Volunteer in Puerto Rico

I feel as if I gained more insight about the country I was volunteering in. The more you know about a country and its citizens the more respect and appreciation you tend to gain. My advice would be to always come opened minded and make the best of your experience.

From this experience I have gained so much confidence in myself and loved getting out of my shell in a new routine. For others who might be hesitant about joining I would say do it!! there's only good things that can come out of an amazing experience, don't be scared, have funnnnn!!!!!

My primary goal for volunteering abroad was to introduce my daughter to other cultures and the joys of giving back by volunteering. I've always wanted to go to Puerto Rico and personally know people from there originally. The ability to "live like a local" was an amazing experience and I never want to travel any other way again. My advice to anyone thinking of joining the Puerto Rico Youth Support program is that they should not let any fears hold them back. Puerto Rico is super safe and the children at the program will make everything worth your time and effort.

My experience was very enriching. I was able to broaden my vision of the world.

In both projects, I worked with local people. They shared their culture, their country highlights and problems. It was a good feeling to work with local people so closely. For anyone considering this program, like the saying, just do it! IVHQ will support you and be there if needed.

It was so important for me to be able to connect with the children and to learn about the culture of Puerto Rico from the locals. If I would have decided to travel to Puerto Rico without volunteering with IVHQ, I would have missed out on the experiences with the local children and adults. It is a beautiful thing to be able to experience life as a local would in order to understand what is important to each individual and the society based on individual and cultural values. At least from my experience, I was greeted by wonderful volunteers as soon as I got to my destination. With the support of the other volunteers, I never felt alone or like I was incapable of doing everything I wanted to do during the experience. This is the perfect opportunity to get out of the culture you are used to and go explore a new one with locals proudly sharing their culture with you. If you want to grow as an independent person, volunteer abroad.