Review Volunteers Elizabeth Halley-Stott & Tessa Duff (UK) Colombia Cartagena Child Care
Volunteer in Colombia
1. The coordinator and staff were so kind and helpful, they told us everything we needed to know from how to use taxis to where to go in the city.
2. A taxi driver trying to overcharge us by about 4x the normal price and then getting really angry with us and almost abusive,
set a price before getting in a cab, every tour guide talks about this.
3. Probably not being able to speak Spanish very well so was challenging to communicate with teachers at times, but we managed quite well.
4. If going to the childcare programme, maybe donate some nappies - we did that and they were really grateful as they go through nappies at a fast pace! Bring clothing for very warm weather.
Volunteer in Colombia: Child Care Center
5. People don't really speak English so basic Spanish is quite important.
6. I really enjoyed my experience, it was amazing to experience the culture so authentically rather than so superficially as a tourist because we stayed in the middle of Cartagena and ate local food and took local buses etc. It was amazing to work at the school too, again to experience the culture and also to see how other schools work and to gain more experience with children.
7. Accommodation was incredibly comfortable - we had wifi and air conditioning and such cute pets to play with! The family were so kind and helpful with everything we needed to know.
Meals were amazing! So much effort was put into them and they were delicious! Security - I felt very safe the majority of the time, I was obviously conscious of the name Colombia has
for being very dangerous but I didn't ever really feel uncomfortable. Friendliness- everyone was so friendly and willing to help!
8. Arriving to the house and finding that there were 5 tiny puppies!
9. ABV USA were really helpful, they replied really promptly when we emailed them, and were really good with reminding us to do things as we were being a bit slow due to writing exams.
We communicated with Sarah mostly via email. 1) the online reservation system is very good and efficient, and easier than having to email/post documents etc which can take a long time
when both volunteers aren't organised. 2) I found the website through Google.
