Public Health Volunteering in Tacloban City, Philippines

My highlight was definitely getting to know the community and getting a glimpse of what the rural lifestyle is like. People were so grateful and delighted to see volunteers, and you can feel the impact you are having on the community. My highlight was spreading knowledge of what I learned in nursing school to less-experienced volunteers. The food and accommodation were so amazing. The staff was very accommodating and the sweetest.

I am very grateful to have participated in this project. I am returning from my assignment at the Philippine schools with somewhat mixed emotions, though the experience was deeply moving and rewarding in many ways. I was deeply impressed by the locals' positive mindset. The community welcomed me with smiles, and the students were grateful and respectful. Furthermore, I was enchanted by the beautiful surroundings at both locations. The stunning scenery, with its pristine beaches and palm trees, provided wonderful opportunities for swimming and relaxing after work. It was the perfect backdrop to unwind. A major highlight was the excellent support at the volunteer camp. The local team did an outstanding job, and I felt very comfortable and well-cared for. • Catering: The cook prepared truly delicious meals every day. • Maintenance: The cleaning staff kept the rooms spotless, and the gardens were always perfectly maintained. • Support: The coordinators and support staff were reliable, professional, and incredibly kind. Their efforts made the camp feel like a home away from home.

At the clinic, I was taught different nursing techniques UNDER SUPERVISION (placing IV lines, vaccinating, suturing, taking vital signs...). This was truly useful when going to rural areas where access to hospitals does not exist. We mostly cared for newborns, children, and pregnant women. We also treated and gave talks on hypertension and diabetes, focusing on both treatment and PREVENTION. During this volunteer experience, I realized how important and crucial prevention is to avoid hospitals from collapsing. In terms of my training as a medical student, I learned and practiced as a family doctor UNDER SUPERVISION, dealing with respiratory problems (pneumonia, asthma...), lower-risk illnesses (fever, digestive issues...), medical check-ups, and minor injuries (animal bites, burns...). The Philippines was a constant journey of contradictions. It showed me that there is beauty in simplicity, resilience in poverty, and freedom in music. I feel that I leave a part of myself in that place, but at the same time, I have carried its essence with me in every moment lived, kept in the form of memories of a medical student. The food and the acommodation was perfect. The family I stayed with, the Villafuerte family and my local team, were my guides; they made me feel that the Philippines was a home even while being far from my own. I will always remember. Everything was perfect

Involvement Volunteers International responded to this reviewSeptember 11, 2025

Wow, what an amazing and heartfelt review! 🌟 It’s so inspiring to hear how much hands-on experience you gained under supervision, and how it’s shaped your perspective on the importance of prevention and community care. :))

Is was great, the local team make sure that I had the veste expérience ever. While I was there we experienced some huge flooding so we helped the community to recover from it and it was a really strong experience. I never thought before in front of the class but I really enjoyed, the children were adorable The local team was really great !! Always nice and welcoming. The food also was really really good and the accommodation was perfect.

Involvement Volunteers International responded to this reviewAugust 25, 2025

We’re thrilled to hear how positive your time was! Every volunteer leaves an impact, and it’s inspiring to see how much you got out of it as well.

Hello, my name is Paulina and I am from Poland. I would like to take an internship or or volunteering as I am finishing my Bachelor's Degree now in Dietetics. In July I am able to come and start cooperation :) I count on a positive response and thank you for taking the time to read :)

Being here across de globe, doing what I love the most, was by far the best experience of my life. Life support truly brought out a best part of me, and I am forever grateful for this opportunity. Hope I made some lives better! I think everyone should have an experience like this.. There is nothing like getting out of our comfort zone, exploring new places, meeting new people.... Discovering ourselves!! If you are reading this and you're still not sure about it.. just don't think twice and book it. Pura Vida, Matilde Carvalho, Portugal

Wonderful experience with Life Support Ambulance Services. Great medical office, educational and warm experience from start to finish. The staff was always helpful and kind. They ensured I had an understanding of the diagnosis and follow-up. I am so glad I chose Life Support with Maximo Nivel and would highly recommend to anyone!

