Why Go

Participant Feedback

“I never thought I’d become friends with people who grew up in situations so different from mine.”  2023 participant

“It was really, really a life changing experience for me… probably some of the best two best weeks of my life.” -2013 participant

“This experience was the most worthwhile of my life.” – 2013 participant

“El Salvador changed my life more than I could ever imagined…” – 2013 participant

“Last year’s service trip to El Salvador was probably my son’s most awareness-expanding experience so far. He returned with a new sense of self-confidence and of commitment to do his best to improve this world and the lives of others. Words cannot express how grateful his mother and I are to International Partners for making this possible.”  _{– parent of delegate}

“During this trip, I learned about my abilities as a leader and my history as a descendant of Central American cultures.”
  _{– 2004 and 2005 participant}

“I learned a great deal about Salvadoran history. I also learned that I can make a difference in the world.”  _{-2005 participant}

“I learned that I can easily help others without thinking of myself at all and that it made me feel better than I have ever felt.” –_{2005 participant}

“It was hard physical labor but I was rewarded by seeing how much my new friends and (host) family appreciated what we were doing. I’ll never forget my trip and I learned that I want to have a future in helping people.” –_{2005 participant}

“This was third trip with IP and it reaffirmed my belief that what I do can really change communities and lives for the better.”
  _{– 2003, 2004 and 2005 participant}

“The trip was the greatest experience of my life. The feeling of accomplishing something that will change the lives of people for many generations to come and also changing my own life makes it more than worthwhile. I can’t wait to go back this year.” –_{2004 participant}

“Going to El Salvador changed the way I see the world. I feel like I’ll always have a home there.” –_{2004 participant}

“In El Salvador the work was hard and satisfying, and the people we met were unbelievably inspiring. In a country that has so recently experienced a war, every person has their story to tell and each is more amazing than the next.”
  _{– 2003 participant}

“I feel the trip has made me a more compassionate person” –_{two time participant}

“Despite immense poverty and tragic war, our two weeks were by no means depressing. I lived in a two room house with a dirt floor and slept on a sagging bed, but woke up most mornings happier than I often am at home, thanks to the people I was living with and the stories they shared.”   _{– 2004  participant}

“During my two weeks, I had planted more seeds of hope for a positive future than I could have ever anticipated as being within my capacity. This gives me the greatest happiness: to give someone else reason to hope.”
  _{– 2004  participant}

“This was the most meaningful professional experience of my career. An opportunity to use my skill as a dentist to really make a difference.”  _{– two time participating dentist}