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Guide toVolunteering as a Family

October 2018

01 Guide to Volunteering as a Family Version 1: Released October 2018

IntroductionLiving overseas as a family can provide incredible experiences for your family. For children of all ages - a new culture, new language, new foods and exotic sights can truly be life changing – the experience can impact their lives more than you could ever imagine. The experience can affect their future studies, career choices, where they decide to live as adults, their relationships and how they decide to raise their own children.

But, the reality of moving your family abroad can be very challenging. The decision requires careful thought and planning.

This booklet captures some of the things we encourage you to consider when thinking about volunteering as a family.

Some information is provided about eligibility criteria and funding options for our programs that accept families. You are encouraged to also speak with a recruiter after reading through this booklet for more information.

We have also included some advice from previous families who have been part of our programs.

There are a range of reflective questions through the document that we encourage you to consider as you make your decision.

Many of the questions we ask you to reflect on here will also be drawn on throughout the recruitment process.


Bringing Your Partner and ChildrenYou are able to apply for your partner and children to accompany you on a limited number of assignments under the Australian Volunteers Program.

The Australian Volunteers ProgramThe program supports capacity development on request from partner organisations. You need to demonstrate that you will achieve the stated objectives for the assignment over its full duration. Accompanying families need to show they will be able to support you in this commitment.

• Families have often contributed great value to the goals and level of partnership with host communities• The resilience of volunteer families is recognised as strong given their ability to rely on each other for

support

Within the funding constraints of the program, a limited number of accompanying partners and/or children are supported. These are known as Approved Accompanying Dependants (AAD’s).

EligibilityTo be eligible for the Australian Volunteers Program, AAD’s need to be:

• Australian citizens• Australian permanent residents or• New Zealand citizens, residing in Australia

Assignments must be for at least 12 months and your partner and/or family is required to commit to accompanying you for at least 6 consecutive months. (Consider for example if you are a sole parent - at times it may be necessary for a child to leave their parent during the course of the assignment. The program allows for one break of up to 4 weeks, if discussed with and approved by the Country Office Staff).

If they are not eligible under these categories, your partner and/or family may still accompany you, but they will not be financially supported by the program.

For non-married couples there are some restrictions, as in some countries it is not possible to obtain a dependant visa, or could be considered disrespectful for the program to deploy non-married partners.

There is no provision for part-time assignments or formal job-share.


Approved Accompanying Dependants (AADs)

When you apply for a volunteer assignment, we ask you to notify us if you would like to also apply for your partner or family members to accompany you. Some locations are not suitable for families – our recruiters can advise on this.

There are different ways partners and families can be involved:

• You volunteer and your partner accompanies as an AAD• You volunteer and your partner accompanies but not as an AAD• You both work as volunteers (Both partners may identify assignments in the same location and would

need to be the successful applicants. If one partner was unsuccessful, they could then apply to be an AAD).

• You are the sole parent of one or more AAD’s

If you are short-listed for an assignment, adult members of your family will also be assessed for approval to join the program as AAD’s. They go through the same assessment as you; the only difference is that AAD candidates don’t need to be assessed on technical competencies. All adults are required to formally agree to the Australian Volunteers Code of Conduct, and commit to informing and guiding any children to comply with relevant sections.

Older children may be invited to participate in the recruitment and preparation process in consultation with parents. All volunteers and AADs are required to have health and vaccination clearances.

There are Australian Volunteers Program and visa constraints on activities that AADs are allowed to undertake – like paid work. In some countries, even unpaid volunteer work cannot be undertaken by dependants of people who have been provided with visas through the program.

In some cases, after mobilising as an AAD, your partner may find formal work. They are able to withdraw from the program, with appropriate notice and consultation with the Country Office Staff. If this occurs, the AAD must make their own arrangements for visas, insurance, security and emergency evacuation contingencies, and return home airfares.

Key Considerations• If your partner accompanies you without being a part of the Australian Volunteers Program (as an AAD),

they are not eligible to receive any funding or other support.

If this is the case, please explore the issue of emergency and medical insurance and evacuation carefully. We would not be able to assist a partner who is not part of the Australian Volunteers Program, in the event of an emergency or an evacuation.


• There exists a duty of care to explore issues pertaining to the partner that may impact on the volunteer candidate's ability to successfully carry out their assignment. A common expectation around the program’s Code of Conduct would need to be reached with both partners. Issues that might impact a volunteer's work or standing in the community might include a partner engaging in activities that did not abide by the host country’s laws; their involvement in political, cultural or religious matters; disrespect for national or religious symbols; or involvement in proselytising.