My time volunteering abroad was absolutely amazing. It was so great to meet other volunteers and live with a host family. It was a great way to travel while also being able to get patient care experience and to help those who appreciate it.

Everything is great. I loved the clinic but wanted a more hands on experience and the staff did a great job by making my dreams come true. I actually got to educate children about dental health thanks to them :) The accommodation was great, but would be better if there was air conditions. Our rooms were always getting cleaned so that's great. The food was also very very good! I loved it so much. The transportation was easy to the clinic options to take ferry and bus and the transfer from the airport - house was nice and well organized. The staff is always there for you. I don't want to call them staff, more like family. The tours and excursions was so nice, the staff helps you with everything so its safe and well organized. I went out to cafes, walks, shopping and hanging out with friends as well as boat tours when I stayed in the country.

I was very satisfied with the program especially with teaching in cardiology. The NICU was very helpful. Learnt a lot and also the differences between healthcare systems. Palliative care day was amazing. I have no complaints with the accommodations and the food was delicious! Thank you. I also had no issues with the transport. The bus and uber to the site and home each day.

My trip to India was so eyeopening. Being able to experience life in a developing country and see how much different it is from life in the United States was an amazing opportunity that I will never forget. While volunteering in a clinic located in the slums, I was able to check vitals and collect symptoms. While the language barrier was difficult, I was able to learn a lot from the local doctors and gain more patient care experience. I also got to travel in the afternoon and on the weekends, which was super nice because I definitely feel like I was able to make the most out of my trip to India. I was able to meet other volunteers and interact with the locals too, which was fun! I would definitely take another trip through IVHQ!

My 3-week stay at Sri Lanka has flown by in a blink of an eye, and the whole experience as made unforgettable thanks to you, my host family, Hirantha, Rakitha, nurses and doctors at Colombo East Base and the rest of the people I met along the journey. I really do appreciate your attentiveness ranging from hospital experience to the quality of meals I was receiving ( where, by the way, were superb). I am grateful to have received the opportunity to explore the Sri Lankan healthcare system considering the lack of qualifications from my side. The wonderful weekend trips to Yala, Mirissa, Galle, Sigoriga, and Kandy exposed me to the multitude of faces Sri Lanka has to offer - which, I realized upon travelling, was too many for my length of stay here. Maybe one day I will return to Sri Lanka again to further explore the beautiful country and maybe with skill sets that will truly make a positive impact by medical volunteering once again, thank you Charley, Hirantha Kasun and everybody here in Ceylon. Come visit Hong Kong/ Japan/ Norway/ Sweden!

Thank you for having allowed us to live this unique experience who was very important to do for us during our studies. Your welcome and the welcome from the family was so great. You had an exceptional sense of hospitality. During the training we were able to discover a different health system and new procedure of care at the general hospital kalutara. It was very interesting for us. Thank you again for all that you had made for us. All the small attentions … *king coconuts, reserve of turtle, the local fruits, visit of kalutara and SIH card). Thank you everything, we keep an excellent memory of this training period. It was amazing! - Helene Gaullier, Chloe Fuirce, Pauline Baeard

Firstly of course- THANK YOU! My time in Sri Lanka has been so much fun! From Hasun and his family being warm and welcoming to the ETU, surgical, and operating theater staff being friendly to the dun outings - everything has been pleasant and I’ll cherish it. I truly appreciate all the time and effort you put into planning my stay here. You locked me up from the hospital, gave my friend and I room and board, coordinated my home stay and hospital work, arranged mine and Luka’s outing to Jala National Park. The list goes on! Your hard work does not go unnoticed. I also appreciate the help of Hirantha, Rartltha, and Danushka and everything they did to help make my stay more comfortable. Kasun and his family were AMAZING! Absolutely irresistible! As was the food- Kasun can really cook! The nurses and staff were extremely welcoming. I even went out with a few of them of their day off! Overall it was a pleasant experience. I would overall recommend the hospital to nursing students or nurses who just graduated as i believe the medical placement will be much more beneficial. I am grateful I was able to explore your beautiful country. I hope to return again someday.

