Ready to start preparing for your service trip to Eswatini? Below you will find some of the most frequently asked questions trip participants have before their trip. If you have additional questions about your trip, please contact our Trip Coordinator.
Looking for more information on upcoming trips? Learn more about our scheduled trips here!
Financial Information
Your trip cost will be based on dates, length of stay, lodging, ground transportation needs and flight costs (if they are offered through Heart for Africa for your specific trip). For our pre-scheduled trips, total cost and funding deadlines will be listed on our scheduled trips pages when registration is open.
There are many unique ways to raise funds for your trip such as mailing support letters, posting on social media, selling Khutsala Artisans bracelet and/or keychain kits, garage sales, hosting dinner parties, etc. Our staff is here to help guide you with advice and best practices. Fundraising ideas can be found on the Fundraising Page.
Please note that Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) does not permit issuance of official tax receipts for payments made toward service trips. This will need to be communicated to anyone who financially supports your trip.
Funds can be made towards your trip in these ways:
- Via credit card to your funding page via your personal funding page link.
- Via cheque made out to Heart for Africa and mailed to the US office:
Heart for Africa
P.O. Box 1308
Roswell, GA 30077For the payment to be credited to your account, ensure your name and “trip payment” is written on the memo line of the cheque.
- Call the Heart for Africa US office at (678) 566-1589 to process your payment via credit card.
- Cash payments can be mailed to the US office as well.
Please note that Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) does not permit issuance of official tax receipts for payments made toward service trips. This will need to be communicated to anyone who financially supports your trip.
Heart for Africa cannot refund payments for trips. Please keep in mind that the funds you raise must be solicited and paid with the understanding that Heart for Africa has complete discretion and control over the use of all funds.
We understand circumstances may arise that require you to cancel your involvement in a trip. Please note that all monies are non-refundable. However, we are committed to holding a participant’s trip funds until December of the following calendar year to be applied to a future trip in that time frame, less the $250 USD administration fee. If you are unable to travel on a trip within this time frame, Heart for Africa will reallocate trip funds where they are most needed.
Likewise, in the event Heart for Africa needs to cancel for any reason (including not having the minimum 10 people required for the annual June Camp Canaan and November pre-scheduled trips), all trip funds will be transferred to a future trip to be utilized in the time frame as noted above. For any questions regarding trip cancellation, please contact the Trip Coordinator at trips@heartforafrica.org.
Travel
Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate anyone serving on Project Canaan earlier or longer than the scheduled trip dates. If you would like to add an excursion before or after your trip, you will need to make those arrangements, or we can put you in touch with our travel agent. Suggestions would be a Safari at Kruger National Park in South Africa or a visit to Cape Town. You are responsible for meeting the group at the airport or hotel in Africa on the required dates. Please confirm any self-booked travel plans with the Trip Coordinator at trips@heartforafrica.org before finalizing plans.
YES!
Your passport must have at least 4 consecutive blank VISA pages and be valid 6 months past your departure date from the country you are visiting. This does not include the endorsement pages in the back of your passport. This is very important as you would be denied entry to South Africa. Please make copies of your passport to leave at home with family and/or friends as a reference in the event you misplace your passport during your trip.
A VISA is not required for travel to Eswatini if you are a Canadian citizen.
Travel Emergency Medical Insurance is provided by Heart for Africa. However, we recommend that each participant purchase additional insurance to cover cancellations, delays, or interruptions due to travel restrictions or illness. Should you acquire additional traveler’s insurance, it will be at your expense.
Check with your doctor or visit the to see what vaccines are recommended for Eswatini.
The average flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, is 16-18 hours from the east coast of the US. The drive from Johannesburg, SA, to Eswatini is approximately 5-6 hours including one stop, plus the border crossing into Eswatini.
Baggage requirements vary by airline and intra-Africa flights. The current Economy Class standard for Delta for travel to Johannesburg, SA, is 2 checked bags weighing 50 lbs per checked bag. If you are traveling by air within multiple countries, this could affect the number of checked bags you are able to take. All airlines vary, so please refer to your booked airline website or your tickets for complete information regarding baggage limitations.
