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98%Overall
Rating
Program Description
ISV - Volunteer Projects in Thailand
Description
The rapid development of Thailand to house its growing population and industrial demands has created a series of conservation and community development issues. Thailand also faces increased pressures caused by the influx of refugees from Burma. At the same time, Thailand's people and government have recognized the urgent need to support, protect and conserve Thailand's natural resources, particularly its wildlife. As an ISV volunteer, there is a diversity of opportunities where you can go deeper than being a tourist and help conservation and community development efforts in a strategic way.
Ratings and Reviews
2 of 7 people found this review helpful
Change the World With ISV
90%Overall
Rating
8 of 17 people found this review helpful
Unforgettable Experience
100%Overall
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Excuse the cliche, but it was honestly the most amazing trip of my life. Working at Baan Unrak (Orphanage in Sangklaburi) was incredible, even though it was hot and the work was hard e.g. farming, painting or sanding areas to be painted, hanging out with the children and the smiles on their faces when we came to the home is something no one could forget. In addition to this the adventure topped it all off and going to the Elephant Nature Park and Zip lining were two experiences that are still in my mind everyday. I will admit that not everyday is easy and everyone had their difficulties over the trip but I made a group of friends who will honestly be friends for life and we all helped each other get through the rough times - we are basically each others second family and although we don't see each other often the bond it always there. Anyone who has the opportunity to go on a volunteer program with ISV should relish the opportunity because it is one of the most fulfilling and amazing experiences anyone could have.
16 of 25 people found this review helpful
The best experience in Thailand!
100%Overall
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The staff was incredible, the program was fun, and the experience was extremely fulfilling. I got to spend two weeks living at the Mae Kok Foundation for children, helping teach the kids English, cooking meals, and building a garage and a memorial. The experience brought meaning to my life and I wouldn't change it for anything. The program was well organized and everything happened according to plan. I felt well taken care of and very safe. I would recommend this program to anyone.
17 of 24 people found this review helpful
Meaningful and fun!
100%Overall
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We were able to work directly with gibbons and elephants during their rehabilitation while feeling extremely safe with provisionals. The people are amazing and staff leaders know so much about the country. Everyday there was an amazing experience be it kayaking around limestone mountains, or visiting "The Beach" from the movie. I loooved Thailand and can't wait to go back.
14 of 25 people found this review helpful
The Trip of a Lifetime
100%Overall
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I went on three trips to three countries and spent a total of 12 weeks abroad. I went to Ecuador (5 weeks), Dominican Republic (5 weeks) and Thailand (2 weeks). While in Ecuador and Dominican Republic, I spent a week getting Spanish lessons where I got to practice talking in Spanish while learning about the country. With the lessons, the teachers also provide dance lessons, salsa in Ecuador and meringue in the Dominican Republic, and cooking lessons to show off to volunteers’ friends back at home. While there, I stayed in local families in Quito, Ecuador and Santiago, Dominican Republic for the lessons.
Then, I traveled to my volunteer site. In Ecuador, I stayed in a local village in the Amazonian Jungle where my group helped teach English and helped take care of cocoa plants. The cocoa plants were used so the village could sell the cocoa bean and make money from that so the village did not have to rely on money from the oil companies who are destroying the rainforest.
For my Dominican Republic trip, I stayed a seminary (ISV has no religious affiliations) that was near the school and worksite. Half of the group went to the school and taught English and other fun stuff for educational summer camps while the other group was building a community center that was to be used by 17 communities. Then the groups switch the following day. The kids loved having us as much as the workers who watched over us during the build.
Lastly, I spent a couple weeks in Thailand where I spent the first week working at a school where we helped finished building a new classroom for the school and spent time playing with the kids. During this week, we learned about Thailand, the culture, the Thai language, and Buddhism. My group was even fortunate enough to witness Mother’s Day in Thailand which was extremely emotional for the Thai parents and kids as well as my group. The following week, I spent a week at the Elephant Nature Park where I helped the park take care of the elephants. Mainly our tasks were to clean pumpkins for the elephant’s lunch, get corn stalks for the elephant’s dinner, or clean up after the elephants that morning. Around lunch and dinner, volunteers and visitors were allowed to feed and bathe the elephants. Volunteers that are interested in veterinary could watch veterinarians apply medical care to the elephants.
Along with the volunteer project, most of the volunteers through ISV can do another two weeks touring the country. I extremely recommend this because one does more in two weeks with ISV and he or she can do in a lifetime. In Ecuador, I went rock climbing and mountain biking one day to climbing to the tropical glaciers on Cotopaxi, Ecuador’s most active volcano, to white water rafting to surfing on the beach and watching humpback whales. Ecuador has it all! I also went did the two weeks in the Dominican Republic where I did as more water activities than I thought was possible. From going surfing to jumping off waterfalls to white water rafting before exploring the colonial center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic it has everything you want in a tropical island.
I highly recommend this company which has allowed to me to travel and to see the world differently that a normal tourist would not see. While there, I got to make a difference to someone and made some great friends in the process. You will not be disappointed with ISV!
Alumni Interviews
Interview with Sophie Lalonde, ISV alum
GO: Why did you decide to volunteer with ISV in Thailand?
Sophie: I decided to volunteer abroad with ISV in Thailand because I worked with the company and recruited enough people that they paid for my trip abroad! Also I was very interested in fighting human trafficking.
GO: Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Sophie: As a volunteer I painted the preschool, taught English classes, hosted the radio station, and held educational sessions to prevent human trafficking.
GO: What made this experience unique and special?
Sophie: This volunteer abroad experience is unique because you do 2 weeks on volunteering and then a 2 week adventure tour, so you get the best of both worlds!
