Original Volunteers - www.originalvolunteers.co.uk

I spend one month (August 2016) in the Original Volunteers project set in Thailand. I volunteered as an English teacher in a primary school in Phang Nga, southern Thailand. During my stay there I also have the opportunity to collaborate at the Sena School English Camp for teens.

I would describe my stay as adventurous, enjoyable, rich and worthwhile experience. For this reason I truly recommend this rewarding experience with Original Volunteers. This company offers a good value for money; I can affirm the costs are reasonably priced. Also, provides you with advices and support before and during your stay there. The facilities for the volunteers are impressive good taking into account the poor place where the project takes place.

Teaching English to Thai children provides them a wide range of their opportunities to work and find a good job position in their adulthood. I wanted to help and give a better future for the children. As the same way I wanted to give the moral of the children a huge boost and present them enjoyable English activities. This was one of the main reasons which makes me took the decision of being a volunteer. Collaborate with this project let me met my expectations. It makes me feel really good to be able to collaborate in that local community to improve and increase their English level.

Volunteers went out to small town where little or no English is spoken. There we taught in local schools every day. The town I did my volunteer was called Khok Kloy. The weekdays all the volunteers slept in the same hostel pretty close to the different schools where we collaborate. Every morning a tuk-tuk taxi pick up us and drop of to the schools. There were two teacher volunteers per school (there were never a volunteer teaching alone in a school). I did class of English to children of different ages (from nursery to 12 years old) during all morning (5 hours per day). I must say I felt really comfortable teaching to that school. The teachers and the director of the school were really nice with the volunteers during all our stay there. We have lunch with the teacher staff who share us their food. They are really interested in meeting us and let us be part of the staff team. Students were really motivated for English classes and meet new volunteers from other countries.

Teachers follow the Thai Government curriculum which makes the lessons relevant to the children education. The classes we taught in the school where already programmed by Original Volunteers teachers team, but we also have the opportunity to create new activities at the end of the class or change the way to present (if we thought it could be easily learned by the students). To sum up, we follow the program but we were free to create new activities and English games to motivate them. Even thought they are already motivated for learning English. As teachers reported, children enjoy the volunteer’s activities and they are “hungry for English”.

I will appeal to the food. As I said before Thai teachers share their meal with the volunteers. It was a good excuse to eat and taste the real Thai food cooked by the teachers. Disappointingly, in the hostel the food service is limited. But there are a thai tesco, street markets, shops, and pharmacy in fifteen minutes walking from there.

During my stay there I felt well looked after by the coordinators and other teachers of the project. There was always somebody there able to help and assistance me. When it comes the communication with the company was excellent being always happy to answer all my queries and doubts.

Before I went to Thailand the company helped me get in touch with other futures volunteers who will share the same project during my stay there. I was able to meet and chat them before my arrival at the project. Despite I went there alone, I never felt as I was on my own. We created a really nice volunteer teachers team in the school where the project took place. We also have the opportunity to share trips around the country of Thailand when the project ends.

It was definitely a worthwhile experience that I will never forget. I came back to my country with my bag full of lovely and brilliant memories from Thailand. Thanks Original Volunteer for let me be part of your admirable, skilful and great team.

You will be always a part of me.

Mar Rof.

Where do I start i been to Morocco 3 times now but twice to volunteer it was such an amazing experience. First I was nervous as it was my first time abroad on my own but I settled in really quickly once u got to know people. The staff are lovely and couldn't ask for better. I met loads of new new people and made new friends. When i came back from Morocco I was a new person after doing the activities with the volunteers. Beautiful country. Morocco was the best experience that original volunteers has given me. They will do anything to help you. I would 100% recommend it and I would go back again to volunteer again. Some parts were hard and upsetting bit it's a real eye opener seeing how the other side of the world lives. There is nothing I could change

In January 2017, I fulfilled one of my dreams, to become a volunteer and contribute something to the world in which I live…. the experience did not disappoint.

I took a week’s holiday and jetted out to Marrakech to take part in projects designed to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable children living there.

For anyone with reservations about doing this alone I would like to assure you there is nothing to worry about. You are met at the airport by friendly Original Volunteer staff and escorted to the volunteer house where you will have the opportunity to meet many other people from all walks of life – volunteers and locals.

I spent a week in Marrakech helping in orphanages, street projects, youth groups and feeding the homeless. I have met lifelong friends and developed my cultural awareness. This is one of the best moves I have made and one I will be repeating.

