I booked a trip for me and 3 friends with Plan My Gap year to Tanzania to do volunteer work. I couldn't fault the communication and organisation skills of the PMGY team in Tanzania. We all felt well prepared before our trip with lots of info guides and videos and any extra questions we had were answered in detail and response was quick. We arrived in Tanzania and were greeted by the PMGY team and taken for a delicious dinner before going on a tour of the town. We were giving a briefing of dos and don'ts and felt secure at all times. The food was delicious and the accommodation was clean and nice. The volunteering was well organised and we had a wonderful time. I would definitely recommend booking through PMGY to anyone and will hopefully be doing so myself again. Thanks for the adventure and memories :-)

The pre-departure information that I received was brilliant, all questions that I had was answered very quickly and informatively by a member of the PMGY team. The handbook was very helpfully and made me feel fully prepared about my visit. It also supported me through my VISA application and provided clear instructions on the best way to apply. When arriving in the county there was a member of the PMGY team waiting at the airport when my flight arrived to take me to the volunteer house. When arriving at the house I was warmly welcomed by the host family which allowed me to settle in quickly and easily. On my first day I was provided with an orientation which was very informative and provided me with all the information I needed about the local area and the projects. This also included a visit to the local slum school, which was my chosen project. This allowed me to get familiar with the environment before my first day of teaching. The visit also allowed me to meet the children and teachers from the school. The visit also provided me with the opportunity to visit the slum in which the children lived and to meet some of the local people living in this area. Throughout my teaching project I was fully supported at all times by both the teachers at the school and the host family. I knew where to turn to if I needed any lesson ideas or if I was unsure if the planned lesson would fully benefit the children due to the language barrier. I was also provided with a range of opportunity which allowed me to visit and get involved with a number of different projects to ensure I got the most out of my experience. After the projects there was time to explore the local area and Delhi independently. The evening activities were brilliant and provided a range of different opportunities, this included; Attending an Indian wedding, a range of different temples, markets, pottery class and visiting Delhi. At the weekends I travelled to a range of different places within India. The host family provided us with lots of recommendations about different places to visit and the main places we should visit. They provided support in planning our travel there and the hotel and ensured that the places we had selected to stay were in the correct area to get the most out of our trips. Vishy was always at the other end of the phone if we needed him when away at the weekend, or just to translate where we wanted to go, to taxi and tuk-tuk drivers. A huge thank you to the host family to making my visit to India brilliant and making me feel welcome at all time, also a massive thank you to the person I dealt with who was brilliant support and put so much effort into ensure that every one had a brilliant time in India. Thank you!

doing the pmgy Ghana orphanage programme for 4 weeks is honestly the best thing I've ever done, working with the kids is so rewarding and humbling at the same time. the ghanaian people are so friendly and welcoming and i got to see and experience so much of ghana thanks to the amazing pmgy team. i would recommend it to anyone, it's an experience you will remember for the rest of your life!

I couldn't have asked for a better organisation to have spent 5 months in Africa volunteering with! Not only was the placement incredible and the staff extremely helpful but the coordinators, Jodie and Kelvin, could not have been more accommodating and fun! Thank you PMGY for giving me such a special opportunity and providing me with such a wonderful medical placement that allowed me to achieve and learn so much and thank you for connecting me with my second family in Tanzania! :) I highly recommend this organisation to any prospective volunteers because it is top of the line in providing the best volunteer experience out there!

I have just come back from doing my 2 week midwifery elective placement in Sri Lanka with PMGY and cannot recommend it enough!! It's mainly observational but the staff are happy to answer any questions you may have and will explain procedures as they're going along. I was lucky in that I spent my time in both the private and government hospitals so was able to get a range of experience and see the differences between the two. Ashika is so helpful and will continually discuss with you what you want to get out of your trip and make arrangements accordingly. Everyone out there is so accommodating and always have your best interest at heart. You'll be sad to leave !!

Had a great time with PMGY. I volunteered on the medical programme in Faridabad near Delhi and gained some amazing experience working with doctors to diagnose patients and distribute treatment in small communities. The host family were awesome along with the other volunteers. Even though I only went for 2 weeks we managed to organize time to visit Jaipur and the Taj Mahal. Overall it was well worth it. India is a must see!

Went for 2 weeks to Sri Lanka and it was the best experience I have ever had! This beautiful country has a lot to offer; everywhere you look there was picturesque scenery from either the sandy beaches with the clear sea or the dense jungle with monkeys swinging around! The whole of the PMGY team were friendly and made the trip even more memorable, especially Ashika, Nalaka, Kasun and Manaj! I done the Elephant project which was amazing! Raja the elephant is massive and the whole time we were with him was surreal. I also helped out on numerous other projects including teaching and the turtles that were also great. We were lucky enough to be there during their new years celebrations so were invited to do lots of different events with local schools and to a traditional family party! We stayed in the Lion house that was very clean and tidy, and we had everything we needed. There were plenty of restaurants and places to hang out at night in Hikaduwa and at the weekends we went further afield to places like Mirissa and also on a weekend trip to worlds end. I would definitely recommend it and cannot wait to go back!

