TRAVEL DOCUMENTS 2015 SHORT TERM MISSION EXPERIENCES

Transcription

1 TRAVEL DOCUMENTS 2015 SHORT TERM MISSION EXPERIENCES

2 HAITI TRAVEL TIPS To travel to Haiti it is advisable to take malaria pills. There are several different types of pills, some are daily and some are weekly. The weekly pill has been known to give people nightmares. Ask your family doctor about what type you should take. To save money ask for the generic brand. It is best not to bring expensive or difficult to replace items on the trip. Please keep in mind that the majority of people you will meet consider all Americans rich; do not leave belongings unattended. Keep your passport, money and other important documents on your person at all times or a very safe place. Our Heartline Guest House has a safe that can be used for such items during your stay. Pack underwear and an extra set of clothing in your carry-on. Just in case your luggage is lost, you will have an additional outfit on hand. Do not use ice cubes or eat raw seafood or rare eats. Eat well-cooked foods while they are still hot, and only eat fruits that can be peeled. Avoid roadside stands and street vendors. Only pasteurized dairy products should be consumed. Keep your hands away from your face and mouth; use plenty of hand wipes and hand sanitizer. Do not drink any water unless you know it is filtered or if it is in a sealed bottle. Mark suitcases with a colored ribbon, tape or stickers so that we can easily spot them at baggage claim. There are hundreds of pieces of luggage arriving in the Haiti airport daily and only one luggage belt, so all luggage is thrown together. You need to be able to spot your bag and help others locate theirs. Photocopy three sets of your passport and of your airline ticket. Keep one copy with you and another in your luggage, and one set with a family member back home. Keep your hands away from your face and mouth. Use plenty of hand wipes and hand sanitizer, but do so discreetly, of course, if you are greeting and shaking hands with slum dwellers or playing with children. Please always stay with your group. If there are women in the group the men should walk in front of the women and behind the women at all times. Everyone should watch out for everyone else and beware of your surroundings. Carry with you a backpack on the plane. This can easily fit under the seat in front of you or in the overhead compartment. A backpack is good to carry drinks, snacks, camera and other personal items while you are in Haiti. Feel free to leave all of your clothing, shoes and any other items in Haiti. Notify HEARTLINE MINISTRIES/HEARTLINE FOUNDATION staff if you are going to this. Our partners will clean the items and be sure that someone in need receives it. Please do not leave trash. Do not give out your phone number or address without the approval of HEARTLINE MINISTRIES/HEARTLINE FOUNDATION staff. Do not make promises or any type of commitments to national friends. 2 Heartline Foundation Travel Documents

3 RECOMMENDED PACKING LIST Suggested Items Sunglasses Camera Snacks (granola, crackers, energy bars, etc.) Do not bring any chocolate or anything that melts in the heat. Medicines / first aid including something for nausea, diarrhea, and constipation. Hand sanitizer Flashlight Hat Sunscreen Gold Bond/Baby Powder (especially for guys) Several Ziploc bags Bug repellant (mosquito) Flip flops or sandals - These are great to wear around the hotel after a long day. Bandana This is great to wrap a cold bottle of water in or to wet and wipe your face during the day. If you are bothered by street exhaust and fumes, bring something to cover your mouth and nose. Work gloves Small Bible for church and devotions. Bring a small amount of money for a meal or drink at the airport and to purchase souvenirs. Most people bring $25-$100 for souvenirs. The Heartline shops take Visa, MC, and Discover through PayPal, so it is secure if you do not want to bring cash. Clothes Men: shorts or work pants (jeans are very hot), for church long pants Women: dresses or skirts at or below the knees; pants, capris, shorts (athletic shorts work well), for church dresses or skirts only Shirts: T-shirts or collared shirts, for church collared shirts Rain Coat/Jacket or Poncho Ball caps or floppy hats for sun protection Shoes: sneakers or very comfortable shoes or boots, for church nice sneakers, dress shoes, ladies no heels For day-to-day work wear, modest tank tops and shorts are fine and it s a good idea to have a pair of sandals for around the house This list is certainly not exhaustive. Feel free to ask about specific items. 3 Heartline Foundation Travel Documents

