safetravel -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
Safe travel and the Global Village program: August 19, 2009 Updates
The well-being and safety of our volunteers, families and staff members are always a priority as we work to further Habitat’s mission. Below is information regarding issues that have recently been impacting or may impact Global Village trips.
As always, due to unpredictable situations, participants are encouraged to purchase tickets that can be cancelled or changed. Safety is a priority, and teams may need to be rerouted or postponed with little notice due to health or safety concerns. We advise all participants to check U.S. Department of State for the most up-to-date information regarding official travel warnings and other information of note.
We will continue, as always, to proceed carefully and thoughtfully in our mission at this time. We are committed to simultaneously serving families and protecting the safety of our staff, volunteers and partners.
Honduras information
Due to the current political unrest and HFHI’s concern for volunteers’ safety, teams scheduled to visit Honduras before November 2009 have been rerouted. For more information on travel alerts and information regarding Honduras, please visit U.S. Department of State.
We are currently scheduling teams to Honduras for 2010. HFHI is staying up-to-date on the country’s political situation and is following all U.S. Department of State travel recommendations. Global Village plans to resume sending teams when the situation has stabilized.
H1N1 updates
Please be assured that Habitat for Humanity International is consulting with medical professionals and staying up-to-date on World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control information. According to our medical advisor, who is associated with Emory University in Atlanta and the CDC, the H1H1 virus is no more dangerous than the more common kind of influenza. It was the rapid spread of the virus—not the severity of the illness—that caused the WHO to increase the pandemic alert level to Phase 6 in June 2009.
Global Village and Thrivent Builds Worldwide teams may be affected; we will continue to evaluate all the information available to make appropriate decisions for all involved.
As always, team leaders should stress to trip participants that they should notify the team leader as soon as they suspect they are becoming ill.