To use your Frequent Flyer miles, you would need to self-book your flights. It is vital that your flight arrangements coincide with the required arrival and departure dates in and out of Africa for your trip. Again, please review your flight itinerary with the Trip Coordinator before finalizing purchase of your ticket.
Anyone under the age of 18 must travel with a guardian. To ensure streamlined travel for your child while traveling through immigrations during their upcoming international flight, it is very important to provide both the child and their guardian with an AFFIDAVIT and their unabridged (original) birth certificate or an official certified copy (NOT a photo copy of your current birth certificate). Please follow the instructions below provided by the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in South Africa in order not to be denied boarding in Atlanta.
Please print, fill out and make copies of the affidavit attached. Click here for AFFIDAVIT. The temporary guardian should carry the original, the minor should carry a copy, and the parent/legal guardian should keep a copy as well. We also ask that you send an email to trips@heartforafrica.org to notify Heart for Africa who will be acting as guardian for your child.
NEW SOUTH AFRICAN REGULATIONS REGARDING TRAVEL FOR MINORS EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 2014 (taken from The South African Immigration Act, 2010). Revised on June 01, 2015.
These rules apply to children who are entering or departing South Africa. Therefore, the required documents should be retained in all circumstances throughout the stay of the child in South Africa.
The South African regulations use the term “unabridged birth certificate.” The exact contents of unabridged birth certificate vary among the different jurisdictions that issue birth certificates (countries, states, counties, cities, etc.), but the key distinction between an “abridged” and “unabridged” birth certificate is that an unabridged birth certificate identifies the parents of the child.
All documents must be original or copies certified as a true copy of the original by a commissioner of oaths or the equivalent commissioning authority.
- Where BOTH parents are traveling with a child, parents must produce an unabridged birth certificate of the child reflecting the particulars of the parents of the child.
- In the case of ONE parent traveling with a child, he or she must carry an unabridged birth certificate and:
(i) Consent in the form of an affidavit (issued no earlier than 3 months prior to travel dates) from the other parent registered as a parent on the birth certificate of the child authorizing him or her to enter into or depart from South Africa with the child he or she is traveling with.
(ii) Copies of the identity documents or passports of the parents or legal guardian of the child;
(iii) A court order granting full parental responsibilities and rights or legal guardianship in respect of the child, if he or she is the parent or legal guardian of the child; or
(iv) Where applicable, a death certificate of the other parent registered as a parent of the child on the birth certificate,
- Where a person is traveling with a child who is NOT his or her biological child, he or she must produce:
(i) A copy of the unabridged birth certificate of the child;
(ii) An affidavit (issued no earlier than 3 months prior to travel dates) from the parents or legal guardian of the child confirming that he or she has permission to travel with the child.
(iii) Copies of the identity documents or passports of the parents or legal guardian of the child; and
(iv) The contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child, (Note: Where the parents of the child are both deceased, and the child is traveling with a relative or another person related to the child or the child’s parents, the South African authorities have the discretion to approve such a person to enter or depart South Africa with the child.)
- An unaccompanied minor must produce:
(i) Proof of consent from one or both his or her parents or legal guardian, as the case may be, in the form of a letter or affidavit (issued no earlier than 3 months prior to travel dates) for the child to travel into or depart from South Africa. In the case where one parent provides proof of consent, that parent must also provide a copy of a court order issued to him or her in terms of which he or she has been granted full parental responsibilities and rights in respect of the child (see sample affidavit of consent);
(ii) A letter from the person which is to receive the child in South Africa, containing his or her residential address and contact details where the child will be residing;
(iii) A copy of the identity document or valid passport and visa or permanent residence permit of the person who is to receive the child in the South Africa; and
(iv) The contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child.
http://www.dha.gov.za/files/Brochures/Immigrationleaflet.pdf
TRIP LOGISTICS
A Heart for Africa trip is 11 days long inclusive of travel days. The week will begin with a complete tour of Project Canaan. This helps our visitors understand more fully Heart for Africa’s work in the areas of Hunger, Orphans, Poverty and Education on Project Canaan and throughout Eswatini.
