Packing List

Cancellation Policy

The following policy applies when Project Shine Summer Trip have changes in its itinerary or canceled due to uncontrollable circumstances, such as by the “act of God” (natural disasters such as an earthquake, a tidal wave, a volcanic eruption, or a tornado), war or local government’s announcements of ban for visitors.

If there are enough days before the designated trip date, CRRS will try its best to re-arrange the itinerary to go somewhere else for similar nature of activities in Asia.

1. The Application Fee – This is a non-refundable fee (Tax receipt will not be issued).

2. Plane Ticket Cost

a. Itinerary change in trip (date and/or location) – Trip participants who needs to re-scheduled trip held in their name, are responsible for the necessary cost of exchange fee.

b. Cancellation of trip – Trip participants who cannot re-scheduled trip prior to the expiration of the airline ticket, held in their name, are responsible for the refund penalty.

c. Highly recommended – Please due diligence in researching the following information and consider financial consequence before purchasing your ticket.

• Research the airline’s refund and exchange fees policy – Please do not buy tickets that are “non-refundable”.
• Purchase *travel insurance for “Trip Cancellation and/or Trip interruption”.

*For more inquiry of travel insurance package, contact the CRRS recommended travel agency “LTA Holidays”. Contact Emily Lo at 604-207-1178 or Emilylo@ltaholidays.com.

3. Funds that were raised and submitted

Trip participants may waive the right to participate in the current trip or rescheduled trip with the understanding that all donations received are completely non-refundable. In circumstances like this, these funds will be used for future designated Project Shine program.

Plane Ticket Tax Receipt Policy

If your plane ticket meets the Project Shine Summer Trip plane ticket policy as follow, the donation going towards the cost of the plane ticket can also be tax-deductible.

This can be done because you are a volunteer in Project Shine Summer Trip, and when you purchase a plane ticket, in lieu of reimbursing you back for the expenses of the plane ticket, please give us written direction that CRRS can issue a tax receipt towards your donors instead.

According to CRA (Canada Revenue Agency)

From CRA Website – (Out of Pocket Expenses)  – http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/chrts/plcy/cpc/cpc-012-eng.html.   However, provided the volunteer has a right to reimbursement from the registered charity for the expenses incurred, the charity may treat the right to reimbursement as a gift in kind and issue a receipt for income tax purposes.When a registered charity wants to issue a receipt for income tax purposes to a volunteer in lieu of reimbursement, it should have a written direction from the volunteer. The written direction should confirm the right to reimbursement and direct the registered charity to issue a receipt rather than provide reimbursement.

Policy – Criteria of plane ticket to be tax-deductible:

• Your departure date has to travel with us, or within 3 days of Project Shine Summer Trip 2017 departure date from North America (July 5th) , which is July 2nd, 3rd or 4th.

• When Project Shine Summer Trip is finished, you can choose to leave on a later date or to another city that can still be deductible.
• Please see instructions in next section about “Claiming the plane ticket tax receipt” for the steps.

You do not qualify for plane ticket tax credit if:

• You are going to Asia before July 2nd, because that would be considered your own vacation time.

Claiming the Plane Ticket Tax Receipt

After your trip to Project Shine Sumemr Trip 2017, please prepare the following documents and return it to the CRRS Office via mail or in person, attention to “Esther Leung” for Project Shine 2017 before the year end.

1) Click here to download – Letter of Direction 2017 

Fill out the information on the form, print it out and then sign it.

2) Along with this letter please also hand in your Plane Ticket invoice, it should show the price and itinerary info.

Reimbursement of Plane Ticket cost:

If you have collected enough donations from various donors for your plane ticket amount on top of your fundraising goal, which means you would have raised around $3000 – $3500 CAD in total. In this case, we can reimburse you the cost of the ticket.

Please notify the Project Shine Manager or Project officer and we will reimburse you the plane ticket amount accordingly.

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PERMISSION AND LIABILITY RELEASE

I, _____________________________, am aware that the mission trip to El Salvador poses risks including but not limited to:
sickness, crime, political instability, governmental opposition, personal injury, death, as well as similar and dissimilar risks. I am
voluntarily participating in the mission trip with the knowledge of the risks involved. I hereby agree to accept any and all risks of
injury or death that may result from my participation in the mission trip.

