GVI Gap Year

if this was a real volunteering organisation it would be free or a fraction of the price.

I signed up initially to do the construction program in Nepal in 2015, but due to the earthquakes all the programs were cancelled so I signed up to do the same program in Cape Town the following year as they would not refund me. On the run up to going they sent me information to prepare for hard work and to prepare mentally for living in poor areas, this was complete rubbish. The base was situated in a wealthy and gated area that had hot water, comfy beds and a Domino's and a Nando's just down the road. They also state that they work in places that are poorly funded and have limited resources, again this was complete rubbish. The school that volunteers teach in was newly built and had plenty of resources (probably more than some schools at home), the orphanage had several people a day come with donations and food. All the programs in Cape Town were a joke, myself and 3 others left after the first week.

GVI Cape Town Programs

Construction

Description: “volunteer’s help with renovation projects at sites within the community. Working mainly at educare centres to improve facilities and to help create positive learning environments for the children.”

Reality: Replace a few old screws, which makes a massive difference to the children’s learning experience and spend the rest of your time baby-sitting and getting head-butted by kids – such a wonderful experience.

Teaching

Description: “Our Teaching volunteers are based at ACJ Primary School and work with individual children from Grades 4 and 6 through one on one tutoring sessions providing support with a Literacy and Numeracy focus. We also provide reading support groups for the children and run after school group workshops for all age groups. “

Reality: Spend a lot of your time at the orphanage helping dish out breakfast and lunch, spend 3 hours in the playground watching kids running around, avoiding getting head-butted and have 3 X 15 minute lessons in a class size of 50 children singing songs and colouring in.

Healthcare:

Description: “Our Healthcare volunteers are involved with setting up and implementing health and hygiene practices across sites within the community. We work with the children and adults through fun informal educational workshops.“

Reality: spend most of your day doing the teaching program and then in the afternoon carry out stretches on a child with cerebral palsy. The staff member will demonstrate this by using the child as a dummy; you should not be allowed to do this sort of thing unless you are qualified.

Women’s empowerment

Description: “GVI aims to assist in gender equality through various educational, healthcare and income initiatives. We also aim to facilitate and encourage dialogues between empowered women, helping them to share positive stories of change and increasing the opportunity for them to become more involved in key community issues.”

Reality: spend most of your week doing the teaching program and then possibly twice a week, if you are lucky, you teach the women that run the orphanage how to use a computer and type, they pick it up very quickly considering they all have smartphones. Then, you create colourful posters and mind maps like you would with the children (not patronising at all). There is no wonder a lot of the women did not show up.

I would highly recommend GVI to anyone that has money they want to get rid of and for those that say that life goes by too quickly because this experience will show you that life can be painfully slow.

I spent 2 months at Luang Prabang, Laos in spring/summer 2014, teaching English at Xayadeth college for 6 weeks and at Mekong English Center (MEC) for two weeks. Both colleges are private and charge their students about 150 to 200 USD per year, the students ranged between 17 and 25 years of age, going to school, working or studying at university. At Xayadeth, teaching was done by two GVI volunteers per class, none of whom spoke any Lao. The volunteers changed every 4 weeks on average. There was 6 classes with an estimated 150 students. Teaching - and students - were extremely good fun, but the teaching model is very inefficient. We volunteers conducted the final exam, the outcome of which was very disappointing, the results ranging between 10% and 90% of the full score - main reason being that only 50% of the students appear in class and no discipline and assessments imposed. Nevertheless, each and every student received his diploma. Why do students have to pay, when the volunteer teachers are for free? There was only 2 Lao teachers present, who earn about 200 USD per month. Is GVI contributing to the local (rampant) corruption? Fortunately I was also teaching at MEC, where the students were more motivated and the management imposed 'discipline' and proper assessments. Teaching is efficient: there is a 'normal' Lao teacher (paid!) who ensures the continuity and an assisting volunteer. 

