Volunteer Health and Safety is a priority.
When it comes to health and safety in Adventure Service Tourism programs, the volunteer must be willing to adapt your behavior and lifestyle to minimize your chances of becoming sick, accidents or being a target of crime. As with the rest of Latin America, disease and crime exist in Peru, however, volunteers can greatly reduce risk by taking appropriate precautions and avoiding dangerous situations. One of the best strategies is to become an active part of the community you live in and make friends with the people around you.
ProNaturaleza employs a three pronged approach to health and safety:
Site selection criteria.
Volunteers are only sent to locations in which a relationship with the service provider (ProNaturaleza) has been established. In the Pacaya Samiria Reserve all volunteers are assigned to a particular management group. Management groups are associations of community members that carry out the Reserve's management plan. The management group members with which volunteers stay have requested volunteers and agreed to take care of them. The sites we select for volunteers have been done with volunteers safety in mind.
Volunteer Preparation/Orientation.
Providing up-to-date information to potential volunteers is critical to their preparation for service. The first level of information is provided in the webpage. Specific questions are answered by our volunteer coordinator. A fieldhandbook is provided to volunteers who sign up. Additionally, orientation in Lima, Iquitos and the community are provided. By explaining to the best of our ability the situation volunteers step into, volunteers enjoy healthier and safer stays.
Emergency Action Plan.
A plan has been developed in the event of an emergency. This plan was developed by community members and ProNaturaleza staff. Review of the plan with volunteers during the orientation sessions ensures their familiarity of what to do in an emergency. We believe that preventing health issues and avoiding security issues are the best approaches to volunteer service, however, in the event of an emergency, there is a plan in place.
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