Freepackers is committed to ethical behaviour and sound values among its participants, both with regards to the team and with regards to the local projects. Here are some of our commitments!
We have visited the projects to ensure that they were ethical, as well as to ensure that the host organisation was providing the necessary guidance and demonstrating aligned values.
We are in weekly contact with our partner NGOs to ensure that each assignment runs smoothly.
We know the projects and the NGOs personally. This is why we put ourselves forward as experts, thanks to our in-depth knowledge of the assignments we offer.
Ensuring projects are ethical means ensuring that they contribute to sustainable development. But what is sustainable development? In concrete terms, it is about meeting the needs of today’s society without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It is based on three pillars: social, economic and ecological. Our projects fit into one or more of these areas to ensure a sustainable impact.
Different categories of projects can be listed:
– Humanitarian: providing better future opportunities for local communities.
– Environmental: contributing to the conservation of ecosystems.
– Animal: acting to protect species.
We contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2015. Our humanitarian projects in communities contribute to providing “quality education for all”, for example, goal number 4.
Freepackers is an intermediary organisation. We act as a link between the local organisations and the volunteers. This link is made primarily through real guidance work, so that each volunteer can choose the assignment that best meets their expectations.
We carry out research and provide information to all the volunteers, in order to match their preferences and know-how with local needs. Our experience and knowledge of the field enable us to provide the best possible advice to volunteers. We have been helping volunteers on projects such as these since 2014, and every feedback we receive has allowed us to improve our profile analysis.
By discussing it directly with you, by telephone and by email, we can draw up your project together. The placement therefore depends on the participants’ skills and profile. A telephone interview and an application form (CV and covering letter) are used to define the volunteer’s assignment for educational projects ranging from childcare to the organisation of extracurricular activities and tutoring / assistance in schools for the most highly trained.
In addition to personalised and suitable placements, we provide regular follow-up before, during and after the assignment. A real framework to ensure the smooth running of the project.
Once the project has been chosen, we assist the participants in preparing for departure. We take care of sending the necessary documents to register for the assignment, and forward them to our partner NGO. We also make ourselves available by email, WhatsApp and telephone to answer your questions. We are as transparent as possible about the experience on site so that volunteers know what to expect!
Once on site, the host organisation takes over the logistics and answers any questions participants may have. Nevertheless, we regularly ask for news of each of our volunteers, directly to them and to our partner. We are thus in permanent contact with the participants, who can contact us if necessary.
Right up to the end of the assignment, we keep in touch with our volunteers, who send us their feedback and impressions. It is thanks to this feedback that we have been able to fine-tune our projects, our placements, our follow-up, and therefore our expertise!