I must say I am very very happy with everything I am able to experience here. The hospital work is honestly amazing as in the nurses and doctors as very friendly and try to include me in what they are doing and are explaining as much as possible. I am also very happy with the family I am staying at since they are eternally welcoming and try to fulfill every wish I have. I am glad that they have a child approx. my age so that i don't feel as alone and I think it is very important to place the volunteer somewhere where they have company in their age group. The only thing I am a little sad about is that because Colombo is such a big city the family place is a bit outside everything so it is time consuming to go anywhere after work as I would love to expose a little more of Sri Lanka and see many many more different attractions. Still I am completely pleased with my volunteering experience. Through the family lifestyle I am actually exposed to the Sri Lankan culture and become a little familiar with the language. Therefore, once again a very big thank you. :)

We would like to thank you for your kindness. It was a very good profound experience for us. We felt very lucky to have met all those people at the hospital. We have discovered an other way to care, another culture. The nurses have been benevolent, they surprise us to learn other procedures. It was very interesting for our future job. We felt useful and we have work with nurses with pleasure. The family is very nice, they are doing everything for us. We are so glad to have met them. We are going to miss the. Thank you for everything. We keep an excellent memory of this training period. - The french student nurses. Ludioine Loew Pinnert Mathilde Rostouan Sarah Couraillon Adeline Herr Camille Thion Juliette Cocmet

Thank you so much for this wonderful experience! Our stay in panadura has been wonderful and exciting. Without you we would not have been able to experience everything we have done. Eating at mango mango, going to get our uniforms, blue waters and the field clinic. We appreciate your kindness and hospitality :) Hope to see you again in Norway or Sri Lanka. - Kpersti Sundfor Tommerbakke, Lisa Vu, Mant Nilsen, Gina Kornelia Bruun Toruik, Svana Heimisditter Danbolt

The work place was good and the volunteers were well accepted. They trained us well and the volunteer was interesting, challenging, and important for me, but I only got feedback from one doctor who I was working with. Nurses and other doctors did not talk to me. Experiencing Sri Lanka as a volunteer, I want to explore new job in the field of agriculture. The best experiences I have had while volunteering there were people always smile back to me, I ate different fruits, I met Laurine (another volunteer), and I learned a new culture living with a family. The least enjoyable experiences that I had though were there was no AC at the house and hospital, and few people speak English at the hospital so it was hard to fit and learn more. I think Doctors need to take advantage of volunteers. We came to volunteer to "work" so I was hoping I was going to more helpful.

We were well accepted by the work place and we were trained enough to carry out our assignments. I find the volunteer work interesting, challenging and important in my career, but I haven't received a lot of feedback from the staffs, doctors and nurses of the hospital. It was nice to be able to practice some of my nursing skills, and the host family was very nice. The meals made by the host family were delicious and authentic, however, perhaps more fresh products. I recommend the program to students with clinical experience or new nursing graduates. Those groups of people would benefit the most. Experienced nursing don't learn anything new.

Volunteers were generally accepted but with some exceptions. We received enough training to carry out our assignments. The work was interesting and important but not really challenging for a pre-med student since I opted to observe more as I am under-qualified to carry out certain tools. We were not provided with sufficient feedback by those we work with. The weekend trips and conversing with the staffs at the hospital were the best experience I've had while volunteering. The Wi-Fi at the homestay is (was) a minor problem. Other than that, generally very good. Thank you, Charley and Hivanthi and host family for the amazing hospitality. It was great to explore Sri Lanka and learn many things at the hospital.