1. Can I do volunteer work or a work placement abroad?
No, doing volunteer work or a work placement is not possible at War Child. Organisations who might be able to help you do this are:

1. PSO (Association for Personnel Service Overseas) www.pso.nl
2. PUM (Netherlands Management Cooperation Programme) www.pum.nl
3. VSO Nederland (Stichting Voluntary Service Overseas Nederland) www.vso.nl
4. ICCO www.icco.nl
5. MEMISA (medical support to the Third World) www.memisa.nl
6. AFS (Interculturele Programma's Nederland) mail: afs@xs4all.nl
7. HWY (Holland World Youth) mail: hwy@antenna.nl
8. ICA Nederland (volunteer projects) www.icaworld.org
9. PBI Nederland (Peace Brigades International) www.peacebrigades.org
10. SIW (volunteer projects) www.siw.nl
11. STOLA (traineeships in foreign countries) www.stichtingstola.nl
12. BuZa (Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs) www.minbuza.nl
13. www.clubvan2000.nl
14. www.ngoabroad.com
15. COS
16. www.kennisnet.nl
17. Also check the websites of Move Your World, Nuffic or Stichting IJ.

2. Can I go abroad on a project for a period less than a year?
War Child has a ‘consultancy pool’ consisting of people who have a track record in development work and War Child expertise. These consultants go to our Programme Area for short periods to train, assess, evaluate or otherwise support the execution of our programmes. Specific professional knowledge is required for these assignments, for instance in music, arts, community based work or management, as well as extensive experience in developing countries.

3. How are expats supported?
You will be thoroughly prepared at headquarters and given training. If necessary, War Child will offer additional individual guidance and the possibility to consult an independent psychologist. On your return from a mission, a debriefing is held at headquarters and you are offered the opportunity to consult an independent psychologist. Please see our Terms and Conditions.

4. How will we stay in touch with the home front in case of a power failure?
Each project has a satellite telephone that requires no electricity and there usually is also a generator on hand.

5. How important is relevant experience abroad?
Relevant experience working in post-conflict areas is required.

6. What are War Child’s requirements concerning safety?
Although we operate in post-conflict areas, the work is not without risk. In order to mitigate risks, we first note down all procedures and rules and draw up an evacuation plan. The NGOs and the UN agencies in the project country have regular information meetings at which they discuss the security situation. National staff is also an important source of information and monitoring the security situation is an important task of the Country Director.

7. What can I do if my profile does not fit the requirements of War Child?
If your background really does not match any of the field positions at War Child, you can look for positions at other NGOs at www.fondsen.org. www.reliefweb.int/vacancies or www.alertnet.org.

8. What educational background is required?
This differs per field position. Please check our standard job descriptions on our website, which state the relevant requirements.

8. How does a project start?
Based on desk research and contacts with local organizations, we choose post-war areas where War Child believes it can make the greatest contribution. Two War Child employees then travel to the area to perform an assessment on the ground. Subsequently, we hire a Country Director and Programme Development Manager, who travel to the area to set up the project. After a couple of weeks the Programme Manager from headquarters visits the country and together they determine the strategy for the coming year.

9. What are the areas in which War Child starts new projects?
In 2006 we started a programme in Israel/Palestine. We are currently also looking into possibilities to expand in the current countries we work in. Please check our website for more information about the countries we currently work in.

10. Do countries or communities always welcome War Child with open arms?
Some people and governments are not immediately enthusiastic and say they prefer to receive money and short-term material assistance. Fortunately, after a while many people recognize the value of psychosocial assistance for children, particularly when the problematic behaviour of children shows visible improvement. Together with the community, War Child creates a long-lasting and broad foundation for the programme.

13. Does War Child also offer individual therapy to children?
No, War Child does not enter into long-term commitments. We do investigate if we can refer children to other organisations or governments when individual therapy is desired.

14. Do Trainers also work with children?
A Trainer primarily trains adult workshop leaders, who work directly with the children. Workshop leaders are local people, for example schoolteachers. Of course you will often be in contact with the children when you attend a workshop. The number of children you are in contact with depends on the type of activities and the nature of the project.

15. Voluntary jobs in the field are very rare. Unfortunately we do not take any unsolicited applications into consideration. If War Child is looking for volunteers to send abroad, this will be announced on this website.

16. Internship abroad
Internships and research abroad are rarely possible. If War Child is looking for trainees or researchers for the projects abroad, this will be announced on this website.

Internet sites or organizations that might help you find an internship or volunteer placement include:
1. PSO (Association for Personnel Service Overseas) www.pso.nl
2. PUM (Netherlands Management Cooperation Programme) www.pum.nl
3. VSO Nederland (Stichting Voluntary Service Overseas Nederland) www.vso.nl
4. ICCO www.icco.nl
5. MEMISA (medical support to the Third World) www.memisa.nl
6. AFS (Interculturele Programma's Nederland) mail: afs@xs4all.nl
7. HWY (Holland World Youth) mail: hwy@antenna.nl
8. ICA Nederland (volunteer projects) www.icaworld.org
9. PBI Nederland (Peace Brigades International) www.peacebrigades.org
10. SIW (volunteer projects) www.siw.nl
11. STOLA (traineeships in foreign countries) www.stichtingstola.nl
12. BuZa (Ministerie of foreign affairs) www.minbuza.nl
13. www.clubvan2000.nl
14. www.ngoabroad.com
15. The COS can provide you with information about working in a developing country, how to go about it and which organizations can help you to realize it.
16. www.kennisnet.nl: is the internet portal for education in the Netherlands. Please visit the "internationale plein" to read about the possibilities for international internships and volunteer work.
17. Take also a look at the internet sites of Move Your World, Nuffic of Stichting IJU

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