You will touch the lives of children, young adults, their foster families, and their local community in a positive and transformative way. It is an opportunity to share your professional and life skills, offering services that would otherwise not be received.

African students will share personal stories of how they overcame tremendous difficulties to survive, and how Real Humanitarian (RH) has given them hope for a better future. You will learn about their culture and way of life. Volunteering is a unique experience for both our children and our volunteers. It is a wonderful exchange; truly an “experience of a life time”.

Activities planned for volunteers fill the gaps in skills and educational needs identified by our project partners in Africa. Each expedition is unique, based on those who make up the group. A volunteer who comes, again and again, will have a new experience with each expedition.

Activities may include visiting homes of students, repairing student homes, construction, medical, nursing, dental, social work, teaching in schools, educational training sessions, gardening, conversational English, small business training, sports, art, music and teaching basic life and public health skills. Everyone has something they can contribute as a volunteer.

A typical day is eight to ten hours, Monday to Saturday with Sunday as a day off. While some cultural and touring opportunities may be part of your group’s activities, it is not the focus of the expedition. Volunteers serve in impoverished urban and rural areas of Africa, requiring travel in vehicles, and sometimes walking.

*a physician’s note is appropriate if there are health or physical limitations.

Volunteers stay in guest houses, or small hotels, similar to Bed and Breakfast hospitality in North America. These accommodations provide a clean and safe environment for volunteers to experience the local culture. Consideration of each person’s safety is always a top concern whenever housing is booked for an expedition group.

• PASSPORT: A government-issued passport that is valid for at least six months from the date of return home from Africa.
  
  
• IMMUNIZATION AND HEALTH: Volunteers are responsible for their health, before, during, and after the expedition. Please consult your family doctor and local international travel health clinic to ensure protection from
  diseases that may be prevalent in the countries to which you will travel.
  Begin this process well before travel, as some immunization regimens take several months to complete. We strongly encourage the Yellow Fever Immunizations. You might consider obtaining a TB status result with the help of a Mantoux skin test, as a standard to measure against in the future. Bringing medications for more than the scheduled travel days is advised.
  
  
• INSURANCE: Basic flight cancellation insurance is included to partially recover flight costs should an unexpected cancellation or postponement occur. However, we advise all volunteers to obtain personal insurance for trip interruption, travel, health, accidents, baggage loss, delays, theft, or other travel hazards.

  The Charity cannot be held accountable for unexpected world, climatic, war, or cataclysmic events that may cause postponement or cancellation of an expedition group.
  
  

• VISAS: Instructions for obtaining visas are in the travel briefing booklet. Volunteers are responsible for ensuring that all instructions, payments, and photos are followed to acquire a visa.

Registered volunteers will receive:

• a comprehensive travel information booklet
• t-shirt
• travel journal
• requested fundraising materials
• volunteer contract
• detailed information about their group.

• Complete the registration form
• Criminal Clearance Certificate: we can provide a letter confirming application as a volunteer to waive or reduce the check fees.
• Provide 3 references and 1 reference letter
• A personal letter describing why you wish to volunteer
• A copy of your Passport ID pages
• $200 confirmation donation ( will be subtracted from your total donation amount)

We understand that things can change. Volunteers may transfer their registration to someone else, or postpone and defer their donations to join a later group. This transfer of registration or deferral of donations, minus ticket transfer and administrative fees, can be done for up to one year from the date of registration.

Charitable donations are not refundable. If a volunteer fully cancels from an expedition, the volunteer and Director may discuss how funds might be allocated. However, the final decision for fund administration is at the discretion of the Charity Director.

Each volunteer is asked to raise a minimum donation for their travel group. Volunteers can raise funds through friends, family, community clubs, fundraising, pledges, and their church community. Funds raised by volunteers are tax-deductible. Donations of $20 or more receive a tax receipt. Registered volunteers may apply to Canadian Humanitarian for letters, posters, advertising, and promotional materials for travel fundraisers.

• All donations received for an expedition group are used to cover individual and travel group expenses.
  
  Tax-deductible expenses for each volunteer include:
• return airfare from North America to Africa
• foreign housing and accommodation expenses
• foreign transportation expenses
• special activity and group project costs
• team leader expense contribution
• administrative supplies and related expenses

Minimum Donation to travel is $4500 Canadian Dollars.  The exact amount needed will be communicated to each group as they prepare to register.

*An additional donation of $2500 Canadian Dollars is required to travel to more than one country.
*Additional travel before and after the expedition dates and personal expenses are the responsibility of each volunteer and are not tax-deductible. Each volunteer is responsible for expenses that occur outside the expedition’s mandate. Real Humanitarian is required to abide by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) guidelines to maintain its charity status and allow these expeditions to remain tax-deductible.

If a volunteer raises more than their minimum amount, the additional funds may be used to fill a one-time need identified by our project managers. Such donations could allow the group to purchase blankets, cooking supplies and school items.