CONNECTIONS AUSTRALIA
2015
www.adra.org.au/connections
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Inside Introduction 3 What is Connections? 4 Where can you go?
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What’s Included
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Trips Cambodia 9 Vietnam 12 East Timor 13 Nepal 14 Vanuatu 17 Coober Pedy 18 Fundraising 20 Services 21 Signing up 22 Cover Image: An ADRA Connections volunteer makes friends with the children at one of ADRA Nepal’s LeGGo projects in the Khmer District, Nepal.
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ADRA Connections Trip Menu 2015
About ADRA Australia
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Australia is a Christian humanitarian agency that works with people in poverty and distress to create just and positive change through empowering partnerships and responsible action. ADRA delivers sustainable community development and disaster relief programs that benefit communities in Australia, the Pacific, Asia and Africa. In recent years, ADRA Australia has supported over 200,000 people in 17 countries. ADRA Australia is fully accredited with the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and is part of the global ADRA network, which has a presence in 126 countries. ADRA is the official humanitarian agency of the Seventh-day Adventist church.
How ADRA Works You hear the words ‘aid organisation’ and NGO (non-government organisation) bantered about a lot these days. It can be a little confusing to know exactly what each one does and why. We’d like to get rid of that confusion and share why we’re so passionate about what we do. ADRA’s work is founded in empowering communities. We believe empowering entire communities to be involved and a part of their own development is more cost effective, sustainable and the most powerful way to break the poverty cycle and see entire generations lifted out of poverty. When we implement a project we work in the distinct area of development. Development is a process of social and economic change whereby people are empowered to take care of themselves, sustenance and future within a civil society. The basis of development is simply expressed in the well known statement: “Give a person a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Responsible development practice is designed to have a long-term, positive impact on a community. ADRA believes it is essential to engage the community in the process of planning for an intended community change. Thus, consultations take place with the local community to determine and prioritise their needs. This enables the community to have a voice in the decisionmaking and take ownership of the project. Compassionate outreach to others is not always as simple as it might seem. The overarching concern is that ‘doing good’, we ‘do no harm’ to them. To guide ADRA Australia in its choices of interventions, our 8 Key Development Principles are central to our developmental thinking and approach.
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What is Connections? ADRA Connections provides development education tours where you can learn about the work of ADRA. By joining an ADRA Connections trip your church, school, interest group or organisation has the opportunity to learn about sustainable development and experience first-hand the project and the people of ADRA’s ministry. By using ADRA’s established projects as a foundation we are sending short-term volunteer teams overseas to learn, with a chance to get involved. From building, to farming, photography and training - there is a huge range of ways your team can be involved in the work of ADRA. Just by volunteering with ADRA Connections you are helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals bringing hope and assistance to communities where it is needed the most. Our projects aim to improve sanitation through developing water systems and building toilet blocks, infrastructure, education and micro-development.
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ADRA Connections Trip Menu 2015
Where Can You Go?
Nepal Vietnam
Cambodia
Vanautu
Australia
Learn
Experience the difference development projects are making in communities today. Learn from people you meet. Also take this chance to learn about the local culture.
Do
Get your hands dirty by getting involved with an ADRA project. Help a community build a lifesaving water system or a shelter for poor ethnic minority school children.
See
Take in beautiful sights around the world! Trek through an Asian jungle on an elephant or swim in the crystal clear waters of the South Pacific.
An ADRA Connections experience typically ranges from 10 – 21 days and will include a range of activities like the ones mentioned above. If you are interested in participating in ADRA Connections, it is recommended that your group sign up at least six months prior to departure to ensure enough time for planning, preparation and fund raising. Once signed-up, ADRA will assist with finalising details, booking flights, finding accommodation, organising insurance and assisting with general preparations.
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What is included in the cost? When you are on one of our ADRA Connections trips, we want to make sure you have the best, most meaningful and safest trip possible. We will package your trip according to your groups needs and requirements. The Connections budget is divided into two sections: ADRA Donation and Sightseeing Costs.
