Informational Packet Paraguay Trip July 16 July 25, 2016 Courts for Kids : PO Box 873786, Vancouver, WA 98687: 360-521-0592: derek@courtsforkids.org: www.courtsforkids.org
Welcome to Courts for Kids. Most likely, this is your first trip with our organization and we are confident that this trip will impact you in ways you cannot even imagine. We work closely with our incountry partner to make sure your basic needs are met, so we can all focus on the task at hand, creating a multi-purpose sports court with the initiative, help and support of the community. A sports court is a great project because it requires the help of many community members, provides plenty of work for everyone, and becomes an asset that provides not only safe places for children to play, but also various other benefits. The hard work of our team will be a great bridge between us and the community and we will develop a mutual respect that will help provide inroads into a rich crosscultural experience and first-hand insight into a developing world community. We are looking for great cultural ambassadors, so please only sign up for this trip if you are willing to step outside of your comfort zone. You will need to work hard, you will be eating different foods, sleeping and bathing in less comfortable environments. But, as they say, if you want to live like you re in America, why leave! Most importantly, we ask that you enter into this with a great sense of humility. We want you to be eager to learn and grow in this process as we are entering into a different culture with different values and norms. We want you be quick to listen and slow to speak. We will not be giving you a detailed itinerary as things are very prone to change with this sort of construction project. But your time will be spent working on the court, taking part in various cultural activities and doing a camp on the court when it is all finished. Please look through this informational packet and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. If you choose to go, I can almost guarantee you will look back on this trip as a life-changing experience. You will grow so much in a week it will make you wish you could stay for longer. In fact, you will probably say this was the best week of your year, maybe life! Hope you can come! Derek Nesland President Courts for Kids
Site Details You will be heading to Primera Linea Irrazabal, a small community of 500 people centered in the district of Repatriacion, which is about 200km to the east of Asuncion. The majority of the people in the community work in subsistence family farming of yucca, sugar cane, cotton, beans, and corn. The properties are distributed between 2-10 hectares (5-25 acres) per family. The community has a high index of internal and external migration, especially among youth and in some cases entire families due to poverty, lack of educational opportunities and lack of work. There are approximately 150 houses in the community as well as one elementary school, one high school, and four churches. The school and high school are located in the same land with an enrollment of approximately 100 students total. To the right is a picture of the land where you will be working with the community to build the sports court, which will be used for futsal, handball, and basketball. Additionally it will serve in social functions like Olympics, folklore festivals, graduation ceremonies, dances among others. You will be staying in the heart of the community at the school on mattresses on the floor. There are western style toilets at the school and bathing facilities. Food will be prepared by a community member, eating all traditional dishes including produce grown right in the community. There is an artesian well in the community, but you will be only drinking bottled water. The community is very excited to show you their distinct culture, traditional dances and games and have a genuine cultural exchange in addition to the hard work of building the court. Here are some words from the in-community partner we are working with: In a rural zone like ours, we do not have many opportunities to practice sports nor to participate in the invaluable intercultural exchanges. This project is a dream for the whole educational community. It will allow the children and youth to practice various sports that complement our curriculum. We already attempted to complete this dream with various NGOs and the government however until now, we have not received any positive feedback. Your organization would grant us an opportunity to fulfill our dream and share our rich community. Thank you.
Iguazu Falls Many people come to South America to see one of the seven natural wonders of the world, Iguazu Falls, located on the border of Brazil and Argentina. It is remote and very difficult to get to, but fortunately for us, the community in Paraguay is only 3.5 hours away. We will be including a trip to Iguazu Falls at the end of our trip. This extension is optional and your cost will be $350 lower if you choose not to participate. Trip Itinerary Saturday, July 16th You must schedule your flight to arrive into Asuncion on the 16th. We will overnight at a hotel near the airport TBD. Sunday, July 17th Take a private bus 200km to the community and have community orientation. Monday, July 18th Tuesday, July 19th Full immersion into the community, which will involve working on the Wednesday, July 20th court, taking part in cultural activities, interacting with the Thursday, July 21st community, playing games and having a blast! Friday, July 22nd Saturday, July 23rd Depart for Iguazu falls, spend 1/2 day exploring the falls, overnight near dam Sunday, July 24th- Drive from dam back to Asuncion, overnight Monday, July 25th You can schedule your flight to depart Asuncion at anytime on the 25th. Trip Costs Total trip commitment per person= $1,250* ($900 without Iguazu Falls) The price includes court construction materials, food, lodging, all transportation, travel insurance and Iguazu Falls (including $160 Argentinian reciprocity fee) It does not include- airfare, Paraguay entrance visa, passport, immunizations, and souvenirs. *All donations are non-refundable. If you raise/donate more than the above amount, you can choose to apply the excess to your airfare, entrance visa costs, passport or immunization costs. Some tips if you choose to extend your stay: If you go to Iguazu Falls, we are already going to be purchasing the $160 reciprocity fee for Argentina (not Brazil) which might make Argentina a more attractive option. If you want to spend more time at Iguazu Falls, or want a more convenient but more expensive travel option, you can say goodbye to our team there, book your own hotel and a flight out of the local Iguazu airport. This would save you the long trek back to Asuncion.
