TESTIMONIALS
Our organization is built upon a system of mutual exchange
between our volunteers and our partner communities.
Our volunteers give their time, expertise, and enthusiasm to a community desiring their skills, and our host communities welcome volunteers into their homes and give them the invaluable opportunity to experience a new culture firsthand. These mutually beneficial relationships are the cornerstone of our organization, and as such, we strive to ensure we are facilitating meaningful opportunities for all.
See what our volunteers, host families, and students have to say about Learning Enterprises!
POOJA PATEL
Croatia Volunteer
"When I was on the way to Croatia, I truly didn’t know what I wanted out of the experience or what to expect from it. I figured I would have some stories to share about what my days were like and maybe some about the people I met along the way. Maybe I’d learn a thing here and there or maybe I’d really just regret my decision to go. I really just didn’t know. It was to my surprise that it ended up being one of the best summers of my life. I learned so much about Croatia and the amazing people there. I learned how to travel on my own. I learned how to live with strangers who very quickly became friends that I hold dear to my heart. Most of all, I learned how much I love helping people. The opportunity LE Croatia gave me was and still is one that I am utterly grateful for. I was in Biograd na Moru for the summer and it become home away from home within a couple days. I went in 2022 and have thought about the kids and the community there every summer since.
You genuinely don’t understand how special Croatia is until you go and experience it yourself. The people, the culture, and the memories are what you’ll carry with you long after your LE experience."
DOMINIKA AND ALEXSANDRA
Students from Poland
“For us, this was an amazing month. We learned much more than at our lessons in Polish school. We will never forget this experience. Our time with Maria was really cool. She’s a really good teacher and person. We are so thankful and happy that we could get involved in this event.”
ROSÂNGELA LEARDINE PAIVA
Brazil School Coordinator
Portuguese: "Sempre temos o programa em nossa escola, na EMEB Cecília Meireles. A experiência para os nossos alunos é sempre muito boa! Eles amam o projeto e gostam muito de participar!"
English: "We always have the LE program in our school, EMEB Cecília Meireles. The experience for our students is always very good! They love the program and always greatly enjoy participating!"
ALLIE
Croatia Volunteer
"I decided to apply to LE because it seemed like a great way to travel while also doing something that would help a deserving community. I had so much fun at both of my placements and all of the volunteers became really close. I think my favorite part was staying with Helena and Davor in Koprivnica. They were so welcoming and caring and the other volunteer and I got to spend so much time with the family. They made it feel like home. The teaching itself was challenging at times but very enjoyable and definitely helped me work on my leadership skills as well as some creativity!"
HALA BAZZAZ
LE Romania Volunteer
"This was the best decision I made for what to do with my summer time. I learned so much from the students and their families, and felt like we were both contributing to an exchange of knowledge. My best experiences include having students families invite me to their homes for dinner, host families taking me sight seeing, and laughing alongside the students during classroom activities. I still keep in touch with a lot of the individuals who I've met on this trip, and they have definitely left an impact on the person I've become."
IMANI
LE Panama Volunteer
"My experience serving as an LE volunteer in Panama was truly unforgettable. Coming from a Central American family myself, it meant the world to me to be able to have the opportunity to visit such a beautiful country like Panama and contribute to a community that mirrored my own. My students, fellow faculty/volunteers and host family all left such a monumental impact on my life and have shaped me into the individual I am today."
STEPHAN ORTIZ
Former Panama Program Director
"I had the opportunity to volunteer in Panama for two summers and both times were blessed by such amazing people and culture. I learned what it meant to be part of a community that knows you, cares about you, and supports you. I miss them all so much. To anyone who is interested in teaching and/or service, I'd highly recommend to get out there and get to know what service looks like in different parts of the world. You will make a difference and leave learning so much more about yourself."
HELENA HECIMOVIC
Croatia Country Coordinator
“My name is Helena Hecimovic, and I have been the country coordinator for Learning Enterprises for the past 24 years. When I started this experience, I didn’t know what to expect, but over the years we have found out that the presence of American students in Croatia and the experience - the exchange- that our young students have with them is extremely important for both Croatian students and American volunteers.
In Koprivnica, Learning Enterprises has contributed to the very important part of the summer for our Croatian students, who would otherwise be bored and not do anything that would be worthwhile during summer. Over these 17 years, I had an opportunity to meet wonderful young people, and through their eyes and through the experience I had in the communication with them, I believe my life has been enriched and so has the life of many students in Koprivnica and in the towns that we have managed to get interested in the Learning Enterprises program.
I’m very glad that now Croatia -Learning Enterprises Croatia- is an independent program that we received, and I hope we will receive many more students in the future years.”
Helena has worked with many of our volunteers and has contributed greatly to the growth of the Croatia program.
ENGLISH TEACHERS & HOST MOM
THAILAND
1st speaker: “Hello, my name is Teeraporn. I teach English at Talukdu Whittayakhom School. Ok.”
2nd speaker: “I am Jarunee (last name) I am an English teacher at Talukdu Whittayakhom School in Thailand. I am very surprised and grateful that Miss Addie she came to our school. She make more opportunity for our students to….They can speak English with the native speaker. I would like she back again or another volunteer back to our school for our students. Thank you.”
3rd speaker: “Hello. My name is Wachira Pumma and I would like to thank to LE, Learning Enterprises, to give Addie to my school and I think everyone in my school love her, the teachers, the students, and all of my students they are all try to learn English and now they can have opportunities to learn English. And she teach very well. Every activity, everything she did in my school were beautiful and incredible. Thank you.”
4th speaker: “My name is Nayana Tubucha. I am host (mother).” *Thai to English translation appears in video*
5th speaker: “Hello. My name is Wirote Wanjan. I am the head of the English department of Talukdu Whittayakhom School, Taptan, Uthai Thani, Thailand. I am very happy that the Learning Enterprises send Addie to our school. She is a good teacher. She can teach English very well. She does a lot of activities that are interesting for the students. They love teacher Addie so much and teacher Addie takes care of them. She can manage the classroom well. Everything she did is very surprise for the students. It’s a big chance for the students to have a chance to learn English with a native speaker. So I hope that in the future LE should have opportunity for Thailand again, especially for my school that is very far away from Uthai Thani and we have not the budget to support a native speaker. So I hope that next year Addie will come again. Thank you very much.”