We take the responsibility of looking after your son or daughter overseas very seriously. We have 40 years of experience at doing this, and are the only gap year organisation specialising in the 17-19 year old age group.

We enjoy our work: we like looking after young people, seeing them grow in confidence and maturity throughout their Project Trust experience and helping them to spend a fulfilling year helping others as they help themselves.

We are not complacent, however, and we know things can go wrong and not every year ends in a totally satisfying experience. This is why we try to keep a dialogue going with parents.

We feel that we, you and your son or daughter are in a partnership together, and that good communication can help when there are problems. While we expect to communicate directly with volunteers themselves on any aspects regarding their project and any queries or concerns they may have about it, we always like to keep parents informed. We do this in the following ways:

Before application
We can arrange for you to be put in contact with a member of our support net (most likely a parent of a returned volunteer living locally) to find out more about Project Trust.

Before going overseas
Every year we run a series of parents meeting in the spring. These are specifically for parents to meet us face to face, to find out more about the year and to voice any concerns. In 2007 meetings took place in Scotland, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Cambridge and London. Information about these are sent to all parents as soon as the venues and timings are settled. (See "Useful Dates" here).

During the year
Through your son or daughter's Desk Officer you always have the chance to speak directly to the person who knows the project and the country well and who is the office point of contact for your son or daughter as well as the main liaison with the Representative in that country. The Desk Officer is usually the person who will visit them once during the year. (See Health, Safety & Security).

Our local representatives
We have a Representative in every country where we have volunteers. The representative is there to meet the volunteers as they arrive, ensure they get to their projects safely, keep in contact with them throughout the year and help them in the case of an emergency. The desk officers liaise regularly with them to ensure the smooth running of the programme in each country.

Communication from parents to the Representatives should normally go through the Desk Officer.

Don't Forget:
For the latest travel and security information, visit the UK government Foreign Office website.