Each country is handling COVID restrictions a little bit differently. Once you have requested your visit, a Field Experience Planner will reach out to you with more details regarding specific restrictions, if any, to the country you are travelling to.
On child visit day, each traveler's sponsored child(ren) will be brought to a central location for us to spend the day together. Unfortunately, because there are so many travelers with children from all over the country, we can’t get to the home and community of every traveler's sponsored child. If you would like to visit your child’s home and community, we suggest a Custom Visit—either instead of an Exposure Trip, or sometime in the future, as we’re sure both you and your child will hope for the opportunity to meet in-person again!
Compassion has established guidelines for correspondence to ensure the safety of children and sponsors. All communication must be channeled through our ministry. Please do not respond to or pursue communications through Facebook or other social networking sites. You may contact our Contact Centre at info@compassion.ca or (800) 563-5437 to notify us if your child or his or her family member attempts to contact you in this way.
Visitors may not give cash directly to the student centre staff, Compassion staff, the child or student, or their family. Giving cash to your child or family may cause conflicts and generate negative attention within their community, so we ask that all gifts be given through Compassion Canada. By doing so, your donation can be appropriately recorded, and we can ensure that it will be used responsibly.
The benefit for the child is very significant. For a child in poverty, it is a deep-seated belief that he or she is insignificant, powerless and hopeless. That belief perpetuates a poverty of spirit. This poverty of spirit, when met with the intense day-to-day realities children face, can be changed only by transformation. Nothing says, “You are special, valued, significant or powerful” quite like a visit from a child’s sponsor. The surprise is that the sponsor often feels the same message coming back to them from their Compassion child—this interaction is nothing short of a truly sacred encounter.
Compassion Canada has been offering Exposure Trips for more than 25 years. We believe in the transformational power of the relationship between children and their sponsors. Meeting face-to-face is an incredible part of that. The main obstacles to providing such an encounter are sponsors not feeling comfortable planning their own international travel and the need to protect our international staff from being bombarded with individual requests to meet a child. The solution to these obstacles is what we now know as an Exposure Trip—a fully planned, carefully designed, cross-cultural experience that is led by a trained international trip leader.
We receive requests weekly from sponsors wanting to visit their child. Some of these trips are personal trips, where the sponsor is planning their trip to the country on their own, and we help organize the visit with their child. This takes a lot of planning for the sponsor, which is why we have created organized Exposure Trips as an alternative, for supporters who may want more structure and guidance.
A fuel surcharge is an additional cost that is added from the airline after we have secured our initial pricing. Although we strive to negotiate competitive group airfare, additional airline fuel surcharges may be applicable to each ticket and determined by the airline carrier at the time of issuance. It is becoming difficult to estimate increasing fuel surcharges in advance. Our commitment to financial stewardship and the children we serve prevents us from absorbing these additional costs. In the event these surcharges are higher than budget estimates, we may require additional funds strictly to cover these increased surcharges. We appreciate your understanding in this matter and will communicate any changes immediately.
We work diligently to provide a world-class experience at the most reasonable price possible. We acknowledge that such a trip is often a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and for many, the cost may seem an impossible hurdle. The reality is safe international travel can be pricey. We'd like to explain why these trips are created, what accounts for the cost of Exposure Trips, and what is included in a trip to validate these expenses.
Exposure Trip costs include travel and in country costs, such as:
- All airfare, fuel and surcharges for international flights booked under a group contract by Compassion (unless a trip is noted as Land Only)
- All in-country hotel costs
- All in-country transportation costs from buses to in-country flights to varying destinations within the country you are visiting
- All in-country meals
- All tips, fees and entrance/exit costs as well as fun day venue costs and visits to any tourist attractions
- Travel Insurance
Most importantly, the trip cost includes all expenses associated with the child/sponsor visit. This includes transportation (bus, air, taxi, train, boat), translation services, meals, lodging, activity entrance fees, etc., for the child(ren), their Compassion centre representative and parent (when desired by the parent/child).
Exposure Trip coverage does not include:
- Domestic ticket costs for you or your family to meet the group flying from our gateway city to our international location
- Additional snacks, shopping, gifts for your child or souvenirs purchased in-country
- Travel documents such as passports and visas
- Immunizations
- Excess baggage charges (especially if your bags exceed weight limits or number of pieces allowed)
- Internet, phone calls or laundry services while traveling
- Transportation from the airport if you choose to fly Land Only apart from the group airline contract
- Fuel surcharges
It is the policy of Compassion International to protect children in our programs from abuse by instituting reasonable guidelines and procedures to direct the interactions of Compassion International staff, partners, supporters and other visitors with Compassion beneficiaries. In accordance with our Commitment to Child Protection, Compassion requires a Background Check for all adult visitors (legal age in your province) who are meeting any beneficiary of a ministry program. Compassion’s background checks are valid for 1 year. If you travel on another Custom Visit or Exposure Trip during this time frame, you will not need to complete another one. This includes arrangements to meet any Compassion child or visit a child development centre or Survival program.