We had the most amazing 2 weeks in South Africa, Cape Town in March. It was such an amazing place including the culture, people and sight seeings. There is so much to do and see there even when doing a volunteer project. Our project was a kindergarten just outside of Cape Town. All of the staff and children were so welcoming and kind towards us we wish we could have stayed longer. I would 100% do another volunteer project with PMGY, anything you need or anything you are worried about they will be there. Thank you PMGY for all of your help and for looking after us

I'm a third year student nurse and choose to Delhi for my four week elective placement. Whilst in Delhi, I volunteered in the Slum Outreach clinic, a government hospital, a private hospital and a gynaecology clinic. I spend the majority of my placement in the Slum Outreach clinic and the government hospital. Here I worked alongside a doctor who advised and administered medication to people living in the local area. I was able to do patients blood pressure, pulse, temperature, blood glucose monitoring and examining X-rays. The doctor speaks very good English and explained the common problems that people living in the slums face. This was certainly an eyeopener and was completely different to any placement I've had in the UK. In addition, when I was in the government hospital I spend time in the laboratory and labour ward where I observed a Caesarian and some natural births. The procedure of the Caesarian is slightly different to the UK but it was definitely interesting as the medical staff explain each step. In the gynaecology clinic, I observed many ultra sound scans of pregnant women. The doctor explained each scan and showed me the difference between the first scan and scans during the later stages of pregnancy. Furthermore, in the private hospital I was places in the Accident and Emergency department. Here I witnessed many patients who were often deteriorating quickly with various medical conditions. This was very informative and I learned about how they deal with emergency situations in comparison to the UK. Overall, this four week medical placement in Delhi was an incredible experience where I gained an insight to how medical professionals act in regards to patients presenting with a variety of medical conditions and diseases. This experience is different to any placement in the UK, but it was a valuable experience that I will never forget. I would recommend it to anyone!

I have recently spent three weeks volunteering in Vietnam with PMGY - I would say it was the best experience ever but I have also volunteered twice before with PMGY Sri Lanka which were equally as amazing!!! Starting with an efficient and welcoming airport pick up after a long flight, i was welcomed so warmly by all the local team in Vietnam to the volunteer house. The house was always a fun place to be round and kept clean throughout with great local Vietnamese (and the odd western) food included throughout! A neighbourhood tour, Vietnamese lesson within orientation and a breathtaking city tour around Hanoi all in my first couple days meant I was familiar with my surroundings instantly and got to know my fellow volunteers and superb local team straight away! My project itself was one of the most rewarding things I have done to date! Teaching English to children with learning disabilities was so rewarding and inspiring to see the children's willingness to learn. Although a bit daunting and challenging at first to me, a local co-ordinator was on hand to help with any translation issues and I really grew into the project as we even taught the children a dance performance routine to perform to the whole centre where the project was based! Of course the social side was immense too - from karaoke nights, embracing football matches with the local people, too chilling at jazz bars or drinking "5 dong" beer as well as a simple game of cards or 'spoons' in the house - it had it all. And when it comes to weekends, Vietnam has it all too - chilling and partying in Hanoi / trekking in sapa / visiting one of the wonder worlds in Halong ba - I did this all in three weeks as well as much more!!! And lastly, before I left for Vietnam the support I got from the UK office was brilliant (as it had been for my last two times volunteering with PMGY Sri Lanka) They respond so quick and personally to any concerns or issues I have and are always keen to hear from volunteer experience so they can help enhance the programme for future volunteers. The Facebook groups they maintain provide a great forum for volunteers to share concerns and network amongst each other and even forge friendships before embarking on travels! PMGY Vietnam was unbelievable, unforgettable and unmissable - but I didn't expect anything less after PMGY Sri Lanka was all of the above too!

I joined PMGY in Romania in March to help on the orphanage programme for two weeks. I had no idea of where to go and when the PMGY recommended Romania, I just thought let's do it. I'm so glad I did. I had an incredible time in Romania! Everyone was friendly and welcoming! I met some amazing people and would defiantly recommend it as a place to go!

I just finished volunteering for 6 weeks in Sri Lanka at the Tsunami school teaching English. I had an amazing experience and didn't want to leave! The children there are so wonderful. They are caring, loving, and so happy to learn English! The volunteer house I was staying in very quickly felt like home to me. The staff there are so welcoming and helpful. You really get to know the other volunteers and coordinators in your time there. I am from Canada but I now feel I have a second family in Sri Lanka. Whenever I had a problem or any stress the coordinators were always happy to help and would quickly improve any situation. Josh (coordinator) was always there whenever I needed help in the programme or when I was just stressed out. It was really nice to hear about his past experiences volunteering and being able to relate to him. Ashika and his family are so wonderful and welcoming into their home. It was very hard saying goodbye to everyone there but I am already planning my trip to come back again next year! I would strongly recommend this programme to anyone!

