Tag Archives: unethical volunteering

Beware Frontier is “Highly Corrupt, Dishonest and Littered with False Advertising”

I’m writing this review of Frontier to help others learn from my mistakes. While I can’t speak for every project, you should know this company is highly corrupt, dishonest and littered with false advertising.

By Alex Ushkin

I was looking for something that combined adventure travel with volunteering, which was a main reason I went with Frontier. However, from my experience they cannot do either adequately. So my advice would be to travel with a reliable company and find a separate avenue for volunteering. I signed up for a 30 week program with Frontier. My time was supposed to include 10 weeks in Southeast Asia, 10 weeks in Fiji and another 10 weeks in Central America, which turned out to be much less. The entire 30 weeks cost around $13,000 plus additional $1,700 for open water and advanced diver certifications for the Fiji marine volunteer project.

Frontier was so disappointing, a total scam and not worth the money. Let me be your lesson on this. Avoid Frontier at all costs. I made the terrible decision to go with Frontier so hopefully I can at least pass on some knowledge to prevent others from being swindled. I truly believe they are a fraudulent company.

Frontier

SOUTHEAST ASIA TRAIL (October to December 2017)

If you’re traveling on your own for 10 weeks in Southeast Asia and spend $4,400, you’re probably only going to spend that much if you stay in nice hotels, eat out a lot or do expensive activities. But I spent about that amount with Frontier and I’m not sure why. We stayed in budget accommodations and there was nothing extravagant about the trip. I’m fine with hostels and cheaper restaurants, but 10 weeks in Southeast Asia should not cost $4,400 if you are traveling on a budget, which is what we did. What you get is a whole lot less than what is promised and falsely advertised. I’ve been to many hostels good and bad. The ones Frontier has volunteers stay in are largely in the not good category–though I admit some were fine or good. I paid the program fee in advance, but when you arrive you’re put on a budget, which was $10.00 a night. Even at 10 weeks that’s $10/night x 70 nights =$700, so I don’t know where the overpriced program fee I paid was going. In addition, their website claims meals are provided. When I arrived I found out some meals weren’t included and no drinking water was available to us. That was a separate cost. The budget for us was roughly $3.00 a day minus weekends so $3.00/day x 5days/week x 10 weeks)= $150. Also the guide wouldn’t pay for your meal if you got “western” food. This was not a real rule but one imposed by this guide.

VOLUNTEERING IN CAMBODIA

My volunteer experience in Cambodia was teaching English at a free local school for children that couldn’t afford English classes. The name of the school was Smiling Hearts in Siem Reap. I enjoyed my time with the actual school and children and thought they were doing good work–I ended up creating a fundraiser to donate to them directly.

Frontier

The relationship with Frontier was already frayed when we got there due to the lack of financial support. Frontier’s only support was the volunteers that come through every few months. The school has since cuts ties with Frontier. Most of the Frontier volunteers were actually asked not to come anymore after a few weeks because a group that actually contributed was coming in. However, my partner and I continued because we had a good bond with our students. I would say overall I had a good interaction with the school and local community.

That said, Frontier’s investment in the project was $0! It was extremely awkward on the first day of meeting the school administrator when she told us this. Many in the group immediately wrote emails to Frontier demanding an explanation. They use ambiguous and completely non transparent business practices. Basically they state that they never promise to spend the money on your project, but they can choose to spend on anything like “administration costs” and lawyer fees. If you actually want your money to support the cause you volunteer with, stay away from Frontier.

EXCURSIONS

According to the Frontier website several activities were included, but the guide denied this. Eventually the group persisted and indeed the guide was forced to give us a refund for certain activities. Other things the guide made up… Can’t jump in waterfall because too dangerous (as 10 year boys were jumping), limiting alcohol… She made up random rules like two drinks per evening, no more than two times a week. This was also protested and guide was told that’s not a rule. Curfews… Couldn’t go out after 6pm without signing out or having a buddy. I’m 30 years old, and was treated like a child. Not to mention this guide could not speak any local language, had no experience leading group travel and had only lightly traveled that region before so her usefulness was thus minimal.

I can’t remember all the travel fees but it’s safe to say they weren’t in the $3,000 range, probably like $500. So you’re getting possibly the value of $,1500 but getting charged over $4,000, with none of that money going to support your project. That is straight awful. A couple folks dropped out (one for medical issue, another due to complete disappoint with Frontier), most on the trip agreed it was a terrible value and would never use Frontier again but nothing we can do about it. Several sued or tried but it’s prohibitively expensive trying to go against on your own (remember all those lawyer fees??) so I don’t think anything came about. That being said I did get to meet some cool people and see some cool places. My advice… SEA is pretty well traveled so it’s simple to go it alone as you’ll meet plenty of people at hostels. Or travel with a reputable and reliable company (definitely not Frontier) for a short time until comfortable to go alone or meet some friends and travel. Or find a local NGO to work with and know your cause is actually getting your money. There was a girl at the school that just did this and volunteered for free, even got free room to stay for teaching meanwhile we shuffled thousands of dollars to a corrupt company instead of a well deserving school for impoverished children.

