Refugee Relief Volunteering in Dominican Republic

I enjoyed some of the activites , but not others. The rivre walk and the walk to the koppies was 10/10. No intrenet was challenging , so 7/10. Jane , Precious , Patrick and Lucas were 10/10. I woul recommend this project to anyone who needs a detox from Social media.

New culture, new people, New Life. When we exchange our perspectives, ideas and plans to make a world better place for everyone. It's good to go different places it helps me view life in many directions

Hice 5 años en haiti, me se su idioma, se toda su cultura, me gustaría volver y apoyarlos en todas las dificultades que tienen, ya que ameritan mucha ayuda de todos nosotros, para ellos poder sobrevivir

I would really like to volunteer. I am passionate about charity and showing kindness to the world. Please, give me a chance. Kindly provide Certificate of sponsorship too since I'm not able to provide for myself at the moment. Kindly put my request into consideration.

This an increasingly popular way for individuals to make a meaningful impact in communities around the world. With numerous organizations offering volunteer programs, it's essential to review and research these opportunities to ensure a safe and rewarding experience. *Pros:* 1. *Cultural Immersion*: Living and working with local communities provides an immersive cultural experience. 2. *Skill Development*: Volunteers can develop new skills and gain experience in areas such as teaching, conservation, and community development. 3. *Networking Opportunities*: Volunteers can connect with like-minded individuals from around the world. 4. *Personal Growth*: Volunteering abroad can be a transformative experience, fostering personal growth and self-awareness. *Cons:* 1. *Cost*: Many volunteer programs come with a hefty price tag, which can be a barrier for some. 2. *Safety Concerns*: Volunteers may face safety risks, such as health concerns or political instability, depending on the destination. 3. *Cultural Differences*: Adapting to local customs and way of life can be challenging for some volunteers. 4. *Quality of Programs*: Some volunteer programs may lack structure, support, or meaningful work, leading to a disappointing experience. *Recommendations:* 1. *Research Thoroughly*: Investigate the organization, program, and destination to ensure a safe and rewarding experience. 2. *Read Reviews*: Look for reviews from past volunteers to gain insight into the program's quality and challenges. 3. *Choose a Reputable Organization*: Select an organization with a proven track record, transparent policies, and adequate support for volunteers. 4. *Prepare Yourself*: Culturally, emotionally, and physically prepare yourself for the experience to ensure a smooth transition. By being aware of the pros and cons, doing thorough research, and choosing a reputable organization, volunteers can have a safe, rewarding, and life-changing experience abroad.

As a Social worker i often meet with clients to assess their needs, provide counseling, and develop individualized plans to address their challenges. This could involve sessions with individuals, families, or groups.

I probably had one of the best experiences of my life in Natuwa for a month, feeding the many animals that live there, taking care of them, discovering a different way of life than mine, more minimalist and peaceful. Rodolfo is an extremely understanding man who cares about the well-being of his voluntarios. We had the chance to do several extra activities outside the centre, such as snorkeling near to Isla Tortuga, or swimming at night with bioluminescent planktons, which were dazzling. The workteam is really friendly and allows you to feel integrated quickly and easily. However, you have to expect to work hard sometimes, for example planting trees, doing work to maintain the infrastructure, but this is only a part of the day. outside the centre

The time I spent in Dubai, Oman and Abdul Dhabi, I have a wonderful and experiential Joy with the people and I was able to showcased my skills and the people explore my knowledge to their satisfaction Little details of my experience Dubai Falcon Ballroom Hotel which was so great. Even more perfect was the fact that they had thought of everything in advance, I didn’t need to remind them I needed a fresh bed shread in the room (which I did have to do twice at the local hotel I stayed in my country, more on this later) as they had already taken care of that prior to our arrival. The bed, oh the bed! It was dreamy in every way, the most comfortable place I’ve ever laid in, and the most restful sleep I had had in years, and sometimes teary nighttime awakenings. some things can’t be helped…oh, the joys of travelling with flight Emirate is spectacular. A night between those bed-sheets really restores and rebalances you. I had excellent views directly facing the Mall of the Emirate and part of the pool below (if you stretched your neck). Everything in the room was spotlessly clean and looked brand new. The desk was comfortable for planning my daily routes on our my map.

