Terms and Conditions
Shake Hands India Volunteer program (WWW.VOLUNTEERSINDIA.ORG) is owned by PURAN TOURS.
Volunteer Placement Services Agreement: Disclaimer & Limitation of Liability
The following terms and conditions will form an agreement between you and SHAKE HANDS. Making an application for an SHAKE HANDS volunteer program means you are agreeing to what is stated below. You would agree to the following terms:
Pickup & Meeting at Airport
On arrival at Delhi Airport you will meet our representative who will take you to a hotel for an overnight stay if more than one person is arriving on the same date at different timings. The following day the representative will take you from Delhi to project location by Train/Bus/Car. If no other participant is arriving on the pickup day, you will directly depart to project location on the same day.
For the Jaipur and Dharamshala location; pickup service from Delhi Airport is excluded for the programs having duration upto 3 weeks. But on request, we can arrange transport for the volunteers having duration upto 3 week to pick them up from Delhi airport on payment of applicable amount ($100) of pickup expenditure.
Accommodation & Meals
We offer comfortable accommodation with easy approach to project sites for the volunteers in every running project locations.
Jaipur location: you are provided accommodation in volunteer’s home established by the organization with perfect setup. The volunteer's home is fully residential with some modern and traditional arrangements. The home is furnished with TV, DVD, Refrigerator, Music System and other entertaining gadgets with sufficient vacant space for celebration and spent leisure time. There is a facility of 3-4 sharing rooms with western toilets. During summer season (April to August) the rooms are cooled with AC system. The team serves quality India food prepared by expert cook to the volunteers in the home itself.
Dharamshala & other Location: On placement, you ought to live with a local Indian family like a family member. A separate living room on dual or triple sharing basis with volunteers will be provided. The host family will serve 3 local area meals (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner). The food they prepare and serve to you would be delicious one with daily changed varieties. You may help the host in preparing the meal so that you may learn cooking of various India dishes, which would be liked by your inmates when you go back and serve them with. You may also cook food of your own choice. Living with the Indian family will prove for you the best track of learning the India tradition, culture and behavior without much cost and efforts.
Project Orientation
Next day of your arrival at the destination we organize an orientation for each program where you will gain an understanding on the entire volunteer program, Indian history, its culture and traditions. The volunteering in India would entail an introduction to Hindi and as well as rules and regulations of the organizations including visits to surrounding super markets, shopping malls, ATM, rickshaw stand and others.
Transportation
You will be picked up (if your project is situated more than 2 kms.) from the place of your residence and drop at work site and pick you up from work site to place of residence at the set timings at both ends. Thus you are saved to spend much more amount and time in arranging transport at your own.
Volunteer's safety
We are very much concerned about volunteers’ security and safety during their stay at home and movement on project working.
We place volunteers in a very safe accommodation and in peaceful environment.
The team is perfect in giving suitable guide lines and follow up instructions about the local and national transportation and about the outing for the project location surroundings.
All the team members have mobile phones, making contacts with volunteers convenient. Volunteers are always welcome to get in contact with any of the staff member at any time round the clock on or off emergency on our cell phones during entire period of their stay/project work.
Mobile phones are common in present time. SIM cards and pre-paid cards are pretty affordable. Staff will help you to get a SIM card for your own cell phone available on prescribed rates.
The volunteers’ home/host families are chosen to be nearer to health care centers so that in need they may consult without loss of time and effort.
In a volunteer encounters with any untoward incident and get penalized on account of her/his own faults, the organization will not accept any responsibility.
If the volunteer leaves the ongoing program work of the day and goes else where without information and gets involved in an incident/accident/offence, the organization will not take any responsibility in his/her favor.
Program Start Date & End Date
The arrival/pickup day is Program Start Date e.g if participant apply for 4 weeks duration program and arrive/picked up on 01st then this is 'Program Start Date' and 'Program End Date' would be 28th, participant have to leave the accommodation on same day by evening.
If place is available in volunteer house/host family we are flexible for stay of extra 1/2 days as per volunteer’s convenience on payment of applicable amount ($20/night) for using accommodation and meal expenditure but we can confirm your extra stay in volunteer house/host family 48 hrs prior to program end date.