ADRA Donation: The ADRA Donation cost includes:
• Project materials and management • Qualified Local Supervisor • Airport pickup and drop-off • 24/7 ADRA support (ADRA Host) • In-country transport/hire and local driver • Translator (where required) • Accommodation & Food while working on project. • Logistics/Planning/Organising • RMS Travel insurance • International SOS cover • Developmental education resources • T-shirts • ADRA Donation
note prices listed within are estimates *Pleaseonly and may be subjected to change. Prices listed are based on a minimum of 10 participants. Prices are subject to increase for fewer than 10 participants. All Trips are either 10-day or 15-day trips. Teams need to arrange to arrive in country on a Sunday for the start of Connections Trips.
NB: The ADRA Donation is fully Tax-deductible and is required to be paid in full 2 months before trip departure. Participants can fundraise the ADRA Donation cost.
Sightseeing Costs: Sightseeing Cost includes: • Sightseeing activities/tours listed in itinerary • Accomodation, Food & Transport during sightseeing NB: The Sightseeing Costs are NOT Tax-deductible and is required to be paid in full 1 month before trip departure.
What is not included in the cost? There are certain things that are not included in ADRA’s costs that you will have to organise yourself.
Personal Costs
• Flights • Passports • Visa (if needed) • Vaccinations and Medications • First Aid Kit • Spending money • Additional Sightseeing before or after a Connections Trip
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ADRA Connections Trip Menu 2015
What we do: • Match you with a current, fitting, ADRA project which you and your group can add great value to. • Confirm that your dates work with the project. Wet season can change what you will do. • Liaise and coordinates with the in-country ADRA office to fully plan your trip. • Organise your project and social activities. • Organise transport throughout the Connections Trip. • Establishe the trip itinerary and budget. • Provide all participants with an orientation prior to travel, an induction
Volunteers expereince a warm Nepalese welcome on their visit to a village in the mountains.
upon arrival in country and project briefings and debriefings throughout the trip. • Provide a full-time ADRA Host as guide. • Provide tools and resources to support you in your fundraising. • Provide you with access to travel insurance and group airfares. • Provide an ADRA Connections t-shirt for all participants. Having fun with the children from a remote village in Fiji.
What you need to do: • Choose your project with ADRA Australia. • Individual participants register and pay a non-refundable $200 deposit to lock-in your trip. (Contributed to your ADRA Donation cost) • Confirm dates of travel with ADRA. • Book flights and organise visas. • Fundraise ADRA Donation (Payable 2 months before departure.)
Cuddles with an albino child from Tanzania.
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ADRA Connections Trip Menu 2015
Cambodia Village Empowerment
Available all year round except during March
Activity: Your group can empower a village by helping build latrines, wells or water storage tanks, or by conducting hygiene and nutrition education. Cambodian people are so friendly and welcoming; your group will develop relationships within the community meaning you’ll be back again and again. 10-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,000* per participant Sightseeing costs: $400* per participant
15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $500* per participant
Cambodia Tell Their Story
Available all year round except during March Activity: Do you have a passion for photography, writing or videography? Your group will visit several villages and conduct interviews with project beneficiaries through a translator, putting together powerful and inspiring stories. Capturing their experiences will help ADRA share its good news with donors and churches throughout Australia and beyond. 10-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,000* per participant Sightseeing costs: $400* per participant
15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $500* per participant
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Cambodia Adventures at the Hoas
Available all year round except during March
Activity: Your group can learn and then help assist ADRA Cambodia with the facilitation of teaching young Cambodian youth the obstacle and ropes course, with the aim of building motivation, selfconfidence and encouragement to make positive life-changing decisions. 10-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,000* per participant Sightseeing costs: $400* per participant
15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $500* per participant
Cambodia Renovate a School
Available all year round except during March Activity: Enable positive change in a local community by helping build or repair a local school library, teaching about hygiene and sanitation, and running a Kids Club with games and activities to build confidence in the kids. 10-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,000* per participant Sightseeing costs: $400* per participant
15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $500* per participant
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Cambodia Be a Farmer for a Week
Available all year round except during March Activity: Your group will assist local families in a range of activities, such as installing an irrigation system, establishing garden beds, planting fruit trees, or planting/harvesting rice. If you have agriculture experience, you can work with local farmers and ADRA to assist in implementing new techniques of agriculture. 10-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,000* per participant Sightseeing costs: $400* per participant
15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $500* per participant
Cambodia Children’s Playground
Available all year round except during March
