Travel Advice
Citizens of the UK, Europe, USA and Canada are required to have visas. Passports must be valid 6 months beyond date of travel. Visas are currently available upon landing but this will take up much time with a team and so it is better to obtain your visa from the consulate in your country of origin before travel. Give plenty of time for your passport to be returned (at least six weeks prior to departure date).
Ensure the team leader has your details on travel insurance, any serious allergies or other medical conditions and any medication you are taking. In the unlikely event of a medical emergency we need to know.
East Africa is a high-risk malaria area. Make sure you get appropriate medication after professional advice because recommendations change according to the changing strains of the disease. Investigate the side effects of the drug before accepting the prescription.
Jet lag or travel fatigue is common in flying across several time zones. To help your body adjust quicker, drink plenty of fluids during the flight and avoid coffee and carbonated drinks.
Once on board the plane, set your watch to the time at your destination and eat, drink and sleep according to the new time. Uganda is +8 hrs EST (7 hrs from EST summertime) +3 hrs GMT (2 hours ahead of British Summer Time). Once you land you are on Africa Time, which can adjust a given appointment by anything between 1-24 hours.
Security Advice
Prior to your departure, you should inform a family member or trusted friend of your general timetable whilst away. People can contact you in an emergency through your national Missionary Ventures office. The office will contact you through our field coordinator and visa versa during any emergency.
Our field coordinators live in-country and have familiarised themselves with the level of risk associated with a chosen area of ministry. Obvously the local situation is subject to constant change and the location of ministry may change if the revision of risk is proven unduly high.
We will not send you to an area where the risk to your safety is abnormally high. Our field coordinator will advise you on any precautions necessary for a given location at any given time whilst you are on the trip.
If you are a
British citizen wanting advice on foreign travel, have a look at the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office website and search by region and country.
If you are a
US citizen concerned about security, have a look at the Department of
Homeland Security website.