If anyone would like to contact me for more information, or just reassurance and guidance, please feel free to do so through Original Volunteers who will be able to give you my email address.

Things to keep in mind which i have learnt from my experience:

1) Make sure you have the correct accommodation address as this caused a slight problem with passport control when my friend and I arrived. Also the fact that it could take between 2 3 hours till you are actually out the airport from the time you arrive.

2) Exchange some money (Approx 20 pound) at the airport but you would save money if you exchange the bulk of your spending money at the city center where you will find loads of money exchange places as they have much better exchange rates.

3) Before leaving the airport ask the staff for the Maroc Telecom store to buy the sim which cost around 10 - 15 pound (150 DH) this gives you 6.5GB Data and UK calling minutes along with Morocco minutes in case of any emergencies.

4) Make sure it is Activated before leaving the Maroc Telecom store.

5) If the driver is not there then contact the Contact number stated in the email which you should have received 1 2 weeks before departure. I would print this email out just to avoid any problems in the airport so you have all the details at hand.

Being a tourist you are targeted by many salesman and they will charge you 5X the price so be sure to haggle. The trip Overall was an Amazing experience especially the Baby orphanage visit and feeding the homeless. project Co ordinators are very friendly and helpful with anything you may need or any activity you would like to do even if its outwith the project. We started as a group of 10 but by the end of the week there was only 4 people left. Me and a friend then booked 2 hotels to make most of our last 2 days on the weekend Saturday and Sunday.

1 - Labranda Targa Hotel

2 - Eden Andalou hotel

Both all inclusive( breakfast lunch and dinner) with shuttle bus every hour or so to the city center for free and had an Aqua Park, and very affordable, i would recommend staying there even for one night on your day off.

Big up to Adil my Co-Ordinator for the majority of the trip. really nice individual and will take care of anything you need help with.

Although the first couple of days were a culture shock for me and missing home my overall experience was amazing, the team you work with are fantastic, it's like being apart of a family...absolutely loved it cannot wait to go back, by far one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences if my life.

Original Volunteers Morocco Marrakesh Review March/April 2017:

Things to note:

1) Make sure you have correct accommadation address and moroccon project advisor contact number as you will be required to fill in a disembarkment form on arrival and customs/passport control officers are very by the book.

2) The queue on arrival to passport control can be upto 2 hours at Marrakesh Airport so bear this in mind.

3) Once you are through customs, exchange some money at the bueru du change.

4) Then go to the Maroc Telecom and buy a Moroccan sim card. Cost roughly 150Dirham around £15 for 6.5gb of data 40 mins international calls and 1 hour of moroocan calls.

5) Then once actived head out of the arrivals and exit airport.

6) The driver might be there but if not you will need to contact the moroccon project advisor who will orginise taxi for you to djamma el-fna in Marrakesh from the airport.

7) The driver will drop you near the accommadation and it is a 5 min walk with the project advisor.

The above steps is what myself and a friend have learned with our trip we learned through trial and error as we were at the airport for quite some time due to passport control being very thorough. Please don't let that put you off just be prepared before you leave the UK make sure you have all the accommadation and contact details.

The trip overall was a fantastic experience and was well organised visiting the baby orphanage and feeding the homeless were the stand out activaties. Most of the travel is done via walking and taxi's. Marrakesh is very nice be prepared to haggle though when buying things from the markets. The jus'dorange stalls are good number 49 stall is the man to go to always gave us extra juice and different juices to taste.

The project advisors are great and are very friendly, they'll help you out a lot. Foodwise cafe babooshka is nice and there is a kfc near the kootbia mosque.

On our trip there were 10 other volunteers but by the end of the week that wittled down to 4 as some people come and go. The weekend was pretty much free to chill and do as you please and since it was just myself and my friend in the house now, we decided to book a couple of hotels for the weekend with aquaparks to have a bit of fun before we left morocco. I would highly recommend the morocco marrakesh trip as it balances both the volunteering and having fun really well. Don't worry about it just go ahead and book it :)

I have used Original Volunteers on two occasions now to book projects to Thailand and Ghana and I highly recommend this company if you would like to be involved in volunteer projects.

For those who have concerns about what company to choose when volunteering, my honest opinion is that Original Volunteers offer rewarding experiences and are very good value for money in comparison to other companies out there.

Original Volunteers were very supportive in their pre-travel advice, communication with them was excellent and they have always been happy to answer my queries. Everything ran very smoothly from beginning to end on both trips.