My financial input to GVI amounted to 40 USD per day. 10 USD are used for accomodation, 6 USD you get handed out to buy your own food (which is definitely quite below subsistence level since the cheapest meal in a cheap restaurant is 1.9 USD), about 10 USD go into scholarships, local charity, etc. and the rest never arrives in Laos. Accomodation was ok - in single rooms with attached bathroom and fan in a standard guesthouse. In short, you pay double of what you would pay for living on your own, but you cannot decently eat with what GVI allows.

Besides, Luang Prabang is great!

Besides, Luang Prabang is a wonderful place, where you meet all kinds of wonderful people - I would not like to miss that time. 

GVI Thailand--what a crock. The first lie is that the reason it's so expensive is because they give 70% of the fee to the community. Not even remotely true. The living conditions are deplorable, the staff are underpaid, the food is detestable--and all GVI have to say about it is "you're sacrificing to save the planet." BS! They let anyone on who's check clears the bank with no screening process--or at least when the screening process turns up drug addicts and criminals, they let them on the project anyway. They overcharge and then cut corners on everything, saying it's for the good of the Earth. Not so. It's for the GVI higher-ups to line their pockets.

GVI Thailand is run by the most incompetent people on the face of the Earth, starting with the Base Manager and all the way up to the Regional Director in Asia. If you go on a GVI Thailand project, prepare to be disappointed, lied to, abandoned, and ignored. Save yourself the heartache and book with someone else.

After paying over 3,500 pounds and dedicating six months of my life to this project, The least I was expecting was a warm welcome.however the pick up staff did not speak a word of English and the project leader was too busy shopping to come greet us on time.

Over the first two weeks communication did not improve, I felt uncomfortable in such a dangerous country and phone lines where never answered.

Another shocker for me was that once in the country they told me I would be volunteering in another country for the last 3 months, which was not agreed upon!

The project leaders wanted little too do with the volunteers, which was most upsetting. And the project its self was poorly run with staff members not even knowing their own job role within the company.

As a person who has volunteered and worked with children for the past 4 years, I was hoping to step up in my job role as an intern (which I

paid more for) However I did not receive any training which was promised and had a lesser role of a volunteer.

When I approached staff with my complaints, they handled it in an unprofessional manner and where extremely rude. I took a break from the project and waited to hear if they would refund me. During my time off they accused me for bad mouthing the organisation which was totally untrue and there for kicked me off completely and would not refund my money.

Furthermore, during my time there I stayed with a host family. They did not pay my host family or the other host families for over two months.. as a result of this my host family struggled. Which any person would do , especially if they lived in a third world country.

I befriended the people they where suppose to be helping and they felt that this once great project, was more of a disappointment now.

I am very angered by the whole experience, on the lighter side Antigua was a lovely place to stay and if you do wish to volunteer there, there are plenty of organisations which don't charge you to volunteer, I volunteered at vet pro plus caring for the strays and my help was greatly appricated!

Recently got back from the GVI program in Kenya and although I met some likeminded people. I was not impressed with the overall set up of the work. The staff seemed to be more into each other then they were interested in the work which was disorganised or none existent. I would NOT recommend this project to anyone.

I woke up one morning and decided that I wanted to go to Fiji to Volunteer. It had been a year since I volunteered in Mongolia and I felt this instinct inside me that said go. After plenty of research I decided to go with Global Vision International. A month later I was jumping of the boat and onto the beautiful white sandy beach of Tovuto Base, Fiji. After meeting 20 or so of the other volunteers I was set up ready for my first day at Ratu Melli school. We arrived at the schools assembly and we were introduced to all the students with a wonderful singing performance. It was instant love and appreciation for the students of the School. Walking down the veranda you couldn’t help but feel somewhat famous with the attention each student was paying you. I had the honour of teaching class two who were a great and energetic bunch of kids. Over the weeks you built an unbreakable bond with not only the children of the school but the volunteers and staff. When you live with people 24/7 you get to know them rather rapidly on a personal level. You create a home away from home which you feel so safe and appreciated. The staff in particular offers you support and makes it comfortable for your experience.

