Of course volunteering is not a tourist activity and accommodation is not something you can book at the touch of a button. Wherever possible, we try to arrange accommodation with private host families rather than in hostels, volunteer dorms or similar. This not only helps you as a coach to immerse yourself in the culture of the region and get to know the local people better, but also provides financial support for the host family.
The projects organise the accommodation themselves and talk in advance to potential host families who are willing to host foreign sports volunteers for a longer period of time. Particularly for new projects and new host families, there are a number of considerations that need to be taken into account and that are sometimes organised at short notice on the ground.
These include considerations such as the length of the stay, how close the potential accommodation is to the project site, whether the family has children of their own, whether they have animals and much more. Or does the family have preferences and options for hosting only a male volunteer or a female sports volunteer? Does the accommodation offer sufficient privacy, will volunteers have their own room or will they share a room with host siblings and how can the rooms be shared? In a large host family, are all family members willing to host a volunteer for several months?
Host families are often good acquaintances, friends or even family members of the project initiators or their staff. There is often a network of potential partner families or experienced host families who have already hosted volunteers.
However, there may be some overlap depending on how many volunteer places the project has to offer and how long they are for. In this case too, the project organisers must react accordingly and develop alternatives. Therefore, it is not always possible to provide detailed information about your host family in advance.
As soon as your coaching placement has been confirmed between you, the project and COACH ABROAD, we will get in touch with your project mentor, who will also inform you about your accommodation.
However, we will do our best to provide you with as much insider knowledge as possible in advance and will try to obtain all relevant information from the local project partner and pass it on to you.