Thailand

Admittedly I was very nervous at first, I had never travelled alone before. Once out in Thailand an airport transfer was arranged and the accommodation hostel had a very friendly vibe. I was happy and settled from the very first evening, I met some wonderful people, both locals and other volunteers, and every day from then was a new adventure. The hostel helped to create a good rapport among the other like-minded volunteers. Meals at the accommodation cost from £1-4.

With regards to the teaching itself we had lots of resources to use, and as with any volunteer company you are expected to be able to think on your feet and use your initiative. After all, you are not there to be spoon fed, but to have a challenging experience. Throughout the trip our taxis to our volunteer placements were arranged for us, and we even had very affordable mini buses take us on weekends away and then drive us back! Generally we worked 4-5 days a week and then travelled on weekends.

The weekends included, boat trips, island hopping, a full moon party and plenty of time on the beach relaxing. My experience in Thailand was easily the best few weeks of my life and the following year I used the same company to volunteer in Ghana.

Ghana

I expected a similar experience here and in regards to the company’s organisation and efficiency I received exactly that.

I was late when I arrived and the other volunteers were sleeping so after a very warm welcome from 3 more staff members I called it a night. In the morning the other new volunteers and I were given all the information we needed and we were given answers to all our questions. We spent the rest of the day being shown around the local area and gathering supplies, which mainly consisted of drinking water and snacks.

The next day is when the volunteering began; the days usually began with a meeting where we all discussed what we will be doing and what we want to achieve. I taught in a school called Sunrise where I met so many lovely children and teachers, it was an amazing experience. If you plan on teaching for your whole trip I’d recommend thinking of some lesson plans before hand and take any equipment you might need. Most of the schools have little or no equipment so taking stationery is a good idea.

For a weekend trip a bus was organised for us and we arrived at a small beachfront community with a few hotels and a very nice atmosphere, this is the place to come to unwind. They organised beach parties to bars, live music, bonfires and nice food.

Another great place to visit is Cape Coast, we spent two days there and visited the old Slave Castle which was a very thought provoking and educational trip. The next day we visited Kakum National Park where we had a mini jungle trek followed by the Canopy walk, which was a 350m walkway suspended high in the trees.

In summary I genuinely recommend Original Volunteers, they are affordable, supportive and very reliable. Working and traveling in a foreign country proves your ability to move out of your comfort zone, to take risks, and to adapt and confront new challenges. Thank you OV!

I have recently came back from volunteering in Ghana and would like to say a hugh thankyou to all the team for all the advice given to me over the phone and via emails. You gave me the confidence to do this I went to the hospital, schools, and did an outreach project. It was truly amazing and I plan to go out again next year with my 11 year old son to do health promotion in the schools. The staff at the volunteer house were so helpful as well, once again THANKYOU

This company is possibly the worst, and if you are searching for a good experience I suggest you ignore their cheap prices because otherwise you will come to regret it.

I travelled to Kenya for the Mombasa project in the beginning of March, from the get go the company showed little interest after payment had been made. They would take ages to reply to e-mails and phone calls were non existent.

Upon arrival (following an 8 hour flight from London) my supposed airport pick up, was no where to be found. Turns out the lack of communication between OV and their connections was as bad as they were with me, they failed to communicate that I was to arrive in Nairobi and not Mombasa. I had to take another 8 hour coach ride to the coast to meet my pick up.

Upon arrival I was told that the volunteer house that had been out of use for over 5 months and that volunteers had been staying at the White Castle Hotel (the Kenyan welcome pack from OV stated all volunteers had to stay at the volunteer house). To make matters worse, not only did they not tell me the volunteer house was out of use, she also lied to me and told me there were another two volunteers already at the supposed 'volunteer house'. It turned to to be only me and absolutely no project to volunteer, as the Grandsons of Abraham Rescue Center was recruiting street kids and so there was nothing for me to do.

One day on my lack of volunteering I was out doing touristy things as a way to kill time and I was robbed and beaten near Fort Jesus. When i repported the incident to OV they completely ignored my pleas, screened my calls and refused to refund me my monies. Luckily I had payed via paypal and they found in my favour.

I have a police report and will be taking further action against this so called company for negligence and misrepresentation. I would definitely not recommend them to anyone, DO NOT let the prices fool you!

I would never recommend this company, they are quick to take your money but very slow in dealing with any issues you may have.