|
Trouble-free package
The trouble-free package is required for internships and is optional for volunteering at charitable organizations.
The trouble-free package is not additionally required for our "Voluntourism", "Voluntourism Hopper" and "World Learner" options.
It includes the following services:
Short summary (scroll down for detailled information):
1. Full support
- Communication with you prior to your stay answering all questions
- Coordinator who is there for you on the ground
- Site orientation at your volunteering/internship location (e.g. showing you the way from your accommodation to workplace, doctor, internet, shops etc.)
- Introduction to your volunteering/internship organization
- Putting you in touch with other participants prior to your travel
2. Handling all formalities
- Application for all necessary permits (e.g. Residence Permit)
- Information about Visa, arrangement of documents to obtain visa if needed, and renewal of visa if needed
3. Arrangement of accommodation
- Safe, examined accommodation at affordable rents near to your workplace. Accommodation options with guest families, single rooms in shared houses/apartment, guest houses or dormitories
4. Pick-ups and transfers
- Pick-up from the nearest international airport and transfer to your accommodation AND/OR assistance with booking domestic connecting travel if you arrive at other airports (see details)
- Transfers for return travel are also included
5. 24 hour emergency service
- 24 h phone reachability and assistance in emergency situation
6. Information Package
- Detailled PDF with useful information that you won't find in travel guides or the internet. It is tailormade to fit your location and situation
7. Local SIM card and/or phone to borrow
- We will give you your local number in advance so that you'll be reachable by your friends and family from the start.
- Including initial top-up credit
8. Confirmations about your stay
- For approval of student placements (e.g. for your university, scholarship, insurance company etc.) we will write confirmations about your stay in advance
- We will also have internship contracts be signed/stamped and will fill out training schedules together with your internship organization
- Confirmation/Certificate after your stay
9. Contribution to your Project
Details:
1. Full support
Prior to your arrival and during your stay you will get full support. You can ask us as many questions as you need prior to your arrival, then when you arrive you will be shown around your location and everything important will be explained to you (e.g. doctor, shops, internet, how to get from your accommodation to your workplace). You will be introduced to your volunteering/placement organisation and from then on you can contact our local coordinators as often as you want.
We will also provide you with contact details of other foreign volunteers/interns who are in your country at the same time so you can contact them if you want to.
For Tanzania: Ursula, a German social educationalist who has been living in Zanzibar for 9 years is doing all communications with participants prior to their arrival in Tanzania. She is also supporting our participants in Zanzibar. In Moshi, Rhoda and Gabriel, two locals are support the participants, and in Dar-es-Salaam and Bagamoyo Arnold is performing this task. Arnold will also be the one to pick you up from Dar-es-Salaam airport if you arrive there and will assist you with your domestic connecting travel by bus to Moshi or elsewhere in Tanzania.
For Morocco: Fenna, a Moroccan lady who has grown up in Spain where she also did her Master's degree in psychology is your local support in Tanger and is also doing all pre-arrival communication.
For Nicaragua: Ninoska from Nicaragua will be doing the pre-arrival communication with you. She is also arranging the stay of official Dutch development workers in Nicaragua. In León, there is also Peter (Dutch) and the team of Vapues Tours supporting you.
For Israel: Salim, who has studied psychology in Bremen/Germany will communicate with you prior to your arrival and will plan all details for you concerning your arrival, accommodation etc. His mother-in-law Wafika will be your local contact and support person in Israel. Both of them can fully converse in English. Salim also speaks German, French, Arabic and Hebrew.
For India: Our local support team consists of Sudipta in Mumbai, Vikas at the Himalaya, and Swami, Antonio and Kristine in Cochin.
2. Handling all formalities
For Tanzania: A volunteering activity or internship in Tanzania is not possible having a tourist visa only (Tanzania Immigration Act). Depending on the duration of your stay, your location and your volunteering/internship organization you will additionally need a Residence
Permit Class C, a Visitor's Pass or an Exemption Certificate. According to the Tanzanian immigration authorities, these papers will not be issued at the Tanzanian embassies abroad, but only in Tanzania.
If
you provide us with your CV (resume), and scans of your passport-size portrait picture, of your passport and supporting academic documents (confirmation of enrollment or student ID or certificate of training or school report etc.) we will apply for the correct papers. We will initiate all necessary administrative processes and hand in all necessary paperwork which includes writing a
letter of recommendation for you. Additionally we will provide you with
information about the tourist visa that you will need to enter the country. The actual government fees for visa and permits are to be paid in cash in Tanzania, they are not part of the trouble-free package.
