The Welcome Tour

When volunteers arrive at their project on D-day, the first thing they need to do is find out where they are going to live, i.e. their accommodation.
We also feel it is important for volunteers to be able to visit their workplace and get to know the team of workers within a few days of their arrival.

At the same time, in order to make the volunteer autonomous, but also to make them feel safe, we feel it is important to show them the key places in the location (town, city…) where they will be living and to explain how certain services work in the country where they have just arrived, so that their volunteering goes as smoothly as possible and they can be as autonomous as possible in their daily life.
To do this, we offer a “welcome tour” to new volunteers. We arrange for them to spend around an hour in the town where they live. During these walks, we visit the following places:

• The nearby stores: those answering to first necessities (food for example) and others less essential (sport shops, clothes shops…)

• The town hall: the town’s administrative structure, the place where they can obtain legal papers.

• The public medical centre: the place where they can consult a doctor and other health specialists such as a psychologist, dentist, physiotherapist…

During this stopover, it is useful to have a discussion with the volunteers to ensure that they understand how healthcare works in the country where they will be living. For example, in Belgium, when we are injured, we have to go through a GP to obtain a prescription for physiotherapy sessions in order to be reimbursed by the mutual insurance company.

• Pharmacies and how to find the night pharmacy if needed

• Leisure facilities: sports halls, cinema, cultural centre, library, bars, restaurants, youth centre, local initiatives etc.

• During their voluntary service, some volunteers may lose touch with their sporting or cultural habits because they are unfamiliar with the places in the country they are visiting. It is therefore useful during the welcome tour to show them the different places and explain how they work. Whenever possible, enter the place and talk with someone to establish a first contact and get basic infos.

• Meeting and sharing places: shared fridges, second-hand shops, parks, forests, collective gardens and other local initiatives which might allow them to get to know people but also possibly decrease their expenses.

• The train station and public transport stops.

Generally, volunteers’ only means of transport is by foot and public transport. It is essential to tell them about the transport options available in the town (or country) where they will be living, so that they can discover the country by themselves. This is also an opportunity to explain how to pay for transport and the different possible deals they can get (season tickets, multi-trip cards, etc.).

You could finish your tour by sitting down on the terrace and offering the new volunteers a drink. During this time, you could talk about the region’s tourist attractions and the best walking and sightseeing routes.