23. Arrival & Welcome

Explanation

Arrival is the moment when all the planning becomes real for the volunteer. Until this point, the project has existed through emails, calls, documents and expectations. The first hours and days strongly influence whether the volunteer feels safe, expected and supported.

A good arrival does not need to be elaborate. It needs to be reliable.

The volunteer should know before travelling who will meet them, where they will meet, how to contact that person if the journey is delayed and what happens if they arrive outside normal working hours. If pick-up is not possible, the alternative journey to the accommodation should be extremely clear.

The first priority is usually reaching the accommodation safely. The housing handover should include keys, essential facilities, Wi-Fi, heating, laundry, waste rules, basic safety information and whom to contact if something breaks. If the volunteer shares accommodation, housemates should be introduced and basic shared-living expectations clarified early.

This is also the right moment to make sure the volunteer has immediate access to essentials. Depending on the context, this can mean drinking water, food for the first evening, public-transport information, a SIM card, local map or instructions for reaching the workplace.

The first day should not become a long administrative seminar after several hours of travel. Volunteers need time to rest and orient themselves. Important emergency information should be provided immediately, while more detailed programme explanations can happen during the following days.

Local orientation should happen gradually. The volunteer should learn where to find supermarkets, pharmacy, public transport, medical services, ATMs, useful community spaces and their workplace. In a rural location, this may also mean explaining transport limitations and planning how the volunteer can remain socially connected.

Arrival can also be an important social moment. Meeting the coordinator, mentor, other volunteers or team members can reduce the feeling of arriving alone in an unfamiliar place. However, the organisation should avoid overwhelming the volunteer with too many people immediately.

Basic administration may begin during this phase where necessary. Long-term volunteers may need local registration, residence procedures, bank arrangements or other appointments shortly after arrival. These should already have been planned during Phase 20 so that the volunteer is not suddenly responsible for navigating unfamiliar bureaucracy alone.

The arrival process should also revisit accessibility. A theoretical accessibility plan may reveal practical problems only once the participant is physically present. The organisation should ask early whether the accommodation, transport and environment are working as expected and make adjustments quickly.

For EVoly, arrival could use a First 72 Hours Checklist. The coordinator could confirm that the volunteer arrived safely, accommodation was handed over, emergency contacts were shared, basic local orientation happened and any urgent practical problems were recorded.

The volunteer’s offline EVoly Wallet can also support this phase by keeping essential information such as coordinator contacts, emergency details, current address, safety guidelines, insurance and key documents available even without internet connection. This functionality is already part of the EVoly platform concept.

Role perspectives

Organisation: Ensures that arrival arrangements are reliable and that someone is clearly responsible for receiving the volunteer.

Coordinator: Tracks the journey, manages delays, organises pick-up or clear alternatives and checks that the volunteer reaches the accommodation safely.

Mentor: Makes early contact and helps create a human connection beyond administration and logistics.

Volunteer: Communicates delays or problems and begins familiarising themselves with the new environment, while not being expected to understand everything immediately.

Housemates / Other Volunteers: Can play an important peer-support role by helping the newcomer understand practical daily life and local routines.

Differences by ESC model

Long-term volunteering: Arrival begins a longer settling-in period. The first days should focus on safety, practical orientation and relationships rather than pushing immediately into full project activity.

Short-term volunteering: Arrival and onboarding often overlap. Logistics need to be very efficient because losing two or three days to confusion can significantly affect the activity.

Volunteering teams / group volunteering: Arrival becomes a group-logistics operation. Coordinators may need to manage different flights, stations, arrival times, room allocations and shared welcome activities.

Questions & answers

Do we have to pick the volunteer up?

Not necessarily in every context, but the arrival route must be safe, realistic and clearly explained. For someone arriving in an unfamiliar country, pick-up can significantly reduce stress.

What should happen on the first evening?

Safe arrival, accommodation orientation, emergency information and basic needs. Detailed induction can wait until the volunteer has rested.

What if the flight or train is delayed?

The volunteer should already have an emergency contact and clear instructions about what to do if the original arrival plan no longer works.

When should local registration happen?

According to host-country requirements, but appointments and required documents should ideally already be prepared before arrival.

Documents for further reading

• Preparation meeting — Sunce — arrival steps and practical administration.
• USB Balkan Hotspot infopack — accommodation, arrival and group logistics.
• USB Irida Women’s Center infopack — host-role and practical arrival information.
• EVoly Technical Specification.pdf — offline emergency information and volunteer profile access.
• EVoly_ESC_Implementation_Phases_Draft_0_1.docx — arrival workflow and contact-card concept.