For Marocco: EU citizens and North Americans will get the visa free of charge when entering the country if you travel on a valid passport. No other permit is needed to volunteer. However it is only possible to stay in the country for 90 days. For longer stays we will deal with the extension of your visa for you.
For Nicaragua: For stays up to 90 days you will just need a regular tourist visa that you can buy at the border/airport for currently 5 USD only. If you want to stay longer we will extend your visa for you. This needs to be repeated every month from the 4th month on and the fee is 15 USD each time.
For Israel: EU citizens and North Americans will need a volunteer visa which is around 100 €. We cooperate with the Kibbutz "Neve Shalom" for the obtainment of volunteer visas. You will have to fill a form and fax or scan/email it back to us and then you will get a letter of invitation that you show upon arrival in Israel. We will then finalize the issuance of the volunteer visa in Israel for you.
For India: For India, you will need a volunteering or internship visa. In some countries, you can get it only from private visa agencies that have a license to handle Indian visa applications, in other countries you can get it directly from an Indian embassy. The costs are around 110 €. You will need an invitation letter from your internship or volunteering organization and a photocopy of their certificate of incorporation. We will provide you with these documents and then you apply for the visa by yourself.
3. Arrangement of accommodation
All accommodation that we choose for our
volunteers/interns will be inspected for cleanliness and safety before
you arrive. We know all our host families and landlords very well and we have made positive experiences with them.
Generally accommodation will be with a local family that in most cases also caters meals (mostly breakfast and
dinner; in some cases only breakfast, or breakfast, lunch and dinner) OR it will be a single room in a house or apartment which is shared with other foreign volunteers/interns. At locations where such accommodation isn't available, we make use of guest houses or dormitories. If you are travelling with a friend, you can also share a double room if
you want.
You can find an overview over the available accommodation options and costs to expect on this website in the section "Cost overview". The exact amounts we can tell you in advance depending on your location and dates. It is our
aim to provide attractive rooms for the best conditions. The actual costs of rent and meals are not part of the trouble-free package. They have to be paid at the destination in cash directly to the landlord or host family.
4. Pick-ups and Transfers
The trouble-free package includes pick-ups and transfers
from the next airport/port to your accommodation or to connecting
domestic means of travel (see below). On location, our local coordinator will
show you all relevant sites (doctor, pharmacy, internet, post office,
shops etc.). He or she will also accompany you on your first day of work
from your accommodation to your work place and will introduce you
there. At you departure back to home country the transfer from your
accommodation to the next airport or to connecting domestic travel is
included, too.
Zanzibar: Pick-up and transfer from Zanzibar International Airport/Zanzibar Port to your accommodation in Zanzibar. If you arrive in Dar-es-Salaam airport (often the flights to DAR are considerably cheaper than Zanzibar), you will be picked up in Dar and transferred to Daressalam sea port from where you can catch the speed boat to Zanzibar (Duration approx. 1h 45 min, cost 35 US$). We will get the boat ticket for you. If there is no more speed boat on the day of your arrival (or if you don't like ships), we can book a domestic flight to Zanzibar for you (cost approx. 65 US$). In that case we will bring you from the International Airport in Dar to the domestic terminal.
Pemba: Pick-up and transfer from Pemba Airport/Pemba Port
to your accommodation in Pemba. If you didn’t book a direct flight to
Pemba, we will provide help in Zanzibar (Booking a ship or flight from Zanzibar to Pemba - Cost ship around 40 USD, flight around 88 USD, we'll bring you from the airport to the seaport) or in Dar-es-Salaam (from Dar it makes only sense to take a flight to Pemba which is around 100 USD).
Bagamoyo/Tanzania: Pick-up at the airport of Dar-es-Salaam and transfer to your accommodation in Bagamoyo.
Karatu/Tanzania: Pick-up at Kilimanjaro International Airport and transfer to the bus station of Arusha. From there you take the bus to Karatu, which has to be paid extra. Then we will pick you up at
the bus station of Karatu and transfer to your accommodation in Karatu. If you arrive in Dar-es-Salaam, we will pick you up at the airport and bring you to the bus station. The bus to Karatu is about 40 US$. If there is no more bus on the day of your arrival, we will book a budget guest house for you for one night (approx. 20 US$) so you can catch the bus to Karatu the next morning. Alternatively, we can book a domestic flight from Dar to Kilimanjaro for you.
