Security

A message to our volunteers about security

The security of our Volunteer Advisers (VAs) is a priority for CESO managers in Canada and our staff around the world. We carefully assess security issues on an on-going basis and monitor the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) travel advisories.

Throughout the world, our Country Representatives and Country Project Managers maintain contact with the local Canadian government office to determine whether there has been any change on security issues. We only send VAs to places which our local staff ensure us are safe.

Although media reports sometimes bring information that may look disturbing to you, we find that our local staff provide a balanced picture of the safety situation in their country and are our most reliable source in this respect. Sometimes events reported in the media are concentrated in a specific area; in this case we do not send VAs to that particular part of the country but the program continues in other parts of the country.

There have been occasions when we temporarily shut down a program in a country when we assessed the personal safety or public health situation was dangerous. If you have any concerns about a particular country prior to leaving Canada, we encourage you to call VAs who have returned from that country to ask them detailed questions about the country, customs and personal safety situation. The final decision whether to go on an assignment rests with you.