Photo/Video Release
By signing this application form, I hereby grant permission to SHIP to the rights, without payment or any other
consideration, of my image, likeness, and sound of my voice as recorded on audio or video tape. Photographic, audio, or
video recordings may be used by SHIP for the following purposes: informational presentations, promotional materials,
newsletters, website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Please click on the following tabs for info:

Criminal Record Check (Vulnerable Sector Screening)

CRRS request that you specifically apply for the "Vulnerable Sector Screening" when you apply to have your criminal record check done (also known as Police Information Check). The reason for this specific check is because you will be interacting with minors in Project Shine and it is important for CRRS to know about any offences relating to children as well as crime.

• You should bring the “letter of proof” provided by CRRS verifying your volunteer work, please download it below, it contains all the information you need for the application such as organization name, contact info and contact person.

• In all police stations, you usually have to fill out an authorization form either at the station or ahead of time. For the description of activities, please write: teaching English to minors.

• A "Vulnerable sector screening" includes a basic criminal record check. Therefore you only need to do this one. The price for volunteers to do a "Vulnerable sector screening" is the same as a regular criminal record check.

*Letter Of Proof (for CRRS volunteers), Click here to download.

1) Residents in the city of Vancouver, BC

• Fee - $25.00 for volunteers

• To apply
  • Download and fill out the form ahead of time  (Click here)
  • Bring 2 pieces of acceptable ID
  • Bring the "*letter of proof" provided by CRRS
  • Physically go to the Vancouver Police Station at 2120 Cambie Street.
• The criminal record check will be mailed to you afterwards in a sealed envelope.
• For more info about Vancouver Police Department "Criminal Record Check" - Click Here

2) Residents living in BC but not in Vancouver (such as Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam ... etc.)

• Fee – $0
• RCMP "Criminal Record Check" Info - Click Here
• To apply
  • Go to your RCMP detachment (service centre) in your area in person
  • Bring two pieces of accepted identification (ID) with proof of residency
  • Bring "*letter of proof (volunteer) from CRRS"
• To find all detachments in BC, Click here
  • Richmond & Burnaby - You will fill out the application form at the RCMP detachment centre. 
  • Coquitlam - You can download to fill out the application form ahead of time, click here.

3) Residents in the York Region, Ontario

• Fee - $30 for volunteers
• To Apply
  • Download and fill out the Vulnerable Sector Check form
  • Go to the York Regional Polic Community Resource Centre @ 10720 Yonge Street.
    • Bring two pieces of accepted identification (ID) with proof of residency
    • Bring  the *letter of proof (volunteer) from CRRS
• For more info - York Regional Police "Vulnerable Sector Screening" Click here

4) Residents in the city of Toronto, Ontario

• Fee - $20 for volunteers (free for volunteers under 18)
• To apply
  • CRRS will provide you with the application form. Individuals do not apply directly to the Toronto Police Service for a vulnerable sector check. Requests for vulnerable sector screenings must be completed through organizations that are registered with our Police Reference Check Program.
  • The Application Form must be mailed to Toronto Police Service Headquarters - 40 College Street or there is a "drop box" for Vulnerable Sector Screening requests with a Certified Cheque or Money Order attached to it. No waivers will be accepted at the counter.
• For more info - Toronto Police Service " Vulnerable Sector Screening" info - Click here.

5) For all other residents

• Search online for your place of residency's police departments and instructions.

Weather – The climate of Guangxi is similar to Hong Kong. In the summer the weather fluctuates between 25 degrees to 36 degrees during the day. It is very humid and there can be torrential rain occasionally.

Timezone –  Guangxi and Hong Kong are in the same time zone. Vancouver is 16 hours behind China, while Toronto is 12 hours behind China.

Required Documents

• Please bring a valid Canadian Passport (does not expire with in 6 months of traveling date) and China Visa,  or China Home Permit, or HKID if you are going through Hong Kong.
• Must : Please have an extra photocopy of all your documents and store them in a separate place from your original documents. In case you lose your travel documents, you will use your photocopies. Also please take photos of these documents on your cell phone.

Gifts for Students 

• Each class will have 20-25 students each, please prepare 30 gifts between you and your teaching partner. Please contact your teaching partner to figure out what gifts you may want to bring.
• Something small and light with Canadian symbol on it – stationary, pins, keychain, pens or even Canadian coins…etc.

What to bring for your classroom? 

• Please work out the following between you and your teaching partner/s.
• 1 set of portable speakers that can be plugged into your phone, this is for songs we will be teaching them in class.
• Decorations for your classroom – such as thing with Canadian symbols, posters (sports, English learning materials…etc)

How much money to bring? 