You will have the opportunity to serve a local homestead in the rural community to deliver food, clothing and spend time with the family. One day will be spent visiting one of our rural church partners to participate in a feeding program. The week will end with a visit to Hlane Royal National Park.
We make sure our teams stay in comfortable, safe accommodations so you can rest and get refreshed each evening after serving all day. All hotels have rooms with twin beds or a single full bed with ensuite bath.
Upon arrival to Johannesburg, participants will stay at the City Lodge OR Tambo Hotel for the first night prior to making the drive to Eswatini in the morning. Depending on flight arrival times, dinner that evening and breakfast in the morning will be served at the hotel dining room.
In Eswatini, participants will stay at the Nkonyeni Golf Estate at either at Bush Baby or The Lodge. Nkonyeni is conveniently located within a 15-20 minute drive from Project Canaan. Linens and towels are provided. You will have breakfast at Bush Baby each morning and dinner at the Nkonyeni Club House. Pre-made lunch packs are provided each day by the Project Canaan Kitchen.
We will do our best to honour all roommate requests. We have a policy of no male/female roommates unless you are married or family members. Single occupancy accommodations can be arranged at an extra fee of $500 per person. Room occupancy and roommate requests are completed on the Registration Form. Please contact the Trip Coordinator if you need to make any changes.
All meals are provided. The food prepared by the City Lodge Hotel in Johannesburg, Nkonyeni in Eswatini, and Project Canaan Kitchen is safe. Heart for Africa will provide bottled water during your stay. However, we do encourage you to bring a refillable water bottle as the water on Project Canaan and at Nkonyeni is filtered and safe to drink. It is important to stay hydrated, so you’ll want to keep a good supply of water on hand, particularly in the Swazi summer months of October to April. Of course, we cannot ensure that you will not contract a food-borne illness while serving in Africa, so we recommend that you bring over-the-counter anti-diarrheal medicine with you. You may also talk to your physician about a prescription antibiotic to bring with you.
You will have multiple opportunities to shop at Khutsala Artisans on Project Canaan. Time permitting, you will visit Ngwenya Glass Shop on the drive back to Johannesburg at the conclusion of your trip.
CURRENCY, CLOTHING & COMMUNICATION
We encourage participants to travel with a major credit card for purchases and for use in the event of an unforeseen emergency. Except for American Express, credit cards are accepted in Eswatini and at Khutsala Artisans Shop on Project Canaan. Do not bring Traveler’s Cheques as they will not be accepted at most locations. Prior to travel, alert your credit card company of your travel plans and confirm use of your card in South Africa and Eswatini.
We are often asked how much money to bring. This is totally at your discretion. You will want to bring extra funds for souvenirs, snacks, food at the airport, etc. We do collect funds at the end of the trip (not mandatory) to provide tips for our Eswatini drivers and hotel staff.
We recommend that you exchange currency at a local bank or local currency exchange place prior to departing for your trip as it can take up to a week for the funds to come in. It is a good idea to request money in smaller denominations (bills under 200 Rand). You can also exchange currency at a kiosk at the airport or use the ATM outside of customs at Johannesburg OR Tambo Airport.
IMPORTANT: You should exchange your currency for “South African Rand.” South African Rand can be used in both South Africa and Eswatini. The Eswatini currency “Emalangeni” is only accepted in Eswatini. You will most likely receive change in this currency while in Eswatini, so plan to spend it before you leave. You cannot exchange Emalangeni for other currency.
Packing for Africa can be intimidating. To help guide you through this process, Heart for Africa has developed a recommended packing list here: RECOMMENDED PACKING LIST. In addition to must-haves and medication, we suggest you pack some clothing in your carry-on in the event your luggage is delayed or misplaced.
In all cases, modesty is the best policy, so please dress and pack accordingly. We try our very best to be respectful and sensitive to Swazi culture.
Ladies:
Capri or long pants – no shorts please.
Modest dress, long skirt or wrap that falls beneath the knee for community visits and church on Project Canaan. Click here to view what a “wrap” looks like.
Shirts (no strapless / spaghetti straps or crop tops) – shoulders must be covered.
