Volunteer in Healthcare Education in Ubud, Bali

Words cannot describe my experience in Bali. If you're reading this because you are considering Bali, I say stop researching and GO! Here are some points as to why I loved my experience: 1. The people are so warm and welcoming 2. The scenery is unreal! 3. Green Lion is INCREDIBLE! 4. Orientation week was amazing! 5. The kids are eager to learn and play! Green Lion is the organization you will be working with. For the very short time I was there, they became my family. They went out of their way to help us in anything, and I mean anything! You can just tell how much they care for their volunteers. The accommodations were comfortable, washrooms were western. Orientation week is amazing! At first, I thought a week is kind of long, but at the end of the week I wanted to do it all over again. This is the time to learn and make new friends. During this time we walked through rice paddies, visited the monkey forest, learned the language, learned their cultural traditions, watched a cultural dance, visited a water temple, and learned how to cook. For the placement itself, you were partnered up and given a class. On a normal day my partner and I would make a lesson plan in the morning and go to placement in the afternoon. Being in the health care program was difficult at first because of the language barrier, but we quickly got over it through the help our coordinators. We played many games, did lots of colouring activities and shared lots of smiles. Instead of us teaching, I think we learned more from them. They taught us Bahasa (Indonesian) and how to appreciate the things we have. At the end of this trip I only had one regret, and that was not staying longer. The feeling of being there is so incredible that life back at home seems kind of boring. Therefore I did not say goodbye to Bali but more of a see you later type of thing. Terima Kasih (Thank-You) Bali for such an incredible adventure! - love Sarah (CAN)

Such an incredible program, met some of my now best friends through it. You will meet incredible people and there is so much to see and do around the accommodation. I am actually booking my second IVHQ trip now because I had such an amazing experience. You will be left with memories that last a lifetime and some tough goodbyes. You will never want to leave.

This was my first time volunteering abroad so I was quite nervous and did not know what to expect. After coming home from Bali, I am extremely thankful to IVHQ for giving me the opportunity to do this project and for their continuous support leading up to my trip to ensure that my travels would go smoothly. This was truly such a humbling and life changing experience that I will never forget! The moment I was greeted by the local organization in Bali and met the other volunteers, all my worries had faded away. It is amazing to see how quickly friendships and connections form between volunteers and the local people in such a short period of time. There is something magical about Bali- I have to say that people in Bali are the most genuine, loyal and humble people that I have ever met. Everyone smiles here and it is contagious! During the first week, the local program staff gave us an orientation of the Balinese culture. We visited a monkey forest, a holy water temple, a rice field, had a Batik painting class, went on a walking tour of Ubud with some free time to spend browsing through the markets, learned to cook some traditional Balinese food, saw a traditional Balinese dance (Kecak) and learned some basic Bahasa (language spoken in Bali). A great variety of activities and they were well organized and fun! Be prepared for lots of walking and moving around during this week :).Thank-you to the kitchen staff, I have now developed a new love for tempeh and peanut sauce! I came to Bali for the healthcare education project, hoping that a group of children would learn something new from me. In fact, they were the ones who had re-taught me the meaning of a very powerful gift: gratitude. It was remarkable to witness how excited and grateful these children were to receive basic stationery that I had given them for Christmas which we would think to be ordinary. I never would've thought that a group of children who I only got to know for a week would have such a big impact on me. If you are thinking of volunteering abroad but have some hesitations, I would definitely just take the dive and follow your dreams and everything else will fall in place. Not only was I able to learn about the Balinese culture and people, I learned so much about myself during these two weeks. Trust me, it will be rewarding in the end that you won't regret it!