Volunteer in Thailand with children
GO: How has this experience impacted your future?
Sophie: This experience has impacted me in every shape, way, and form in my day to day life. I look forward to promoting human rights the rest of my life, and I have even started up a non-profit focused on international education to make a difference in the world. Professionally, recruiters are very interested in my trips and it is a great way to diversify myself from other applicants. In fact, it is a great way to show them how you react to challenging and different situations.
Sophie Lalonde volunteered in Thailand in June-July 2011. She is a 20-year-old from Colorado Springs, CO, majoring in Finance at the University of Colorado.
Read our interview with Kat Silvers, another ISV alum
GO: First, tell us a little about yourself and your trip.
Kat: My name is Kat Silvers and I went to Thailand when I was 16-years-old, from 27th of December 2010 to 16th January 2011. I'm a full-time student from Sydney, Australia.
GO: Why did you decide to volunteer with ISV in Thailand?
Kat: It was kind of a spur of the moment decision - my friend and I were at a careers expo and there was a stall promoting International Student Volunteers. It looked really interesting so we checked out the different high school volunteer programs - New Zealand, Costa Rica and Thailand. The motivating force for our decision to volunteer abroad was the opportunity to give something back as we are so privileged living in a developed country and we were drawn to Thailand because it was somewhere neither of us had been, the program looked amazing and it wasn't too far away in comparison to Costa Rica.
GO: Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Kat: The activities varied from day to day but it followed the general pattern of a morning session of work, lunch and then an afternoon session. Most of our work was on the orphanage's farm where we were clearing paddocks with hoes and planting new seedlings, it was really hard work but it was so rewarding. We also did a lot of painting - we painted the outside of the orphanage with a fresh coat and also painted mural that stretched down the retaining wall that led up to the home. In addition to this we were given the opportunity to hang out and play with the kids at lunch and generally after the afternoon session was finished. One day was dedicated to just playing with the kids all day - in the morning we rotated playing sport games e.g. soccer, frisbee, hackie sack etc. and arts and craft, and in the afternoon we went to the river with the kids which was so much fun!
Whilst volunteering we were also given days off where we got to go sight seeing with our amazing leader Stef, where we visited sites like the Sunken Temple and the Mon Temples on the other side of town. After working for two weeks at the orphanage we went back to Bangkok and Chiang Mai where we started our adventure tour and got to go zip lining, work at the elephant nature park, have a traditional Thai cooking class and do a lot of sight seeing and immerse ourselves in the culture. Everyday was so amazing and it went way too quickly!
Volunteers in Thailand with ISV
GO: What made this volunteer abroad experience unique and special?
Kat: What made the experience so unique and special was definitely the people on the trip and our ISV leaders Stef and May. I developed friendships with people that will last a lifetime and made incredible memories that we will always share. In addition to this by volunteering abroad you feel part of something larger, although only small I was able to impact the lives of the children at the home and by spending time with them, I realized just how lucky I am and how such a little really does go a long way.
GO: How has this experience impacted your future?
Kat: This experience has really made me reconsider where I want to go in the future - I definitely plan to go back at the end of this year whether it be to Thailand and Baan Unrak or somewhere else in the world and dedicate my time to helping those less fortunate. It has also made me consider going into a field that is concerned with humanitarian work or just dedicating as much time, while i have it to helping others.
Personally this experience certainly made me grow as a person and develop relationships with people that will last a lifetime. It really opens your eyes to the impact you can have on people's lives by doing something so small and really showed me that we take a lot for granted. As a result, I have gotten a lot more involved in charity work and am continually boring my friends with stories nearly two years on of how much I miss everything about the trip! Hopefully by the end of this year I will be sitting back in Thailand re-living the experience :)
Read our interview with Ana Senior, another ISV program alum
GO: Why did you decide to volunteer with ISV in Thailand?
Ana: I have always been very involved in community service so I attended an information session on my campus (Boston University) and learned about ISV's programs. Once I heard about the amazing opportunities all over the world, I was hooked. I had always dreamt of seeing elephants and going to Thailand. With Thailand as one of their most popular programs, I knew ISV was for me. From that moment at the information session, I was dead set on going on the program.
GO: Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Ana: I volunteered at the Mae Kok Foundation in Chiang Rai, Thailand. As a volunteer, I would wake up every morning at around 5:00 a.m. to help the children make breakfast and finish some chores before going to school. Once we would send them off, the rest of the volunteers and I would get to work. We hand-mixed twenty bags of cement a day to build a garage for their brand new school bus. It was really hard work but was so rewarding because I knew we were doing a good thing. We would take a lunch break at around noon and play with the dogs around the property. These breaks were also our bonding time. We got extremely close as a volunteer team. Once the kids got home from school (SO excited to see us!) we would help the older girls cook dinner. After dinner, we taught English lessons and played games until their bed time. Every day was an adventure and every day I realized more and more why I had chosen to participate in the program.
Ana Senior, Thailand volunteer program alum
GO: How has this experience impacted your future?
Ana: This experience changed me forever. It created a passion within me to help others and it has allowed me the opportunity to be a campus representative for ISV, promoting the programs around Boston college campuses. It caused me to take a non-profit Public Relations class, and now I dream of working for a non-profit organization, like ISV, dedicated to helping others around the world. Personally, the experience opened my eyes. it allowed me to see the pain around the world and how good we have it here in the states. However sad it was to see the poverty in Thailand, I was able to see that we can make a difference and sending volunteers overseas can have such an incredible impact on even just one person.
I absolutely loved this program. Not only do you get to volunteer but you get to go on an adventure tour in Chaing Mai, the Phi Phi Islands, and Railey Beach. Such a great way to see Thailand from a local perspective.