Leggings are permitted provided you wear a long shirt that falls below your hips.
If swimming is on the itinerary, make sure you wear a shirt over your swimsuit.
Men:
Long pants for community visits (church and homestead visit).
Collared shirts for church.
Knee length shorts are acceptable on Project Canaan.
Can wear shorts in the community (except during church and homestead visit) and on Project Canaan.
April/May through August are winter months in Eswatini with the temperature being cooler (10°C/50°F) in the mornings and in the evenings, and mild throughout the day. Please be sure to bring a coat, fleece or jacket. We suggest layering your clothing as it can be warm during the day.
September through March/April are warmer months, with November, December and January being very hot. Most rainfall will occur from October to March and we will let you know if heavy rains are expected and what to pack.
Regardless of the season, you should still always pack sunscreen and bring a fleece or sweatshirt as the weather can vary in the morning and evening during any season. Keep an eye on the weather app prior to your trip – search for Manzini, Eswatini or Sidvokodvo, Eswatini.
The electricity at Project Canaan, and throughout Eswatini, is 240 Volts AC. To use electronic devices, you will need the appropriate plug adapter for Eswatini – Type M.
To view a photo of the adapter, go to: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MTCEAQ2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You may also need a power converter. Please check the manufacturer’s label to determine the type of input your equipment can handle. You may find a label that states the device is certified for input at AC 100V-240V. This means that the device is manufactured to be used over a wide range of voltage levels. If this is the case, then you will only need a plug adapter. Fortunately, many digital cameras and video cameras today come with adaptable power supplies.
Power Converter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C3X8FFLX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Eswatini has a modern wireless cell phone system; however, we always suggest you check with your cell phone provider prior to departure. We encourage you to be fully present in Eswatini and “disconnect”, but we do realize you might need to communicate back home. Internet is available at the hotels and on Project Canaan, however, please keep in mind that it is not always available, and access may be easier at certain times of the day. We do suggest you download WhatsApp on your phone to communicate back home and you will be invited to join a WhatsApp group in order to communicate with your fellow team members and Heart for Africa staff trip leader prior to travel and during the trip.
New or gently used clothing in child, teen and adult sizes are always appreciated such as coats, jackets, fleece, sweaters, umbrellas, socks and new underwear. We will make you aware if there are any specific clothing needs.
Please do not bring candy or toys for the kids on Project Canaan or in the community unless it is communicated by our staff or is listed on our Amazon Wish List which will be shared with your team. However, bubbles, jump ropes, balls, soccer balls, frisbees, nail polish, and stickers are welcome for the homestead and church visits. The Amazon Wish List for trips is continually being updated to reflect the current needs on Project Canaan.
Trip Breakdown (sample - can change)
Depart from North America.
Arrive in Johannesburg and stay overnight at the City Lodge Airport Hotel.
Drive to Eswatini, check in, & group orientation.
Project Canaan tours which include: Children’s Campus, Project Canaan Academy, egg farm, dairy farm, greenhouse, Kufundza Vocational Training Center, El Rofi Medical Center, Khutsala Artisans, Lusito Mechanics Shop, and more! Teams will also be provided with information on a Project Canaan family whom they will visit the following day. The number of family members, ages and sizes will be provided so that the team can prepare clothing, and food from Project Canaan and get instructions for the visit.
Homestead visit: The team will drive to Project Canaan and collect the supplies and food for the family homestead visit. The team will continue to serve that family by visiting them, praying with them, and listening to and encouraging them. This is a great opportunity to get to see Swazi culture up close while developing a relationship with a family who is in need and who we want to provide extra support to.
The team will have the opportunity to spend the day on a game drive (safari).
Volunteers will participate and enjoy the activities of the day with the children.
Volunteers attend Children’s church in the morning at Project Canaan and then will head to one of our rural church partners to participate in our feeding program where we feed children in need.
Individuals will check out of the hotel, stop at the Glass Factory, and take the five hour bus ride back to Johannesburg for an evening flight back to Canada and/or the US.
Everyone arrives back home and begins to think and pray about how they can help the people they got to know and love in Eswatini.
