Participant Guidelines

The RYS Approach | Organization and Activities | Health and Wellbeing
Finances | Transportation | In Summary | RYS NORMS

We recommend printing the following pages for reference.
You may download a Word Document version here.

RYS's Responsibilities
The RYS will provide for in-country accommodations, three meals per day, health care and transportation during the program schedule. You are responsible for all of your lodging and meals before and after the program.

Meals are provided on a group basis, usually at the living site. If you eat at a different time or place than the rest of the group, your meal will not be paid for.

Please note that the Religious Youth Service cannot take responsibility for your personal money and valuables. There will be security at the living sites, but we cannot guarantee safety. We suggest that you do not bring especially valuable items, such as: expensive tape recorders, cameras, radios, watches, etc.

The RYS accountant will not be able to exchange currency or act as a bank. The RYS will not be responsible if your money is lost or stolen. If your money is lost or stolen, you will have to forego purchase of personal items. The RYS will not lend you money under any circumstances.

There are certain expenses which the RYS will not cover. These include telephone calls (which can be very expensive), postage, snacks or soft drinks, taxi or bus fares during your free time, gifts, souvenirs, etc. You will want to bring along a certain amount of personal money for this. We recommend that you do not bring large amounts of cash, but use traveler's checks. Be sure to have enough of relatively small denominations. This will make things easier if you don't want to carry a large amount of the local currency.

Currency Exchange
In general it is advisable to exchange only as much money into the local currency as you are sure that you will spend. There are banks and exchanges for this purpose. It may be the case, however, that you cannot exchange your currency. You must research this prior to arrival. If your nation's currency is not widely used throughout the world, it may be best to exchange it for U.S. dollars or the local currency before arriving. For further details please consult tourist guides such as "Fodor's Modern Guides" which give information about currency and customs regulations.