Safety

While there are certain risks associated with volunteering abroad, providing participants with a safe experience is Encountour’s top priority. We are very attentive and thorough in our screening and selection of new projects, and we have rigorous protocol aimed at providing special care and guidance to all of our participants while they are on the ground.

We stay abreast of updates communicated by the U.S. Embassy and we take recommended precautionary measures we feel are necessary to mitigate the dangers of international travel and help our volunteers remain safe throughout their entire experience.

To start, we make sure that our volunteers are well prepared before their trip. We provide detailed pre-departure information that covers the topics of health, safety, and cross-cultural adjustment for the country to which a volunteer is traveling. This information is again covered at greater length in an orientation when the volunteers arrive. Volunteers remain together in small groups and spend their days with a well-trained, bilingual Volunteer Coordinator as well as a representative of the local nonprofit organization. Our Volunteer Coordinators receive thorough training to prepare them for emergency situations in the unlikely event that one should arise.

The projects and communities where volunteers work are selected after careful screening, considering the safety of the site and the transparency of the nonprofit organization. The homestay experience is often the one of the most rewarding and memorable parts; therefore, we are very careful to find families that are not only experienced in hosting students from abroad, but who will invite the volunteers into their homes as honored guests and extended family members.

Beyond the safety measures we take to protect and care for our volunteers on a day-to-day basis, we have in place protocol to deal with emergency situations. Our trained guides and staff are on-call any time of day or night if the volunteers should need any kind of assistance. Additionally, we maintain a 24-hour emergency line that is accessible to both volunteers in-country and families that are back in the United States and Canada.

If you have any further questions about the safety of our trips, please do not hesitate to get in touch via email info@encountour.com or phone (800) 899-3789.

We look forward to a safe and rewarding experience!