Gap year safety and support

We undertake thorough risk assessments for all our expeditions and these are updated and monitored daily. We encourage our volunteers to play an active part in assessing potential risks and understand why prevention measures are taken

Every expedition, no matter what duration, begins with a comprehensive briefing at the University of Leeds which every member of the team, where possible, is encouraged to attend. This is a chance to run through the project objectives and daily life in the Pacific in detail, to prepare our volunteers for their experience and to answer all pre-project questions in person. For our volunteers based outside of the UK, we will be in touch by telephone of Skype to offer an individual briefing before the project starts.  The first few days of any expedition is our in-country briefing. Here we run through health and safety issues, responsible travel, cultural awareness, local language, and local orientation to ensure our volunteers are well informed and comfortable in their new surroundings before the aims get underway.

Every expedition is led by at least two Think Pacific Leaders. Our Leaders are young, energetic, quick thinking and reliable. They are passionate about what we do and how we do it. We believe they are the reason why our expeditions are so unique. Our leaders are wilderness first aid trained and have immense knowledge of the islands where you will be living. Our leaders live alongside you throughout the expedition, assessing the aims, updating risk assessments, and working with our project partners and volunteers to ensure objectives and timeframes are met.

Safety and Support

Every Fiji expedition is led from start to finish by the Think Pacific staff team. Our expedition leaders live with our volunteer team at the resorts and within the Fijian villages and from the moment the group arrive until the final day at the airport, our expeditions are guided and supported 24 houts a day. Our leaders are supported by our local partners at the Fijian Ministry and each project is overseen by our Project Director in Fiji and backed up 24 hours a day by our UK office. Offering personal and constant leadership is integral to our project delivery and a major focus of our operations to ensure that every member of our team supported throughout their entire experience. The building elements of our projects are designed by our Fijian architects and managed day-to-day by our talented Fijian building managers in the community. Each project has a 'Mata ni vanua'. This is a traditionally important role in Fiji – our group 'spokesperson'. Our mata ni vanua has detailed knowledge of local customs, traditions and dialects and act as a 'cultural advisor' to immerse our volunteers into Fijian life.

24 hour Emergency Back-Up

Our UK office is accessible 24 hours a day 365 days a year, and we maintain a constant emergency phone line. We keep easily accessible records of our volunteers travel information including flights details, insurance policies, medical conditions, and next of kin details. We keep in close contact with our overseas expedition leaders so we can also relay project updates and keep relatives and friends informed and enthused by email!

We have a comprehensive company crisis management and emergency plan for volunteer safety, this has been designed by our leaders in the field and is overseen by our Fiji Project Director, it is updated before each expedition and all staff teams undertake regular training.

At the end of every expedition we head to a small, quiet resort. Here we complete a detailed de-brief. We ask our volunteers for feedback on all aspects of the expedition. With this full and honest assessment, our leaders file a project report to ensure our standards remain high.

We adhere to strict codes of conduct and financial guidelines to comply with the Package Travel Regulations Act 1992. This ensures that all monies paid to us are protected, including safeguarding funds in separate client accounts before departure.