Funding for AADsThe following support is provided for each volunteer:

• Vaccinations• Airfares within Australia to attend pre-departure briefing• Airfares to and from the assignment• Medical and emergency insurance• In-country orientation• Security arrangements• Re-entry support• Living allowance applicable to that location• Settling-in grant of $1000• Return Home Allowance of $1200• Housing may be provided by the employer, or through the standard accommodation allowance

applicable to that location (to afford modest, secure, single housing within the community. In some high-cost locations this may only cover rent in a shared house)

The following support is provided for each AAD (partner or children):• Vaccinations (not childhood immunisations)• Airfares within Australia to attend pre-departure briefing• Airfares to and from the assignment• Medical and emergency insurance• In-country orientation• Security arrangements• Re-entry support• 25% of the combined living and accommodation allowance for that location

Please Note:

• Accompanying partners and dependants who are not AADs on the program are not eligible to receive any funding

• Families have found that allowances are rarely sufficient to cover all the living and accommodation expenses for a family. Some expenses will need to be self-funded


Health Considerations and Medical Facilities

Your access to medical facilities will be very different from Australia. You need to consider how this might impact your family. Children generally require more access to both non- emergency and emergency medical care than adults.

Regular services that children (particularly young children) may need to access include immunisations and other maternal and child health care, dental (and orthodontic) checks, hearing and vision checks. The program does not cover these costs.

There may be a greater risk of serious illnesses for you and your children in your assignment location.

You may be less able to respond to minor illnesses the way you do at home as your access to basic medical care is harder to access or expensive.

Emergency access to paediatric facilities should be considered carefully as it may involve long journeys, or even require leaving the country. The quality will also be different to that in Australia.

Disability support may be needed for some children. These services do not necessarily need to be available in the assignment location (e.g. could be found online) but parents should consider if these services are available locally and factor in costs.

Key Considerations:• What will you do in a medical emergency?• How long does it take to get to the closest hospital?• Will you need to leave the location to access routine medical care?• Will regular dental, medication and other checks be possible?• What costs will you incur that you don’t expect? (A lot of routine care within Australia is free or

government subsidised)• Do you need to consider the availability of disability support services in your chosen location?


Options for Education

Overseas assignments will likely involve significantly reduced access to international- standard education options. Destination-specific social and economic aspects must be considered when deciding about schooling options for accompanying children.

Schooling options available in the host community may include:• Local schools

Where local schools are an option only very few volunteer family children have successfully been integrated previously, most often because of language barriers.

• International schoolsIf international schools are available, the costs are generally very high, and may cause conflicts between the volunteer parents' expectations of immersion in a local community, and the expatriate lifestyle the children observe their classmates living.

• Distance learningCommon barriers to effective distance education include obstacles such as unreliable technology and domestic distractions, as well as a lack of adequate contact with teachers and support services which may contribute to heightened social isolation.

• Home schoolingWhere parents are qualified to home-school their children this may come at an increased risk of social isolation and enduring language barriers as children (as well as parents) are not in regular contact with locals.

Key Considerations:• What is the language of instruction?• What is the quality of the curriculum?• What impact will this have when my child returns to school in Australia?• Are learning activities in line with your child’s learning style/ ability/ requirements?• Are there options available for formal extra-curricular activities?• What are the implications for your child attending as an expatriate student?


Different Teaching Styles

Issues like age, level of education, prior academic success, social skills and resilience should be considered in relation to impacts of possibly reduced educational options.

Specific educational needs for children who require support for learning difficulties or disabilities should also be considered. For example, speech and psycho-educational support may be needed for some children. These services do not necessarily need to be available in the assignment location but parents should consider if these services are available.

• Physical PunishmentA key concern that parents may face is their children’s exposure to physical punishment at the hands of adults at school or in the community. While your children may not experience it themselves as expatriate students, they will likely witness their friends and classmates receiving physical punishment for relatively arbitrary things (e.g. slapped with rulers for dirty fingernails). It’s important to prepare for them witnessing this sort of thing.

Key considerations:• Will my children adapt easily to the new learning environment?• Will they catch up easily on return?• Are supports like speech therapy, psychologists or physiotherapy/ occupational therapy available locally

or online?• How would you tolerate particular cultural customs, such as corporal punishment as a form of disciplining

children?• Would you tolerate segregation or different arrangements for boys and girls for different activities due to

local cultural norms?


