Go Volunteer Africa is a fantastic organization - After my volunteer placement in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where I was doing the teaching volunteer project, my next destination was Mombasa, Kenya. I knew nothing about Kenya, so this country was a mystery to me. When I arrived, I was amazed. Kenya is beautiful. The view I got in the plane was mind-blowing and was getting me hyped up for my time there. In Kenya, I was doing the women empowerment project. So basically, I was working with women on their income generating projects! I worked with a Canadian volunteer called Alyssa. The work was very challenging but also very rewarding and really tested my capabilities. Like Tanzania, Kenya was wonderful. Not only the people there, but the culture and the country itself were just beautiful. I managed to make more friends in Kenya just like Tanzania, and my host family was the nicest people. They treated me like their own and this not only helped me with my Swahiri but I got to know their way of life. The Go Volunteer Africa local staff was so helpful throughout our stay. After everything, Tanzania & Kenya were unbelievable beautiful and I was very sad to leave. Tearful goodbyes and long hugs from the family, and before I knew it I was flying to my next and final, destination. Now, I was supposed to be there on the 22nd December 2024. However I misplaced my passport which delayed my travels to Uganda. So I left for Uganda on the 2nd January 2025, just after New Year. My final destination is Mukono, Uganda. Where I am spending my final 4 weeks, with another host family and I taking part in coaching various sports to local children. Sports is something I love doing in my free time so this work is extremely fun! I am teaching young kids how to swim, and because swimming is my favourite sport, I have no problem in the pool! Mukono itself is a very small but beautiful city with green villages. From visiting the source of River Nile, and taking part in zip-lining it was a fantastic time! I attempted a bungee jump but the nerves got the better of me! The weather itself here is a bonus. Go Volunteer Africa is a fantastic organization. On my parents behalf I can say they are extremely helpful and supportive. Doing a Gap Year has not only made me grow up, but has changed my views on life and made me think about my future.

I had an amazing 3 weeks in Nairobi - I had an amazing 3 weeks in Nairobi, Kenya. I went for a volunteering experience working in the slums of Kibera. I was placed at a community outreach center. It was enriching and the best possible way to spend a summer break. I loved the opportunity to not be a tourist, but actually, immerse myself in a culture completely unlike mine. At work, I had a lot of self-direction in what I did, but some of my larger tasks included; researching and drafting a grant proposal, writing a weekly newsletter, overseeing fundraising. I also chose to work with the kids in the Early Childhood Development Center when I had some free time. I was always learning something new at work and felt completely welcomed by the entire staff. I was touched and left in happy tears on my last day of work as the staff gathered to say goodbye and gave me a lovely handwritten letter with notes from everyone at the staff. In my free time I explored Masai Mara with other volunteers, I also visited Mombasa, the Masai markets, surfing. and seeing as many sunsets as possible. All the other volunteers were lovely, it was sad saying bye, but exciting having a network of friends all across the world.

food and living conditions were much better than I expected - AIRPORT COLLECTION The collection from the airport was well arranged, and very helpful in showing me where to exchange currency. The project briefing was informative and clearly explained the main objectives of the project and how activities were carried out. ACCOMMODATION Very good, any issues/problems I had with the homestay were dealt with professionally. Amir was a great help in supporting everyone with any queries. Location was great, could walk to work (if the sun wasn't trying to melt me that day) and was even walking distance to the city centre - but again I’m lazy and relied on Taxis. Our home mother at the homestay made the place very special, and the family was wonderful. Really appreciated the cold shower. Bring extra money for your own meals though, breakfast is very basic - toast. Dinner is interesting, a bit different but any future volunteers should push themself to try it all! Nothing ever tasted bad and even meat eaters were asked if they wanted seafood or not which was greatly appreciated - I feared, I would be eating fish with heads the whole time I was there but it was largely vegetarian meals. The food and living conditions were much better than I expected and overall, I had a brilliant time and thoroughly enjoyed my time on project. WORK I worked with school in Dar-es-Salaam. The school is a little all over the place, but you get used to it and settle into TZ time - aka, slow paced life. The school project for me was very rewarding I made a real connection with the kids and was really sad to leave. Ubungo is a lovely town and all the people are so welcoming I didn’t feel unsafe once throughout my whole time on project. SUPPORT 10++ for this one, Amir kept an eye on any illness or injury I had, from the tiniest little scrape to a suspected case of strep throat. My health seemed so important here and had a high priority as did my safety. OVERALL Amazing experience. So much free time and flexibility for you to go and explore the Tanzania. You learn so much about the culture here. I'd recommend it to all, just be prepared for a difference in setting as it is a low-income nation. This was my first ever time in a low-income (developing) country and it has really opened my eyes but in a positive way. The entire project for me was an experience I will never forget I loved every minute of it. I couldn’t tell you the best aspect as it was all amazing.

