Elly sharing her daily life on the program in Ayutthaya - Bangkok
My name is Elly Zacharakis and I have recently returned from a volunteer placement in Ayutthaya. The experience was both challenging and very rewarding. The teachers and students at the school were warm and welcoming.

Sawasdee from Thailand ! I' m surviving the heat and humidity - I' ve never sweated so much in all my life!
School has been delightful. It is in the grounds of a Buddhist temple and certainly not air-conditioned however there are fans. In this climate one starts sweating immediately after showering and feeling wet all day is just what happens as a matter of course. The walk to school at 7.30 in the morning is the most comfortable as it is relatively cool - only about 28 degrees and humid of course. I walk partly along the footpath and partly along the road as the footpath is often cluttered with street stalls roaming dogs rubble and various vehicles and partly along the road as buses tuk-tuks cars and motorbikes whiz past. The smells alternate between fumes putrid rubbish bins foul drains and fragrant frangipanni delicious charcoal-grilled and stir-fried food prepared in the ramshackle road-side stalls that would blow over in a gust of strong wind. Now I understand why so many people leave home without breakfast it is so easy to stop along the way to work and buy stir-fried rice noodles or sate and rice. Personally I start my day with coconut sticky rice with mango and banana - yum!

I usually arrive at school earlier than the others as I have a relatively full day teaching and assembly starts at 8:00 am to the beat of various percussion instruments including a base drum played by a rather stout junior high school student. Before the assembly I notice that students are all busy cleaning the school - sweeping the yard and tiled areas with the impossible brooms and actually picking up leaves without a single surly face. They routinely arrange themselves in classes all students standing in lines an armspan away from each other ranging from the little four-year-olds to the fourteen-year-olds. They hoist the flag sing the national anthem say a prayer pay respect to their king listen to the daily announcements and all this led by the students themselves. Finally they listen to good advice from one of the teachers. And I stand here thinking how our students would cope with such a start to their day.

As the students file off to class they pause just before they move from the oval to the tiled areas of the yard and remove their shoes which are then placed outside the classrooms and the students walk around in their socks all day while in the school. On Mondays they also set out the potted plants little statues and plastic birds in arrangements outside the classrooms. At the end of the day students also sweep and mop the floors - imagine what we could save on cleaning in schools!

Classes are rather casual here and although the older students are meant to start at 8:30 am break at 11:30 am for lunch and then another 3 hours in the afternoon It is not unusual to see classes unattended for an hour and teachers wandering in and out of class. Students are amazingly well behaved - ours would ne running riot. Whenever a student annoys another the dispute is usually resolved by a quick slap on the heap or pulling of the ear. This is quite normal. When classes are operating students are either listening writing or chanting. When it is in English it is often with little or no comprehension. More about that later.

The children are delightful but like children everywhere they can be naughty. The little gap-toothed primaries are particularly adorable and so responsive to everything you do in class especially songs which they parrot off after you with all the accompanying hand actions and movements. You can imagine how cute they all are.

As for the older students they are beginning to thaw out and now they all greet me when they see me outside and laugh at the silly things I do in class. They hardly ever get a chance to speak or hear a native speaker. Consequently their speech is often incomprehensible so we have a good deal of fun and fall about laughing at the strange English sounds that I make and they try to emulate twisting their tongue and lips into strange contortions.

The staff some of whom speak almost no or very limited English have been very welcoming providing delicious lunch for us every day much more than what they would normally eat. Someone must have told them that these large Farang women consume much more than delicate Thai ladies. They all want to have photos taken with us and I have been taken out for dinner and to see the floating market here. They are all so keen to show us their hospitality and give us a good impression of their country. What I love about them is their sense of humor - always ready to share a joke or laugh at themselves or at you when you try and be funny.

The bell is about to go so I need to finish off. Back home next week.

What areas did you like about our website?
The website was very informative about all of the respective programs and had some great photos to go with it.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
The guide was very thorough and VS staff always answered my questions in a timely manner.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
Yes definitely.. I worked at Maltiti for most of the time and it was incredible. The girls were so eager to learn.

Accommodation and meals
I stayed with Mariama and David Dadson and their two children. The family was so accommodating and welcoming. We didn' t want to leave them..

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
I loved teaching at Maltiti and forming relationships with the students there. In fact I came to Ghana expecting to spend most of my time at the orphanage but i am very glad that Frederick (coordinator) pushed us to also work at Maltiti.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES.. The staff involved and all are great people.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
Pre-departure booklet was very useful giving us lots of information about places to visit and Indian culture. The only thing I would suggest to be included would be more information about the program itself e.g. kids ages etc.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
I really enjoyed the orphanage programs all the kids were great as well as all the people who ran it will miss them all.

Accommodation and meals
Accommodation and meals was great for the whole trip. We were given breakfast and dinner every day at Rajiv&rsquo s house and also give lunch at the orphanage. The bedrooms had fans we had use of a TV and the internet which was great.

