Lattitude Global Volunteering, Australia

Where are the other reviews??? And if anyone knows of survivors groups on Facebook or Reddit………………….Read more

Where are the other reviews??? And if anyone knows of survivors groups on Facebook or Reddit………………….

I went to Malawi, Africa. Of course, aspects of the country and culture were beautiful, but the experience with Lattitude was nothing short of negligent and traumatic. We had one...Read more

I went to Malawi, Africa. Of course, aspects of the country and culture were beautiful, but the experience with Lattitude was nothing short of negligent and traumatic. We had one point of contact in the entire country, for about 25 volunteers from North to south. We raised so much money (and paid for all flights, transport, visas, accom etc) to provide the necessities for our arrivals, yet when we got to our placements we were totally abandoned. I raised approximately $15,000, and we didn’t even have mattresses or mosquito nets Or clean drinking water. We were told about the volunteer accommodations as having running water and electricity, but the toilets were all clogged or smashed to pieces, the bedrooms were graffiti’s, and the walls covered in fecal matter, and the furniture was all smashed. The water was from the local river, we had to boil it and wait for the sediment to sink. Three of us huddled and bunked in one room. Things got so bad it was like Lord of the flies. One girl got kicked out of the placement for getting viol3nt. We had traumatic experiences with the men and boys, Things I had forgotten about until finding an old journal and my mom’s house last year. People around us were dying from malaria, I even went to a local hospital from being sick for two weeks straight. I had to teach the history of central Africa, to Malawian students that were my age or older. I felt so guilty that I was their education that semester. I couldn’t even pronounce things correctly, they gave me one book in English that was falling apart to teach from. I was regularly having panic attacks, the other girls were fighting, and the other placements struggled as well. We all tried to shuffle and swap, but those with better placements would never give up their spot. I befriended local dogs by giving baths and removing ticks and sharing my food. They would walk me to the road and back, barking at groups of men. I really loved those dogs. I begged my mom to bring me home and she kept saying it couldn’t be that bad and to just see it through. We had no service at the school, were miles from any town, surrounded in jungle. Three teenage girls. The school had one truck that went into town, we were lucky to get rides, we hitchhiked, and we got abandoned as a group on the Zomba Plateau at night. The program abandoned us. They called us dramatic over the phone and said they wouldn’t deal with our teenage girl drama, to sort things out and grow up. We raised thousands of dollars and were thrown into the wilds. I-spent all of my money on chocolate on the weekends and would watch the same movie over and over on my iPad. Oh my gosh… I had a boyfriend at the time too, and I remember saying “I can’t come home, I don’t know when I’m coming home so I can’t do this”. We split up when I was there and I didn’t see him for years after. It got so bad I left. I was 17 and alone in Africa and I just left with my backpack. I remember telling the dean of the school I was placed in that my parents were divorcing and they were pulling me out. It was a lie, my parents hadn’t been together in years, I had no there one to pull me out, I just left, on my own. I hitchhiked around the country until I got to the airport. So I went to California from Malawi, and ended up in a psychiatric unit in Fremont. My parents don’t want to hear about time in Africa. I didn’t stay in touch with other volunteers, or any of the kids. My mentor, Mr. MbandaMbanda, passed shortly after I left. I’ve started wondering why lately I’ve been so drawn to the recent documentaries and docuseries about the wilderness camps and the TTI back in the states, and maybe something has clicked for me in finding this…

I would not recommend Lattitude. I was in rural Africa, and was provided no support. There were so many issues, but some included being sent of to our rural village...Read more

I would not recommend Lattitude. I was in rural Africa, and was provided no support. There were so many issues, but some included being sent of to our rural village and not showed where to buy food (we had no access to food for the first three days and had to eat fruit we could scavenge from local trees); our in country support would not return our calls throughout the whole trip (we had to contact our home country before we could ever get on to anyone); and they did not organise our visas so we couldn't leave the country on time; they also provided no support for cultural adjustments and exposure to extreme poverty. Their approach to development is unethical and I would not endorse their version of volun-tourism. Their whole approach was negligent.

Do NOT travel with Lattitude!!! I loved my placement - don't get me wrong - but Lattitude is a total rip off. I gave them thousands of dollars and for...Read more

Do NOT travel with Lattitude!!!


I loved my placement - don't get me wrong - but Lattitude is a total rip off. I gave them thousands of dollars and for what? NONE of the money goes to your placement. I didn't go to the orientation. I paid for my own flights. I paid for my visa and I paid for my passport... so what did the thousands of dollars go towards?

The staff were rude and not at all supportive. Don't bother.

Absolute and utter bullshit. Find another gap year program, my friends.