Activity: Your group will help improve sanitation conditions for young children by helping construct shelters, a playground, a hand-washing station and a latrine if needed, all while playing games and teaching about sanitation and hygiene. 10-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,000* per participant Sightseeing costs: $400* per participant
15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $500* per participant
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Vietnam Home Improvement Available all year round
Activity: Inspired by TV show ‘The Block’, your group will help renovate and improve the homes of visually impaired locals to help improve their dayto-day lives. Projects include repairing roofs and building latrines. You will also participate in activities with the Hanoi Blind Association ADRA partners with, exchanging knowledge of massage therapy, studying the Braille alphabet, and playing games with children. 10-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,000* per participant Sightseeing costs: $400* per participant
Vietnam
Partners against Poverty
Available September - January
Activity: Partner with an ethnic minority community and help them realise their dream of a future free of poverty. Your team’s support will allow a disadvantaged community to kick-start their own development projects – in fact your fundraising will match dollar for dollar with the community’s own contribution. Based on their needs you can help between 3-5 communities with the funds and manpower they need to build a water tank, toilets, establishing a business, repairing homes or constructing a bridge to ensure children can attend school. 15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $500* per participant
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Vietnam Building Fun
Available all year round Activity: With extremely limited funding, rural schools in Cao Bang, Vietnam are under resourced and do little to encourage students to attend or remain motivated to learn. You can help by building a playground that will increase student’s physical exercise but also increase their engagement with a future-changing education. You will also help plant trees at the school and help in running activities with the students, including a puppet show or drama and an evening cinema on the school grounds. 15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $500* per participant
East Timor Healthy Homes Available all year round
Activity: Your group will help develop a better life for the elderly and physically challenged by building sanitation facilities, as well as provide sanitation education for school children in order to improve their health, hygiene and living circumstances. 15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $500* per participant
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Nepal
Women’s Empowerment April-May and October-December 2014
Activity: Your team will contribute towards empowering women’s rights and improving sustainable economic development by helping construct a community building. Its construction has been due to a lack of funds, and requires a team of builders to complete the ground floor, refurbish a training hall and construct the first floor. 10-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,000* per participant Sightseeing costs: $400* per participant
15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $700* per participant
Nepal
School Improvement
April-May and October-December 2014 Activity: Your group will help improve education and empower student learning by assisting in the construction and maintenance of various facilities, such as a library, a playground, an improved drinking water system, toilets and a school stage. 10-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,000* per participant Sightseeing costs: $400* per participant
15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $700* per participant
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Vanuatu School Blitz
Avaliable March - December
Activity: Your team will open new doorways to education and learning by helping with the construction of school classrooms, playgrounds, and drinking water systems. You can also operate a Healthy Kids Club and play games with the local children! 10-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,000* per participant Sightseeing costs: $400* per participant
15-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $2,500* per participant Sightseeing costs: $500* per participant
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Australia Coober Pedy Community Care Available all year round
Activity: Your group will have the unique opportunity to be involved in a range of underground community care activities, such as: giving the local op shop and area school a facelift – cleaning, painting, gardening, operating a healthy breakfast club, hosting activities for older residents, operating a kids club and engaging with local teens at the Youth Shed. 10-Day Trip ADRA Donation: $600* per participant Sightseeing costs: $100* per participant
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How To Fundraise You can fundraise for your trips project costs on your very own ADRA Connections website. We have made it easy for you to fund raise by partnering with Everyday Hero to provide an online fundraising page for each ADRA Connections group. In just minutes you can build your own page and approach your supporters for a donation by emailing or sharing on Facebook the unique link of your webpage. Each donation is recorded on your page along with any messages of support from your donors. Your donor will automatically receive their tax-deductible receipt when they donate. You can also write blogs and updates for your supporters to read, as well as upload videos and pictures. To create your ADRA Connections Everyday Hero website go to: everydayhero.com/event/adraconnections then click ‘Start Fundraising’ and follow the instructions.