FIJI (January to March 2018)

So another 10 weeks here, $4,400 paid plus an additional $1,700 for courses. The situation here was different than SEA, which was more travel based. While Fiji was a more permanent camp, not really any travel included. The living conditions were pretty bad here. It was quite remote and self sustained living a lot ,which personally I do enjoy. However, if you’re paying a lot of money and get a dump you’d be upset, rightfully so, this is kinda like that. Obviously I didn’t expect a luxury hotel, but the water would constantly break and the camp was falling apart. Barely a workable shower when I got there. The solar panel was broken so nearly zero electricity. We had one light in the camp that worked. Everything else was personally brought by volunteers /staff such as mini solar lights and panels for charging phones /cameras etc. Obviously no WiFi (again knew that and didn’t really care) though can occasionally get signal on local sim card.

Frontier

The kitchen and all equipment was in pretty rough shape. The living conditions in general were disagreeable. Beds were a one inch foam mattress, my back was agony the whole time and extremely difficult to get anything resembling good rest on. The food was cooked by staff and volunteers on camp, typically. The food that came out was surprisingly good most of the time but that’s because I suppose we had some good cooks. Meals were typically rice, canned beans and vegetables. Once a week we’d get fresh fruit, vegetables, bread, eggs but that would always run out quick before next supply.

FIJI DIVING

As far as the diving goes Fiji has superb diving BUT getting certified was a nightmare. Ideally open water and advanced can be finished in a week. Sure there were lots of additional challenges when living on a remote island so they even say maybe two or three weeks. It took me eight weeks! You’re basically paying for the diving here since as we discussed you’re not getting much value from the lodging or meals. So to be low balled on diving was a major issue. Essentially I got 11 dives outside the training dives, which could be seen as the most expensive dives in the world compared to how much the project cost.

Frontier

There were many issues, some directly Frontier’s fault, some indirectly, only one reason was neither (evacuated for hurricane, which at this point shouldn’t be surprising to hear that we were forced out of camp and off the island to the mainland at our own expense and actually charged by Frontier for using their mainland lodging! That is some reprehensible behavior!). FYI the other reasons were Frontier failing to pay for their dive insurance, constant boat and air compressor failures, dive instructor getting sick and requiring surgery on the mainland (I say this is indirectly Frontier’s responsibility because they should have had a backup plan rather than delaying training for another week). All that said the staff in general here were better, more experienced, and they were quite a few of them. Also the people I met here were mostly cool. Again I enjoyed Fiji and locals and most of the other volunteers but again it is not even close to being worth going with Frontier. Fiji is very easy to travel solo or find an NGO that won’t rip you off.

CENTRAL AMERICA (January to March 2019)

This was more travel based like SEA trail, but again was a disaster. It was so bad it was fraudulently canceled by Frontier after we refused to pay extra for transportation that was stated to be provided and then calling out all their lies on the matter. They refused to provide any refund at all. If you thought the other trips above were bad, this time I had enough.

I arrived in Mexico on day one, our guide (again someone with limited knowledge /experience but could at least speak Spanish), states Frontier won’t let us go through Nicaragua due to potential conflict. Okay we were never given any indication of this issue even though it was clearly known (they pulled this same stunt the previous year) and states in their terms and conditions that they are required to notify us of any major changes and we can choose to agree with those changes or receive refund. This never happened. The guide said Frontier will provide transport from Honduras to Costa Rica to avoid Nicaragua (via flight). Volunteers say okay, not ideal but we were already there and couldn’t do anything about it.

A week before this flight this guide says actually what he meant that first day was that we have to pay the flights completely out of pocket–about $400 at this point. Volunteers pushed back and told him that’s not what you said. Frontier and guide both lied about the origins of this “no going through Nicaragua rule” as a “force major clause, claimed they told us before which is most certainly false. We were told an email was sent to us informing us of this, but what wasn’t the case. They said, “that email was sent the week we were moving servers and it doesn’t show up now.” Well that’s not how email works and that they have the right to cancel without refunds because of this imminent danger situation that they basically invented.