There was not one point of my trip where I wanted to go home or felt like I made a mistake about coming to Fiji. From the white sand beaches to the smiling children of class two, volunteering with GVI in Fiji was by far the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve formed lifelong friendship with the other volunteers and a home away from home all thanks to my spontaneous want to come to Fiji and the help of GVI.

I completed a six month internship with GVI in Costa Rica in 2010 and I have to admit that I was angry with them when I left. A year later and my feelings are somewhat mixed. I felt compelled to write this review because I feel that at least with respect to the Costa Rica program they are misleading people and taking their money whilst hiding behind the banner of being a “volunteer organization”. People deserve to know exactly what they are being sold. That being said I did have an amazing time!

Overall impression:

On the one hand I saw some stunning wildlife and came back with lots of great photos. I made some friends for life who share my interest in natural history and the experience of living for three months in a protected area where even regular tourists are not granted access cannot be understated. On the other hand I am still angry with GVI because I feel that they misled me in terms of the experience I was originally sold and on more than one occasion I feel they behaved in a less than professional manner during my stay

Okay so to get it out of the way first. The big issue about profit/not for profit. When you truly volunteer for a program you shouldn't have to pay more than is necessary to cover your food/lodging. GVI charge £1050 for two weeks at Jalova working on the jaguar camera trapping project. That's £75 per day. I'm not going to get into the debate about whether 70% of your fee goes back into the project because I think the numbers speak for themselves. The staff are paid around $100 per month each, the food is mostly rice and beans and they need to buy gasoline to power the generator (1-2 hours per day) and boat. You do the maths. The point is that this is not a volunteer program and by calling their paying guests \"volunteers\", advertising the whole thing as a volunteer program and using language such as \"scientific research\" and \"research station\" they are being dishonest and misleading. Make no mistake; this is most definitely a FOR PROFIT organization. This doesn't have to be a bad thing however; you just need to be aware of this up front. The place can be more accurately described as a holiday camp for grown-ups who are interested in natural history and don't mind roughing it in basic conditions in order to get close to the wildlife. If this is what you are looking for then it may well be worth considering. You are going to have to weigh your options though because for £1500 which is what GVI are charging now for 4 weeks at Jalova you could spend a month visiting many of the wildlife hotspots in Costa Rica including Tortuguero staying in decent accommodation and you would see some amazing stuff. It's a small country, it's crawling with wildlife, it’s safe and public transport is cheap and efficient. People looking for a proper volunteer experience or wanting to assist in scientific research however should definitely look elsewhere. Costa Rica is something of a world capital for eco-volunteering and there are plenty of true volunteer options available that won't cost you the earth.

This may sound harsh given that there are indeed a number of surveys run at the camp but the key problem is that they are not scientific and in general they are not run by scientists (see below). One exception to this is probably the turtle survey (see below). The whole thing just feels like a rouse to make people feel like they are actually volunteering and doing some good but if you challenge GVI on what is happening to the data that is being collected you'll come back with a blank. This happened during my 3rd/4th week at Jalova. A number of people were feeling let-down by the lack of science and the fact that most, if not all the permanent staff have no scientific background or training. Several of the volunteers had a scientific background from university and were frustrated by the way the surveys were planned and organized in that they never seemed to follow proper scientific protocols. We were told that the data goes to MINAE which is the Costa Rican department for the environment but aside from a few \"posters\" which summarize the data and have been created by GVI we couldn't find any examples of conclusions made or scientific papers that included GVI data let alone examples of environmental policy that were based on GVI's findings. If this stuff is important to you I would suggest that you challenge GVI on this before you join the program and ensure that you are satisfied with their answers before you hand over your cash.

Positives:

The key attraction with this program is the fantastic location. Let's face it; you get to live in an area of a national park where even paying tourists are refused entry. I suspect that the base at Jalova has only been allowed by the Costa Rican authorities because of the turtle work that is done there which receives international attention. This turtle work is not run by GVI but by the STC (see below) and having a base at this end of the park helps them enormously because of the size of the beach transects they need to cover.

