Testimonials

About Global Nomadic

Global Nomadic put me directly in touch with the people running the project in India. I spent 2 months volunteering at a school, which would have been very difficult for me to find on my own, and without paying thousands of pounds through a Gap Year company. Someone was on hand to answer all my questions and help out as soon as I needed it, plus they helped me find a great deal on flights and discounts on travel insurance!

I would definitely recommend using this company if you are looking for a serious project, at the same price as if you approached the organisation directly :)

Posted by: Danielle Blackstone

China Adventure - Orphanage Project

First off, we would like to thank Mr. Freedman for facilitating our placements in the orphanage program. He has been a wonderful person in providing all the necessary information as well as responding to our queries. Even though there were times we responded late to his emails, he waited patiently for our replies. So, basically communicating with him via email is not a problem. =3

We are third year undergraduates from UMP, Malaysia. Recently, we have volunteered in China from the 6 to 20 December 2010. We stayed in Fengyan village during our orientation period for a week. The project coordinators were very friendly and they had shown us around especially the ancient towns and temples near the village. Apart from that, they taught us about the Chinese culture such as their language, traditional celebrations and game which were very interesting.

During the second week, we stayed at the orphanage in Bei Shan. There were 95 children in the centre ranging from 4 to 18 years old. Some of the children went to school as early as 6:30am and finished school at around 9:00pm. Socializing with the children was not a problem because they were very friendly and approachable. However, communicating with the children was a little difficult because most of them did not understand the English language. We taught them some basic words such as greetings and polite words.

From our viewpoints, the children in this centre are still in need of attention and care especially the minors. This is because the children tend to play only with those around their age. Other than that, we noticed that the winter clothing worn by some of the children were quiet insufficient. The one thing that surprised us was seeing them attending classes each day full of spirit even though the weather was very cold. It shows that the children understand clearly that knowledge is part of the necessities in life.

By volunteering at the orphanage, we realized that spending our time with the children was extremely worthwhile because we got to share what we know with them as well as making them happy. We hope this program will continue to attract more volunteers to help the children by sharing love and care for them. Just like the quote, “Happiness is not so much in having as sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give (by Norman MacEwan)”. =)

Posted by:Elizabeth Davidson

Nepal Adventure - Teaching English to Buddhist Monks

I went to Nepal to teach English at a buddhist school in Pharping for about 5 weeks in Jul-Aug 2007. The project was well-run I think, even though there were no many teachers attending the classes, they told us we (me and the other volunteers) can teach whatever we like, we didn't have to follow any program or anything. They said that anything will do, will help the kids with the language and thats what we tried to do - make it interesting and useful at the same time. The school had a very nice library with many books and materials that we could aid our classes with. At first I was thinking to do some teaching at the public school as well, but I liked the monastery too much and I spent all my time there. We ended helping with many of the other classes as there was a lack of teachers in many other subjects too.

I would definitely recommend it to others. For me it was a once in a life time experience. The difficulties I met In Nepal were more from cultural shock and the quite harsh impressions that the extreme poverty had made on me. In this respect it was nice that from the organisation had organised language course with a very sweet girl, who was also my guide for the first few days, so I had some company when i most needed it. What I liked most it was probably the whole atmosphere at the monastery, with all the boys that accepted us. Ive made some friends there who Im still in contact with. There are so pure and genuine in their relationship, it was something we could learn from them too.

Posted by: Bilyana Iliykova

Nepal - Medical Careership

I participated on this project as a med student i can recommend it to anyone who is interested in rural healthcare and non-high-tech lifestyle :) During my stay I worked at two different health posts - one private and a governmental one - visited several hospitals, assisted in operations, etc. The staff was really nice and helpful, they also helped me to organise my trekkings after my work period was over.

They were also very flexible according to the project, it was continuously adjusted to my actual ideas and requirements. The hosting family was also nice, the more or less spoke english :D and wanted to know everything about me and my home country, we could talk about religion, culture, everything. I had my own room, so it was pretty comfortable. If you like rice, then you wont complain about the food either.

Posted by: Dr. Laszlo Zavori

Guatemala - Wildlife Rehabilitation Project

We really loved our experience in the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and we hope to come back there. We've traveled the world quite a bit, and this is really a special place where one doesn't pay thousands or even hundreds of dollars for the illusion of working with wild animals, but a true place that really allows people to get in, get dirty, and help Guatemalas wildlife. I hope that will never change.

Posted by: Sarit Reizin

Ecuador - Social Work Careership

I did volunteer work in Ecuador for a month during the summer and found the experience extremely worthwhile. I worked in child and elderly care, helping out in a small foundation that provided free food and general medical assistance to the poor. I took classes in the afternoon in order to improve my Spanish and explored Ecuador on the weekends. I was a little apprehensive about the trip at first, but my fears soon disappeared as my project and classes continued to run smoothly.

Independence was a key part of my experience---I had a lot of freedom from the aspect of my program to the last. I communicated with the project provider until they had designed a program that I was satisfied with, and I was free to allot my time as I saw fit during my stay in Ecuador. I felt that there was just the right amount of supervision---enough to help me learn to act responsibly, but not so much that every minute of my trip was controlled. Help was always there if I needed it, and I never once felt endangered or unsafe. I had an amazing time exploring and working in this historically and culturally rich country. I highly recommend it!

Posted By: Melodie Yen