What Is In-Country Support?

Under Amani hostel As a volunteer abroad, you will be faced with many challenges on a daily basis. Most of them will be small, manageable challenges, while others may be a bit larger. No matter what you face, your volunteer abroad in-country coordinator will be there for you. Perhaps you’re having trouble with your host family or you want to switch your work placement. Or maybe you just want some advice on the best form of transportation to take to a nearby city. Your volunteer abroad in-country coordinator will be able to provide you with all the support and advice that you need to make your time abroad more comfortable. The role of the volunteer abroad in-country support and the services they provide will be explained in more detail further in the article.

Who Is My In-Country Coordinator Or Local Staff?

In general, most volunteer abroad organizations follow one of two models. The main model is that they have their own volunteer abroad in-country field office with staff members, such as cooks, drivers, coordinators, etc. This team makes up your volunteer abroad in-country support. In the other model, the volunteer abroad organizations work through local volunteer organizations and take on the role of the middleman. In these cases, the head of the local organization serves as your volunteer abroad in-country support.

What Does My In-Country Support Do For Me?

The in-country support staff is responsible for a number of things. From the moment you arrive in your host country, to the moment you leave, they are there for you. Although the responsibilities of your in-country coordinator and staff differ from organization to organization, below are some of the main services that they provide:

• Airport pick-up and transfer to host family or work site
• Management of room and food in host family/hostel
• Orientation of local country, culture, host family, safety, and related issues
• Introduction to your host family and project staff
• Periodic follow-up visits or calls (1-2 week intervals) to ensure everything is going smoothly
• Advice for solving any issues, problems, or concerns.

Do I Need To Stay In Touch With My In-Country Support?

It is vital that you maintain a comfortable relationship with your volunteer abroad in-country coordinator and support staff and that they are familiar with who you are and the work you are doing. Make sure you have their phone number, email, and local address for easy contact. Should anything happen (sickness, project issues, emergencies, etc) you must know how to get in touch with them.

Commitment to Safety.

The safety and security of our volunteers are our number one priority. We make sure that in all destinations we operate our programs are in safe and secure places. Our staff have personally visited these places, hired and trained local people to help our volunteers and we also monitor news and events regularly.

In the field, you will have 3 levels of help. They are:

• Country Coordinator-All our country coordinators have many years of experience organizing and coordinating volunteer program placements, and looking after volunteers who are in the field. Our volunteers will have the mobile (cell) phone numbers of our country coordinator, and we encourage you to call our country coordinator whenever you need to inquire about anything. The coordinator will advise and guide you through every eventuality.

• Field Staff -Out staff are trained on handling emergency issues, and they will have knowledge of which policies and procedures to follow. The staff are locally born and bred and will know all the local issues intimately.

• Host Families– All our host families are average middle-class families that are socially respected. When you stay with the host family, you will be one of their family members, and you may address them as host father and host mother.

Comprehensive Medical Insurance.

All Volunteers with Amani hostel can get comprehensive medical insurance coverage if they opt to enroll in our insurance plan.