You will see some truly amazing stuff. Even the more common species in Costa Rica can be beautiful and if you’re from Europe like me then you'll be blown away by the diversity, colours and sheer numbers. It's really amazing to wake up every day not knowing what cool critter that you haven't seen before might make an appearance.

If you get lucky and find yourself with a group of like-minded wildlife enthusiasts who are also there for an extended period you'll undoubtedly make friends for life. I'm still in touch with a number of the people I met there. Keep in mind though that this place attracts all sorts. You are likely to meet people who are keen on wildlife but it is also possible that you’ll meet someone who has been sent there by mummy and daddy, can't stand the bugs and spends a lot of time complaining and wishing they were at home.

The turtle project is important and unlike all the other surveys at the site the data is actually used by scientists and published to the wider scientific community. It's also an amazing experience counting the eggs and excavating nests. The turtle project is not managed by GVI however. When I was there it was run by the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (now the Sea Turtle Conservancy) which I believe is a proper conservation body. We as GVI volunteers were used as man power for data collection. I would recommend volunteering with them directly if you want to work with turtles in Tortuguero NP - http://www.conserveturtles.org/ For £1226 you can spend 2 weeks working with leatherbacks, you'll get hotels in San Jose included + 1 internal flight and you'll get to work directly with the conservation body cutting out the middle man (GVI).

Negatives:

GVI do not seem to screen their candidates properly before taking their cash. They give you a telephone interview where I assumed I would need to impress them enough to accept me but it was just an informal chat. When I was there one new volunteer arrived on site that couldn't swim. When you're isolated on a strip of land surrounded by water and many of the activities involve boats this ends up being not just unfair on the individual concerned but somewhat dangerous and irresponsible.

This is not a research station. There may be people with a scientific background at the site but this is the exception rather than the rule. When I was there, there was a Costa Rican biology graduate on site. I can't emphasis enough how much this contributed to the experience I had there. I was able to learn so much from him about his native flora and fauna and his passion for everything especially reptiles was infectious. As it happened I was doubly lucky as also on site when I was there was a biology graduate who was a six month volunteer like myself and had elected to spend his second phase again at Jalova. His knowledge of birds was unbelievable and being a science graduate he threw himself into recording all the sightings around the base and putting them into a proper database with relevant information. These people have now left the base though and the permanent staff are mostly past volunteers with no scientific background. The base is run by a mathematics graduate. If learning more about the natural history of the area is important to you during your visit I would ask GVI up front specifically about the backgrounds of their on-site staff and bear in mind that staff are coming and going at a rate that is difficult to keep track of. When I left the base a number of the volunteers were better at identifying the local flora and fauna than some of the permanent staff. They do try to hire people with a background in biology/zoology but inevitably these people arrive, realise there is not really any science going on and then leave fairly quickly.

GVI appeared quite prepared to mislead their volunteers when it suited them. During my time on base at Jalova this happened more than once. I think there are two main things that lead them to behave this way, worries about reputation (bad press) and the fear of being sued. Unsurprisingly both are financial motivations. During my time at the base two new staff members who had experience of working with elusive big cats left the base after only 4 weeks because of a disagreement with one of the permanent staff members over the Jaguar camera trapping program. They had experience of live trapping and camera trapping of other endangered felines and felt that they were not being listened too. In effect, as prospective staff members I think they had been miss-sold something too. Rather than be honest about events we volunteers were told by a GVI staff member that they had had to return to Europe because one of their parents had taken seriously ill. I had become friends with these people so I made enquiries and discovered that they were still in the country and very angry with GVI. This is one of a number of events where information given to volunteers by GVI didn’t seem to tally with some of the facts. It doesn’t leave a good impression.

