Volunteer's Code Of Conduct
The following information is for the benefit of individual volunteers, students of School Immersions and participants of Student Clinical Placements.
It is vital that all volunteers read this Code of Conduct prior to making their online application. Please read it carefully and ensure you understand our policies and the expectations of your host country that you accept by agreeing to these terms, as this is essential for your online application.
Once you have applied and been accepted into a volunteer deployment, GGC Volunteers Ltd. will email you a .pdf version of the Code of Conduct, which is contained within your Volunteer or Student Handbook. This should be signed and emailed back to us no later than ten (10) days prior to your volunteer deployment start date.
If the signed version is not received within the deadline, your volunteer deployment will be cancelled with no refund issued.
As a volunteer you are expected to make every effort to adapt to the culture and lifestyle of the host country. There may be significant cultural, economic, and lifestyle differences between the volunteer’s home country and the host country, including differences in health care services, living conditions, transportation systems, educational systems, criminal justice, civil liberties, customs, values and acceptable behaviour with regards to age and gender. The volunteer must be aware of and accept these differences as part of the volunteer deployment, and accept the risks associated with travelling and living in another country. By doing so the volunteer acknowledges that GGC Volunteers Ltd. holds no liability whatsoever for the actions or welfare of the volunteer within the host country and/or the action or negligence of the host country.
The Volunteer’s level of maturity must be adequate to recognize and cope with these differences and challenges.
Volunteers must take responsibility for informing themselves and preparing for risks associated with foreign travel and living abroad. GGC Volunteers Ltd. will provide basic logistical assistance and will offer recommendations prior to volunteer deployment. However GGC Volunteers Ltd. cannot and does not provide constant direct assistance to the volunteer whilst in country. The Volunteer must be responsible for taking the initiative to communicate with GGC Volunteers Ltd., host country, emergency services, or their country’s embassy to seek help as soon as she/he needs assistance.
Laws of the land
As a visitor in a foreign country, you fall within the jurisdiction of that country’s local laws and the local law authority. If you are caught by authorities using or in possession of any type of illegal substance, or engaging in any illegal act, you will be arrested and submitted to the mercy of the local justice system. If you are arrested for any illegal activity whatsoever, GGC Volunteers Ltd. holds no responsibility and will not be in a position to assist you. A volunteer who is found in possession of or using illegal drugs, or engaged in any other illegal activity, may be immediately dismissed from the volunteer deployment without warning and without any refund of monies paid or expenses incurred.
Alcohol
GGC Volunteers Ltd. expressly prohibits volunteers from engaging in irresponsible drinking.
Irresponsible drinking is classified by GGC Volunteers Ltd. as drinking that puts oneself or others at risk, negatively affects one’s participation in the volunteer project and/or negatively affects, in any way, the reputation of the host community and/or GGC Volunteers Ltd. and/or its community partners. Attending one’s project under the influence of alcohol or drugs is strictly prohibited.
A Volunteer who drinks irresponsibly will be given a formal warning. On the second offence, the volunteer may be dismissed from the deployment with no refund of monies paid or expenses incurred.
Prostitution
GGC Volunteers Ltd. expressly prohibits volunteers from engaging in any form of prostitution.
Prostitution is legal in some countries where GGC Volunteers Ltd operates. Regardless of its legal status (in most countries it remains illegal), if a volunteer is caught contributing to the prostitution industry in any way whatsoever, he or she may be immediately dismissed from the volunteer deployment without prior written notice and with no refund of monies paid or expenses incurred.
Behaviour and dismissal
The volunteer is aware of GGC Volunteers Ltd policies and agrees to abide by them or accept the risk of dismissal from the volunteer deployment. GGC Volunteers Ltd. expects all volunteers to conduct themselves in a manner that is responsible, professional, respectful and supportive of the rights of others. Behaviour that is contrary to this standard, including but not limited to acts that are insensitive to local customs, illegal, detrimental to or incompatible with the interests, harmony, and/or welfare of the host organisation’s role in the local community may be considered grounds for dismissal.
Each host organisation will ask the volunteer to sign a specific code of conduct to cover the time working with it. GGC Volunteers Ltd. is not responsible for any decision made by the host organisation or the host country to dismiss a volunteer, but will uphold and support any decision that may be made by the host organisation or the host country where a volunteer is in clear violation of a signed Code of Conduct.
Deployment Cancellation
GGC Volunteers Ltd. reserves the right to cancel any volunteer deployment if there are insufficient registrants or if GGC Volunteers Ltd. or the host community determines it is in the best interest of the Volunteer’s safety and quality of their volunteer experience to cancel the volunteer deployment. GGC Volunteers Ltd. is not responsible for other costs incurred by a volunteer preparing for a volunteering trip. Should a volunteer deployment be cancelled through no fault of the volunteer, a full refund will be offered.
GGC Volunteers Ltd. is not responsible for any other costs whatsoever (apart from volunteer fee) incurred by the volunteer preparing for a volunteer deployment in this case.
Use of volunteers’ name and likeness
The volunteer gives consent and authorises GGC Volunteers Ltd. and the host organisation to use the volunteer’s name, photograph, file or video likeness of the volunteer, or any appropriate comments or statements of the volunteer in materials or publications to promote the deployment.
Release and hold harmless provisions
As a condition of the volunteer’s participation in the deployment, the volunteer agrees to release and hold harmless GGC Volunteers Ltd. of any responsibility for injury, death, loss, delay, or any damage and expense incurred by the volunteer due to:
(i) any incident beyond GGC Volunteers Ltd. reasonable control, including, without limitation, theft, force majeure, crimes of violence, acts of war, or government actions and restrictions;
(ii) any events directly or indirectly caused by intentional or negligent acts or omissions by any third party, including but not limited to any member, guest, employee or agent of the host organisation or any other persons in the host country;
(iii) risks associated with foreign travel and living abroad, including but not limited to risks associated with health care, sanitation, transportation, crime, justice, legal systems, customs, and values
(iv) any differences in the living conditions and standards between the volunteer’s home and home country and the host ‘home’ and host country;
(v) voluntary withdrawal from deployment or dismissal from deployment. In making arrangements for the deployment, GGC Volunteers Ltd. uses commercial buses, dining venues and other entities whose performance and services cannot be controlled by GGC Volunteers Ltd. Consequently, the volunteer agrees that GGC Volunteers Ltd. is not liable for any of the actions or negligence of such commercial entities. The volunteer further agrees that GGC Volunteers Ltd. reserves the right to change or alter travel, accommodation or other arrangements if it believes such a change to be in the best interest of the volunteer or the deployment. The specific host country arrangements for the Vietnam deployment are organised by the host country organisation. GGC Volunteers Ltd. is not liable for any action or negligence of the host country organisation in the organisation and provision of accommodation, meals, project activities and transport, or the participation of the volunteer in such arrangements.
