Before they fly off into the sunset
We’ve spent lots of time alleviating the concerns of worried parents and consider
it an important part of what we do. It’s natural for you to be concerned but we’re
happy for you to be involved in the planning process and you can even come and visit
us if it helps. We’re always grateful for another opportunity to stick the kettle
on!
Some of the most common concerns that we hear from parents are...
Who are you?
WAVA’s mantra is See More. Do More. Our job is to offer people amazing experiences
which let them see and do exactly that.
WAVA was born from the simple idea that travel can be more than just a six-night,
seven-day waltz through tourist hotspots. We knew that travel could be a transformative
experience for the traveler and the host country they visit. The desire to set up
a company came from the conviction that we weren’t the only ones who thought so,
which is where your son or daughter comes in.
Today, we send thousands of people abroad every year to take part in volunteering,
work experience and conservation projects which they will never forget.
Where does our money go?
WAVA is not a charity, but we are a social enterprise which provides vital funding
to amazing conservation and social development projects in developing countries.
Because the projects we send people to are run by local partner organisations, not
WAVA directly, we send roughly 70% of the cost of each project to help with the
running costs involved. The remaining 30% of the fee travellers pay to do programmes
goes toward WAVA’s overheads like the cost of having a member of staff to act as
a 24/7 emergency point of contact for travellers.
Also included in the fee you pay is food and accommodation for the duration of your
son or daughters project. The only extra cost you will need to consider on top of
the programme fee is flights and any spending money your child might want to take
with them.
Why are we paying?
Put simply, you are paying for a reputable company to plan a safe, ethical travel
experience for your son or daughter. WAVA are a member of the Year Out Group gap
year travel organisation, which enforces strict safety and responsibility practices
on all of its members.
In a service industry like travel, it’s no surprise that companies live or die on
the strength of the service they offer; so with this in mind, WAVA strive to make
all of the difficult parts of travel easier.
We give travellers advice on how to secure a visa for your destination; provide
a travel briefing on what to expect when they get there, arrange airport pickup,
food and accommodation for travellers as well as the hundred other niggling details
that need consideration to have a smooth travelling experience. Simply book your
flights and let us talk you through the rest.
How can we know if the project is safe?
Apart from the fact that WAVA’s Year Out Group membership binds us to only deal
with projects which match their ethical considerations, we pro-actively visit and
conduct a regular Health and safety audit for all the projects we send travellers
to.
Even with the best of planning however, situations outside of our control can change.
This is why we carefully monitor Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice
for all our destinations to keep abreast of any natural or social problems which
may affect travellers. Should a crisis occur, we act as a 24/7 point of contact
for travellers and we have an agreement with crisis management company Tranquillico
whereby they will advise us of the appropriate action to take in the event of an
emergency.
But what about university? Shouldn’t they be gaining a degree and preparing for
work rather than wasting money travelling?
It can be difficult to understand why your son or daughter might want to spend thousands
of pounds travelling to some of the most challenging destinations in the world rather
than getting a qualification under their belt. However, gone are the days when gap
years were a waste of time and money. Today, more and more work and volunteer abroad
experiences involve valuable internships and volunteering opportunities that look
great on a CV. An increasing number of universities and employers now recognise
that candidates that have travelled and worked abroad are far more responsible than
those who have gone straight into higher education or employment from school.
Plus, a gap year doesn’t have to be an entire year and it doesn’t have to involve
tickling lion cubs (although we do think that’s fun). It can be a six-month marketing
internship in Barcelona or six weeks building an orphanage in Ghana. Experiences
like these are invaluable; they show determination, dedication and huge strength
of character.
Will they be safe?
Naturally, one of your biggest concerns will be the safety of your son or daughter
and there’s a lot that we do to ensure they’re as safe as possible at all times,
but we’ll tell you more about that later. Outside of what we’re able to control,
we know that you’ll worry about them running out of money, getting lost in dangerous
places and doing stupid things that they wouldn’t normally do. What you need to
remember is that these are things that could just as easily happen if they went
off to university; they’ll encounter all these dangers and temptations with or without
a gap year or volunteering experience.
The simple fact of them making an informed decision to plan their trip with an organisation
like ours means they’re pretty sensible already. They’ve used their judgement to
plan a safe experience and all you can do is trust that they’ll continue to use
similar judgements to stay sensible and safe abroad.