It’s almost hard to argue the stupidity that comes out of the Frontier office as the danger has been known about for over a year, they are required to notify us and give us options, well yeah none of that happened. They canceled around the four week mark effectively scamming us out of over six weeks of the trip. Also this guide frequently lied to us, failed miserably to communicate what we were saying since they wouldn’t answer our direct emails, and kept saying “oh well I’m not English native speaker so maybe you didn’t understand me” which he used as a cover for the lies. He also had no experience leading group travel and was quite terrible at it in all regards. He also made frequent creepy and unwanted advances towards one of the other volunteers to the point she wouldn’t feel safe near him or if alone with him. He also made frequent “jokes” in very poor taste (jokes about things like teen prostitution, indicating he might have taken part on other trips he’s done).

It was embarrassing, creepy and offensive, even to me, and I’m not one to get offended easily. I was looking up legal documents and talking to lawyers while on this trip to find out if they are acting illegally. Could you imagine doing that when you’re supposed to be traveling and exploring the world? In the end, the fight of one versus an international corporation based in another country was too much for me but I really hope they are exposed and taken down, it won’t be soon enough. In the meantime I hope to warn as many people as possible of this company.

All in all, I cannot overstate how bad Frontier is, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating at all. I have dealt with them over the course of two years, actively spending about 24 weeks with Frontier. Please learn from me and never book with Frontier. They are dishonest and misleading. Be careful because they spend a lot of money on advertising and if you want to take the chance like I did then good luck, but you’ll likely regret it.

July 1, 2019 admin

Beware of Volunteering Solutions India Program-Awful Experience

The Volunteering Solutions program in Delhi, India is highly unethical and I strongly advise against working with the organization.

By Heather Newgen

I considered myself to be an experienced volunteer. I had one successful international volunteering trip under my belt, so why wouldn’t I know what I was doing? I was a “pro” now, so I didn’t really need to do much research on organizations since they were all the same and have good intentions.

It honestly never occurred to me that anyone would be unethical when interacting with volunteers, or create scams to sucker us into a program that was unprofessional. I once naively thought this, which is utterly embarrassing. I learned I was completely wrong when I signed up with Volunteering Solutions in 2009, and it was a hard lesson, but one worth knowing.

I actually had an uneasy feeling about them from the start. My gut tried to warn me, but I pushed the red flags aside telling myself I was overreacting. Unlike the previous year when I went to Morocco with Cross Cultural Solutions who prepped us well, Volunteering Solutions was difficult to get in touch with. I had a million questions, but no one would email me back.

Finally, around 1:00 a.m. one night, I received a phone call from out of nowhere. It was someone at Volunteering Solutions, and they said they’d talk to me about concerns I had. I thought it was odd, but I was happy to talk to someone from the organization. I reluctantly paid the program fee, but I wasn’t overly excited like I thought I would be. I again dismissed any weird feelings and left for New Delhi.

Someone from the organization picked me up, although really late after I arrived, and took me to the volunteer house, which was the cockroach infested, dirty basement of the country director’s beautiful and luxurious home. There was about 20 girls sweating to death in a small space. People were sleeping on the floors trying to cool down and many were breaking out into heat rashes because there was no ventilation or windows to open.

I know some people right now are probably thinking I’m a spoiled Westerner who thought I was going to stay at a Four Seasons type of resort, but that truly isn’t the case. I’d sleep in a tent on the ground if I thought my money was going towards a good cause.

I was horrified by the accommodations, but tried to not pass judgment just yet, however, several other girls expressed their concerns when I arrived. American dollars/Euros go a long way in India, and clearly, the money didn’t go towards our housing, so people were questioning where the program fee was going.

I barely slept that night because it was so suffocating, but I woke up the next morning looking forward to the next few weeks. For breakfast, we went into the country director’s house and sat down at the table. We were given a piece of white toast, with a little butter and some yogurt.

Again, I’m not trying to come across as a high maintenance person, but now I was starting to wonder where our money was going. It’s not so much what food we were given or what the volunteering housing looked like, I was more confused as to what we paid for.

I was still hopeful that the money was given to the school in the slums we’d be going to, but I soon discovered that wasn’t the case. I moved out of the basement after the first night, as did a few other girls. It was too uncomfortable, miserable and filthy. We checked into a hotel down the street, which we were happier at.

I was also eating at the hotel instead of the volunteer house because the food was better and more nutritious. Needless to say I didn’t get a refund for the accommodations or meals from Volunteering Solutions, but it was my decision to leave, so I didn’t ask for my money back and I wasn’t expecting to get it back.

The first week of the program was orientation, so every day we walked to the volunteer house, which we realized quickly was a waste of time. I wished we were volunteering instead of learning about Indian bread. It was frustrating.