Coordinator/ Staff
All the people involved in the program were great and very accommodating.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
My favorite thing was the kids the sight seeing and the people we met during our trip.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES

Any comments and suggestions
I really enjoyed my whole trip and it exceeded my expectations I thank everyone for a great experience!

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
The Pre departure booklet was really good very helpful to prepare myself for the whole program. The staff was very good helpful friendly and above all quick.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
Yes. It was great to get an impression of the living conditions of the orphans and to do something about it.

Accommodation and meals
Both were great.

Coordinator
Very cool and friendly. It was really a pleasure for me to meet him.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
Everything was great but i really enjoyed working and playing with the kids at the orphanage.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
Yes definitely !

Any comments and suggestions
Great experience. I am very sad to leave but I will definitely come back.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
I found the booklet very useful as it gave a clear insight into what we should expect from the program as well as details on Indian culture which I feel was important simply with regards to knowing what is and isn&rsquo t acceptable. I found the staff useful and always very prompt whenever I had any queries.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
I did thoroughly enjoy working at my placement initially I was quite anxious about the whole experience because although the booklet gives a lot of information it is still quite a shock and you&rsquo re not sure what to expect. All the workers at the orphanage were so friendly and helpful and although it was hard work at times I always found myself looking forward to going back the next day.

Coordinator
The coordinator and staff were always so helpful and willing to help us with any problems we faced. They picked us up from the airport which was brilliant and throughout our trip always gave useful information and advice on what to go and see and how to generally go about the experience. I really enjoyed getting to know Rajiv and his family and Priya is a credit with all the wonderful food she cooks..

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
My highlight was simply getting to know the children at the orphanage over the 3 weeks and forming bonds with both them and the teachers even though there was a language barrier. It was incredible to see such beautiful people who literally have nothing but are always so happy and upbeat it has really made me realize how lucky I am. Seeing parts of India was also good the Taj Mahal was just incredible and Amber Fort in Jaipur was so impressive too!

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
I would recommend this program to others yes I feel like I have got so much out of it and would love to be able to come back in the near future to see how the children are getting on. I went from initially being quite anxious about the experience to feeling quite upset when saying goodbye to them at the end.

Any comments and suggestions
If I had to give one piece of information to future volunteers it would just be to keep an open mind and make the most of your experience don&rsquo t let anybody you&rsquo re your opinion and just try to your own prepare for quite a shock but also an amazing experience.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
The booklet was very informative and answered most of my questions. My questions were answered speedily though when I did ask something pre departure. However I would have liked to have received a little more information about what sort of resources would have been useful for the children.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
Very much enjoyed it had a brilliant time. It wasn&rsquo t easy work that&rsquo s for sure but a fantastic experience and something I will never forget. Most of the kids are so appreciative of all our work and games we played with them and it was lovely to give something back to these wonderful children

Coordinator
Very helpful and friendly. Always approachable and didn&rsquo t ever feel that we were imposing or asking annoying/too many questions!! When mentioned in passing about the summer scheme not being as expected something was done to try and sort this out straight away. Many thanks!!

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
The kids were amazing I have many fond memories that will stay with me for life! As far as sight seeing goes the Taj Mahal was truly amazing I can see how it is one of the wonders of the world! I also enjoyed browsing the nearby markets taking in the completely different way of life which I am used to in the UK.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
I had a fantastic experience and is something I would recommend anyone else to do!

What areas did you like about our website?
I really liked looking at the picture gallery and how everything was well laid out and detailed including the prices.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
I felt that the information was enough and I always received emails when I asked questions through emails.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
Yes I enjoyed working at my school because the kids were ready to learn. They were fun to teach and they learned a lot. I felt safe in the school and it was close to our home stay.

Accommodation and meals
The house we stayed in was wonderful. The bedroom was great there was warm shower and plenty of places to sit and relax. The food was also great. Louisa cooked many different things for us and if we had any problem she accommodated very well.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
The highlight of my volunteering experience was interacting with the local people and knowing about the Peruvian culture food traditions some of the language and the how the school system functions.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES. I had a wonderful time great job!

What areas did you like about our website?
The website gave clear and accurate information and whenever I contacted the program I received a quick response.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
Overall I felt fairly prepared for the trip. I received my placement details with plenty of time. Whenever I had a question I received a prompt and helpful response.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
It was very enjoyable getting to see how the Peruvian school system works. The students were very eager and friendly and mostly ready to learn. Teaching was an enjoyable although sometimes challenging experience since sometimes the children were too wild and loud.

Accommodation and meals
The house was very clean and comfortable. Our own room had ample space there was always hot water and the host family was very open. Meals were delicious healthy and offered a good amount of food and variety.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
The highlight of my volunteering experience would be coming back to classes when the children had learned the materials from the previous class and remembered it. It was exciting to see them learn.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES. It has been a pleasure to work with Volunteering Solutions !

