The U.S. Department of State and the Government of Canada provide updated safety and security information for travelers. This includes travel alerts and warnings, visa requirements, health and immunization recommendations, and other country-specific information. We have included direct links to these sites below:
Other Helpful Information:
Security of our Volunteers
We care deeply about the security of our long-term and short-term volunteers. For this reason, our office will not approve trips to countries listed as "Level 4: Do Not Travel." In addition, we strongly recommend the following to volunteers and trip leaders:
- Check for Travel Alerts and Warnings before planning a trip, and several times before leaving for the trip.
- As trip leaders, especially consider your risks and carefully evaluate your decision to go to countries listed as Level 2 or 3, and make sure all participants and families are aware of the dangers.
- Follow all recommendations and precautions in Travel Advisory, such as avoiding specific areas.
Social Media Precautions
- For Short-Term trips, it is recommended to wait until you return home to post on social media. In sensitive countries, be careful even when emailing, due to online security risks.
- For Long-Term volunteers, do not post on social media from mobile devices—only from computers. Be aware of online security risks, and take precautions even when using computers.
- Especially in sensitive countries, be very careful about what you are posting on social media. It is probably wiser to completely give up social media in some countries, and only communicate through email.
- Be aware that any time you are giving out your location online, you are taking a risk. Be aware of vulnerabilities as a Westerner no matter where you are.
