FAQ

A: Globe Aware will provide you with an Orientation package in advance of your adventure detailing the climate, conditions and recommended items to pack, but feel free to contact Globe Aware with any questions.

A: The majority of your additional expenses will be whatever transportation costs you incur in getting to the specified meeting point (which will be described to you in your orientation packet). To be clear, Globe Aware does not pay for your airfare. We can, however, help you with suggestions for your booking, should you require assistance. You may also have costs for your passport, visas, airport taxes, any side trips you decide to take, any expanded medical and travel insurance, excess baggage charges (if you bring more than your airline allows), alcoholic beverages, and personal items (such as film, email/phone charges, etc), and any souvenir purchases.

A: The majority of your additional expenses will be whatever transportation costs you incur in getting to the specified meeting point (which will be described to you in your orientation packet). To be clear, Globe Aware does not pay for your airfare. We can, however, help you with suggestions for your booking, should you require assistance. You may also have costs for your passport, visas, airport taxes, any side trips you decide to take, any expanded medical and travel insurance, excess baggage charges (if you bring more than your airline allows), alcoholic beverages, and personal items (such as film, email/phone charges, etc), and any souvenir purchases.

You can apply them towards your airfare, however a 4% credit card processing fee will be removed from this. Please call us at 877-588-4562. You will need to furnish the receipt for your airfare. Funds raised above and beyond the program fee and airfare are applied directly to the program itself and are not returned to the volunteer.

A: The minimum contribution fee for your program covers the cost of your meals, accommodation, on-site travel (but not airfare), emergency medical evacuation, medical insurance, donations to the various community projects, your orientation package, volunteer coordination, program development, country manager expenses, community team recruitment, logistical support and project consultants.

For more information on this medical insurance coverage, click here.

A: The minimum contribution fee for your program covers the cost of your meals, accommodation, on-site travel (but not airfare), emergency medical evacuation, medical insurance, donations to the various community projects, your orientation package, volunteer coordination, program development, country manager expenses, community team recruitment, logistical support and project consultants.

A: In order to reserve a spot on a Globe Aware adventure, you will need to send a 50% deposit with your completed application. Your entire balance is due 70 days prior to the start date of the adventure of your choice. We accept most major credit cards (American Express, Visa, Mastercard), money order and personal check.

Refund/Cancellation/Transfer Policy
Take care in choosing your program location and dates. If your plans change, you can cancel. You will get a 100% refund, less a non refundable $500 of the deposit, if you cancel at least 70 days prior to the program's start date. After 70 days, it costs us to replace you because we have sent advances from your contributions to the community. You may elect to apply 100% of the deposit to another program if you transfer to another program within twelve months of the original program start date (no handling penalty or fee will be assessed), if we have not yet sent funds for field costs.  If you would like to transfer a second time, there is an additional $150 change fee in addition to any difference in the minimum contribution fee. Other than this, the deposit is never refundable, unless Globe Aware has to cancel a program. In the rare and unlikely event that Globe Aware has to cancel a program, you will receive a 100% refund, including your deposit.

If you cancel 31 to 69 days prior to the program start date, you will receive a 60% refund of the balance of the minimum contribution fee. If you reschedule you receive no refund however, you will have one year from the original program date to apply the funds to another program. Again the deposit is not refundable.

If you cancel less than 30-7 days from the program start date, you will receive a 25% refund of the balance of the minimum contribution fee. Again the deposit is not refundable.

If you cancel less than 7 days from the program start date, you will receive no refund of the minimum contribution fee. By this time the money has been implemented into specific project for the program. Again the deposit is not refundable.

A: Globe Aware endeavors to provide accommodations that let volunteers live as a local citizen of their host country, to give volunteers a feel for the local culture. Living conditions, however, can vary greatly.

Accommodations are often rustic, in a safe and rural setting. Amenities can be expected to be relatively Spartan. They maybe in a dormitory, community center, private home, cottage, apartments or hotel. Volunteers will sometimes be places in private home stay

Meals are prepared by a local cook, and volunteers are welcome to participate and learn about cooking the local cuisine. You'll find ample fruits, vegetables and meats indigenous to the region. Volunteers may also choose to go to the market to shop as a local, and help with carrying back provisions.