4 PAP ARRIVAL AND CUSTOMS INFO You ll receive two sheets of paper during your flight into Port-au-Prince. Your visa is the green one. Fill out the whole thing, including the bottom perforated portion. Once you re inside the terminal, you ll stand in line at immigration. The employee will stamp your passport and will return your passport and the bottom section of that green sheet to you. Keep that tucked in your passport. If you lose it, it will be a hassle to get through immigration upon re-entry to the US. The white sheet you receive is for customs. Declare nothing and have it available to hand to the employee upon exiting the airport. Here, they often want to see your luggage claim tickets as well. Have those handy. They may want to stop you and look through your luggage. The best way to make sure this goes smoothly is to be friendly and smile and say mesi (thank you) a lot! It is a good idea to mark your luggage with bright-colored tags or ribbon. This area of the airport is always very crowded and busy! Just to the right of the carousel, there will be an employee with carts that you can rent to carry your luggage on. The most recent cost was $2 US per cart. (Cash only) In the airport and right outside, you ll learn your first Creole phrase: no mesi! (no, thank you). Several people will want to help you carry your luggage out to the car waiting for you. Be polite but firm by saying no mesi. *** If your leader is not in flight with your group to PAP, please read next bullet point: Either right outside the door of the terminal or at the entrance of the parking lot, someone will be holding a white board that says Heartline Ministries and your team or leaders name. This person will take you to our staff who will load your luggage into the vehicle and bring you to the Guest House! 4 Heartline Foundation Travel Documents

5 PAYMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS Please take adequate time to carefully read through the information provided below regarding Registration Deposits, Payment Plan & Non-Refundable Amounts, Payment Options, Withdrawals, Transfers & Refunds Policy, and Cancellations. REGISTRATION DEPOSITS: NONE PAYMENT PLANS & NON-REFUNDABLE AMOUNTS - FIRST PAYMENT: 50% of the total travel costs is due 90 days prior to the travel date. This will allow Heartline Foundation to secure airlines reservations. - SECOND PAYMENT: The remaining 50% of the total travel costs is due 60 days prior to the travel date. We understand that it can be difficult to project your final team size at the time of registration. Therefore we suggest that you provide a conservative estimate of your team size when you register. As your team develops, you may increase your numbers by ing Christie Deegan with Heartline Foundation at christie.deegan@heartlinefoundation.org. Heartline Foundation reserves the right to fill open spots on any custom group experiences with less than 12 travelers 60 days prior to your travel date. Open mission trips are filled on a first-come, first serve basis. PAYMENT OPTIONS: Your two options for payment are CREDIT CARD or CHECK. Payment by CREDIT CARD: You can make a payment any time on our website at Go to Donate Haiti Experience Payment to enter your information. Payment by CHECK: You can mail your check made payable to Heartline Foundation to Heartline Foundation, 9565 Numenore Dr., Charlotte, NC Please include your travel dates on your check. OVERAGE POLICY If there is an overage in your account above the cost of your trip for any reason, you have the following options: Receive a refund in the amount of the overage after you return from your trip. This amount cannot be greater than what you personally paid to your account. For instance, if you receive donations from others after you have made payments on your account, we can only refund you up to the amount that you paid. Donate the overage to another team member who needs additional funds Donate the overage to Heartline s General Fund Save the funds for a future mission experience with Heartline Foundation 5 Heartline Foundation Travel Documents

6 CANCELLATION POLICIES INDIVIDUAL TRAVELERS Time of Cancellation Refund Opportunity to Reschedule Greater than 90 days prior to travel Full Refund, if any payment has been made Yes days prior to travel 50% refund Yes 1-60 days prior to travel $200 will be refunded if full payment has been made Yes however, additional costs for new airline reservations will be incurred CUSTOM GROUPS Time of Cancellation Refund Opportunity to Reschedule Greater than 90 days prior to travel Full, if any payment has been made Yes days prior to travel 50% refund Yes 1-60 days prior to travel $200 per person will be refunded only if full payment has been made Possible however, additional costs for new airline reservations will be incurred Heartline Foundation will do its best to accommodate travelers who need to cancel. Ideally, we will work to place individuals in a different travel group and schedule custom groups for a new week within six months of original travel plans. CHANGE OF TICKET POLICY Any traveler who wishes to change their itinerary (for any reason) after the ticket has been issued will be responsible for the additional cost incurred. Most airlines charge about $200- $300 to make any changes to the itinerary. *If a change is required due to an error made by Heartline Foundation, Heartline Foundation will pay the change penalty and re-issue a new ticket. Thank you for your understanding. For cancellations or changes, please contact Christie Deegan, Mission Experience Coordinator at Heartline Foundation, at christie.deegan@heartlinefoundation.org. 6 Heartline Foundation Travel Documents