I enjoyed my project - I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the childcare and welfare project in Nakuru, Kenya. Everyone, volunteers and locals alike, were highly friendly and many locals would attempt to stop on the street to chat with you. The accommodation was basic but suitable. Everyone had their own bed and the food each night was delicious! The tap water was not suitable to drink, which meant that you spend some money on bottled water. The project itself was enlightening, and very worthwhile. Sometimes the work could be hard with the little children, as you would see issues that would be very unlikely to arise in the Germany, but the people /staff made everything worthwhile. The weekends were packed full of tourist-safari trips, and it was very interesting to see the difference between "Locals-Kenya" and "Tourist-Kenya". The project was an amazing and rewarding time of my life, and I made friends with people whom I hope I stay in touch with. The project felt well organized but also was relaxed and enjoyable. Overall, I enjoyed my project and would volunteer with Go Volunteer Africa again in a heartbeat. The staff at GVA, especially Paul was very helpful in making the arrangements.

Great Organizers of Family Volunteering Experiences in Africa - My family and I want to thank you all at Go Volunteer Africa for the most wonderful experience in Kenya. We will recommend your organization to anyone interested in volunteering and will also consider working with you in the future. You did an excellent job in every aspect and my children loved every bit of the experience. We had some concerns and reservations because of the little children and weren’t sure if they would fit in and love the experience. We really enjoyed working alongside other volunteer families we met. My family will cherish all memories of the people we met and the experiences we had. It was one of the best decisions I ever made for my family. Kenya was amazing, the culture, landscapes, and great hikes all in one trip, and, on top of that, we made several wonderful friends! The local team is doing some amazing work in Nairobi. Thank you so much Paul, for organizing this family trip. You were very responsive to our many questions and gave us useful information.

The whole experience was brilliant for me - Kenya in general is an amazing country and my experience at orphanage and with Go Volunteer Africa was incredible. Paul my program agent is very professional and organized the trip just right from the moment I signed up. I spent six weeks in Kenya working at the orphanage centre and enjoyed every moment of it!! I also accompanied a volunteer heading to Eldoret program site and I spent 5 days there. The activities were hands on, the wildlife during our safari was mind-boggling, the scenery was awe-inspiring and the staff were utterly fantastic. The whole experience was brilliant for me. Simply living with the basics, cooking lunch and dinner for the children, organizing sports activities and enjoying a truly communal atmosphere was totally unique and wonderful. I learnt so much from the endless knowledge of the staff members, and learnt even more about myself from simply going out there on my own and seeing how I coped. My favorite bit of my stay was vegetable gardens I set up with the children and my family also funded the knitting class. I highly recommend the program in Kenya, the local team is just awesome. Thank you Go Volunteer Africa for giving me an opportunity to make a difference!

An incredible experience, and one that I will never forget. - I was nervous before I came to Kenya. I am now excited to say that I experienced something life-changing in Kenya. I joined Go Volunteer Africa’s Mombasa Program and I loved every bit of my trip. Working in the kindergarten and hospital allowed me glimpses into the education and medical systems and gave me an opportunity to learn. I learned that sometimes to be most helpful, I had to be brave and ask where I’d be most useful. Sometimes doing the little things meant the most to those around me - like calming a crying child to allow the nurses to be able to finish pressing work, or having the patience with a child to sit and help them finish their food for the first time. I was in the public hospital emergency room, where I was also able to see a C-section as well as a live birth. This experience was crucial to my decision to continue studying medicine. I am 20 years old and have just started the pre-med track. In Kenya, I found incredible kindness everywhere I went. An incredible experience, and one that I will never forget. Thank you Paul at Go Volunteer Africa for organizing my trip to Kenya.

I got the experience I wanted - I wanted to have an international experience and combine it with an internship in Public Health. I ended up going with GVA to Uganda, Ashley at GVA arranged for me to intern with a hospital in Mukono, a lively town east of Kampala. I had an amazing experience; they found the perfect hospital for me to work at. GVA team treated me well from the first time I ever sent them an email regarding placement positions in Africa. I had mentioned to them that I would love to work with a pediatrician and that I also liked more surgical procedures, so they placed me in a hospital where I could shadow a pediatrician in the afternoons as well as work in the ER in the mornings. I lived with other volunteers and interns at a group house, and that was amazing. We hung out at night and on weekends. Some of them traveled together, but I went on my own with local GVA guide to see gorillas on a safari at Bwindi national park. I was able to connect with the staff in the hospital and at the group house. The GVA coordinators in Uganda were also extremely helpful to me. Lawrence (my safari guide) would always call to check on me and would even call to simply invite me to get some coffee in the best parts of town so I could get to know the city a little better. I truly felt they had a passion in getting people to volunteer and explore their country. I highly recommend Go Volunteer Africa to anyone with a dream to volunteer in Africa.