What areas did you like about our website?
The website was easy to navigate through and volunteer opportunities in different countries were detailed enough to peek interest.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
Pre departure information package provided all the necessary information to prepare for volunteer work and was short and concise. The office answered all my questions via email quick and to the point.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
I loved working at the pre-school. The kids were wonderful and delightful to interact with as well as professor Vikky. It was a joy to help the kids learn and support them. It was also a pleasure to assist professor Vikky and efforts to teach the local kids in Spanish as well as in English.

I can say this program needs volunteers in order to educate students up to the level and curriculum to local and country standards so that students do not fall behind. Also working with the kids and professor Vikky it is evident she needs help when there are many students.


Accommodation and meals
My host family Sanabria Torres family were very hospitable and allowed me to live as one of their own. The meals were incredible and tasted of local (Cusco)Peruvian cuisine as well as international. It was a new experience for me to immerse into the family culture food practices and beliefs.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
Everything. The host family and other volunteers in the house were fun and fascinating to get know. The city Cusco was fun to explore and interesting to learn their way of life. The volunteer experience as a teacher assistant aide was most rewarding and it motivates me to seek other volunteer opportunities.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES!

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
Thorough booklet. Staff were helpful in answering my queries.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
Yes I enjoyed working in Palampur and doing dental checkups on the kids.

Accommodation and meals
Meals were good. Didn' t get any upset stomach.

Coordinator
Helpful and approachable. Organized good trips around Himachal Pradesh.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
Doing dental checkups in the school.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES!

What areas did you like about our website?
I liked the testimonials. It was easy to navigate and it is good to see everything in one place in My Account.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
Really helpful and quick replies. Maybe a little too much information on stuff you would get to know while here. Otherwise great.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
I really loved it. Everyone has been so nice and welcoming. I didn' t feel like I had to work hard to get accepted. Its been an amazing experience as I had hoped it would be.

Accommodation and meals
Accommodation is great. Commodities are also really good.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
Working with the kids and the people I have met here. They have all been really nice and inspiring and I feel like I have made some really good friends.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES!

What areas did you like about our website?
I like how it shows what' s included and what is not. It is good to know each week' s cost in USD.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
The Pre-departure info was helpful. Questions were answered prompt and efficient.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
I did enjoy the placement. I love the children. I do feel however that there was too much of a gap in the academic capabilities of the children.

Accommodation and meals
The accommodations were awesome ! It was a wonderful experience to taste Indian cooking. Thank you for all your effort. It is very challenging trying to meet the needs of many different cultures all at the same time. Much appreciated !

Coordinator
Both the coordinators play such a critical role in making this program a success. Every detail was taken care of to the best of their ability. It is a huge responsibility coordinating a large group of people. I always felt if I needed anything they would be there. I felt safe and well taken care of all the way.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
I think I have been trying to come to India my whole life. It is the only place in the world I ever really wanted to experience. I will come back definitely. It was great having everything arranged especially all the transportation as well. I really enjoyed it all. The highlight was : My dream come true.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
Yes I would recommend this program to others. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet people and to share what in your heart.

What areas did you like about our website?
It' s easy colorful and lots of pictures.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
Staff were very good having replies to all my emails within 24 hours of sending.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
It was amazing ! Loved the children and the experience. Highly recommended.

Accommodation and meals
The food was great !! Really nice home cooked food. Accommodation was clean and tidy. TV and computer( luxury)

Coordinator
Great ! Couldn' t ask for a better staff who took us and enjoyed our experience.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES

Any comments and suggestions
Had a brilliant time. Thank you so much :)

What areas did you like about our website?
The layout and description of the program with cost approximations and easy to access contact information. Also the pictures from past trips and list of people on the same program was very helpful.

Any recommendations to improve the website
Having some more information on the daycare locations.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
Though in the beginning it was difficult for me to deal with the growing toddlers and few number of kids but as the weeks progressed more kids and older ones came as well so it was a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Accommodation and meals
Accommodation was exceptional. It was definitely better than what I had expected. The meals were plenty and good too. I just wish we had a bit more variety.

Coordinator
Amit and Bobby were great. They were always there if we had any questions and issues. They were very accommodating when we had any requests. They made the trips fun and enjoyable.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
The highlight was definitely meeting so many people at home and at the school. The relationships that I have made are worth holding to and the people have made a difference to me.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
Most definitely.

What areas did you like about our website?
Feedback from Past volunteers and program descriptions.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
The Pre departure booklet was very informative and contained all the necessary information. Sahil answered all my questions immediately. I could approach him with all kinds of questions and felt very satisfied with the service he provided me with.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
I totally enjoyed working at my placement. I had a great time with the kids. I only expected to work some more hours and also when it was raining.

