What to do now

Use this as a guide to keep you on track with your preparations for Training and your departure overseas.

ACTION / COMPLETED
Placement Checklist in email – read the documents contained in your country log-on area and please confirm you have read and understood every document by inserting ‘YES’ in the READ column next to each document and emailing it back to your Desk Officer.
Visa/Work Permit – if action is needed early to get a visa or work permit this is contained within Visa Instructions document located in your country area. Volunteers have had flights delayed because they have been disorganised with visa documents. Please communicate with your Desk Officer if you have any problems with the visa process.
Doctor’s Letter – read the Doctor’s Letter Request document and contact your GP’s surgery to arrange this, we must receive this as soon as possible and at the latest by 31st October 2014.
Basic Disclosure – apply for this as soon as possible as it can take up to 6 weeks. See Basic Disclosure Instructions in your country area for more details.
InterHealth Information – follow the instructions on the InterHealth Information sheet and start organising any additional vaccinations from your GP or Travel Centre. The InterHealth website relevant to your country will give you information on malaria tablets. We suggest that volunteers do not purchase malaria tablets until they have attended Training at which we will provide more detailed information about the number and type of tablets required for the country you have been placed in.
Passport Details - if you have not sent your passport details to Project Trust, please do so as soon as possible and at the latest by 31st October 2014. Many Desk Officers will need them to obtain the relevant visa/work permit.
Training Course Joining Instructions – follow the instructions contained in the Joining Instructions, make sure you know exactly when to arrive on Coll. Even if you have already made us aware on Selection, please make us aware of your dietary requirements by emailing your Desk Officer by 31st October 2014.
Fundraising – please remember that your fundraising needs to be completed by the end of December. The fundraising team will have discussions during Training with those that are struggling.
Volunteer Handbook (sent to you after Selection) - read your volunteer handbook, re-read, and be sure to show it to your parents. Bring it with you to Training.
Preparation
Research your host country in the library or on the internet, read relevant magazines and newspapers.
Language – It’s worthwhile picking up a few words or phrases before going overseas. The back of the Lonely Planet is a good place to start.
Learn how to cook, clean, and hand-wash and iron your clothing. Get stuck in around the house over the summer. Knowledge of First Aid is also very important.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THINGS CAN STILL CHANGE OVERSEAS AND WITH PROJECTS THEREFORE THERE IS STILL A POSSIBILITY THAT YOU MAY NOT END UP GOING TO THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU WERE INITIALLY PLACED. IF THIS IS THE CASE WE WILL TELEPHONE YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Visa and Work Permit Instructions

Malaysia

VISA INFORMATION

Prior to your arrival in Malaysia your project has to apply for a working visa on your behalf. In order to do so we require the following:

  A photocopy of your passport: the relevant pages with information (i.e. the back two pages with photograph identification on). Please ensure that your passport is valid until mid 2016.

  2 passport photographs (signed on the back of each by you).

  A letter from you accepting our offer of a place at your project. Beginning a formal letter in the form “Dear Ms Emerson, I am delighted to accept the position as a volunteer at A MRSM school from January 2015 to August 2015”. Please type the letter and remember to sign and date it.

Please post these documents to Coll; it is essential that we send all the information to Malaysia as soon as we can. If you can email or scan documents, please do. If you do not send these documents this could result in a delayed departure if there are visa problems. If you have any queries with the above please give me a ring.

If you could do this as an absolute priority I would be extremely grateful as I will need to send visa paper work prior to your training and delays may cause you difficulties overseas

You need to send the above documents to Project Trust as soon as possible and at the latest by 31st October 2014. Failure to do so could jeopardize your departure.

Joining Instructions for Particip8 Training Course:

Tuesday 2nd - Saturday 6th December 2014

Attendance

All volunteers on the 8-month programme.

Aims

Your Training Course is designed to give you sufficient information and the necessary briefing to obtain the maximum benefit from your year overseas. Please remember that attendance and participation at Training is a compulsory learning unit of the Foundation Year in Global Volunteering and Citizenship.

Travel Arrangements

You will need to make your own travel arrangements to Oban on Monday 1st December. If you are driving up and would be interested in sharing petrol costs with another volunteer we can try to put you in contact with others in your area.

Oban Accommodation

You will also need to arrange accommodation in Oban for the night before the ferry. You might like to stay at the Backpackers Plus (01631 567189), or at the Oban Youth Hostel (01631 562025). You could try the Oban Tourist Information Centre (01631 563122) if there is nothing available at the previous numbers. Don’t forget to set your alarm for an early start and also remember that as a group your presence and enthusiasm can be a little intimidating - please be considerate to others.

Oban to Coll

The ferry leaves Oban on Tuesday morning (timetable to be confirmed – you will be able to find it soon at http://www.calmac.co.uk/timetables) and you must make sure you are at the booking office no later than 30 minutes before departure to collect your ferry ticket and fill in a boarding card. To collect your ticket you must print out this letter and show it along with some form of ID at the check-in desk. You won’t be allowed to embark without your ticket and boarding card. This is the only ferry that will get you to Training, so do not miss it!

Please make sure you have breakfast on the ferry as we will be starting Training sessions as soon as you arrive. When the boat arrives at Coll staff will be at the pier to collect you.

Requirements on Coll

You will be staying at the Hebridean Centre and bedding will be provided. All training sessions will take place indoors, however, during your free time you may want to go walking and get some fresh air. You are coming to Coll in winter so some extra warm clothing may be a wise idea.