I have used PMGY on two different occasions, one of which was a single month trip to Sri Lanka in 2013 and then for a longer trip late last year in India (Delhi), Nepal, Sri Lanka (again.. :P) and Vietnam. In India I stayed with Vishy and his family, who are all very friendly and welcoming. I was there for 2 weeks participating in their orphanage programme, but also took part in the slum school project in the mornings. They are fairly flexible with what you can do in terms of the programmes available. On your first full day Vishy tells you all about your projects and also some great places in and around Delhi to visit, which was helpful as I was only there for a short time. The projects themselves were good. There were two orphanages, one of which is run by Vishy behind his house and one around 10-15 minutes away. I was mainly involved with the one behind his house (which I think had about 8-10 children) and the ‘slum school’, which was a slight opener having never really been into a place like that before. If you decide to pick Delhi, I would certainly try and participate or at least visit it. In there I was doing 1on1 teaching, but you can also teach an entire class. All the kids in there are really friendly and all want to learn. I then went to Nepal again for 2 weeks initially unsure about what programme I will be doing and where I will be staying (you get a choice of 3). I was recommended Kathmandu as I wasn’t there for too long and the time to get to the other programmes is a long time (around an 8 hour journey each way…unless you fly). I really like Nepal. I stayed in a monastery with other volunteers from different organisations to teach young monks English. They were actually already really good at English therefore you really need to teach them quite moderate to advanced English for it to be worthwhile. They were pretty boisterous for monks which was surprising but kids will be kids. tongue emoticon It was interesting to see how they live their lives and also see so much of Kathmandu. It is A LOT more independent in Nepal. You can do pretty much whatever you like within reason (i.e when monks have days off…go to Thamel and party *cough* sightsee for 3 days) and you don’t stay with a host family (apart from the first day or 2). I’d definitely go back to Nepal one day. Wanted to see a proper Himalayan mountain but didn’t get the chance unfortunately. The country co-ordinators were friendly and helpful, particularly Bhaghwan who I saw the most. He took us on a small tour of Kathmandu and the monkey temple which had amazing views! After Nepal, I then returned to my favourite place – Sri Lanka. Warmly welcomed once again this time by Nalaka at like….2 in the morning. In 2013 I participated in the Boys Orphanage programme but this time thought I would go for the Tsunami School which is run by Ashika himself. Was really nervous at first as I never taught full classes by myself but the kids soon warm to you and finally learn how to say your name correctly tongue emoticon. One thing I would note is that the classes seem to be split by age rather than ability which sometimes made things difficult, but only a minor issue. Again, Ashika is always really flexible with the programmes you can do. I also participated in a morning pre-school class ran by one of the friendliest people you will meet. There are lots to do and see in Sri Lanka and you only need to ask one of the in country co-ordinators where you want to go and what you wanna do, and they will do their best to plan it for you. I would recommend about 2 months if you really want to see most of what Sri Lanka has to offer. But then I went in total for 2 months and still there is more to see. Just such a chilled out and relaxed atmosphere – both times were great, and would thoroughly recommend! I then travelled to Vietnam to take part in a couple of projects, the ‘Disabled Children’ and the ‘Little Seeds’ in the Hanoi Hospital. Again, slightly nervous to begin with having never worked with the disabled children before but the orientation on the first couple of days is so in depth and you also have Vietnamese lessons which help in some cases. The in country co-ordinators are really friendly and helpful people. They will also help you plan trips if needed. Vietnam is similar to Nepal in terms of independence. You travel mainly by bus to your projects, sometimes by yourself and also no set time you need to return to the house if you are ever on a night out etc. Hanoi is an interesting place which again, because of time, did not get to see all of – as with the rest of the country. I did however get to Halong Bay which was amazing, and if you go to ‘snake village’…..try a cobra. tongue emoticon I would also note Vietnam had very good accommodation, fully equipped with air-con for those warmer days! All in all I did have an amazing time. The UK support was great and always answered any of my questions and the handbooks were a handy read to get you well prepared for the country you are about to visit. I would have to say I would recommend Sri Lanka the most in terms of overall ‘enjoyment’, but that said – all the other 3 countries are amazing and there was still so much I didn’t see. 5/5 from me.

Had the most amazing time in Romania! Anyone that is in any doubt of partaking I would definitely recommend it. Best experience I've ever had! We met the most kindest people and the most amazing children! A time that you would never regret!!!!!!