Volunteer treatment at hotel prices. You are a paying guest but the staff will not treat you like one, remember that the daily rate you are paying GVI may be more than your average hotel in Costa Rica. You may well feel that the location and the experience are worth the price and that's fine but be aware that you are going to be treated like a volunteer. That means that every now and again you'll spend a whole day on camp duty cleaning toilets, preparing food etc. The staff are exempt from these duties and as a result I refused to clean the staff toilets. There are also lots of rules and restrictions in place which the staff will enforce. Many of these are for your own safety which is perfectly understandable but fear of being sued means that they can be quite strict and after 3 months at the place these rules can get to you. I didn't mind pitching in with the camp duties because for me it's part of the experience and I enjoyed communal living aspect of my time there but I have to say that at then end of the day I would rather have signed a waver promising not to sue them than have to follow all the rules. I'm an adult guest in my thirties paying upwards of £40 a day (depending on duration) and for that I expect to be able to walk on the beach with no shoes on if I want to, If I step on something nasty I'll take the consequences myself. Bizarrely a brief 5 minute demonstration on how to use a two-foot machete seemed to be all that was required before I was entrusted with this potentially lethal tool and sent off on trail maintenance so it's difficult to follow the logic behind it all sometimes. Also bear in mind that the staff members tend to be quite young (some are recent graduates) and older \"volunteers\" may have to bite the bullet somewhat when being told what they can or can't do.

Two weeks gruelling training in the Sweat Box! - I think they might have sorted this out now. I hope so! On arrival at the base the training started and it lasted nearly an entire 2 weeks. That's 2 weeks of sitting through presentations on how the survey's work, first aid, taking tests etc. mostly within the confines of an enclosed room with a metal roof. I was there for six months so it didn't bother me too much but some people had just paid for 2 weeks or 5 weeks and spent 2 whole weeks doing this rather than walking the trails. I would have been furious. After a while hanging out in the sweat box becomes the norm, in fact it's like the social centre of the camp but it does take some time to acclimatize!

Silly tests. - okay so it's important to be able to recognise the bird species so maybe regular testing on this makes sense and there is some important stuff you need to know before you go sticking your hand under a turtle but there was a lot of sitting tests with questions on really quite non-essential stuff. You get the impression that the exams were mostly to try and give credence to the scientific nature of the surveys (it actually had the reverse effect). If it’s not a proper scientific survey and the data isn’t going anywhere useful then I'd rather spend more time out and about thanks, I can learn the non-critical stuff on the job.

Conclusion

For those considering the six month internship, I’d say forget it. For the second 10 weeks of the internship GVI effectively just operate as a broker and sign you up to some other volunteer program in the country whilst charging you extra. You'll save significantly by just going to these places such as the turtle project at Samara directly. They'll be happy to have you at a fraction of the price. If you ask GVI before you go what the possible projects are for the second three months they’ll be very cagey. This is because they don’t want you to investigate these options independently. The additional support provided by GVI to transport you to the site of your second phase placement effectively amounts to handing over some cash (yes that would be some of the cash you gave them at the beginning when you first paid!) and being told to buy a bus ticket. The same is true of the Spanish language lessons in the middle. If you want to do a 2 week language course sort it out yourself, there are plenty in Granada and it’ll be cheaper than paying GVI a handling fee for doing next to nothing.

Recommending a visit to the research station at Jalova is trickier, past “volunteers” have mixed opinions and I think if you make a shorter visit you may be less affected by some of the issues I’ve outlined above. The location is fantastic. It’s GVI as an organization that’s the problem. There is no doubt that the turtle program has merit but if you want to volunteer with turtles please do it through a well established not for profit organization such as the STC (or any of the many others) directly. Now I’m back and I understand better how things work in Costa Rica I regret having giving my money to GVI. Apart from the beach cleaning it is difficult to see how the GVI base at Jalova is benefiting the environment of Costa Rica and indeed noise/light pollution, compost heaps and near continuous beach patrols may even be having a negative impact on the immediate environment which is Tortuguero National Park. Three months here left me in no doubt that GVI’s main priority is making money and lets face it a science research facility would not accept “volunteers” on 2 week visits. The sooner GVI own up and accept that they are running an eco-tourist operation and start calling us guests rather than volunteers the better. Making money under the pretence of saving the environment/conducting important scientific research is cheap and deserves to be fully exposed for what it is.

