The host family experience plays a really important part in the whole experience of volunteering abroad and living with a local family.  You get the kind of insight into the local culture that most regular tourists don’t have the opportunity to experience.  We often get reviews from our volunteers about our host families, so I thought it’d be nice to hear about it from a host Mum’s perspective.  It is clear from the volunteers comments that she is a very popular host mum, so I spoke to Shabreen Abadan myself to see what she enjoys most about hosting our volunteers.

“I have been hosting Projects Abroad volunteers for about 18 months now, and have had 15 in total so far. In my house there is myself, my husband Tufel, and my 7 year old son Tashkeel who attends Mt St Mary’s Primary School. What I enjoy most about hosting volunteers is being able to welcome them as part of my family and learn about them and their cultures. I like teaching them to cook Indian food as they seem to really love the food I cook. I take them shopping and show them where to pick up a bargain! Most of all I love sharing stories with them and spending time with them, and from the moment they arrive they become a part of my family. I have made friends from all over the world and am still in touch with all of my past volunteers. I love being a host and I hope to continue doing it for many years to come. My house isn’t the same without volunteers in it!“

    Shabreen with son Tashkeel and Husband Tufel.

Thanks for being such a wonderful host mum and providing our volunteers with a ‚home away from home’.