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Featured Volunteer TestimonialsVolunteer testimonials, letters, comments, and feedback from various international volunteers in Africa.
Malawi is a beautiful country. Duncan was there on arrival to pick me up and was very friendly and welcoming. I have been kept very busy teaching in the local school, visiting the health care centre/clinic and visiting the orphans. In the clinic, I have been able to help with taking down patient’s medical histories, dispensing drugs and giving injections which has been very valuable work experience. The experience that I have got from the clinic has been fantastic and will no doubt help in my medical career. I have also been able to teach the girls at the secondary school some netball. Overall, the placement has surpassed my expectations. Duncan and his family have been very welcoming, giving me my own room to sleep in, hot showers, and meals every day. There is always plenty of food provided. Duncan has also helped me to sort out working at the school and the health centre. The children in Malawi are adorable and everyone wants to meet you and shake your hand. Being able to help out (I bought some food for the orphans) has been very rewarding. It has been very wonderful working with the children at school and seeing how passionate they were about their education. I recommend visiting Malawi to everyone. There is something for everyone to get involved in whether it be teaching, sport, medical work experience, or religion. The people here are the kindest I have ever met anywhere in the world.
Wema Hospital gave exposure to a wide variety of illnesses and patients as well as hands on care and treatment. The placement was all that we could have hoped for. An experience we will never forget. The host family was great, very kind and friendly. The location was very convenient and near vital amenities - email, shopping, placement. Food, water and accommodation were very satisfactory. The accommodation for volunteer safari was great. The animals were fantastic and the food amazing - next time, we are flying into Masai Mara!
The coordinator was very prompt in email response, willing to accommodate our needs, easy to talk to, very welcoming, and knowledgeable and always willing to answer questions. Overall, this experience has been extremely rewarding. We loved the people we met, our host family was terrific. We would love to come again - we have enjoyed every minute. The accommodation was excellent, diners were outstanding. We have fallen in love with the local food, the culture and the people. Thanks for teaching us how to cook. We especially appreciate helping us find a church to attend here. We would absolutely recommend this program to potential volunteers. It is inexpensive and extremely rewarding. Accommodations were all we could have asked for. We appreciate the experience...thanks so much!
Emails and all questions were answered promptly. My placement was wonderful! All of the staff were appreciative and I was able to practice my nursing skills. The clinic was really an eye opener. I truly enjoyed the Kenyan people as well as the beautiful landscape. The trip to Kibera was very interesting. I enjoyed meeting and talking with different people. Each person gave me a different perspective of life. The volunteer safari was amazing. This was probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I highly recommend this trip to anyone. Thank you for this experience. It has been life changing even though I was only able to stay 3 weeks. I plan to come back and bring my sister soon.
I enjoyed experiencing a totally different culture, meeting the children and meeting other volunteers. It was frustrating that we couldn’t do more to help the children but we did that which was within our capabilities. A typical day would be to wake up by 9am, have breakfast with host family and meet other volunteers. At 10am - arrive at orphanage and say hello to all the children.10.30 - 1pm working with the youngest children / babies, playing with them, feeding them, entertaining them, supervising. 1 - 2pm lunch. 2pm - 5pm teaching different classes with in between looking after the youngest again. 5pm - home to host family for dinner. Evenings free! Other activities include supervising lessons, lesson planning and preparations. My host was lovely, made me feel really at home. She was very supportive and looked after me as if she were my mom! The food was nice and she always looked for our opinion, was good because we could sample the local food. The accommodation was better then expected, in a newly built apartment! near an entertainment place!
