Your health and safety overseas is of great concern to us. We use several sources for our information on both issues.

The Foreign and Commonwealth office (www.fco.gov.uk) gives us the latest update on country-wide security. It also has useful pages on health and the latest hazards in that country and how to avoid them. Particularly recommended is the "If things go wrong" section.

Project Trust has signed up to Know Before You Go. See www.fco.gov.uk/travel for further advice.

Interhealth (www.interhealth.org.uk) is our health advisor. WE obtain all information on inoculations and health overseas from them, including the latest information on anti-malarial prophylactics. We provide for all our volunteers a comprehensive useful guide to health overseas bought from Interhealth. This is given out on our training courses, together with suggested lists of medicine and equipment needed for health purposes.

All overseas projects are assessed for risk by either staff members or our local Representatives. The current volunteers also check out hazards at their accommodation and workplace in preparation for the new group coming in. We provide guidelines about how to do this and what to do if there are problems or defects.

Hazards overseas are something you must expect. Some will be the same as in the UK and others are peculiar to the country. We will try our best to ensure you understand what these are and help you to overcome them, but you cannot totally rely on us ? you must use your commonsense and initiative to help you to spend your year as safe as possible.

Insurance

Comprehensive medical insurance for all volunteers is included in the Project Trust in the fundraising total. The policy covers you for 365 days or the date you return to the UK, whichever comes first,

and is valid in every country throughout the world, except Canada and the USA.

Our current volunteer insurance policy is arranged through STA as a group policy and provides cover for general medical treatment to emergencies. A particular feature of the policy is the emergency assistance provision. Through a 24 hour emergency number, you can be sure that in any case of hospitalisation or necessary emergency treatment, a qualified medical specialist could liaise with local doctors and hospitals to ensure, first of all, that the necessary treatment was being administered, and secondly to supervise any emergency travel plans or evacuations to a better equipped hospital, or in extreme circumstances, back home.

Of course, in most cases of illness, it is the local host who you are working with, or your country representative who will be able to give you the correct advice and help that you need. And we have telephone numbers on Coll that you can ring 24 hours a day should you ever find yourself in dire straits.

The basic provision of the group insurance policy we currently have arranged is as follows:

• Medical expenses up to £2,000,000.
• Public liability up to £2,000,000.

One area of cover that Project Trust does not provide as standard is cover for personal possessions and luggage. This is available as an optional add-on which must paid for separately. Information how to do this on this is given on the training courses.