Toilets
Toilets can range from everything to modern Western flushing toilets to squatter toilets.

A: You are responsible for booking your own travel to the meeting point. We can give you recommendations or suggestions if you'd like. Simply contact us at office@Globeaware.com

A: You will be met at a designated meeting point by either your local host or a specially designated guide. The person meeting you will be holding up a "Globe Aware" sign.

A: The minimum contribution fee for your program covers not only the cost of your meals, accommodation, on-site travel (but not airfare), donations to the various community projects, your orientation package, volunteer coordination, program development, country manager expenses, community team recruitment, logistical support, medical emergency evacuation, medical insurance are included and project consultants. Your entire contribution is used to support Globe Aware sponsored programs and development. By spreading the costs across a number of our programs, Globe Aware is able to assist in projects that would otherwise not be able to exist. No funds are collected from any religious or political organization. Less than 12% of your program fee goes toward overhead and administration.

A: The minimum contribution fee for your program covers not only the cost of your meals, accommodation, on-site travel (but not airfare), donations to the various community projects, your orientation package, volunteer coordination, program development, country manager expenses, community team recruitment, logistical support, medical emergency evacuation, medical insurance are included and project consultants. Your entire contribution is used to support Globe Aware sponsored programs and development. By spreading the costs across a number of our programs, Globe Aware is able to assist in projects that would otherwise not be able to exist. No funds are collected from any religious or political organization. Less than 12% of your program fee goes toward overhead and administration.

Administrative Support

Direct Program Costs

Excerpt from: HOW TO LIVE YOUR DREAM OF VOLUNTEERING OVERSEAS
by Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega, and Zahara Heckscher
published by Penguin Putnam, Inc, 2002.

Prospective volunteers are surprised to learn that many programs charge their volunteers a fee to participate. At first, this can seem ridiculous - Why should you pay money to work for free? Aren't you already forgoing income you could be making? Here are a few things to keep in mind while trying to understand why the vast majority of programs charge international volunteers a fee:

• The local organizations and projects with which you volunteer overseas have limited resources and are seldom able to subsidize your trip or cover the costs of hosting you. (These costs include housing, feeding and transporting you, among numerous other things.) If they did have the financial resources to pay an international volunteer, it would almost certainly be more beneficial and cost-effective to hire a local person instead, someone who already knows the language and culture and is likely to stick around.
• Identifying appropriate host organizations overseas and working with them is time-consuming, takes resources, and requires an experienced and professional staff.
• The process of preparing, training, transporting, housing, feeding, and supervising volunteers is not cheap. Additional services such as health care, re-entry assistance, travel medical insurance, and more, all add to the expenses of a program.
  The costs of recruiting volunteers, producing literature, answering the phones, sending mailings, developing a web site, and interviewing potential volunteers are significant.

Arranged Volunteerism: "Why pay money to volunteer?"

A: Internet access varies with each project location. Check your Orientation package for more info, or feel free to contact Globe Aware with any questions. If internet access is available, and you are interested in checking your email while on your Globe Aware adventure, it is recommended that you set up an email account that can be accessed while traveling from most computers (such as a Yahoo, hotmail, or webmail account). Usually volunteers have access or are provided access approximately twice a week.

A: You will have ample time on weekends and in evenings, and on one day during the week to relax and explore.

Discounts/Groups/Custom Trips
Previous Globe Aware adventurers get a 10% discount. Customized trips can be created for any given group as long as the focus is in line with the general principles of Globe Aware.

A: Most of our programs house volunteers 2 to 3 to a room, however some, such as our Costa Rica program have up to 6 per cabin; please call 1-877-588-4562 if you need more information about your specific program. Volunteers are usually divided by gender (or members traveling together), though the coordinator can work with you on room arrangements upon arrival. If available, you can pay an additional single supplement, though this is difficult to arrange in advance. Occasionally, due to group make-up, a volunteer may, by necessity be placed in a single room, in which case no supplement is required.

A: Electricity access will depend on location. Check your Orientation package for more info, or feel free to contact Globe Aware with any questions.

A: Yes, you will always have free and easy access to clean and potable water.

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