How to plan my mission?

You can contact the association through email, social networks or by phone. The first contact is usually with Laetitia, director and co-founder of the association. This is an opportunity to discuss together in order to find the most suitable mission for you, according to your wishes and to the needs of the country where you are working. After these first exchanges, a physical or phone appointment is arranged with each person (and their parents/legal guardians, when they wish to get involved). This allows us to better understand your motivations and ambitions, and simply to get to know you.

When you are decided to go on a mission, you are registered on the association’s internal platform, which lists all the volunteers. You can access your secure personal space, in which we deposit documentation about your mission, and the country in which you will be going. It is also on this platform that you can upload all the administrative documents necessary for departure, as well as your flight tickets. In this way, we can ensure a personalized follow-up of each volunteer. This platform is also used by local teams to better organize your arrival. Indeed, thanks to the personal information and arrival dates of each volunteer, our teams are able to welcome you under excellent conditions.

In addition to the usual administrative documents that will be requested from you, LifeTime Projects invites each volunteer to provide a certificate from the doctor, certifying their good physical and psychological health. Furthermore, for ethical purposes, we ask future volunteers wishing to carry out a mission in contact with children to conduct an interview with LifeTime Projects’ referent psychologist. This interview, which can be done via distance, allows us to better understand the motivations and fears of each volunteer in order to advise them in the best possible way in choosing their mission. It also allows us to guarantee the safety of the children and to provide personalized support for the volunteer.

Before going on a mission, you are invited to attend a day or weekend of training, which will prepare you for your departure. Volunteers going to the same country can meet up and get all the necessary information before leaving. What will their mission be? What does a typical day look like? What are the attitudes and behaviors to adopt? What is the difference between humanitarian aid and international solidarity? This is an opportunity for volunteers to talk to people who have already been on a mission with LifeTime Projects and who can share their experiences and impressions. These trainings are organized by LifeTime Projects twice a year, and while not compulsory, they are highly recommended. They generally take place in Paris or Strasbourg.

LifeTime Projects focuses on building bonds between volunteers and local populations. We organize virtual meetings with our local teams for volunteers going to Cameroon and Bolivia about three weeks before departure. This is an opportunity to have a first contact with the team on site, and to review the mission. You can ask them all the practical questions related to your arrival, and see with them for any specific equipment you may need to ensure the successful completion of planned activities. After this first contact, a schedule of the mission can be set up in your personal space of our online platform. Feel free to prepare a list of questions before your meeting!

At the end of your mission, we encourage you to share your experience with people, on social networks and on this website. LifeTime Projects will also ask you to fill out a satisfaction survey, which will allow us to evaluate your mission in order to provide suggestions for improvement. We strive to keep in touch with our volunteers after their mission to capitalize on their experience and allow them to continue to support our actions.

Some deadlines to remember

• A mission is organized at the latest 2 months before departure;
• Documents must be uploaded no later than two weeks before departure;
• For all missions, you will be asked to provide a certificate of aptitude from your doctor stating that you are physically and psychologically fit for your mission; for any mission in contact with children, it will be necessary to have a prior interview with the association’s referent psychologist;
• If you are going to Cameroon, the accommodation certificate will be uploaded on our online platform four days after you upload your flight tickets and photocopy from your passport;
• If you are going to Bolivia or Cameroon, an appointment by Skype or Whatsapp with the local team will be arranged about three weeks before your departure;
• If you are going to Bolivia or Cameroon, you will receive the schedule of your first week and details about your host family about two weeks before departure;
• Payment must be completed one month before departure.

LifeTime Projects accompanies you throughout each step of the preparation of your mission. Our team is always here to inform, advise and reassure you.