Please bring:

Essential

·  A towel

·  Smart clothes for the formal reception and ceilidh on the last evening

·  Notebook, pens and all literature you have received about Training

·  Wet weather clothing

Optional

·  Musical instruments, games etc for the evenings

·  Extra warm clothing

Project Trust has a no smoking policy and smoking is prohibited in all Project Trust buildings and vehicles. There is a bar which sells refreshments and Project Trust T-shirts in the evening, so bring plenty of cash as we have no facility to cash cheques.

Departure

You will leave Coll and arrive back in Oban on Saturday the 6th of December (timetables yet to be published by Calmac ferries).

Make sure you arrive fresh for the course as it will be an intense few days. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Malaysia Kit lists:

Climate: Warm, temperate, humid all year round

The following is a guide only. More advice will be given on training. All clothes MUST be respectable and conservative. As a teacher you are expected to be smartly dressed for work. Volunteers tend to wear traditional dress for work when they are in there projects.
Malaysia clothing list
Male- Teaching (MARA projects)

ITEM

/

AMOUNT

/

REMARKS

Trousers for work / 3-4 / 3 light, 1 heavier
Jeans/ trousers / 1 / Not for work
Shorts / 3 / Not for work
Shirts, long-sleeved / 2 / Iron/crease proof if possible
Shirts, short-sleeved / 5 / Iron/crease proof if possible
T-shirts / 6 / Not for teaching in.
Sweaters / 1 / 1 warm fleece (you will get acclimatised and feel the cold especially when travelling due to Air con.
Jacket and tie / 1 / Lightweight
Pants / 10 / Minimum, they wear out quickly, Cotton
Socks / 8 / Minimum, mainly cotton they wear out quickly
Lightweight raincoat / 1 / Waterproof and windproof
Night wear / 1-2 / You should be dressed if answering the door at night
Swimming trunks and Towel / 1-2 / Small towel useful for when travelling, large towel for day to day use.
Respectable shoes / 1 / For working in (hard to fine large sizes in Malaysia)
Rash vest / 1
Sandals- strong / 2
Trainers / 1 / Useful for walking trips and sport
Hat/cap / 1 / To protect you from the sun

Malaysia clothing list

Female- Teaching (MARA projects)

Item / Number / Remarks
Jeans / 2
Trousers / 1 / Smart
Shorts / 4
Shirts: short-sleeved / 2
Shirts: long-sleeved / 2
T-shirts / 8 / Avoid pale colours
Fleece jacket / 1 / For travelling it can be very cold when traveling due to Air con.
Pants / bra / 10 / 6 / Consider a sports bra
Smart skirt and top / 1
Socks / 7
Waterproof jacket / 1
Nightclothes / 1
Swimsuit / 2
Towel / 2
Smart shoes / 1 / Respectable
Training shoes / 1
Other footwear / 2 / Reef or Tiso sandals and very lightweight strong boots for hill walking.
Tracksuit bottoms / 1
Lots of things can be bought easily overseas including flip-flops, sun hats, and most clothes. Definitely take underwear and shoes with you because they will wear out and can be difficult to replace. Don’t forget that at certain times of the year it will rain very heavily so be prepared.

GENERAL POINTS ABOUT CLOTHING

1.  White clothes get easily and permanently stained and should be avoided. Strong, hard wearing material is recommended, as hand washing is hard on clothes. Turn coloured clothing inside out if drying outside - it helps to prevent fading.

  1. Synthetic materials are not suitable for hot climates. As much as possible should be cotton or cotton/polyester mix - the latter means your clothes won’t look so creased.
  1. Clothes for work must be clean and respectable. Generally, if you are teaching you will have to wear smarter clothes than if you are at a social work project.
  1. Revealing or semi-transparent clothes are not suitable.

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT

The following items should be regarded as essential:

Large rucksack (between 65 - 75 litres): This is much more appropriate than a suitcase.

Smaller rucksack (approx 15 litres): for day trips/general use.

Money belt (or similar): this should fit under your clothes as a safety precaution

Six extra passport photos

Sleeping bag and/or liner: no more than a 3 season is necessary.

Toiletries: toiletries are available but good brands are expensive on your wage

The following items may be useful:

Alarm clock

Pen knife: (Swiss Army knives are particularly good)

Camera: Underwater cameras can be useful

Personal music player: BBC World service is on short-wave

A basic sewing kit: including good scissors, string, a few clothes pegs and coat hangers

Torch: a small one, which takes AA batteries

For decorating your room: Blue tack, posters and postcards of where you come from are really useful as are photos of family and home. You can also use these for lessons. Laminating them protects them the elements and finger prints.

For teaching: general texts on your subjects for teachers, an English grammar book and dictionary, books of instruction on games, arts and crafts, Scouting and Guiding (if you are keen) and music.

To avoid unnecessary expense we recommend it is best not to buy equipment or medicines before coming on your training course.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Airline baggage allowances may be as little as 20 kilos. Confirmation of this will be given to you on your training course.

Suggested Malaysia Resource List

It’s certainly not essential to purchase every book that you can find about Malaysia however it is recommended that you do some research on the country before coming up to Training. It certainly will make Training more interesting.

The Lonely Planet guide to South East Asia is very useful for Malaysia and for further afield in your holidays.

Blogs, please look at the Project Trust blog and follow the links to Malaysia related posts as well as the Blogs that that previous volunteers have written about the country.

Remember, if you do purchase anything please help Project Trust out by buying through the Amazon link at the bottom of the Project Trust homepage as that way 10% of the value of the order will be donated to us.