfare Group in the UK Parliament about this issue, the chairman of which then wrote to Globalteer. Even he did not receive a response from the trustees but only from the manager.

I volunteered with Picaflor House in November 2018 for couple of weeks. I’ve never done an abroad volunteer program before so i had my doubts and hundreds of questions. Globalteer team put children into their heart and they direct you accordingly during your volunteer program. They answer each and every question with patience. The kids are amazing, teachers are so helpful and everything is so well organized that you don’t have anything to worry about. Cusco itself is a lovely city that I enjoyed a lot. I can’t stop talking & thinking about this amazing experience I had! Wish others would also find the opportunity and be as lucky as I am to have such an amazing experience! Thanks much for this great experience

I will always cherish the experience in Peru. I grew up on a farm and have been passionate about helping animals all my life. I particularly connect with dogs so wanted to volunteer to help dogs in need. I already have experience volunteering with dogs at home but wanted to take on the challenge of helping at a shelter overseas. The project did not disappoint, I was able to get stuck in straight away and the dogs were amazing, really friendly and loving despite their horrific backgrounds. The work was as expected but probably more rewarding than back home knowing these dog’s stories. Cusco is a wonderful place to volunteer, beautiful city and friendly people. The staff and other volunteers were great. I never felt alone in the hostel, great place to socialize. I would highly recommend!

I absolutely love all dogs so decided to combine my holiday with helping dogs in another country again. This project was amazing, the shelter owners were so passionate and there love for dogs was obvious. They worked so hard for many years to care for dogs in Cusco, I was inspired by their dedication! The problem for dogs in Peru is huge, attitudes are different and there are so many dogs on the streets. The support at this project was wonderful, Globalteer has an office in Cusco, so the staff were always there and available when I needed help. When I volunteered overseas before though a different organisation, their office was back home and support was via email so not so good as this project, especially as I have not really travelled independently.

I had a great time in Thailand and volunteering at the elephant sanctuary was definitely the highlight. It is such a beautiful place to spend time and the elephants have a great natural environment to live in. The elephants come first at the sanctuary which is correct in my view. I have seen other places where the elephants are used in tourism and they are treated badly. I was happy that I found this place after lots of research. Def recommend this one if you want to help out at a real elephant sanctuary.

I was a little overwhelmed at first after all the travelling but quickly got settled into the routine of feeding, watering and cleaning as well as other special tasks like creating enrichments for the animals. They have an amazing variety of animals at the project. I have always loved animals and seeing these different exotic species up close and knowing you are helping them was fantastic. The location was really nice, and it was a pleasure to work there. The staff were great, and I learnt a lot from them. I just wish the project had more funding, so they could expand their vital work.

I loved helping the monkeys, they were so interesting to work with. It was a pleasure to help the project in their mission to rescue and care for them. I want to work in conservation one day and this was a great insight into the plight of trafficked animals. I learnt a lot from the staff and other volunteers. The accommodation was pretty basic at the sanctuary but as expected. Argentina was great and I hope to return again to explore the country more.

This was my first visit to Cambodia and I really love the country and the people were so friendly. Mondulkiri was quieter than I thought, it was just a small town with a few bars and restaurants. That made the experience pretty cool though. The staff were great, and I hope I helped them out in their mission to promote the indigenous people of Cambodia. Such a great cause and I wish them all the best.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this project. The staff were great, and it was wonderful to be able to learn about Costa Rica from the locals working there. I was lucky to have such a great group of volunteers with me at the time, that made the whole experience awesome. The work was better than expected, we had lots to do and it all felt like we were making a positive difference. I love turtles so this was a dream come true for me. Seeing them up close and knowing that we helped the individuals as well as the species was a truly rewarding thing.

This was a great experience for me in Cambodia. It was my first time in Asia, so I was a little nervous. The project was really cool, it exceeded my expectations. It was really rewarding work and I hope I made a difference to the wonderful animals. Cambodia was a truly fantastic experience for me, I definitely want to travel more having experienced such a wonderful country.

Volunteering with Globalteer was an experience that will never leave me. The enthusiasm of the kids was infectious, they loved being at the Helping Hands project. I was so lucky to be with an amazing group of other volunteers from all around the world. We had so much fun together, both at the school and socially. Siem Reap is a wonderful little town, my kind of place, lots to do and laid back. I look forward to the day I go back, I know I will one day.

I volunteered at the Thailand rescue centre and absolutely loved it. The location is a really beautiful, chilled out place with a really friendly little village. There was a good balance of work and relaxing and exploring time and on days off there is quite a few places nearby to visit with nice beaches and some good bars to go out in! The centre is well organized and run. There is a really interesting range of animals there and new ones arriving all the time but most importantly with the rehab program for gibbons you feel like you're contributing to a program that is actually making a difference and has a real future. We went on a jungle trip to the national park which was about 30 mins drive away and so we got to see some of the species at the centre in the wild plus some wild elephants and loads of other animals. The rooms are pretty basic but fine and meals are great although you do have to like rice! I wished I could have stayed for longer.

I made some wonderful friends that I'm still in contact with, the children never failed to make me smile even when I missed home - and Peru is a beautiful country with such lovely people. The Project Manager was amazing, I had a few problems during my stay and she sorted them quickly for me. Globalteer’s Development Manager was also very helpful, preparing lessons and assisting in the lessons amongst other things. The Picaflor House Manager was great, always smiling and helping me with my Spanish. Generally, the other volunteers were like-minded people who I made friends with and remain in contact with. I would definitely recommend Globalteer to anyone. They were professional and supportive throughout. Their staff are lovely and really helped me out. I also like the fact that a lot of the money goes towards the project. You can see where your money goes and how much the kids appreciate the program. If you’re on the fence and not quite sure then take my advice and go for it. It was the best thing I've ever done. I met amazing people and had a great time and I felt I made a difference to the children's lives. Please tell my story to as many people as you can and get more volunteers to the projects!

I volunteered in Indonesia at the sanctuary rescuing and releasing wild animals. There was a huge variety of animals and birds at the sanctuary which made it a wonderful experience. The sanctuary itself was really big and was doing great work protecting many species. I was really impressed with the place and had a great time with other volunteers from around the world. I would definitely recommend people support this sanctuary to help the amazing animals.

This was a great program in the Amazon. I have always wanted to do conservation work and I was lucky to find this project. All the volunteers were great, like minded people and we had a great time together. The project is well established and we all felt useful, safe and had great fun.