No matter how much experience you have as a traveller or in serving others, there is always more you could learn that would enhance your effectiveness.  Take advantage of the knowledge of people on the ground.  Ask questions and really listen.

You are guaranteed to find yourself in situations that are unexpected during the week!  Getting lost, miscommunications with the host association, not enough paint—all these and more can happen.  Set your mind from the beginning to be a problem-solver rather than a complainer!

The price we charge visiting volunteers includes hostel-type accommodations.  Often rooms are shared by six STC volunteers of the same sex, who also share a bathroom.  If couples or families wish to room together, this may result in a higher per-day price and/or being in different hostel from the rest of your group.  Contact us with any concerns.

We give visiting volunteers public transportation passes for the duration of their stay.  However, this will still involve walks to and from the stops, often of a few hundred meters, and the hostels and metro stations usually have stairs.  Volunteers should be able to walk 2 km (a mile) comfortably, and climb a couple flights of stairs easily.

We will provide most of your meals for you while you are here (as well as a couple of opportunities to eat out).  This will include breakfast at the hostel, a packed sandwich lunch during projects, and a cooked dinner.  Dinner is often provided by local volunteer partners, and might be African, or Korean or of some other ethnic origin.  A chance to be adventurous!  We will accommodate special needs, such as food allergies, celiac disease, or diabetes.  Please communicate these needs to us in advance of arriving so we can prepare adequately.

Visiting or local volunteers may come on their own, or with a volunteer group.  Some of these groups may be faith-based, such as a church.  If you are with one of these, don’t assume that everyone else is coming from the same background.  And vice versa!  We like to turn up the volume on intercultural and interreligious dialogue and let everyone talk about what motivates them to serve.