Click here This is an example of what your Everyday Hero, ADRA Connections webpage will look like.
Tax-Deductibility When you are fundraising for your project costs you can offer tax-deductibility for any donation more than $2. Please note a taxdeductible receipt can only be offered for donations, not purchased goods or services.
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Services SPD Travel ADRA’s Preferred Travel Partner
SPD Travel will look after all your travel arrangements including your visas and flights. They will help you find the best flights for you and your team and manage the booking for you. SPD Travel can also create a payment plan for you, making it more affordable and convenient for your group. For more information or to make a booking please contact: Jacqui Haynes at SPD Travel: Email: spdtravel@adventist.org.au Phone: 02 9847 3202 Or visit www.spdtravel.com.au
Insurance Travel insurance will be organised through ADRA Australia with Risk Management Service (RMS). RMS is the SDA churches insurance company and they provide quality short term travel insurance. You can find out more about insurance cover at www.rms.org.au
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How Do I Sign Up? 1. Go to adra.org.au – click on the purple ACT tab and use the left-side-bar to click on ADRA Connections. 2. Once you have opened the ADRA Connections tab, click on ‘Where Can I go?’ or ‘Trip Booklet’. Here you will find all the trips that are available. Click on each trip for more information. 3. After reviewing the trip options and deciding which trip you are most interested in, fill in the online interest form with the relevant details and the ADRA Connections Coordinator will contact you shortly with an ‘Application Form’ and confirmation of project availability. 4. Fill out the ‘Application Form’ and send a $200 deposit per person (which will contribute towards your project costs) in order to confirm the trip. Please return your ‘Group Application Form’ and deposit to ADRA Australia by mail or email. Deposits can be made by credit card online, phone, direct deposit, or by cheque. ATTN: ADRA Connections ADRA Australia Ltd (PO Box 129) 146 Fox Valley Road Wahroonga, NSW 2076 Email: Natalie Nawaikalou – nnawaikalou@adra.org.au Phone: 02 9473 9553
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Testimonies We think our ADRA Connections trips are pretty special, but don’t just take our word for it. See how people have been impacted from previous trips. Mark Baines - Vietnam Trip, April 2012 “Though we got the chance to go and visit beautiful Halong Bay on the weekend, everyone on the team agreed that their highlight was working and interacting with the families and co-workers on the project. Some claimed it was a far better trip than any holiday they’d been on. Our final visit to the Provincial Blind Association confirmed that the projects would not have gone ahead had we not come in person. We learnt that whilst the funding we provided was needed, more important was the motivation we gave, which built a stronger sense of community. We realised we were not just ambassadors for ADRA but for Australia. This made a great trip a worthwhile, impacting trip - and donating dollars from the couch at home can’t compare with that.” Aaron Bellette - Malawi Trip, November 2011 “I had been helping run a few fundraising events for an ADRA project throughout 2011; it was great to walk into a community and see the difference that a bore hole could make. Their joy and happiness over the things I take for granted. The warmth of the community, the joy that you could see within their souls, overwhelmed me.” Aaron Bellette - Malawi Trip, November 2011 Ketannah Hope - Nepal Trip, April 2011 “I knew ADRA was good, but seeing their work and meeting the people it impacts, made me KNOW their work was good. We went to LeGGo projects which help communities recognise their needs and equips them to address them. It was a sustainable project that empowered and changed the community. I was really honoured to witness it.” Sam Judd - Nepal Trip, April 2011 “Travelling to Nepal with ADRA was an awesome experience! It took me way out of my comfort zone at times, and taught me just how big and diverse this world is. This trip to Nepal has further developed my compassion for people from all walks of life and has taught me the great need to meet people where they are at instead of thinking I know what they need or are missing. I look forward to more adventures like this in the near future!”
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CONNECTIONS AUSTRALIA
ADRA Connections ADRA Australia Ltd 146 Fox Valley Road (PO Box 129) Wahroonga NSW 2076 Australia www.adra.org.au/connections 1800 24 ADRA