Extremely disorganized and poorly run company - Here is a link to the Volunteer opportunity I paid for. (Approx $1600 CA). https://govolunteerafrica.org/kenya-14-days-volunteer-safari/ I agree with many other reviews on here. Although they may not be a scam; they are certainly an extremely unprofessional and poorly run company. I am a 64 year old solo female traveller. I had originally booked a 3 week volunteer trip in Mombasa and then changed my mind when I was told that I would be the only volunteer at the orphanage. I was hoping to do a trip with a group of people. They told me about the Kenya 15 day Volunteer/Safari which was a group opportunity. It wasn’t. I was by myself. This sounded like a better option for me and I was pressured to pay immediately because it gets booked up. I sent them the funds and then things went downhill rapidly. Their communication skills are very poor. The contact I was dealing with changed in August and specific questions I asked were not answered. I asked for specific dates to book my flights and they advised me to arrive the day before the program date start date and leave one day after it ended. On Oct 3 I requested specifics on the itinerary. They responded with “looking forward to seeing you in Nairobi”.On Oct I0 I was sent an email with the name and phone number of the project coordinator that I was to contact for details; 3 days before I was leaving. I was picked up in Nairobi by my host family who was also the project coordinator. I was supposed to be in Nairobi and when I was picked up I was told we were going to Nakuru which was 2 hours away which ended up being 4 hours away with the traffic. On Oct 16 after I arrived I requested details for the rest of the trip and the response was that I needed to calm down since the country was mourning the death of a prominent politician and they would look after everything. No details were provided. The host family I stayed with were wonderful and they looked after getting me back and forth to the orphanage each day. After further emails requesting details I was finally told on Oct 22 that the safari company would meet me on Oct 25 for the 3 day safari. I would then be dropped off in Nairobi after the safari without a clue where I was going and who I was staying with. Although the price of the trip incl transportation I had to pay for a driver to take me from Nakuru to Mai Maihiu (2 hours away) to meet the safari driver. After the safari we went back to Nairobi and I had to pay my own way to get to the host family which was over 1/2 hour away. Once I arrived it was clear that Go Volunteer Africa had asked someone for a favour. I explained to the host how much I had paid GVA and he told me he had not received any money from GVA. The Nairobi city tour was not arranged so my host took me on his own. I emailed GVA letting them know how disappointed I was that they were not paying their hosts and they assured me that they would be paid and it was a delay in accounting. To date (Nov 18) they have still not been paid. I ended up paying the host $200 US because they were clearly struggling financially. GVA is taking my money and not giving it to their hosts on the ground. Okay maybe it is a scam. I also paid to get myself to the airport which was also to be incl. This was a very stressful situation not having any advance details of the itinerary. The whole trip seemed made up as they went along and not sure if I hadn’t kept contacting them if the safari or the city tour would have happened. You could do a much better job organizing this trip on your own. They also never told me I would need a Visa to travel there. Isn’t that their job to help with these details? I will email them one more time to see if they will reimburse me the money they owe me and the host in Nairobi but I’m not holding my breath. As far as the BBQ at the end of the trip well that never happened.

DO NOT VOLUNTEER WITH Go Volunteer Africa (GVA)! They're scammers! - DO NOT VOLUNTEER WITH Go Volunteer Africa (GVA)! They're scammers! Both my partner Sandra and I, both Spanish midwives, decided to embark on a maternity volunteer in Nakuru, Kenya, excited by the opportunity to help and live an enriching experience. However, what we found upon arrival was a complete scam by GVA. Right from the start, when we arrived, we realized that the conditions of volunteerism we were promised were not met. The so-called volunteer house in Nakuru simply did not exist, and there was no agreement with local hospitals to perform the midwife volunteering work we had hired. We pay a booking fee of USD $180 (169 euros or 673,465 UGX) to reserve our place and a three-week program fee of USD $460 (424 euros or 1,673,528 UGX) for accommodation and meals. The local person who has welcomed us during these three weeks was also the victim of this scam, as GVA did not fulfill any of the economic commitments they had agreed with him. To compound the situation, before we started volunteering and came to Nakuru, we were offered the possibility to hire a weekend safari through their agency, confident that it would be a great way to finish our volunteer experience. Sandra and I made a payment of USD $720 (660 euros or 2,621,520 UGX) each. Since we arrived in Nakuru and tried to communicate with them to express our dissatisfaction with GVA, all communication attempts have been unsuccessful. Your website is “maintenance”, your WhatsApp number is gone, your Enterprise contact phone is not signaled, your Instagram account has been closed and deleted and your Facebook account is not working either. We have sent emails without getting a response. Given this situation, we have been forced to take legal action before the competent authorities, including the State Security Forces and Bodies and the civil and criminal judicial bodies, so considering that this is a scam crime under the Criminal Code, which affects our civil, commercial and consumer rights, we confirm that WE ARE VICTIMS OF AN ECONOMIC SCAM of a total of USD $1,360 (1.253 euros or 4,968,513 UGX), and also of an INTENTIONAL and absolute EMOTIONAL CHEAT. The Spanish Embassy in Kenya and the Kenyan Security Corps are aware of the situation and denounce the current situation, legal protection is being provided in this case of international fraud. It is clear that GVA has demonstrated a total lack of professionalism, operating in bad faith and misleading both its volunteers and local collaborators. What was supposed to be a caring experience has turned into a nightmare. Do NOT hire this agency under any circumstances!