A guide to your journey.. Thailand Community WELCOME PACK
Welcome to Challenges Abroad Welcome to Challenges Abroad and your Summer Challenge of 2021. I am delighted to present your Welcome Pack for your trip next summer. Working with local and rural communities, Challenges Abroad relies on our volunteers like you to help sustain the ongoing work at the projects. The sustainability of local communities is a top priority for us and for our volunteers and we are proud of the fact that we are committed to meeting the UN goals for sustainable development, helping disadvantaged people around the world have a brighter future. This experience overseas would give you the opportunity to become a global citizen with the first hand understanding of the challenges of global development and how you can contribute towards solutions. This pack has information on your in-country programme as well as other integral components of your challenge in summer 2021. Please read through the pack carefully as it contains important information about flights, visas, travel insurance, DBS/PVG checks and your programme! Thank you for joining the challenge and I wish you all the very best with your fundraising! Best Wishes,
Prakriti Prakriti Malhotra Director Challenges Abroad
Supporting the . . .
thailand
Programme Overview Become a Global Citizen in Thailand as you are immersed in the local culture of the land of smiles. You will spend two weeks volunteering in Mae Sariang, which is located in the beautiful Northern Thailand, just a few hours from the bustling backpackers city Chiang Mai. Formal education in several of the areas where we work with are lacking, and informal education is shaped by cultural and often old-fashioned stereotypical views. The Thai formal education system, while structured and more universal, utilizes Rote learning techniques, which can suppress independent thinking and creativity. It is therefore important to offer diverse, creative and inspiring educational support to students, to empower and inspire them to learn and gain important skills to further increase their educational and professional opportunities and become active members of their communities, and leaders of the future.
Thailand Key Focus Thailand, the country of pristine beaches, lush forests and smiles, is host to thousands of tourists each year and is, in many ways a very developed country, faring well internationally when compared to its peers. Despite the seemingly high statistics of the country, Thailand struggles to close the gap between rural and urban areas when it comes to achieving the global goals set out by the UN SDGs. Ethnic minority communities in particular are often comparatively more disadvantaged due to their ethnic status, language barriers and legal status in the country. Our efforts are mainly focused on supporting disadvantaged Karen and Lawa communities in Mae Sariang District and Hilltribes in the Mae Hong Son Province.
programme overview
Week 1: On our Community Challenge you will be working with our partner schools, which include local government schools and Buddhist monasteries. Your focus will be on delivering workshops that allow children to learn in a hands-on manner and inspire them to enjoy going to school and learning. You will be based in Mae Sariang for the majority of your project, though you may also spend some time working with our partner schools in the nearby hill tribe villages that experience significant disadvantage. Visiting the hill tribes is an amazing opportunity to experience traditional village life. You'll typically deliver 2-3 workshop sessions per day, with time in the afternoons and evenings for you to plan your workshops, work on any renovation projects and to explore life in Thailand!
Week 2: Your second week of volunteering will follow the same structure as the first. You will really begin to see the development in the year groups you are working with and we encourage you to continue any sports as well as arts and crafts activities!
Extension Trip: After your programme finishes, you will either depart to the UK or you can take part in our Koh Samui extension trip. You will receive an email with the full itinerary so you can decide if this is something you would love to do!
IN Country Information Accommodation While in Mae Sariang you will either stay at our volunteer house or at a nearby guesthouse. The volunteer house is a two storey traditional Thai style house. There is a lot of greenery around and nice places to relax. Rooms and bathrooms are shared. Sheets, pillows, and pillowcases are all provided for you. Please bring your own towel.
Food Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided on project days. Breakfast is simple and consists of toast, jam and honey, fruit, coffee/tea and even eggs a few mornings a week. Lunch will be had onsite or back at the volunteer house depending on your project location. Dinner is family style, cooked at our volunteer house. Our house cook will prepare delicious Thai foods, never too spicy and will even occasionally sneak in some western dishes. All meals will be vegetarian.
Keep an eye out for emails from Support@challengesabroad.co.uk with more information and detials on your destination throughout the year!
Contacts and Thailand Visa Support
Throughout every stage of your Challenges Abroad journey there are members of staff available to support you. Different people will be able to answer the different questions that you may have. Your Challenge Leader and SEM can act as your first point of call for most issues, but there is also in-office support who are there to deal with more specific queries.
First point of contact Contact your SEM first for queries about your programme, vaccinations, fundraising advice and any other little queries you may have: Lizzie George: Lizzie@challengesabroad.co.uk Your SEM then may direct you to the In-office support team who can deal with more specific, bigger queries: Support@challengesabroad.co.uk - 01635 285666 for queries about flights, visas, and medical/allergy/dietary requirements, extension trips, DBS/PVG, general programme information and any changes to your personal information. Support@futuresensefoundation.org - 01635 285669 for queries about your fundraising, if you’re struggling with fundraising events, donations, VMG pages and extra merchandise. Out of hours emergency: +44 (0) 7741311855
What to do next DBS/PVG It is important for us that all our volunteers should require an advanced DBS (The Disclosure and Barring Service Check) or as you will be working with children. If you already possess a valid DBS certificate, then we request that a scanned copy or photograph is sent to us via Support@challengesabroad.co.uk. However, if you currently do not obtain a valid DBS check then please follow the link to apply for your DBS check: www.carecheck.co.uk. Your Organisation reference is - THEFUTURESENSEFOUNDATION Organisation code – Leave blank Purpose of check – Volunteer Position applied for – Challenges Abroad Volunteer As Volunteers, we have an arrangement with care-check that you only pay the administration fee of £8.40. ID will be checked by a member of Challenges Abroad either face to face or via Skype. Scottish Volunteers will be done through the PVG Scheme.