Arrival/Airport pickup: Brilliant! Pastor Duncan picked us up on time and made us feel comfortable and safe. Placement: Placement has been excellent. We have had a lot of opportunities to teach. We have been teaching in a nursery, primary and secondary school! All the children are eager to learn which is a blessing to teach. Home Stay/host family & meals: We have been staying with a lovely family. Pastor Duncan, his wife and their three little boys. The house is big and spacious and our room is comfortable and very clean. There is always a warm meal on the table at breakfast, lunch and dinner and always hot water ready to bathe. Our host family are always friendly and make us feel at home and safe. Co-ordinator: Very good communication, always checks to see if we are happy and safe. Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? Yes
Arrival/Airport pick-up: Brilliant Placement: Excellent opportunities to volunteer in a nursery, primary and secondary schools. We have been doing all three! We have been very well taken care of and given brilliant opportunities to teach English or any other subject we like. This placement is suitable for people on their own or up to four would be fine. Girls alone are very safe here too. Home Stay/host family & meals: We are staying with Pastor Duncan, his wife Maggie and his three little boys in a lovely big clean house. There is a shower, toilet and a big bedroom with electricity! There is also internet connection here! They have been extremely friendly and welcoming, making us feel at home straight away. Co-ordinator: Very supportive, many phone calls to see if we are happy. Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? Yes
Pre-departure: Joe is a friendly person. He gave all the information that must have to prepare our volunteer journey in Kenya. We left Switzerland very ready to enjoy and discover the culture of Kenya. Airport pickup: We arrived very late because it was raining in Amsterdam. When we arrived at Jomo Kenyatta Airport, Nick and Joe waited us. They are very friendly! Placement: The people and the children are very friendly. The activities are various. We are just shocking that the teachers slap the children if they don’t give the right answer. In our country, it doesn’t exist. The children are a treasure of the life of the tutor at our country. We protect the children! Home stay family and meals: It is very correct. We have all that we want to pass a good journey in Kenya. Our hosts are very friendly. We like to discuss with them to discover the culture of Kenya. The Kenya food is very good we like it. Our host is a very good cooker. We like to play with her children all the evening. We are enjoy to be in Kenya. Coordinator: Joe is very friendly and a conscientious person. If we have a problem, we call him and he help us direct. It is a person of trust. *** Sorry, for the falses but English isn’t our mother tongue!
Pre-departure information was good. Lots of help. All questions and concerns answered. Joe provided proper orientation and his advice was helpful. The HIV/Aids volunteer placement with the social worker was excellent. I learnt so much – great experience that the university does not teach. We visited the hospital and numerous people. It was amazing and very eye-opening. I thank you for this...I learned far more in the past few weeks on the social side of HIV/AIDS than I did in 4 years at McGill. The host family provided very warm hospitality. Good food was provided – no complaints. The bed was very comfortable. It was in a safe building and excellent location to public transportation…I now understand how to eat ugali! I would definitely recommend this program to future volunteers.
Pre Departure: I applied to Advance Africa quite late and within 2 weeks to my departure. Joe was great and quick on the email. Arrival: I arrived in Dar, spent the night there and took the bus to Arusha in the morning. Placement & Home Stay: Was fine. My host family is very lovely and speak great English which has been very helpful. The meals have been really nice. John was great. He helped me a lot. He was fantastic!
Pre Departure: Thorough, prompt email responses! Arrival: Good. Collected from the airport by Nick and Simon. Placement: Worked at Melchizedek Hospital in the wards with 2 other Advance Africa volunteers. Nurses very friendly and helpful. Home Stay: Great host and very good meals! Would you recommend this program to future volunteers?: Yes.
I am very happy with my host family and really enjoyed staying with Mercy and Easter. Over the months, they more to me like my family than a host. I would want to come back again and I wouldn’t want to stay anywhere else! I will miss them so much when I go! Mercy was very good to me and was always working hard cleaning and preparing the meals. I would definitely recommend this program to volunteers. (Chelsea volunteered on our Medical Volunteer Program. She did volunteer work at Sanya Medical Centre, Calvary Primary School and Kibera orphanage)
Pre Departure: Emails were answered promptly. I think that it would have been helpful to receive more information specific to the Dream Project Children's Home prior to arriving there (ie. that it is a family that has taken in 22 orphans and incorporated them into their extended "family") Arrival: Was collected from the airport by Joe. Placement: It was an "eye-opening" experience to see how they live as it is very different from my regular life. I am concerned at the lack of resources that this orphanage receives. They need access to water! I think that they could also benefit from some donations of vitamins for the children. (they don't have access to fresh fruit - too expensive). There were a lot ofsick children while I was there. Home Stay: I really enjoyed the company of my hosts. We had some very fulfilling conversations in the evenings over dinner and they helped me to understand why they are as committed to the orphanage as they are. We ate traditional food (githeri, ugali, uji and other dishes). The accommodation was simple but satisfactory. I had my own room (which locked) and access to a flush toilet! Would you recommend this program to future volunteers?: This was a very rewarding experience for me. I would definitely volunteer again, and will recommend this experience to others.