That said an eco-tourist will be hard pushed to find anywhere as diverse, isolated and beautiful as this site in Jalova so it will undoubtedly continue for as long as the Costa Rican authorities permit. I suspect that GVI need to maintain the “research station” rouse in order to stay open. Just make sure you keep your shoes on when visiting the beach!

I decided to apply for GVI whilst taking my gap year.

It was the best decision I have ever made.

The location is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen and the villagers match! They are so welcoming and helpful even when the language barrier get in the way.

All the staff and volunteers where amazing people that I hope to know for the rest of my life.

A normal day would consist of walking with the elephants as well as doing a community project, whether it be teaching English or planting things in the garden.

My highlight would have to be doing health checks with the elephants so you get to get up close and personal, as well as starting to collect medicinal plants to create a medicinal plant garden.

I would suggest to bring earplugs as there are a lot of roosters around the village and they tend to get up quite early (3:30am)!!!

Also bring some silicon beads for any technology you might bring to stop the humidity doing its thing.

If you choose this program you will not regret it.

It is an eye opening, life changing experience.

I was meant to be staying in Kenya for 6 months on a GVI internship, but left after just 2 weeks when I realised what a sham it was. As I want to get into the field of conservation as a career, the GVI internship seemed perfect for people like me with no previous conservation experience. After just a few days I realised that not all is as it seems with GVI - they are very good at saying all the right things ('not for profit' etc), but when questioned specifically about their conservation work, staff were not able to give decent answers. I was concerned about how the data we were collecting was being used (i.e I believe it isn't), and asked about academic publications that the project had contributed to - a reasonable request since it has been running for 6 years. I was told they had not succeeded in getting any papers published in peer reviewed journals, but that was not their priority as they do not see the value in scientific publications. I find this an extremely worrying claim for a so-called conservation organisation - what credibility or validation can their research projects have without independent verification? The project was overcrowded - there were far too many people and not enough to do, I found myself and surplus to requirement in the field, and sat with nothing to do for up to 8 hours a day. There were double the number of interns than advertised on the website. Scientific methodologies are not followed in the field and the BTEC that they offer is a joke - the fact that they advertise it as a basis for a career in conservation is unbelievable. If I took anything that I was taught by GVI to a serious conservation organisation, I would be laughed at, it was completely inadequate. You are not contributing to a worthwhile conservation project - you are fobbed off with phony surveys, and the integrity of the data from these is seriously questionable. I paid £3500 for the 6 month project and was told 70% of this goes into the field. There was no evidence of this on the Kenya project. I was fully prepared for basic conditions, and have no problem living communally and with facilities less than at home. The accommodation that we were squeezed into was filthy, decrepit and overcrowded. People were regularly taken to hospital as they were ill, no doubt due to the unsanitary conditions. Volunteer money wasn't being spent

on field equipment either - this was shoddy and inadequate. The worst of it seemed to be the attitude of complete indifference from the staff, who are clearly happy to work in these conditions. Despite a lot of careful research before I left, I was still let down by GVI. Think very carefully about your reasons for going - great if you want a gap year jolly, NOT if you're serious about entering the field of conservation.

I spent two weeks in South Africa at this Orphanage. I learned so much about who I am and what I am capable of accomplishing. I learned to appreciate what I have in my life and what I am able to offer my children. The children living at Ikhayalethemba Village were wild, sweet, loving, hungry, funny, playful. They are too young to understand the opportunity education can provide them, so it took alot of creativity to get them to learn English without it feeling like "school". "Who let the Dogs Out" was a hit! I left my heart in SA. South Africa is a beautiful country - I did not expect all the mountains. In addition to the volunteer work, we were able to see Cape Town, Table Mountain, a Game Reserve. It was an incredible 2 weeks that I will repeat in two years.

Thanks to GVI for taking care of me and making me feel part of the team.