And in an emergency we’re here 24/7 365 days a year.
We always match responsibly
It is really important to us that we are able to provide our participants with safe,
stimulating and insightful projects overseas. However, it is also important for
us to know that what we do does not negatively impact anyone or anything either
at home or abroad.
Therefore, we make sure our programmes fit the volunteer, and vice versa.
We use a tool called the "Foot Rating" to determine the degree to which the participant
and the experience are comfortably matched. If your child’s request does not match,
we will find something for them that does. This is outlined in our
Responsible Travel Policy.
We guide and advise all of our participants when they are trying to decide which
of our projects best suits them. For certain programmes their skills will also be
assessed to ensure that they are able to make the most out of their time at the
project, and employ their abilities and life experiences to the fullest.
Always honest & up-to-date
We always provide our participants with the most up-to-date information about the
programme they will be visiting. We strive to maintain and strengthen the communication
channels between ourselves and our overseas partners to ensure that we are able
to provide you and your son or daughter with accurate and honest facts about the
project’s living conditions, duties, responsibilities and any local/environmental
concerns that may affect their stay.
Always ensuring the safety & wellbeing of our participants
The happiness of you and your son or daughter is our top priority, so we make every
effort to ensure that our projects provide them with adequate living and working
conditions. However, there is always a very small chance that they might be placed
in an environment that does not perfectly align with their expectations.
If this should occur, they should let us know and we’ll do everything we can to
rectify the situation – it is important to us to know that the conditions offered
to our participants fall within acceptable limits and live up to any assured standards.
Pre and final departure information
We will provide your son or daughter with a Pre-departure Pack before they depart.
This pack will provide them with all of the information and advice that we feel
is necessary for their travels, including our
Travellers’ Principles.
We also encourage all participants to attend a Pre-departure Briefing if possible
– we use these briefings as an opportunity to promote the importance of responsible
travel and safety to our participants. We educate them on how they should behave
when travelling, and how their involvement with local services can contribute to
their sustainability.
Plus, your son or daughter will not only briefed by us. All of our programmes include
an in-country induction that allows our travellers to learn about and understand
local cultures, traditions and sensitivities. Our project co-ordinators also promote
opportunities for participants to interact with local communities at a grass roots
level so that they can have a better understanding of local lifestyles.
As well as the emergency resolution procedure we have with Tranquillico, part of
the Pre-Departure Briefing we offer to every traveller outlines the measures they
can take to keep themselves safe in an emergency.
WAVA is very proud of our social network for travellers past, present and future,
WAVAengage. WAVAengage is an online resource
for travellers to meet and discuss the good, the bad and the ugly about their experiences.
Lots of the travellers we have sent abroad feel that WAVAengage is a great way to
prepare for a country beyond the safety and logistical information we provide.
Travellers can chat to individuals about the destination and project they plan to
visit or even join a group themed around their project to get to know the people
they will be volunteering alongside before they get there.
We’re here to offer counselling and advice
We are always available to offer your son or daughter help and advice you before
they depart for their internship or volunteering experience and we also provide
them with our emergency phone number so that you can contact us at any time (24
hours a day) whilst they are at the project.
And we extend that offer to you too. If you’d like to talk to us about the trip
and any concerns you may have, we’d really like the opportunity to have a chat.
It’s natural for you to be concerned and we want to do everything we can to ease
your worries.
Plus, you’ll have our emergency number as well, so if there is an emergency at home,
we’ll help you to get in contact with your son and daughter if for any reason you
can’t.
Visa, flights and insurance advice
Because companies are legally responsible when offering visa advice to travellers,
WAVA have an agreement with a third party specialist visa application company called
CIBT. We can listen to general queries about visas
but to make sure our customers are getting 100% correct information, we always refer
people on to CIBT.
WAVA have contacts with many major flight companies and travel agents so we can
advise travellers on an individual basis on which company might be able to offer
them a competitive price on a flight to their destination.
Endsleigh are WAVA’s recommended insurance broker for our travellers due to their
specialist status in the volunteer and work experience field. In our experience
Endsleigh will offer competitive rates to destinations that other insurance companies
refuse to even quote for.