Volunteering General Info
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Can I take pictures of all the cool stuff I’m doing and all the migrants I meet?
As volunteers, it is important to be aware that your primary focus is volunteering, not documenting your experience. Documenting is encouraged—it helps you process the experience, makes it easier to tell others about it, and in some cases it might provide an important legal record (of abuse, for instance). But whereas writing allows you to record events at the end of the day during down time, photography only allows you to record things as they are happening. You have to step outside of the workflow in order to record it.
In addition, there are very tricky ethical issues with using vulnerable people as photographic subjects, even if you protect their anonymity. Protecting the anonymity of those we help is just as important in Mexico as it is in the United States, if not more so.
The media and research protocols we’ve developed can provide guidelines for you if you are unsure what a situation calls for; ask about these protocols during training. Finally, your site coordinator is in the best position to determine when photography and other forms of documentation are appropriate; please respect their judgment.
I can't afford the requested donation. Is it required?
While volunteer donations covered a very important 35% of last year’s project costs, we do not want expenses to be the reason an otherwise qualified volunteer does not join us. We are very willing to work with anyone for whom the costs might be prohibitive. We have a scholarship program. The scholarship application may be submitted along with the volunteer application. We are also available to help with fundraising suggestions: we encourage you think of the cost of volunteering not as a barrier to participation, but as an opportunity to reach out to your community and involve them along with yourself. No matter what, we sincerely appreciate your willingness to donate your time, energy, and resources to our work.
Does No More Deaths welcome volunteers of all ages?
We must limit our regular field volunteer opportunities to those 18 years of age or older. (Limited exceptions may be made, on a case-by-case basis, for 16- and 17-year-olds accompanied by a parent/legal guardian or by an adult chaperone that a parent/legal guardian has designated in writing.)
This limitation applies only to field volunteers, not to other kinds of visitors and visiting groups. Field volunteers participate in direct humanitarian assistance, medical/legal advocacy, abuse documentation, and water drops. Visitors do not do these things; they may or may not engage in other kinds of service work with us. Field volunteers typically stay in the field for a week or longer, while visitors do not stay in the field overnight.
No upper age limit on volunteering is set. However, all our volunteering opportunities are physically demanding, and all prospective volunteers are asked to carefully consider their physical fitness for the work.
Can I/should I bring my car?
Yes, definitely. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are in particularly high need in the desert, but you’re welcome to bring anything. If you will be working in Mexico, you’ll have to either leave your car on the US side or get temporary Mexican insurance. If you would like a ballpark figure on how much this will cost, please visit mexicaninsuranceonline.com for a free estimate.
What is the desert like? Is it very hot? Do I have to be in good health?
The U.S.–Mexico border region offers a wide range of climatic conditions. Mainly, it's hot During the summer it can be over 110 degrees, with monsoon rains and large drops in temperature at night. It is a physically taxing environment, made more so by the work we do. Please consider very carefully your ability to work safely in this environment. The desert camps are over an hour away from medical services.
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