Accommodation and meals
The accommodation was great. I enjoyed staying in the cottages which gave you the chance for privacy. The meals were very good. I really could get to know the Indian culture. But I am happy that you changed the breakfast to cereals and toast as per the requirements.

Coordinator
Bobby and Amit did a pretty good job. I felt safe all the time and could approach them with anything at any time.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
I enjoyed everyday in my placement because my kids were open from the beginning. Besides I loved being in a non tourist city like Palampur. The trekking trip was the best weekend trip.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES. I think this program is a great opportunity for people who do volunteering for the first time and for the people who want to combine volunteering and holidays.

What areas did you like about our website?
That you have your own account section.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
Yes everyone was very friendly and welcoming. They had complete faith in me and trusted my work. It was also near to the house which was convenient.

Accommodation and meals
clean cold but we were provided with enough blankets to sleep. Was nice to be placed with other volunteers. adapted to our requirement nicely very healthy always at time.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
Giving out freebies and oral hygiene equipment to children. Hearing they correctly answer questions after we gave the presentation. Also being allowed to see so many patients.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES!!

What areas did you like about our website?
It was very clear and with a layout that was easy to navigate. The videos of ex - volunteers were great to watch as well as informative. The cheap prices were a bonus!!

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
Excellent! The booklet was fantastic with lots of great hints and tips about the culture and customs of Ghana. All my e-mails were replied in 1-2 days and when I rang Sahil knew exactly who I was and what program I was on. It was a very personal service.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
Yes! I loved every second of it. It took me a few days to get used to the work and the routine though. Fred and his friends helped me in every way in getting used to the culture and work. They have been great!

Accommodation and meals
My accommodation was with excellent facilities! Valerie and I were over the moon to find that we had air-conditioning in our room. The meals were traditional African dishes which were brilliantly cooked by our host mum.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
The friends that I have met here the kids that I have worked with and the beautiful country that I have stayed in. The sight-seeing trips that I have done Everything has been a highlight!!

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
Definitely ! Volunteering Solutions are a small but excellent company with caring a personal staff in all areas.

Any comments and suggestions
Can I come Again ?

Thank you very much to Fred my brilliant coordinator who has made everything possible in Ghana. I cannot fault any part of his work here in Tamale. It' s been one of the best months of my life !

What areas did you like about our website?
I liked the pictures and I fount it helpful with all the useful information.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
I was very satisfied with the help and how fast I received the answers from the staff.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
I absolutely loved staying at Tamale Ghana. I felt safe at all times. the people I met were so wonderful and friendly. All the African charm in one city.

Accommodation and meals
It was a very special experience staying with a host family. You really get to share the daily routine in an African family. I liked the food just not the ones that were really spicy. Rice balls is definitely a hit !

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
The people I met ! The other volunteers and the Ghanaian people were all wonderful. I also loved my class at the girls school. I am going to miss them all.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES very much so. there is also a need of more people helping out.

Any comments and suggestions
Go to Ghana and you will want to come back. The experience has been so great for me that I would want everybody to see for themselves.

GOTTA LOVE GHANA !!!

What areas did you like about our website?
Nice anesthetics and easy navigation. Login account was also useful.

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
Good. More information on visas needed.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
Yes I enjoyed working at my placement. Maryland health center has a great staff but sometimes there were very few patients. However I was happy to work at the TPC hospital as well as I learned and gained by working at a busier hospital.

Accommodation and meals
The meals were excellent and well above my expectations. Accommodation was also good apart from some problem with plumbing.

Coordinator
Johnson is very knowledgeable and also helpful. He made me feel welcome on my first day at Maryland and was interested in knowing how I was enjoying my placement.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
I loved the staff at Maryland and TPC and working with the pregnant mothers and newborn babies. I also loved meeting the other volunteers at the hostel. The safari was also amazing.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES!

How did you find the pre departure booklet given to you and the service of the staff in regards to answering your questions and helping you prepare?
I thought that the Pre - Departure package was excellent. Very helpful and all questions answered.

Did you enjoy working at your project / placement?
I loved my placement. The kids were all so welcoming. The staff also embraced us and were approachable about questions and help.

Accommodation and meals
Everything was great ! Especially the AC - very appreciated and the meals were a true highlight. The location of the house within close proximity to good markets is really helpful. I enjoyed the combination of volunteer house / home stay and had a fantastic experience.

Coordinator
I thought everyone was really approachable and helpful.

What was the highlight of your volunteering experience and your trip?
I was really impressed by Jaipur since I did not know much about it before. I cannot pick one highlight though because really the kids and people have made the biggest and best impression I know I wont forget.

Would you recommend this program and our organization to others? yes/no
YES.

Any comments and suggestions
I loved this experience ! I will take away an extraordinary impression of India and incredible memories.