• $300.00 CAD worth of RMB (Chinese money)

•  $100.00 CAD worth of Hong Kong Money if you have transit in Hong Kong

•  It is recommended that you do currency exchange in Canada first, rather than doing it after you arrive in China because:
  • Our schedule is very packed and there may not be enough time
  • Usually the currency exchange rate is cheaper in Canada than doing it in China.
  • Small towns in China may or may not have the service of exchanging large amount of Canadian cash to RMB currency.

China Cell Phones

• If you decide to bring an unlock phone that can be use in China, please prepare your own sim card. From our experience, buying a sim card locally in China may sometimes not work .
• Therefore our recommendation would be that you purchase a China Sim card that is good for “roaming” the whole country of China. You can either buy it in Hong Kong (if you are going through there), or buy it locally in your city in Canada but you need to do your own research, probably in Chinese own cell phone stores they would know how to obtain such a sim card for you.
• Please give your China Cell phone number to your Team Manager.

Luggage 

• Pack 1 luggage, pack light and minimize luggage weight. Main luggage weigh must not exceed 40 pounds (18 Kg) for domestic flights in China.
• Pack enough clothes for 10 days; expect to wash your own clothes if the hotel has no washing machine.
• DO NOT OVERPACK! 
• Please bring along your own medicines for personal use.
• For girls – If you usually have intense cramps during your period, please talk to your doctor to get the right medication for this trip.
• Carry on Luggage – always have one set of extra clothing (with undergarments) just in case your luggage is lost.

Toiletries

• Towels – Hotel provides towels, but you may bring your own if you wish (Suggest – microfiber towels are much thinner and easier to pack)
• Small bottle of hand sanitizer are useful
• Hair dryer – ask team manager if the hotel we are staying in will provide this or not.
• Contact lenses user: recommend to use daily dispensable contacts for hygiene purposes, bring your own eye drops.
• Tissue packages /  wet  wipes  –  Always  have  tissue  with  you,  China  toilets  or restaurants do not always provide free tissue.

Clothing / Outfits  (Guideline for teaching)

• Modesty is the key – even though the weather is hot, but as English teachers our clothing must remain modest and respectful. In China they view highly of teachers.
• Sleeveless tops (spaghetti strap tank tops) and slippers are not allowed for teaching
• For teaching
  • Smart casual: some collar shirts (Polos or blouses)
  • Skirts for ladies, appropriate length (cannot be shorter than two inches above the knees)
  • Some sports wear, microfiber shirts are good as you will be sweating.
• Bring 1 set of more formal clothing (maybe a dress or better shirt) , but not long sleeve or long pants.
• Tip of packing clothes – roll it up, squish them into a big Ziploc bag. Squeeze out the air form the bag.
• You will be receiving a Project Shine T-Shirt, this will be passed out to you in China unelss you live in Vancouver.

Shoes – 2 or 3 pairs.

• For Teaching
  • Nice sandals or nice comfortable shoes
  • Runners or sport sandals are OK too.
  • No flip flops or slippers for teaching

• For hotel use and showers – Flip Flop Flippers are recommended for the shower floor in hotel

 Other Items

• Project Shine Summer Trip Hand Book 
• International plug  if you want to use electronics in the hotel – Electronics are 220v, please use the two or three pronged flat plugs (Like those from the UK, NOT North America).
• Fan (Chinese style hand held fan)
• Sun protection – Sunscreen, Hats, sunglasses, Small foldable umbrella
• Bug repellent (exp: skintastic cream, deet bug spray)
• Pictures of your family, hobbies, pets, life in Canada
• Some over the counter medicine: allergy pills, gravol, Tylenol, Imodium, cold medicine, Chinese menthol oil…etc. (your own discretion)
• Bible – please do not bring more than 3 bibles
• Safety traveling pouch for passports and money

Do not bring

• Big bottles of shampoo or soap or other liquids. Please pack these in small bottles or you can purchase these in supermarkets in China.
• Winter jackets or a lot of jeans – the weather is extremely humid and hot.
• Intense smelling hairspray or perfume / cologne, your roomate may be allergic.
• In order to prevent loss, please do not bring large amounts of cash or expensive items. If a personal item is stolen or lost, CRRS will not take responsibility

TBC

Physical condition required for Project Shine Summer Trip

1. Be able to lift up and carry your own luggage.
2. Can withstand heat 25-38 Celsius degrees during day time while being in classrooms with ceiling fans and window.
3. May possibly have to walk up to 6 flight of stairs in school building several times a day. There are no elevators in the school. The most flights of stairs we have encountered so far is 6 flights of stairs.
4. Can walk for 10-15 minutes outdoor (possibly on uneven surfaces) during day time between hotel and school. Be prepared for sweating and direct sunlight when walking outdoors.
5. Be able to sleep with a roommate.