August 8th, 2018, I went to Thailand for the highest skydiving constitution in Asian. At the time, when I put on heavy equipment, I was super nervous, so I paid hundreds percent concentration on training. All set down, I followed the coach to get on the helicopter and had a big swallow before taking off. On the way to five thousand inches high, my hand still stuck the edge of seat tightly. It's the real time when I hardly moved right to the open door, my foot suspended in the midair and smash wind make me hard to breathe. Without struggle, I was pushed to jump with closing eyes and opening mouth. Actually, I screamed loudly but heard nothing. The parachute opened in seconds successfully and everything went as well as training. When I stood steadily on the cloud, I touched the soft clouds, astonished by the beautiful view of Phuket Island---golden-green fields are surrounded by the sea blue, trail of the train intersect through the landscape, cars running on the roads are as tiny as ants moving foods. Swinging back to the ground, I was so proud of myself and at the same time, I was so excited about the astonishing views in the sky.

In my 30 years of experience as a professional nurse I have worked in comprehensive patient care and I know everything related to the area of ​​health. Now I am retired and my great desire is to help people in need.

Volunteer World gave me the opportunity to find a project that suited me. They have plenty of projects and there is something for everyone! You meet amazing people. You get to know the country and the culture through te locals. You connect immedeatly with the other volunteers and experience this amazing trip together. I'm already looking for my next experience with them.

Hey , I'm Amine , I would love top inform you that I have had a good experience in voluntary work that's why I want to share it with you by helping people in need . In fact , I have made great relations when I was teaching either children or adults , it was really a good time when dealing and socializing , I really learnt many thing from such experience and thus could cope with many problems and situations . I also learnt many things when curing my father for about 16 years , he is in special need and I have learnt numerous things and even got more open with wide heart when dealing with sick people , indeed , I'm that kind person by nature who loves to offer something to others

During three months, I’m volonteer in community project for GVI in Silana Village and I really enjoyed my trip. It’s very likely to help the NGO and the villagers in the waste management and the recycling activities. Gvi permits to me, to discover a new lifestyle with my fijian familly in Silana.

I'm Olatosu Gabriel, I was so touched when I travel to Tanzania, with a lots of unexpected surprises, really enjoyed my tour over there, especially in Zanzibar, their masquerades where so fine, they moved out with voodoo, flames of fire coming out of their head, women half naked dancing on their toe. Some strong men holding their masquerades that held cutlasses, I had a lot of time watching their festival, I enjoyed the way of their greetings, prostration and two hands on their head, I also visited a port, where I saw some animals, some that I have never seen in my life, also visited Kenya, I enjoyed their meal and their women so cheerful and lovely, most are black but beautiful, also visited Ghana in Accra, really enjoyed the cool place, with lots of fun, clubbing and enjoyed their women hospitality,. So amazing,...

The service was exceptional. I had many technical difficulties and someone was always there to help me out. Thank you so much! So easy to get in contact with organisations and tailor a search based on what my interests or travel requirements are for the experience. Love the range of filters and ease of contact and booking. I especially appreciated the transparent ethical guarantee on the website when looking at programs. Really great site! I've spent two weeks at a horse sanctuary and I had an amazing time! It is a nice project, you learn a lot about horsemanship and respect towards the horses.

My general experience I have been working at Aldeas de Paz for 2 months from June to July 2016. There are many opportunities of careers with the diversity of programs and many possibilities to share and develop new skills even if you are not qualified for a specific field. Great chances to learn professionally and on many aspects of a stay in a foreign country. Hours are flexible. Aldeas de Paz is a small organization with very good contact with volunteers, local partners and host families. Manfred and Julia are like a "bridge" between the locals and the volunteers. They are flexible and very helpful. The organization has an excellent Spanish teacher, Elson and a very good learning program for kids with special needs, especially thanks to the Program Manager Yunior. Thank you very much for allowing me to experience this amazing adventure !!!! Things to improve Give much more information before the arrival. It would be great to give more details about the weekly schedule or a typical week at ADP (no work on Friday, compulsory meeting on Friday...) for example. A Skype interview would be great in order to reply to all the questions possible. This is also a very way to test the Spanish level of the volunteers. It would be nice to put a section on the website where we get to know Manfred, Julia, Yunior, Elson... "

