Volunteer Training & Support
BaseCamp believes that volunteer training and volunteer support are essential components for a successful international volunteer experience. We know that international volunteer programs are most effective when volunteers first take the time to learn about the culture and customs of their host country and become familiar with how to navigate the country independantly.
Without an intensive orientation and training program, volunteers are often overwhelmed by the challenges of living and working in total immersion. Thus for help with basic tasks, like taking the bus, going to the market and learning enough basic language in order to communicate with the local population, volunteers tend to rely heavily on the staff of the organization that they are there to assist. This distracts the staff of the organization from their duties and can quickly undermine the value of hosting a short-term international volunteer.
The Volunteer Abroad program's orientation begins the moment a volunteer arrives. Our staff personally meet each volunteer at the airport and transfer with them back to the BaseCamp Volunteer Center for an initial briefing. This briefing covers important logisitical and safety details before volunteers even check into their rooms.
The next two days of volunteer training focus on critical details that are important for all our volunteers. These include embassy registration, health and safety briefings, community tour and placement preparation. This volunteer training is required for all our volunteers.
The following five days provides volunteer training units on culture, etiquette, local transportation, bargaining and basic language training. While volunteers may choose to opt out of this extended training, it is highly recommended as we have found that without this foundation, many international volunteers find the transition to a homestay family challenging.
Adecco