Living Arrangements

No matter where your adventure will take you, it is very likely that the living arrangements in your assignment location will be different from home. Communities might be more or less child- friendly. Children may be valued differently.

For example, there may be fewer toys and less play space, especially outdoors, compared to what your children may be used to back home or even compared to other local and expatriate children.

When taking very young children on assignment consider the space for your children to play. There may be fewer child friendly environments to visit, such as fewer public parks. If it can be found, play equipment may be in disrepair, or there may be safety issues with poor designs or irregular cleaning and maintenance.

In contrast, you may be living close to some of the most natural places in the world! You and your children could spend your days playing in the sand of beaches. Keep in mind that public places like beaches tend to gather crowds and may be a place to find potential friends and playmates for your whole family.

Key considerations:• What do we do in a less child-friendly place?• How can we spend our time and maintain our level of happiness?• What impacts may this different environment have on your children?• How do we prepare the children for the different environment to make it easier for them to adapt

without scaring them?• How do your values around child rights and responsibilities match up with your host community?


Child Care

Expatriate families in developing countries won’t have access to the same options for child care as they do in Australia. Child care centres and crèches are a lot less common. However, you may have access to hiring nannies or other home helpers.

Standards of care and expectations of nannies will differ from what you would expect from child care professionals in Australia. You should consider carefully whether this is the right option for your family.

As the wellbeing, education and health of your child will be in the nanny’s hands, you will need to interview a range of people and consider carefully who you are committing to.

Depending on the age of your child, you will need to consider the nanny’s ability to respond to your child’s needs. Nannies may not usually drive and may have differing levels of education, which are considerations worth taking into account when deciding to hire someone.


Your Partner’s Role

If your partner will be accompanying you, are they prepared for the role they will play? If they have not been the primary caregiver before, there might be adjustments they need to make to this new role. Gender norms usually differ from Australia and may make their role more challenging for them (a male primary carer in a community where this is a predominantly a woman’s role).

Key Considerations:• Are you comfortable having someone else looking after your children in a new environment?• If so, are you willing and able to spend money on hiring a nanny?• What are their English language skills like?• Do you want the nanny to interact with your child around learning activities and if so, how will you know

if they have the ability to do that?• What if there are health issues or emergencies? Will the nanny be able to respond adequately? How will

you know?• Are we ready for parental roles to shift in our family?• What support can caregivers expect from host community’s structures?


Financial Resources

Volunteer allowances are standardised in each country, based on the cost of a volunteer living modestly, immersed in the local community. These resources will likely not be enough for your family to live as it does in Australia. Please think carefully about the costs you anticipate and how your family will meet them.

Our recruiters can provide some advice, but you will also need to research your move carefully.

We will also connect you to previous families who have lived in your intended assignment location during the recruitment process.

Key Considerations:• Can you live on the allowances?• How much additional money do you think you will need to take with you?


Goods and Services

Normal everyday goods and services may not be available or could come at more expensive costs. Please reflect upon your needs and consider you and your family’s levels of flexibility to adapt to such different circumstances.

Also, consider any specific needs and whether you are able to potentially replace these with local alternatives. Think about things like toys and school equipment that your children are used to. There may be limits on the nappies and baby equipment that are available in your host community.

As much as practical, try and gain more specific information about the circumstances in your host community.

Returned volunteers have pointed to the fact that often very few expatriate families living in the host community are volunteers. Instead, many will have well-paid jobs and with such jobs access to a range of resources.

Such resources can include generous housing, cars, and sometimes organisational resources for families such as spaces to play and swim. For example, some expat families have access to pools at Embassies or hotels that volunteers may not have access to or be able to afford. On the other hand, expat families may also have back gardens and other play spaces which volunteers’ children may also be able to use.

Key Considerations:• How flexible is my family in adapting to different circumstances relating to goods and services? What are

things we have to have access to?• How will my family cope with experiencing uneven or irregular access to goods and services?• How do you communicate such differences to your children ensuring they don’t feel disadvantaged in the

new environment?


Learning the Language

Formal language training may be provided to the volunteer and accompanying dependants as part of the in- country orientation.

Successful volunteers often start language training prior to taking up their assignments, as even limited use of local languages can greatly increase your integration in the community and work-place. Common issues reported resulting from language barriers are social isolation and bullying.

Please ensure you discuss the challenges and rewards of learning a foreign language with your children.

Think about options and talk about strategies that may assist you and your family in learning the new language.