Each adult visitor will be responsible for paying the fee as well as submitting the information to our third-party vendor, MyBackCheck. Instructions for the background check will be provided upon registration for a trip, and completion is required before joining an Exposure Trip.
Accommodations are based on double occupancy. If you prefer single accommodations, you may pay a single supplement fee, which is listed on the trip registration page. If you are travelling alone and wish to share accommodations, we will assign a roommate of the same gender. If there is someone you would like to room with, please let us know when registering.
Since registration takes place significantly in advance to your departure date, you will receive many electronic communications and a trip kit (which contains your Trip Handbook, luggage ribbon and nametag) to help you prepare for your trip. Final trip details, such as itinerary, are emailed a few weeks before departure.
In the event that you need to cancel your trip, please refer to our cancellation policy below:
- All deposits are non-refundable
- 50 percent of the trip cost will be required for cancellations 59-31 days prior to the Exposure Trip
- 100 percent of the trip cost will be required for cancellations 30-0 days prior to the Exposure Trip
A passport is required for all travel outside of Canada. If your trip requires a visa for Canadian citizens, you will receive instructions as to how (and when) to obtain this document. Note, that if you are not a Canadian citizen, it will be your responsibility to obtain the correct travel documents. Each traveller is responsible for the cost and schedule of obtaining the correct travel documents.
Yes. We offer Custom Visits as an alternative to an arranged trip. For a Custom Visit, the traveler is responsible for all of their own travel arrangements and a Compassion Field Experience Specialist will help arrange for a day when you can meet your child, accompanied by a local Compassion Host.
We are unable to give medical advice, so it is important to consult with your physician, local health department or Travel Clinic for information on required and recommended immunizations for the country where you will be travelling.
We stay at hotels that are situated in safe locations and are geared to larger groups. When in larger cities, these hotels will often have restaurants on the premises and often include amenities such as pools, internet and laundry service.
Yes. Travellers have the option to use frequent flyer miles or points to reduce the overall trip cost. If you want to travel Land Only, please contact us for Compassion’s Land Only Agreement. If you choose to travel Land Only, you will be responsible for arranging and paying for your transportation to/from the hotel/airport if your flight doesn’t align with the group’s itinerary.
On your trip, we will dine on the local fare. Since buffets are typical, you will often have the ability to choose a more familiar meal. As much as possible, we will accommodate any special diet requests you have (e.g. vegetarian and vegan), but we ask that you please discuss your requests with us when registering for an Exposure Trip and also with your trip leader when you meet in your destination country.
A $250 non-refundable deposit is due at the time of registration via credit card or cheque. Upon completing registration, you will receive an email that includes payment deadlines, which can also be found on the trip page. Final payment for your trip will be due approximately six to eight weeks prior to departure.
Upon registration, you will be asked to disclose general health information so we are prepared to accommodate your needs. If you mark a health condition on our medical checklist, a Physician Release Form will be required. If you have a disability, it may be best to contact us to discuss your disability and limitations prior to registration. Many of our traveler have disabilities and are able to travel, but it is important that we fully know and understand your needs so we can advise and plan accordingly. We may require you to bring along someone who can assist you.
Travelling internationally can be daunting when packing for yourself, let alone bringing gifts for your Compassion child, their family and Compassion centres! Please see our trip preparations page to help guide you when packing your own personal items, as well as items for your child and the children you will be seeing at the Compassion centres.
We’ve selected highly skilled staff to lead all of our Exposure Trips. All leaders have an outstanding track record working for Compassion Canada, are CPR/First Aid Certified, and have gone through extensive training in the field alongside our local staff. Each trip will have at least two trained trip leaders and, depending on the size, may include additional staff.
The trip price includes the costs associated with a visit for one Compassion child. If you wish to visit additional children, they can be included for an additional cost.
Yes! The trip price includes one child visit. If you wish to visit additional children, they can be included for an additional cost.
Absolutely! You are welcome to bring gifts for your Compassion child and their family. Please view our list of gift suggestions to help you choose the perfect gifts for this occasion.
We set aside 6-7 hours to spend with the child you sponsor. Typically, we will meet the children in a park that is centrally located in the country. We will transport your child, a guardian and a program staff member from their Compassion child development centre to that location. Each sponsor will have a translator for the day so you and your Compassion child can enjoy communicating together.
If the child is travelling with a parent/guardian, they must be 10 years or older. Standard pricing will apply to any minor travelling with us.
Our trip members include families, couples, friends and solo travellers from all over Canada. Sponsors range in age from 10 to 90. It’s always a diverse group.
No, Exposure Trips are open to the public, and anyone can attend. We have to warn you that you will probably want to sponsor a child with us before your trip is over!
We plan trips to all of the 25 countries where we work. See our upcoming trips to find out where we’re headed next!