Trip Checklist 1. Passport - Make sure you have a passport that will not expire before February 2, 2017. If you need a passport, go to the nearest post office for assistance. In order to avoid the headache and stress, make sure you get your passport on time, do it ASAP. 2. Payments - Complete this registration process and submit your non-refundable deposit of $250 ASAP to reserve your spot (pay online by credit card, bank transfer or turn in a check). The deposit will go towards the total cost. Amounts Due: Turn in your deposit of $250 ASAP (First 25 participants will have a spot on the trip) Turn in the first amount of $500 by March 1 2016 Turn in the balance of $500 by June 1, 2016 * All donations are non-refundable unless the entire project is canceled. 3. Vaccinations - The recommended vaccinations for travel to Paraguay according to the Center for Disease Control are the following (keep in mind these are recommended, not required. Check with your local doctor and make the decision best for you): Routine (DPT, MMR, Polio) (recommended for ALL travelers) Hepatitis A (recommended for MOST travelers) Typhoid (recommended for MOST travelers) Hepatitis B (recommended for SOME travelers) Yellow Fever (recommended for SOME travelers) Additional Info Social Guidelines Each participant will agree to abide by Courts for Kids code of conduct, which includes no drugs or alcohol. For the safety of the participants, our relationship with the community, as well as the reputation of all organizations and institutions involved, we have a zero tolerance policy. Courts for Kids Representative A representative from Courts for Kids will accompany the team and facilitate trip logistics. Questions/concerns Please do not hesitate to contact Derek with any questions regarding the trip. Contact information is found on the cover page.
Registration information To register for this trip, you will do so online at www.courtsforkids.org/regpacks/ (you will be officially signed up once you fill out the sign up form and pay the $250 deposit) Instructions on how to use the system: 1. Create a login and password. If you are under 18, you and your parents will share a log-in and need to fill out the forms together. 2. On the introduction letter page, you will be asked if you have an invite code. For this trip, the invite code is Paraguay. 3. Select Paraguay on the list. You will not be able to view specific trip details until you select the trip. FROM THIS POINT ON, IF YOU EVER WANT TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THE PAGES, YOU CAN CLICK ON YOUR NAME IN THE TOP LEFT WHICH WILL BRING YOU TO YOUR DASHBOARD. 4. Sign-up Form. If you plan to fundraise, do NOT choose yes to the question Do you want your credit card or bank account charged automatically on the trip payment due dates. This is an option for participants who intend to pay automatically in full at the deadlines. 5. Work your way through the other forms. They should be self-explanatory. 6. MAKING A PAYMENT. In order to be signed up for a trip, you need to make your initial deposit. To do so, click the make a payment option. You can also log back on at the deadline dates which are found on the Trip Checklist page. A. Click Make a Payment from the dashboard (if you don t see this, click on your name on the upper left corner, which will bring you to the dashboard page). B. Certain trips require parents to sign a credit card authorization in the event that your son/daughter breaks our social conduct policy, we would send him/her home using that card. We do not store the card. It is stored by a third party with PCI level 1 compliance. C. You can pay by credit card, bank transfer or manual check. If you are sending in a check for a deposit, click the manual check button on the far right and send your check to Courts for Kids/ PO Box 873786/ Vancouver, WA 98687. D. Change the amount to the amount of the deposit or however much you owe. 7. YOUR DONATIONS. If you are fundraising, we will update the checks we have received in the your donations page.