Key Considerations:• What are my children’s levels of readiness to learn a new language?• Can we begin to learn the language as a family before we leave?• What is my personal level of readiness and ability to learn a new language and support my children

learning at the same time?• How do we go about learning a new language? Tutoring sessions, individually or as a family? • How early should we start learning the new language?• How much money and time do we have available to engage in learning a new language?


Cultural Influences

As well as the practical things, you will need to consider influences on your family that have a cultural element.

Factors to consider include dealing with different standards of behaviour and accepting differences in attitudes and beliefs about children, for example about their rights or in theoretical approaches to education.

For example, your children may be used to a school environment in which they are encouraged to take care of their friends. This can create significant conflict for them when friends / classmates in the local community are being punished harshly by teachers, and potentially produce a feeling of being powerless to act.

Key Considerations:• Have we considered country specific challenges, and even more localised location-specific challenges?• Have we discussed such concerns with other families?• After conducting research, do the pros outweigh the cons for our family?


Tips from Volunteer Families

A few key issues from former volunteer families are captured below. First from parents and on the final two pages – from kids.

Every family is different. When thinking about possible impacts carefully consider your family’s individual circumstances.

Working ‘double shifts’“An important point for preparation is to consider that in addition to working full-time hours and the challenges and rewards this will bring; parents are likely to have more work after-hours with their children than in their home country. For example, shopping tasks, access to adequate health care, weather and transport challenges, absence of extended family support, logistical issues such as necessity of mosquito nets/close sleeping quarters, can result in unforeseen impacts.”

Getting to know local families“Getting to know local families in a genuine way takes time and often language skills. Especially for full-time fathers it can be difficult spending time with local parents as mostly women are looking after children during the day when the other parent is working.”

“The local community is less likely to understand and sympathise with your situation undergoing adjustment of living in another country compared to others who have also had to make the adjustment.”

• How well will your family cope being away from family and friends at home?• What importance do you and each family member place on socialising regularly with others?• How open-minded and adaptable are you and each family member to learning a new language?• How savvy are you and each family member in speaking the local language?• How flexible is your family in adapting to different local customs?

Meeting the locals“Take the time to go to the school gates (if your child is young enough to still want to be picked up) and talk to some of the other parents. It can be hard to work up the courage to approach a group of parents, but that is what your child had to do – walk into a classroom filled with strange children.”

Volunteer Community“Most other volunteers will not have children or at least not with them (e.g. parents of adult children). Having a network of volunteers that understands your experiences as a family will depend on the group you meet.”


Expatriate community“Many expatriate families are in a different situation compared to a volunteer family. They may be in senior staff positions, such as Country Directors, and have access to resources of much higher stand. As a volunteer the way you experience your status amongst others will be very much determined by your own self- perception.”

• What ways as a family can we plan to make new friends?


Tips for Talking with the Children

In order to prepare every family member for being part of the experience of living abroad, talking with your children is really important as you decide and plan.

It will help the transition if your children are as excited as you are about the thought and the experience of living overseas in a new community.

Children will adjust to the idea of living far away from home differently:Some will be immediately excited, and others will take longer to come around. Once the thought is introduced, regular discussions as a family will be useful. The more questions you can answer prior to your move, the less insecure they will feel when they arrive.

A good time to talk is when you are all relaxed and have enough time to explain the full situation: Space to ask and answer questions will be helpful. The idea is likely to cause fears and uncertainties initially, especially for children who are old enough to realise that it means leaving their familiar surroundings behind for a while.

Doing research together as a family can help with the process:Nobody will have all the answers about your new home and it shows you think it is important if you find out answers together with your children. Doing research together online and discussing your new home with extended family or friends who have visited before can help. Answering questions can give children a sense of security about the move. But try not to promise anything you don't absolutely know you will be able to provide. Your honesty is their security.

Children will have different expectations about living overseas:Some of these may be surprising to parents. Just because you love travelling doesn’t mean that your children will. Instead help them find their own positives in the change they will go through. It can help to highlight the advantages and privileges of experiencing different cultures and what this can mean for their future.

The length of time for assignments and your previous experiences of big changes as a family can impact the approach you take (Is the assignment characterised as relocating the family or as an extended holiday?)

The age, sex, temperament and resilience of your children will also influence how they respond and cope. You know your children best so think about the best way to frame the discussion to suit your children’s preferences and comforts.

Throughout the process of deciding, discussing and planning, take opportunities to spot risks and work together with your children to address them before departure.


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