Immunizations

Immunizations are a concern for any person going on an overseas trip.  It is recommended that you and your family physician (or visit a travel clinic) decide what immunizations you may need for your trip.  Please read the additional material in the binder under Immunizations.

1) Please plan ahead, note that some immunizations may require a couple of weeks or months to be effective.

2)  Dukoral is an oral vaccine for the prevention of traveller’s diarrhoea.

3)  Hepatitis A shot is recommended as this passes on through food, and it is common in China.

4)  Other vaccinations

• Tetanus
• Hepatitis A (Twinrix for A & B)
• Hepatitis B
• Typhoid
• Update of Measles
• Update of Mumps
• Update of Rubella
• Seasonal Flu (H1N1)

Preparation before the trip

• Take good care of yourself, get enough rest (sleep) and strengthen your immune system.
• There’s a product called “Airborne” which contains Echinacea, Vitamins and minerals that are designed for travellers.
• Exercising regularly and eating right prior to the trip would be helpful to add ot your physical endurance. The project can be physically tiring especially because of the long flight and travelling, hot and humid weather.

During the trip

•  Try your best to stay healthy during the trip
• Get enough rest during breaks and night time
• If you feel sick, let your team leader know right away, you should take half a day off
• Be careful of walking in and out of the air-conditioned room after showering.
• Protect yourself from the sun and avoid heatstroke. Drink lots of liquids. Please cover your head when outside (umbrella or hat), sunglasses are not enough to protect you.
• The place we are going to will have hospitals and medical clinics, but the standards may not be comparable to western measures. So if there is an emergency the team leaders can take you to the hospitals. If the medical procedure being down will be costly, we will contact your travel insurance provider to report it so you can be reimbursed later.

Food Attention

• The meals we provide are safe to eat, most cooked food is safe to eat inside a restaurant or school cafeteria. Usually, the food can be quite oily. We request non– spicy food and no intestines.
• Street food– do not eat this, if you do it is at your own risk.
• Drinks – make sure the bottle is sealed, be careful of dairy products
• Water – don’t drink out of tap water, use boiled water or bottled water for brushing teeth
• Fruits – make sure you peel the skin
• Packaged dry food from supermarkets – crackers, candy, chips,  cookies…etc  are fairly safe.  But be careful of overdue food in stores, always read the label.
• Stay hydrated and drink lots of water at all time. It is really easy to get heat stroke
• Bring Vitamin C supplement, this helps to strengthen your body and prevents sickness such as colds and flu.

TBC

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region  

广西壮族自治区

• Guangxi is located in Southern China，bordering Vietnam, Capitol city: Nanning
• Population of Guangxi Province is approximately 46.03 million (Canada – 35.16 million)
• Demographics
  • The Han Chinese are the largest ethnic group.
  • Over 14 million “Zhuang” lives in Guangxi, the largest minority ethnicity of China, over 90 % of them live in Guangxi. There are also other ethnic minority groups: Yao, Hui, Yi (Lolo), Shui, and Gin (Vietnamese).

Guangxi is considered a naitonal level poverty stricken province

• 7.55 million people in Guangxi are classified as impoverished. Rocky mountains make it difficult for farming, lack of fertile land.
• Many families from rural areas make less than $400 CAD a year.
• Problem of Left-behind children and seniors: parents go to other cities for work, leaving their children and seniors behind.
  

Huan Jiang MaoNan Autonomous County 

环江毛南族自治县

Huan Jiang High School

The school was established in Nov 1937 in 3 old temple rooms. Now the school has an area about 6 hectare (60,000 sq meters). The school has 3780 students and 214 teacher. About 60% students are from underprivileged background.

CRRS Sponsored students 

• CRRS is currently sponsoring 100 high school students and 60 Primary students in Huan Jiang County. We have only began our sponsorship since September 2016.
• From September 2017 – CRRS will sponsor 100 more high school students.

General info about Huan Jiang County

• Huan Jiang County is under the administration of “Hechi City (河池)”.
• It is about 5 hours drive from Nanning, the Capital city of Guangxi.
• Population  is 330,000 people.
• 94.8% of the population has 13 minority tribes, including MaoNan, Zhuang, Yao etc.
• The saying goes, ‘Maonan people have three treasures – sweet potato, beef cattle and bamboo cap which are precious and delicate gifts for visitors.’ The Maonan people like the colors of green and blue. Silver bracelets and necklaces add more their beauty.