While I wasn’t enjoying Volunteering Solutions, I did love meeting the other volunteers and getting to the know Delhi, the culture and local people. Some of the girls who left the housing with me were so distraught that they changed their flights and went home early. They were over the entire situation and had enough of the program.

I didn’t blame them one bit, but I was determined to volunteer. I made it this far into the trip and I was going to work with street kids in the slums no matter what.

The first day of volunteering, we went to one of New Delhi’s roughest neighborhoods. In an area full of rubble and debris was an alley where kids gathered on a cement floor to interact with us.

The country director drove us in his car and dropped us off. There was no introduction to the children or the adults in charge, there was no guidance on what we were supposed to do, and there was no schedule. I guess we could stay there as long as we wanted and then take an auto-rickshaw back. The situation was totally uncomfortable and I felt like we weren’t wanted there.

The project description on VS’ website stated volunteers would help prepare meals, create a fun environment for the kids through new activities and games, and teach English, which I had never done before, nor was I prepared to do. It was never explained what we would actually be doing, and yes, I absolutely should have been more clear and asked questions. I take responsibility for that. I really just didn’t know better, which is mortifying looking back.

So I went with colored chalk, pens, toys and games for the kids, but I was yelled at when I arrived saying I must teach. Teach what? There were no supplies, no lesson plan, and no instructions. There was just an older woman sitting in the middle of the different aged kids reciting the A,B,C’s over and over to them.

Heather Newgen at school in New Delhi slums

I was unskilled, untrained and had no business being there. I was embarrassed for the program and myself. They didn’t have the kid’s interest at heart. They just wanted to send people there to make it seem like volunteers were needed, but I don’t think we were.

I didn’t know what to do, so I took out the chalk I brought, put some of the older children in a group, and taught a few math problems. My being there did not make a difference and I certainly didn’t have the impact I thought I would.

I didn’t want to go back. I was ashamed. In addition, I didn’t feel safe going to the slums alone. After we were taken once, we were expected to go on our own. Not sure how anyone was supposed to remember how to get there without a map or directions…
To make matters worse, we later found out the NGO of the school hadn’t received any of the money he was promised from the program manager. A volunteer with VS, who is now a life-long friend, told her family about our experience. They lived nearby and her mom went to the school with us the next day to find out what was going on.

It was then we knew we were being lied to. Volunteering Solutions was a total scam—at least in India. I can’t speak for the other countries they are in. I confronted the country director and instead of addressing my concerns and trying to be helpful, he and his wife started screaming at me. I asked repeatedly where my money was going and wanted to see a breakdown of how they spent volunteer’s program fee. Reasonable things I thought, but apparently not.

They kept side stepping the question by turning things around on me. I asked why our money wasn’t partly going to the NGO as he had said and I was met with more hostility.
I didn’t back down and continued to ask questions, but they refused to do anything but yell. His wife kept saying, “I can’t believe you would ask us these types of questions in our own home,” and acted as if I was trying to get inappropriate information out of them. Crazy doesn’t even begin to describe the situation.

Another volunteer witnessed the contentious argument and was outraged by their behavior. It was unbelievable. I’m not sure if the country director is still there today, but this happened in 2009 and I know just a couple of years ago he was still working for Volunteering Solutions, which is shocking.

I went back to volunteer a couple of times, but felt it was pointless. So I checked out of the hotel, stayed with new friends I made and vowed to spread the word about Volunteering Solutions.

I don’t ever want another person to go through the nightmare that I did. When I got home I started doing research and found a slew of negative reviews all mirroring my similar experience. I also started a group on Facebook called ‘Beware of Volunteering Solutions” where others told me they had written bad reviews of the organization and were threatened to be sued by the program if they weren’t taken down.

I was taken aback that they would go that far. I’m sorry that I didn’t do my homework ahead of time, and it’s my fault that I was so ignorant about voluntourism, but here’s what I have learned:

–Listen to your instincts. You get bad vibes for a reason.

–Do your research. I can’t stress this enough. Do not sign up with a program before you’re 100% sure they’re professional and legit. Don’t just read the reviews on the organization’s website. Who knows if they’re actually real or not?

–Don’t work with kids if you’re unskilled or untrained, especially if you’re just volunteering short-term.

–Know exactly what your volunteer assignment is going to be ahead of time. Also, find out if you’re expected to go to your project alone.

–There are positive experiences to be had volunteering abroad and domestically. It’s unfortunate that there are corrupt organizations out there, but it’s your responsibility as a volunteer to educate yourself and be aware of the issues with volunteering so you can avoid them. I strongly support voluntourism, however, it needs to be done in an ethical manner.

October 23, 2017 admin Leave a comment

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