Flights Regarding your trip dates, arrival / departure times etc. then please contact support@challengesabroad.co.uk or call the office on 01635 285666. If you have booked onto one of our extension trips, due to minimum numbers please wait for a confirmation from us that your extension is going ahead before booking your flights. Expect this to be confirmed in January 2021 latest. For your trip to you must make sure that you arrive into Chiang Mai Airport on the Saturday by 2 pm. When departing your programme, please ensure your flight is after 12 pm. If you are on the extension trip, your international return flight to the UK should be from Bangkok and depart after 9pm (you will receive more details regarding this).
What to do next Insurance We require for every participant to have travel insurance and as each participant has different circumstances we let individuals sort their own. Please do ensure that you are with a reputable provider. If you need any further help on this then you can always contact us at support@challengesabroad.co.uk. Once you have received your insurance policy then we request that the following details are sent to us; What Insurance company, your policy number, and the emergency medical assistance number.
Vaccinations We recommend that you visit your GP and tell them the country you are travelling to and the areas you will be situated in so that they can give you suitable medical advice. Please refer to the following link: https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/home  For more information on vaccinations for travel visit: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/travel-vaccinations/
Fit to Travel For anyone that has a severe allergy, or medical condition then we must require a fit to travel form from your GP. Most surgeries have their own format for paperwork, but in case they ask you to supply your own, let us know and we can provide you with this. You should receive it in an email from the Support team anyway.
ThailandVISA Visa THAILAND
British, American, Canadian, and Australian citizens do not require a visa. Instead, you will obtain a tourist visa (which is free) upon arrival. This lasts 30 days, and states that you are there for tourism purposes - as a category of cultural exchange your trip falls under this category. Most EU nationals also do not require a visa, however if you are unsure it is always best to check. For this we recommend looking online at: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/entry-requirements http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15398-Issuance-of-Visa.html
Chinese nationals can only visit Thailand for a period of 15 days or less. If you are a Chinese citizen, you will have to apply for a visa before travelling. If this applies to you and you would like help with your application, please email support@challengesabroad.co.uk If you would like more information, please visit: http://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/thailand-visa-types.php
Where does my Thailand Visa money go? Clarity is extremely important when you are fundraising, both for you the participant and those that donate money. As such, the information below details how your fundraising total is used by Challenges Abroad and The FutureSense Foundation. Each participant is required to raise £1,850 towards their trip. This amount is split between the costs of your actual trip and fundraising to support the charity as follows:
Programme Costs - £850 We believe that our programme costs are extremely competitive compared with any other similar programme. Within these costs we cover the expenses for your: Pick ups and drops at every point Accommodation in country Daily transfers to and from project All other transfers in country Meals during project time 24/7 support from in country and UK Teams Planning and delivery of your entire programme
Fundraising - £1,000 The fundraising contribution goes towards supporting the work of The FutureSense Foundation and the programmes that we run for disadvantaged communities worldwide. The charity prides itself on keeping its overheads low, with the aim of ensuring that 90% of income being spent on overseas programmes rather than on administrative costs.
The FutureSense Foundation The FutureSense Foundation work to support over 8000 beneficiaries across Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, Tanzania and Peru. Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, our programmes focus on improving education, livelihoods, and health in some of the most disadvantaged communities overseas. To give you an example, 617 million children in education are not learning. We inspire children in our partner schools to aspire and achieve, so they are able to progress with their education and improve their livelihoods. As a grass roots organisation, we are committed to keeping our cost per beneficiary low, ensuring that every penny makes a difference and ensuring your fundraising money will go further in supporting our ongoing projects. We are 100% dedicated to sustainable and ethical volunteering which is why our volunteers are at the heart of what we do. This is where you come in. Our volunteers play a fundamental role in supporting our in-country teams delivering our long-term programmes in our partner schools and communities. To find out more, please visit www.futuresensefoundation.org.
How your money can help
£10 per month
£50 per month
provides a child in Cambodia with supplementary Education, books and a medical check-up.
enables us to provide children at school with clean drinking water.
£250 donation
£1000 donation
enables us to build a hand washing station at a school in a rural community.
provides running water for children at a school by installing a rain water harvesting system.
Thailand Visa WHAT TO eXPECT To fully prepare for your programme, you can expect to hear from us at various points throughout the year, providing you with further information about your programme, as well as requesting further documentation from you. Below we have outlined what you can further expect over the course of the year. Key:
Challenges Abroad Contact
What you can expect from us Receive welcome pack and invitation to join Facebook group from Challenges Abroad
FutureSense Foundation Contact
What we expect from you Join facebook group Create and Personalise VMG Page
Receive welcome email from the FutureSense Foundation Receive T-shirt within 14 days of registering Fortnightly email with hub updates and fundraising Ideas Receive monthly emails from CA Support Pre-departure briefing 8 weeks prior to departure
Attend team meetings and socials Hit monthly fundraising deadlines Complete DBS check 5 months prior to departure Send Flight and Insurance Information 5 months prior to departure Motivated Volunteer!
An Incredible experience! To stay connected with your team, your Challenge Leader will organise various socials and events throughout the year so please do try to go along to meet your team! The Futuresense Foundation will also be in touch regularly to chat to you about your fundraising. We will also hold fundraising workshops and team meetings. Please keep in touch and reply to any emails within the time frame requested to ensure a smooth journey with Challenges Abroad! We look forward to having you on our programme!!