Pre Departure: I got all my questions answered in detail and promptly. Arrival: On arrival, I found the volunteer coordinator waiting for me. That was great because it was my first time in Africa. Placement: Several other volunteers were doing their placement at the same hospital. I really enjoyed it especially because it had quite a number of specialities. I was able to go round various wards with a team of doctors and was really involved. It's been a real eye-opener. Home Stay: My home stay has been wonderful. I shared a spacious room with 2 other volunteers girls from USA and Australia. It was good because we kept each other company and talked late into the night! My host family have been super friendly and kind. They were truly excited to have us staying with them and taught us some Swahili. They have 2 children. The older one is 10 and the younger one is 4 and goes to pre-school part of the day. Co-ordinator: The coordinator was available for questions at all time. He was very professional, reliable and friendly. He gave us the much needed support and consistently went way beyond the call of duty during my volunteer period. Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? Yes. I plan to be back soon myself! Pre Departure: Joe was very helpful and answered all of my questions immediately. Arrival: I felt prepared for the trip. Joe helped me get around Nairobi and even took me back to the airport to get my late baggage. Placement: I loved working at Brightstar Academy as well as tutoring the children at the orphanage. I was happy to be volunteering at a nearby school, because combined with duties at the orphanage I kept busy. I think the Dream project is good for someone who is going to be in Kenya for a short time. If at Dream Project, I would do exactly what Joe did for me and volunteer at a school as well. Dream Project is a small orphanage (36 Children) and does not need more than 1-2 volunteers at one time. Can you describe a typical day? Woke up around 7am and had tea and bread. Walked to Brightstar Academy and taught English lessons and helped with the children until 1pm. Walked back to the orphanage and ate lunch around 1:30-2:00. Helped with clothes washing, tutoring, making dinner, washing dishes, or gathering vegetables from the field. Sometimes we would walk to town to get things at the market. We would eat dinner around 7pm and sing, tutor the children, or just talk until bedtime, which was around 9:30. The children go to bed around 11pm and wake up at 4:30 for chores. They are loud, so bring earplugs if you want any sleep. Home Stay: The hosts were nice, however, I did not see them much. They both worked and did not return until 7pm-9pm at night. I felt they were supportive of the volunteers. They are very religious. The food was good (mostly bread, cooked cabbage and sometimes meat). I had my own room with a lock on the door, so it was nice and private. I did get pretty cold at night, so if you go in the winter, be sure to pack a warm sleeping bag and clothes. Co-ordinator: Joe was outstanding and very supportive during my stay in Kenya. I felt like he listened to what I wanted and made sure I had another assignment at Brightstar to keep me busy. Would you recommend this program to future volunteers? Overall the experience was satisfying and I would do it again in the future. I would probably go to another orphanage that needs more help and is in a little rougher shape.
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We were absolutely thrilled with our respective placements at Wema Hospital and Kawangware School. The fact that our volunteer projects were within 10 minutes walking distance from each other as requested was great! Our contacts were extremely helpful and friendly. 
Pre-departure enquiries were usually replied to on the same day and anything I was unsure about Joe helped me understand them!
Pre Departure: Pre-departure was brilliant considering how late we applied. It would be good to put pictures of the school and host family to see where we will be staying.
Pre Departure: Very supportive and informative - provided very good information about what to bring etc. It would have been nice to have more project information e.g. exact location, photo of host, accommodation details etc.
