Volunteerhq Reviews

I am so grateful for the wonderful opportunity I had volunteering with amazing locals and children However the program itself needs more structure and updating The program guide on our IVHQ profile is NOT accurate including having 24 7 in-country support Also some staff members would benefit from training on how to be more approachable and patient with new volunteers

I liked very much my volunteer however I don t think my participation added value what so ever also I didn t feel like I was taking care of

Well where to start Some are not going to like what I say Frankly that s too bad I m a mature trained teacher and wanted to make a difference arrogant well depends naive a bit I m not from a posh school having a gap year Or saving the planet having just left university Or a saving Africa messiah And to be honest many volunteers fit these categories Offended too bad it s true Volunteering is a profit making industry although I must say IVHQ offer a good service up to the point you arrive at the placement Then it can go awry First placement in Zambia for 4 weeks Well the accommodation and food was poor And no thought had been given to the teaching experience In fact the school headmistress had only been notified the day before of my arrival You need to be proactive I negotiated the best teaching for me Grade 5 at primary school 10 11 year olds What a marvellous experience they had nothing but a desire to learn so I got them together with my friends books and writing material And taught them for most of the day I was tired but I loved it And will be back to surprise them in 2 years Ok the conservation in Victoria Falls Has nothing really to do with conservation If you want a cheap safari and are a rich kid or like luxury then go But don t kid yourself into thinking you are an eco warrior Ok that s the most honest review here probably Bit like the lager it s a matter of personal choice is it not

Quite expensive and still had to buy my own food and pay for local transport which I expected the costs should have covered Not that it was unexpected but I was disappointed how the program fee didn t cover it as the program fee was quite a lot

My personal experience was unforgettable truly full filling But the local team Maximo Nivel was not organized and didn t show any interest on my well-being I ate a posindustrial fruit and when I called them to ask for support they said they couldn t help me and never got in touch after that That was truly disappointing and I would recommend again

Nothing went bad I m just grateful you put me in contact of those organisations On the other hand you just send automated messages I did reply once silly of me because I was not satisfied with the accommodation and I just received unnecessary and unprofessional responses Then we ve to paid you fees for everything I did two programs and I paid twice for any payment more fees I was also looking for an upgrade of my room you asked me to pay 500 and in Booking com for something much better and with better reviews I ve just paid 280 euros I find easier to organise it without you So nothing bad but in the future I ll find my own way to organise it where at least I get better accommodation and no pay fees for everything or at least invest that money in the programs

I wish more money was allocated to the local teams outreaches and people I hope that IHVQ can be more transparent about living expectations while there example like no hot water no wifi homestay diet constant donation requests etc All in all the local team happened to be great so it made up for the mishaps and lack of expectations

While most aspects of the experience were satisfactory the accommodation provided was substandard The room lacked adequate heating resulting in uncomfortable cold nights Furthermore I encountered bed bugs on multiple occasions which posed a health hazard and caused damage to my personal belongings including three pairs of pants several shirts and socks Due to these issues I opted to secure alternative lodging through Airbnb Despite this I was informed that the volunteer rate would remain unchanged even if I covered my own accommodation and food expenses I found this to be unreasonable and consequently decided not to extend my volunteer service for the additional week I initially only paid for 1 week and asked if I would get a much reduced price iff I would pay for accommodations and food which is basically the cost they have with us They said the price is the same which does not make sense to me

I put a down payment on my trip and my plans changed within a week of me booking and they wouldn t refund me they told me they could only give me credit THIS IS BAD

My son had a lovely time and enjoyed meeting many new people He did the marine conservation programme but he didn t do any marine conservation which was a real shame He did enjoy the diving but it wasn t quite what was in the specification unfortunately