My name is Kevin Murton and I have just finished my 7 weeks in Samana, Dominican Republic, volunteering for Aldeas de Paz helping with the Multi Media output. As everyone would be, I was a little nervous about how the experience would turn out for various reasons, particularly in relation to my age and lack of intermediate Spanish ability. I quickly realised I didn't have to worry on either account. Although I was encouraged to speak Spanish whenever I could, particularly in the Spanish lessons, I felt comfortable at all times that my English would get me by, and that was the common language we generally used in any meetings I was involved in. In relation to my age, genuinely I felt no difference in my relationships with the volunteers as the younger ones did with each other. Having a young open mind and respect for each other was plenty for everyone to generally get along. I offered my unique set of skills, capabilities and energies and others did the same. I suppose you kind of adopt a role within a temporary family setting, which obviously changes as people come and go. So when I initially arrived, I had an amazing welcome from Manfred and the rest of the volunteers. I made sure I had no expectations as to the place I was coming to and made myself aware of the fact that cultural differences would be inevitable. A mindful, moment-to-moment approach, without too much judgement, helped me through those initial few days. Bit-by-bit I felt more and more comfortable with any security concerns I may have had. A healthy awareness of what was going on around me, like I do in London, and common sense decisions became part of my everyday living. It feels very safe here. Getting used to the heat, changes in diet and the variety of nature that you see (from experience a clean room and a spray every month of insect repellant deters anything that may want to come inside), can all be viewed positively, and some may not be concerned with these changes at all, but if you are, taking the initiative to find the best way you want to deal with these issues quickly is a good idea. Eating the Plata del Dia or buying vegetables at the local market or the colmardos near to the apartments can make food here quite cheap, but be aware of buying too much at the 'gringo' supermecado. Food can be very expensive here and a lot of it doesn't have the price on it. It may take a while for the local gift shops to realise that you aren't a tourist, so you will be an amigo/a to all of them. It's a good way to practice your Spanish if nothing else. The Multi Media work I did here was very enjoyable and working at the school, the hospital, at the Ayuntamiento, interviewing the Mayor. It feels very rewarding having produced film that can only show Aldeas de Paz in a positive light and perhaps create opportunities for future grants. There is some amazingly beautiful scenery here on the Samana peninsula to explore. Whale watching during February and March, El Salto de Limon (waterfall), the amazingly beautiful Playa de Cayo Levantado and Los Haitises are some, but every so often you catch the beauty shown by the people; typically on the beach, with Bachata music playing as couples dance, as others play table games and still others lay back in the sun with a Carribbean kissed cocktail ready to sip, wrapped in not much more than the hot breeze drifting off the gentility of the ocean. I have experienced a few of these kinds of cultural immersion trips now and felt genuinely emotional about leaving a group of people, whose heart tells them they want help a society, which at the moment is not able to give the same chances as most of us have back in our own countries. Manfred is a great man and I have a lot of respect for him. He makes a lot of effort to help make your experience a useful and happy one. I came here to have an adventure, learn more Spanish and help a very worthwhile charity. I leave feeling like a better person, with what I have accomplished. Thanks Manfred, I have had an amazing experience, which will stay in my memories for a very long time to come. I hope our paths meet again in the not too distant future! Bye I'm off to Costa Rica.

Finding out my weaknesses, strengths, and goals for my future life was the main ambition for my Latin American trip. After high school I wanted to get out and discover both myself and the world. I wanted to expand my horizons, to escape from societal structures, and, as the saying goes, to “think outside the box”. I experienced all of these things in Samana in the Dominican Republic in my five weeks as a volunteer in the fundacion Aldeas de Paz. Samana is a great place to get closer to the Dominican culture and in my opinion also a suitable place to start a foundation. I say this as it is a fantastic location, where the special feeling of Caribbean life with endless white beaches on the peninsula of Samana cannot be missed. Samana has approximately 40 000 inhabitants, where the roaring, energetic life takes you over. I had to get used to it in the first week, but I learned quickly to deal with the new circumstances and to become more open-minded. My boss and my fellow volunteers helped me a great deal with this first step. The feeling of isolation never came to me because someone was always close at hand whenever problems arose. The security in Samana and the friendliness towards tourists was especially noticeable and it has to be emphasized, because this is not the case in Latin America as a whole. The foundation Aldeas de Paz is currently under construction in the Dominican Republic, because it has had to move from the political situation of Venezuela. This played straight into my hands, because therefore I had more freedom in my volunteer program and job scope, and nobody could put me in pre-defined structures (as I had hoped). The freedom of the working situation was increased by the horizontal management consciously exercised by my boss, so that each and every volunteer could participate as they wanted and were able to. This gave me the satisfaction of learning more about myself, making a difference, taking part in a development, and growing with progressively difficult tasks. I could not expect to make a big impact with some of my work, because volunteer work is often associated with a long development process. This was something I had to learn in the beginning. Because of the short duration of my volunteering, I operated in many different sectors, e.g. working with children with learning difficulties, or social media marketing. Through it I found some new interests and I was able to make sense of my future plans, which brought me a little bit closer to my goals. Overall those five weeks in Aldeas de Paz were a ground-breaking, exciting, and wonderful experience, which I would have no hesitation in recommending to any high school graduate who wishes to expand his or her horizons and is exuberant.