Changing Worlds directors, our staff and our participants are required to be extremely sensitive to the needs of local people and their traditions. These customs must be treated with utmost respect at all times.

We expect our participants to respect the local environment in which they live and work.

All our participants are briefed before departure from the UK on the details of their placements and the cultural and environmental sensitivities of living and working overseas. We stress the importance of retaining a positive attitude and a high standard of behaviour in a culture that may be very different their own and acting accordingly (as if a guest in someone elses home!)

We have specific conservation projects in Southern India, Madagascar and Kenya where our volunteers prime aim is designed to help and local communities preserve and conserve local habitats and ecosystems. In all cases our volunteers work side by side with local colleagues to provide 'hands on' assistance in this aim.

Points 8 and 9 in our Booking Conditions provide the guidelines to how we expect all our participants to behave whilst on their work placements.

Most of our placements are instigated by the needs of the local community through our local representatives. These projects are initially investigated by the representative before participants are placed in them. In most cases one of the Changing Worlds directors also visits these new projects on their annual visit.

Where appropriate our participants live with local families. Their hosts are paid for their accommodation and food so this money does filter into the local community.

Where participants are not living with a local family the costs of accommodation and food go to the institutions eg. orphanage or hospital where they are housed. The cost of hosting our participants is not a financial burden to the project.

We are sensitive to the needs of the institutions where we send our participants. We are always aware that these institutions should not become over reliant on Changing Worlds participants whilst at the same time retaining some continual and long term commitment to their projects. The role of the representative is to help maintain a constructive working relationship between the hosts and our participants.