About child development centre visits
With child development centre visits, Compassion will coordinate all logistics related to the day you experience at the centre. Travellers, however, are responsible for arranging all international travel details outside of the visit day. When you are ready to arrange a visit, submit a Child Development Centre Visit Request Form. Seeing Compassion in action is guaranteed to be a lasting memory, and we are excited to assist you on this wonderful journey!
Plan your visit
- Eight weeks advance notice: Compassion requests that you submit a visit request form with a minimum of eight weeks’ notice prior to the date of your visit.
- Visits are typically conducted Monday through Friday: Visits are limited to weekdays during regular business hours. A centre visit is limited to a single day, averaging a few hours.
- Child development centre visits are for those not meeting a child: If you are meeting a child, please fill out theCustom Visit Request Form.
- Starting the process: Once you have firm dates for arriving in the country and have selected a weekday date when you would like to visit a child development centre, please fill out a Child Development Centre Visit Request Form to initiate your visit process.
How it works
- Review process: A Visit Specialist will review your visit request form and send you an email with a link to register for your visit and complete some necessary documents.
- Necessary documents: Each adult visitor (legal age in your province) must complete a background check, and every visitor (both adult and minor) must electronically sign the release form.
- International travel arrangements: When you have registered, and everyone in your party has completed all visit requirements, your Visit Specialist will submit your request to our National Office in the country you are travelling to. Although no visit date can be guaranteed in advance, Compassion will make every effort to arrange your visit accordingly. If you decide to make travel arrangements (such as purchasing flight tickets) in advance, and your visit is subsequently declined by our field office, Compassion is not responsible for your costs.
- Admin Fee: In order to cover the administrative costs associated with planning your visit, there is an admin fee of $70 for the main contact and $20 for any adult guests. Instructions on how to pay this will be provided to you by your Field Experience Planner.
- Arranging logistics: When everyone in your party has completed the necessary steps, your Visit Specialist will begin communicating with our local staff to arrange the logistics of your visit.
Cost and expenses
- Cost estimate: The expenses involved in a child development centre visit depend on the logistics necessary and may include transportation and host/translator services on your visit day. We are unable to provide an estimate of your visit day costs prior to your registration because each visit is unique, and only our co-workers in the country where you are visiting are able to provide an accurate estimate of the costs in that area. Once you have registered, and everyone in your party has completed all visit requirements, your Visit Specialist will submit your request and the field office will provide an estimate of any anticipated costs specific to your visit arrangements.
- Detailed itinerary: When the information is received from the field office, your Visit Specialist will send you an email containing your detailed itinerary, an explanation of expenses that you will need to pay during your visit
- Confirmations and trip contacts: Your Visit Specialist will send a final confirmation to you with contact information for your in-country host, as well as any other relevant contact details for the field office staff.
- Important guidelines/policies: Please read our Custom Visit Guidelines and our Expense and Cancellation Policy prior to submitting your visit request.
- FAQs: If you have additional questions, please refer to our Custom Visit FAQs, filled with commonly asked questions. We also welcome your questions by phone at 1-800-563-5437 or by email atfieldexperience@compassion.ca.