About Us

About Us

Let's start at the beginning. ‘WAVA’ stands for ‘Work & Volunteer Abroad’ and our origins lie in a department created in 2006 at Twin Group, a prestigious provider of educational, training and employment opportunities for individuals around the world.

As of January 2010 we became an independently owned company and completely re-established ourselves as a fresh eager young brand that is wholly committed to offering travellers meaningful, stimulating and responsible travel experiences around the world.

So what do we do? Well, the aspirations of travellers have changed – people nowadays don’t just want to take undemanding holidays where they merely observe other peoples’ lives, they want to get involved in their surroundings and have authentic experiences that leave them changed by the encounter. It is these types of travellers that we cater for – travellers for whom simply ‘seeing’ is not enough, they also need to be ‘doing’. See More. Do More is our mantra at WAVA – and we send participants to projects all over the world, permitting them to get up-close and personal to real life situations, and allowing them to see exactly what needs to be done and the capacity in which to do it.

Today, we have sent hundreds of participants around the world by offering three broad types of travelling experiences (made possible through solid partnerships with highly reputable local providers in various parts of the world):

• Volunteering on projects in developing countries
• Internships in professional environments around the world
• Seasonal paid and unpaid working holidays in developed economies.

Since our re-birth in 2010, we have stepped up our commitment to responsible travel, and have made our Responsible Travel Policy the backbone of WAVA (central to our culture and value) promoting sustainable and respectful behaviour throughout all our practices and operations. Everyone that works with and/or for WAVA is involved in the process of implementing change, and securing our goal to be a sustainable enterprise.

Our Responsible Travel Policy is not an ideology. It is not a cast-iron set of rigid guidelines and procedures. Rather, it is a spectrum of principles and concepts that promote co-operation and learning not only by those in our London office, but also with all the parties involved – travellers, partners and host communities – ensuring each can mutually benefit.

In May 2011 WAVA was delighted to become a member of Year Out Group - this is an association established in 1998 to promote the concept and benefits of well-structured year out programmes. As a member of Year Out Group, WAVA is required to operate under a quality framework, and adhere to specific membership criterion that includes the Year Out Group's Code of Practice. Our inclusion in Year Out Group is a tremendous endorsement for WAVA, and provides our participants with the re-assurance and support that they may need to take part in our programmes abroad.

Meet the Team

Our team are experienced professionals, with a genuine passion for travel, cultural exchange and development issues. Each member of the team brings with them specific knowledge and skills to WAVA.

Between us, we have visited almost 60 countries. In 2010 and 2011 we visited a number of our projects in Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Chile, Ecuador, Galapagos, Thailand, India, Nepal, France and Spain, Mozambique and Swaziland.

The Travel Team is responsible for advising prospective candidates for our work and volunteer programmes on the best options available to them.

Kate Archer, Travel Advisor Countries visited: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, Greece, Fiji, France, Italy, Laos, New Zealand, Peru, Spain, Thailand, Vietnam. Best piece of Travel Advice: If you can try learn a few local words, that always goes down well and pack a blow up pillow for the long bus journeys. A bit about me: I’ve done a couple of round the world trips since leaving school. My last trip was 6 months in South America, where I volunteered in a Children’s Nursery in Rio. This was in one of the Favela’s and the experience certainly showed me another side of life. I have also travelled around New Zealand for a year, working in hospitality to fund the trip. This was an amazing experience. So anyone wanting advice on South America or New Zealand – just ask! Before joining WAVA, I worked with STA Travel, planning customer’s gap years and backpacker trips. Now, as a Travel Advisor for WAVA, I really look forward to helping organise your volunteer and working projects.

Mikhaila Owen Travel Advisor Countries visited: Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, USA. Best piece of Travel Advice: Always smile and make sure you have enough space on your memory card to take lots of pictures. A bit about me: Before starting at WAVA I was fortunate enough to get to visit different countries with my previous job. I went to Prague and also Limassol, Cyprus. Before my working life, I got to experience Canada on an exchange project, which was an amazing experience as I got to travel around British Columbia, climbing mountains to whale watching. I have just joined the WAVA team; from being a previous volunteer with WAVA and I visited the South African project Living with Lions which was a brilliant trip! If you need anything please ask me!

Jamie Currier, Travel Advisor Countries visited: Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, USA. Best piece of Travel Advice: If it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, treat it as such! A bit about me: I am mad about sport and my passion for Rugby and Judo have given me the opportunity to travel to amazing destinations such as Japan and Canada – resulting in my new passion – travel!! I have worked within the Twin Group (the group that WAVA belongs to) for nearly a year, and have a lot of experience in arranging internships and work experience with companies but also in advising applicants as to the best route for them. With the experience I have gained, I look forward to helping many more participants achieve their goals.

Our Content & Marketing Team is responsible for publishing accurate and up-to-date material on our website, and communicating effectively and creatively with our customers and partners.

Sally Mordarski, Travel Administrator Countries visited: Croatia, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, France, Japan, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, USA. Best piece of Travel Advice: Whilst travelling, concentrate on what you are 'currently' doing – don't waste time imagining what you are 'going to be' doing. For instance: Know where you have put your passport, don't imagine what your accommodation will be like. A bit about me: During 2001 and 2006, I was fortunate to travel to the States, Japan and most of Europe, which gave me an amazing opportunity to discover and experience many diverse and different lifestyles and cultures. The fun of working with WAVA is to enable other people to go and discover new things, and see countries they have only imagined (hopefully in a sustainable and useful way). As part of the team here at WAVA, in February 2010 I travelled to Thailand to visit projects close to the beach resorts in Phuket and Bangkok, and projects further up into northern Thailand. It was amazing to see the diversity and resilience of the different cultures in Thailand.