MaoNan people group (毛南族)

• Identity The Maonan people are one of China’s 55 officially recognized minority groups.
• Language The MaoNan dialect has no written language. Their language belongs to Zhuang-Dong group, Sino-Tibetan phylum; nearly all of them can speak Chinese and the Zhuang language.
• Population& Distribution The Maonan ethnic minority lives mostly in Huanjiang County of Guangxi Province, especially in the three regions of Shangnan, Zhongnan, and Xianan. They have a relatively smaller population of 107,166 than many other ethnic groups in China.
  

  

• Festivals 
  • May:  The grandest festival is the Fenlong Festival 分龍節 after the Summer Solstice “Dragon Festival 分龍節”celebrates the rainy season. On that day, the Maonan people steam glutinous rice, pick a willow twig home, and paste the rice onto it. This symbolizes fruitfulness and a good harvest. Legends says that the dragons are separated into different streams and caused the rain to go into rivers.
  • September: “Pumpkin Festival 南瓜節”

• Economy  They mainly live on agriculture. They utilize each inch of farming land to increase the yields and gradually they have rich experience of growing crops. Handicraft industries also play a considerable role in their economy. Maonan are proud of their beef cattle, which sells well in South China. The Maonan ethnic minority likes to build houses, tables, utensils with stone, as well as sculpture.
• Traditional Clothing  They favor the color blue and green, they don’t usually use yellow and white. They believe they should not throw away clothing easily because they are afraid someone can take their souls away and cause illness.

Religious practice

Many of them hold belief of Taoism and animism. Their ancestral religious practice believes in multiple gods/spirits, they think the gods can control their life and they must make sacrifices during festive days. 

• They worship plants and animal and even practice witchcraft.
• Every village has a big tree as their protector and people offers sacrifices to the tree. The animals MaoNan people worship are: dragon, snake, and domestic animals.

Christianity

• The Maonan have been exposed to the gospel more than most of the other people groups in northern Guangxi.
• There are approximately 3,000 Maonan believers today. Mission work was begun in Huanjiang in 1897.
• During the Cultural Revolution the Maonan church was destroyed, but in 1992 “a new church building was completed … with a big red cross on top that can be seen from far away.” (Source: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/13521/CH)

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TBC

The trip can be canceled by unforeseen circumstances (exp: such as natural disaster); it is up to your own discretion to purchase insurance in case Project Shine is canceled. In this case you can still change the plane ticket to other destinations even if Project Shine Summer Trip cancels so you can utilize your plane ticket for other purposes.

CRRS recommends that you can purchase insurance for this trip.

• Basic Insurance: Travel/Medical/Interruption covers your loss after the flight takes off.
• Extra Insurance: “Cancellation insurance”, covers your loss in case you cannot go before your departure date. (Reasons: Health, death in a family, project or government issued travel advisory…etc)

Different insurance packages protect different things. The more your pay for travel insurance, the more it will protect you in case of any loss. However, this is up to your own discretion. If you need a travel agent to arrange your insurance, contact as below:

CRRS recommended Travel Agency

Vancouver: LTA Holidays (Canada) LTD.

Contact:   Emily Lo, 604-207-1178, emilylo@ltaholidays.com

Toronto: Mandarin Holiday travel

Contact: Vivian leung, 416-646-3838, vivian@mandarinholidays.com

375 Bamburgh Circle, Scarborough, ON M1W 3Y1

TBC

Our Team would need to learn these 2 songs and 1 dance , we will be performing these to the students at various occassions during Project Shine.

1) Mandarin Song : 雲上的太陽 (Sun Above the Cloud) 

Please learn the move from the below video.

https://youtu.be/szDR9OjzaQQ

2) English Song：That's What Friends are For 

Lyrics: That's What Friends are For 

And I never thought I'd feel this way
And as far as I'm concerned I'm glad I got the chance to say
That I do believe I love you

And if I should ever go away,

Well then close your eyes and try, To feel the way we do today
And then if you can remember:
(Chorus)

Keep smiling, keep shining, knowing you can always count on me for sure, That's what friends are for
For good times and bad times, I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

Well you came and opened me, And now there's so much more I see
And so by the way I thank you

Oh, and then for the times when we're apart
Well then close your eyes and know these words are coming from my heart
And then if you can remember

3) Dance : PSST Dance Mix

The below dance video is an example for you.

https://youtu.be/DKX-bEGxKEw

4) DOWNLOAD ALL SONGS FOR CURRICULUM FROM DROPBOX