Guidelines - Responsible Exchange and Volunteering 2018

Accommodation

Irrespective of the effort into preparation and the management of expectations, accommodation is frequently at the center of p articipant’s complaints or unease on projects. Below outlines the types of project accommodations and provides some insights into the issues that tend to arise around the particular type of accommodation an organisation ultimately uses.

Typical Accommodations include: - Shared house - Home hosting -

On-project living (school, vulnerable children’s homes etc.)

Ensure that the type used has been clearly communicated prior to arrival and where possible, placements have seen photos prior to arrival. Where organisations use seminars as part of the preparation, it is advised that “accommodation” is specifically addressed at the seminar. In the absence of seminars, this information must be communicated in the Pre-Arrival Information documents. Irrespective of the type of accommodation used, it is recommended that the point of contact for the participants stay meets them on arrival and oversees the orientation to their living environment. 1. Shared house – the host organisation, or several organisations, will have a dedicated house for participants. Happy communal living requires effort, systems and organisation . Don’t be shy t o use signage around the house to remind participants of this. The key areas to cover related to the shared house are: I. Housekeeping – how the house functions (cleaning up after ones’ self, washing of dishes, washing of clothes, spring clean day and what to do etc). II. Basic rules and expectations for living communally, including who is allowed at the house or not, accepted behaviors (parties, alcohol, drugs, relationships), protocol should you decide to be away for an evening (who to let know, security). III. Meals – the who, what & how as it relates to meals (including what is available between meals or not etc) IV. Appropriate signage around the house (fire, emergency, water awareness, electricity awareness, noise etc) V. Getting around – organized transport / public transport VI. Safety / responsible travel briefing

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