IVHQ Childcare Volunteering in St Mary, Jamaica

My favorite moment was getting to school on the first day of my placement and being accepted immediately by my teacher and students. They welcomed me with open arms. The biggest impact for me was the relationship I grew going to school everyday by teaching the students. I was crying happy tears on my last day saying my goodbyes to them. They made my trip so worth it! If you are hesitant or nervous to volunteer - I was too! But that feeling leaves immediately when you meet your housemates. I've volunteered with IVHQ twice now, both times have left me with friendships and memories to last a lifetime.

My favorite moment from the volunteer experience was meeting other volunteers and making relationships with people with different life experiences due to the variety of counties people came from. My volunteer trip gave me confidence to travel alone and taught me about Jamaica as a whole, people, food and culture. It’s the most effective way to see a country outside of tourism and will give you different opportunities that most tourists won’t have access to.

My favorite moment from the volunteer experience was being in the classroom with the teacher, and seeing her approach to teaching. She was calm, in control, never over reacted to bad behavior. As a teacher of music, I was interested to see how teachers around the world bring out the best in the students. No matter how much experience we have, we can learn from everyone. I'm sixty nine years old, love adventure, meeting new people and making a positive contribution. My advice is to get out of one's comfort zone and live life to the fullest. It's not always going to be easy, but will be worthwhile!