MODULE 2 - Section 2
Logistics & Travel
5-8 Minutes to complete section and related assignments
In this section, you will learn:
Required Documentation
Administrative Considerations
Required Documentation & team Administrative Process
The Home Office requires a series of documents to be signed and/or acknowledged by each team member prior to departure in order to ensure the safety for all involved. In addition, skills and experience are gathered about each team member so the Host-Coordinator can know how to best utilize the team.
Some of the required documents include: organizational waiver, background check (18+) or criminal history verification (minor), and personal information (name, date, abilities, medical issues, etc.). The Short-Term Teams Department will collect this information.
The primary mode of collecting documentation from the goer-group is through our Profile site - a web portal used by the home office that connects on the back end to Ohana.
Each team going through the STTs Department receives a unique team-specific code that allows them to login to their team process. The Profile site gathers their basic information, including skills and abilities. Team members are guided through the background check process, share health, allergies and emergency contact information and submit required documentation. They also gain access to team and security training resources, as applicable. The Short-Term Teams Coordinator works to track team member progress and updates the Team Leader and Host-Community as necessary.
Insurance
Every team through the organization is required to have supplemental travel medical insurance. This insurance is supplemental, which means it compliments primary medical insurance team members already have. It is also related to travel, meaning the coverage covers costs commonly associated with travel, such illness/injuries or emergencies. It does not cover costs associated with changed travel plans. That type of coverage is often called trip cancellation insurance and is up to the goer-group to decide if they wish to purchase it separately.
The team is welcome to purchase supplemental travel medical insurance on their own, but the majority of teams use the organization’s coverage as it is extremely affordable and can be built into the team budget.
Team Payments
Short-term teams are responsible for submitting their team funds on or before the proposed financial deadlines. There are three possible financial deadlines due: deposit. advanced payment and final payment. Each is described in more detail in Section 3.
Deadlines for financial payments are set by the STTs department. Payment deadlines and instructions are included in the Team Registration document.
Travel Plans
Short-term teams through the organization make their own travel arrangements to and from your community (in the vast majority of circumstances, the host-coordinator arranges travel in-community). Many prefer to shop for their own deals and scheduling preferences, particularly when it comes to airfare.
However, since travel plans impact your ability and availability to receive the team based upon their arrival, the team is responsible for communicating their proposed travel plans to the STTs Department or directly to you.
While some teams like to wait longer to make flight arrangements to ensure team members have raised sufficient funds to cover their travel expenses, it is required that teams make travel arrangements no later than 40 days in advance of departure to avoid teams missing out on potentially limited flight options.
Community Entry/Exit Requirements
As teams travel to your community, there may be additional advisements or requirements for them in order to arrive.
These additional items are typically associated with international communities. However, there may be unique circumstances related to any community.
Below are several items to think through. Please be sure to consider any others that a short-term team may need to know about in advance.
Wide-Spread Infectious Disease - If there are any special protocols in place for your community related to wide-spread infectious disease, such as Covid19, please let a visiting team know how to prepare to arrive/be in your community.
Immunizations - Some host-nations may require that visitors be immunized against certain diseases (i.e. Covid19, yellow fever, typhoid). The short-term team is tasked with knowing what those immunizations are through the CDC website. However, your guidance is also appreciated.
Visas - An entry visa may be required by a host-nation in order for an individual to visit. It is the responsibility of the team and you, the host-coordinator, to ensure the team has obtained the proper visa prior to entry.
Entry and Exit Fees - It is possible that a host-nation will require an entry or exit fee for each person visiting. If this is the case, it is the responsibility of the host to help the team prepare for this cost. Please be sure to let them know how they will be asked to pay for the fee and if they will need to have local currency in hand in order to do so.
Customs - For many teams, going through customs can be an anxious experience. Please help prepare the team with any helpful information that will ease their experience. This may include how to answer important customs questions (i.e. what was the nature of your visit?). This is particularly important for teams visiting secure contexts. Please also advise team members what items they should not purchase while in-community that are likely to get them stopped at customs.