Moshi/Tanzania: Pick-up at Kilimanjaro International Airport and transport to your accommodation in Arusha or Moshi. If you arrive in Dar-es-Salaam (often cheaper flights available) we will pick you up at Dar airport and bring you to the bus station.
The bus to Arusha/Moshi is about 25 US$. If there is no more bus on the day
of your arrival, we will book a budget guest house for you for one
night (approx. 25 US$) so you can catch the bus to Moshi the next
morning or alternatively book a domestic flight for you from Dar to Kilimanjaro.
Tangier/Morocco: Transfer from Tangier airport to your accommodation in Tangier. If you only find flights to Malaga/Spain, you can take a bus from there to Tarifa and then cross the sea by ferry. We will give you information about this. We would then pick you up from the seaport of Tangier and bring you to your accommodation.
León/Nicaragua: Pick-up from Managua airport and transfer to León.
Tamra/Israel: When you arrive at Tel Aviv airport, you take a train to Akko which is 46 Shekel (8 €/14 USD). We will then pick you up from Akko train station and bring you to your accommodation in Tamra.
Mumbai/India: Pick-up and transfer from Mumbai (Bombay) airport to your accommodation in Mumbai.
Cochin/India: Pick-up and transfer from Cochin (COK) airport to your accommodation in Fort Cochin.
Himalaya/India: Pick-up at New Delhi airport and transfer to Delhi railway station from where you take a train to Kolka (daily at 7:40 and 17:25). Train costs around 10 €. In Kolka you change to the historical UNESCO World Heritage train "Himalayan Queen" (only possible if you take the early morning train from Delhi). The ticket price is included in the trouble-free package, but we have to book the train several weeks in advance. You will leave the train at Kandaghat, where you will be picked up and brought to the accommodation. If you take the evening train, you will be picked up from Kolka and transferred to your accommodation. If you have to stay in Delhi for one night, the hotel cost will be approx. 40 € including transfers. A domestic flight from Delhi to Shimla is approx. 100 € (Kingfisher Airlines, only one early morning departure every day).
-> All transfers are also included for your return travel!
5. 24 h emergency service
Our
local coordinator will be reachable 24 h by phone if there should be
problems of any kind. He or she will be in touch with you and your work
place and will care for your well-being.
6. Information package
The information package will be emailed to you as a PDF document. It
contains all relevant information that you need for your stay, suiting
the specific needs for your destination. What is advisable to bring
from abroad? What can you easily get in Tanzania? Which cloth do you have to
bring? Which vaccinations are recommended? Do you bring cash or credit card? All important questions are to be found in that document.
7. Local SIM card with top-up
Prior to your travel we will provide you with a local mobile phone
number that you can give to your family and friends so that they can reach you from the start.
For Tanzania: You will bring your own mobile phone which has to be unlocked. We will give you the SIM card belonging to the number and to start with a top-up voucher of 10,000 TZS.
For Morocco: Same as in Tanzania. The top-up voucher that you will get will be worth 100 Dirham.
For Nicaragua: We will borrow you a mobile phone as most foreign mobile phones won't work in Nicaragua. You will return it to us before you leave. It will have 10 USD$ credit.
For Israel: Same as in Tanzania. The top-up voucher that you will get will be worth 50 Shekel.
For India: You will bring your own mobile phone and we will give you a rental SIM card that you return at your departure (in India it is extremely difficult and bureaucratic to get SIM cards). The top-up value will be 500 Rupies.
8. Confirmation of your participation
When finishing your placement/volunteering activity we'll write you a confirmation/certificate about what you did.
If you need confirmations prior to your travel (for instance for your university, insurance company or to get a scholarship) we can provide this for you, too. We will also have internship contracts signed and stamped and we'll fill out training schedules together with you internship organization.
9. Monetary contribution to the charitable organization
We donate 50 US$ from your trouble-free package directly to the organisation where you will be volunteering. In case you will do an internship at a commercial company, we'll donate the 50 USD to a charitable organization instead.
--
* Please make sure to have read and fully understood our Terms and Conditions. If you are not sure about any point, please ask us.
|