Robert Ferguson, Content Editor Countries visited: Belgium, Canary Islands, Croatia, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, USA. Best piece of Travel Advice: If you are flying with a budget airline, always check how far out of town the airport you are flying to is! A bit about me: I’ve done a lot of travelling around Europe, but as yet my only travel outside the EU has been to New York which I absolutely loved. I have about a million places on my ‘to visit’ list, and hopefully working with WAVA will give me the chance to tick a few of them off in the next couple of years. I am the content editor for WAVA so if you have any issues using the website or WAVAengage give me a shout and I will do my best to help you out.

Emma Harradine, Marketing & Communication Manager Countries visited: Australia, Belize, Burma, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Laos, Mexico, Oman, Poland, Thailand, Tibet. Best piece of Travel Advice: Pack light; you really don’t need your hair straighteners, a travel iron and ten changes of clothes. Travelling with a smaller backpack means that you can often walk from the bus station to your accommodation, which saves you money. Plus, you’ll be so grateful for your lighter pack when you see other travellers humping around their 70 litre rucksacks in hot and humid weather. A bit about me: Travelling is my number one passion and I have been fortunate enough to see most of Europe and Asia as well as a lot of the Middle East and Central America. I worked as an International Marketing Manager in China for nearly four years and that gave me a great base for travelling in Asia. I feel really fortunate to have experienced such diverse cultures and look forward to building upon this experience for many years. Working for WAVA is incredibly inspiring and a lot of fun too. I mean, I get to work with like-minded people and market programmes that I truly believe in, which hardly feels like work at all.

Shelley O'Halloran, Travel Administrator Countries visited: Budapest, France, Ireland, Prague, Spain. Best piece of Travel Advice: Travel light. Keep your luggage and accessories to a minimum. The worst thing you can do is lug around more items than needed. A bit about me: I have recently joined the WAVA team as Travel Administrator. I was attracted to work for WAVA because of their commitment to giving people an amazing opportunity to visit other countries and experience a new cultural environment by volunteering and working within the region. I have travelled a bit but would love to actually experience one of the packages that WAVA offer as I know how exhilarating and worthwhile the experiences are, it would be the adventure of a lifetime!

So, why WAVA?

We don’t like to toot our own horn, but we’re really good at what we do.

There are a number of reasons why WAVA has proved particularly popular with travellers, and we thought it’s worth mentioning exactly why we’re able to help so many people find the experience they are looking for. We’ve listed the 7 key points about our service.

Our 7 Key Points

1. Responsible matching
We do not sell, we match. We make sure our programmes fit the volunteer, and vice versa. We use a tool called the "Foot Rating" to determine the degree to which the volunteer and the experience are comfortably matched. If the volunteer's request does not match, we find something that does. This is outlined in our Customer Commitment document.

2. Hand-picked partners
We only work with partners that respect and understand the implications of our core documents, the Responsible Travel Statement and the Partnership Principles. We pick our partners for their integrity, credibility and transparency. In some cases, we work with in-country co-ordinators who work with remote and inaccessible local suppliers, but we work closely with both to ensure trustworthiness.

3. Unique content
We write our own content, often from direct experience. If not, we rewrite our partners' materials to suit our audience, and to raise the standard of communications. We write detailed, informative, vibrant copy, but above all, we write from the heart. We publish photographs and videos taken only by (a) ourselves, (b) our volunteers, (c) our partners, and no one else.

4. Staff travel programme
We have a comprehensive programme designed to offer all our staff, without exception, the privilege and responsibility of travelling every year to our key destinations, to visit our partners and projects. This ensures an expert degree of knowledge, spread evenly around the team, and maintains genuine, mutually beneficial relationships between WAVA and its partner network.

5. Pre-departure briefings
As an integral part of our service, we require our London and Home Counties based volunteers and their families or friends to visit us at our offices to meet us at our monthly event. Every fourth Thursday, we offer a meet-and-greet, a presentation, a Q&A session and specialist advice tailored to the audience's chosen programmes. We like to meet and get to know our travellers personally.

6. Learning environment
Tourism, travel and development are tricky subjects. We do not know all the answers. Neither do governments, academics, businesses and NGOs. However, we are deeply interested in our sector and its impact and we are constantly working to improve and refine our processes. Our values underpin what we do, and above all, we work in a learning environment, ensuring that we evolve every day.

7. Value before volume
WAVA is not about shifting huge volumes. Of anything - volunteers, sales, numbers, bums-on-seats, pounds and pence, flights, bookings. We're about finding great experiences for great people, and supplying great projects with hard-working, enthusiastic volunteers. We want to help add value to every part of the supply chain, so that everybody benefits at every step.

Who travels with WAVA?

All kinds of people use us. Everyday, we’re approached by soon-to-be travellers who are looking to take part in journeys that extend beyond simply reclining on sunny beaches and working on that perfect tan. They’re searching for stimulating and authentic experiences.

Some are ‘Gap Year’ students: people who have places at college or university and want to take a year out before starting their studies - wanting to see the world properly, meet new people, and learn about new cultures and locations. Others come to us for help in finding work experience overseas - attracted by internships or language assistant programmes that would allow them to experience a unique skill and potentially help them reassess their future employment plans.

A growing segment of our customers are older, more experienced people, who want a break from the stressful pressures of work - they are excited by the idea of breaking away from their ordinary lives for a while and taking a career break.

No matter what their motivations for choosing to travel, our participants come to WAVA because they want to experience something different, and sometimes, aware that on a world scale they are comparatively fortunate, they are motivated to give something back, or to participate in a community or conservation project.

Whether they’re 18 or 80, WAVA is able to cater for many differing needs. All we ask is that our participants maintain a mature, dedicated and respectful attitude to their chosen overseas programmes.