Kathy
Beware of this mission group…
While my daughter’s 6 month Africa mission started out fine, when the Coronavirus hit midway through their trip, the young people were abandoned. They were told to find their own way home. Absolutely NO help from the leaders of this organization. The young people had spotty WIFI, so it was left to the parents to scramble to find tickets home. Not only did we lose all of the money we gave Experience Missions, we had to purchase a very expensive ticket home. After 3 days , our daughter was able to make it home, but 3 people in her group were unable to get out before the border closed. They spent weeks in Africa before being rescued by the US embassy . Experience Mission refused to help our young people, had no plan for if something like this happened. They never apologized, and even made it hard to contact them for answers. My daughter and the others felt totally abandoned and let down. This organization is totally irresponsible with the lives of those on their trips. I wish my daughter had gone with a different mission group.
Response from Experience MissionMay 28, 2021
Hi Kathy, We are sorry that over a year later you still don’t feel you have been able to express your frustration over this series of unprecendented events. Our Executive Director has made himself available to many parents and that offer to communicate directly still stands if you would like. That said, we would like to take a minute to further explain this situation for those who may find your review and want more information. On all IMMERSION programs we have always had “Personal Emergency Fund” policy in place, which outlines that team members and parents/emergency contacts do have a responsibility to pay for unexpected travel home, whether due to illness, personal choice of the volunteer, or unforeseen events. Because of our inability to book last-minute plane tickets on behalf of each team member at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, our U.S. and Africa staff did everything we could to assist team members by talking with many parents and team members as they sought out options for traveling home (which were dwindling fast as many airlines started canceling flights out of South Africa as lockdowns became imminent) and also providing transportation to the airport, safe lodging, and food until everyone was on a flight home. It is saddening to hear the characterization that any of these team members were "abandoned." Three team members were unable to leave South Africa on commercial flights before the country's initial lockdown, all due to canceled flights. These team members stayed at the home of EM's Africa Director with him and his family and were fed and housed at EM’s cost until a repatriation flight was available through the U.S. Embassy, a choice team members could make if they did not want to wait out the lockdown for more commercial flights to become available. While we are certainly aware of the potential for this to happen again, it was unprecedented at the time that we would have 40 IMMERSION participants abroad and only days to help everyone get home during a global shutdown with limited commercial flights, cancelled flights, and ever-evolving airline and government policies. Ultimately, everyone was safe and taken care of, although it was certainly a stressful and frustrating experience for all! We acknowledge things we could have done better in hindsight and have worked to improve our emergency communication protocols with teams and parents as well as training with team leaders to make sure details are better relayed in the future. Regarding a full or partial refund for the trip, we unfortunately had to stick with our policies on non-refundable amounts that team members signed at the start of the trip. We absolutely wish we could have given everyone a refund or a re-do on their trip that was cut short, but after emergency expenses and loss of donations due to Covid-19, it is impossible for us (even a year and a half later) to make that kind of exception. Not only was the entire IMMERSION program impacted by the pandemic and travel home, but EM also had to cancel mission trips for over 3,000 short term volunteers throughout the rest of 2020. Where possible, we have worked with team members on flight credits or scholarships for future IMMERSION trips and are glad to have a good relationship with many team members who had to depart early due to Covid-19 shutdowns. We understand the realities of this situation were hard and communication could have been better. We also are proud of the way our staff on the ground worked to help and secure food and last-minute housing for team members stuck in South Africa looking for a way home.