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- Make sure you have
a signed, valid passport that remains valid for at least 6 months after
your return date and visa if needed. Note: If there is a
visa requirement for your trip, it will be specified on the trip itinerary
online. For information on how to obtain your visa, please visit
the U.S. Department of State’s website at www.travel.state.gov/visa/index.html.
- Make 2 copies of your
passport identification page. This will help in the event that
your passport is lost or stolen. Leave one copy with your emergency
contact and carry the other with you in a separate place from your passport.
- See your personal
physician at least 6 weeks before you leave to ensure that you are up
to date on your vaccinations (some may be required to enter the host
country) and have received any necessary preventative medications.
Your doctor should review the plans for your trip and based on your
medical history, can decide what vaccinations you should receive.
For more information on the health risks associated with the country
you will be visiting, please visit the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention’s website at www.cdc.gov or ask your personal physician.
- Find out what your
health insurance will pay for if you see a doctor while you are in another
country. Bring your insurance card or other information with you,
and carry all medication in its original container.
- Familiarize yourself
with the local customs, traditions, laws and government of the country
to which you are traveling. Guidebooks are available on all of the countries
that we visit and there are great resources available online.
- Women travelers going
to Africa should bring long skirts to wear on the days that we work
in the villages, as this is the appropriate and acceptable form of dress
for women in these areas.
- Do not pack an excessive
amount of personal belongings. For all trips, you should
bring several shirts, pants, long skirts, pairs of socks, a light jacket
for cooler evenings, necessary toiletries, medications, insect repellent,
comfortable shoes, a camera, sunscreen and any other necessary items.
While you’re traveling
- If you are traveling
to a country with a risk of malaria, make sure to take the preventative
tablets prescribed by your physician. Remember to start taking
your anti-malarial drugs before you leave on your trip!
- The CDC advises travelers
to areas with malaria risk to use an insect repellent containing DEET.
- To avoid being the
target of petty theft, do not wear conspicuous clothing and expensive
jewelry and do not carry excessive amounts of money or unnecessary credit
cards.
- Please do not photograph
people without their consent.
- The tap water is not
safe to drink in most of the countries that we work in. Drink
only bottled or purified water.
- Please be respectful
of the customs, practices and societal norms of the host culture during
your trip. Please refrain from any behavior that might be seen
as offensive.
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