If place is not available and new participant (s) is reaching in house/host family then previous participant have to leave accommodation on scheduled program end date in any circumstances.
Particulars on Summer Program, Work & Travel and Gap Year India Expedition Programs
During the travel program; hotels will include Air Conditioned room, attached Western Toilets, beds etc. The rooms will be clean and fit to be lived in.
If a participant disagrees with the provided room in hotel he/she is at liberty to get the room changed. In case the other room is also not acceptable then the participant will be paid the equivalent amount of rent chargeable for the room and he/she can change the room/hotel of his/her choice.
Possible minor changes of one/two days could be made in the pre-decided traveling itinerary in exceptional and unforeseen circumstances in favor of the participants as well as of the organization. It may be, to forego the pre-planned site visit also.
The Scheduled programs will run for the participants arrived in the location irrespective of their numbers. Questions about numbers of the participants taking part in the programs, whether less or more, shall not be entertained.
VOLUNTEER SHIP CANCELLATION AND MONEY REFUND POLICY:
Cancellation of volunteer program by client:
SHAKE HANDS incurs lots of expenditure in order to provide placement to the client. If any volunteer cancels his allotted program after making payment of program fee the refundable amount would be as under:
30 or more days prior to program starting date - 70% of the program fee would be refundable and within 30 days to program starting date - 50% of the program fee would be refundable. But the application fee of $200 would be not refundable.
Cancellations after Project starting date by client:
Under any circumstances the total program fee will not be refunded to the client. Also, if the volunteer once reaches here to do his/her signed up program and if he/she does his/her program for a day and if he/she expresses his/her inability to do the program for remaining period, no portion amount of the fee once deposited will be refunded.
Cancellation by SHAKE HANDS:
Incase SHAKE HANDS cancels the client’s project due to unavoidable and unforeseen circumstances, the SHAKE HANDS will refund the project fee calculated on a pro-rata basis for the remaining period of the program declared to be cancelled excluding 5% (five percent) bank charges.
Lessening the duration of signed up program:
If any participant due to any reason what so ever, during currency of the program informs the organization regarding decreasing the duration, no portion of amount of the program fee for the duration proposed to be decreased will be refunded.
Excursion in between the program:
If any volunteer goes to any excursion in between his/her program period except weekend tours and then again start the program is not in order and organization will not permit to them to do the program for intermediary excursion days. Such intermediary excursion period we do not permit to avail of by any volunteer and no portion of amount of the program fee for that intermediary excursion period will be refunded.
Absence from the program:
If any volunteer does not report on the program already signed up by him/her within a period of seven days from the program start date, such program will be deemed to have been cancelled. If any volunteer reports to perform his/her program within a week’s period after the program starting date, he/she though will be allowed to perform the remaining period program but no portion of the program fee for the absence period will be refunded. No change of date of the program is permissible under any circumstances.
PAYMENT OF REFUNDS:
SHAKE HANDS will make payment of the applicable refundable amount to the client within 100 (one hundred) days of confirmation of cancellation.
USE OF PHOTOS AND FEEDBACK:
By agreeing to the terms and conditions you agree that SHAKE HANDS can use your photos and written feedback while at the project to post on its web site. SHAKE HANDS might use such material for marketing/promotion in form of brochure/emails/ or on its website. SHAKE HANDS also use photos and material from our partners and affiliations abroad and in India and is not responsible for any claim arising out of those material/photos/contents. The use of such photos and material can also be done on any other domains owned by SHAKE HANDS.
SEIZING THE AGREEMENT:
SHAKE HANDS will end this agreement with you and you have to leave the program/accommodation on that very same day without notice, in case of following occurrences:
If we find that you are engaged in any illegal activities or convicted in any criminal activities before or during the Project Period.
If it is believed that any of your action or behavior is threatening or unacceptable to the society or any one involved with the project based on the judgment of the project staff and/or program coordinator.
Any information provided by you to SHAKE HANDS at the time of enrollment is found to be incorrect.
If it is found that you are using drugs or intoxicating material during course of the project.
If you are found to be engaged in sexual behavior while your stay in the volunteers’ home/host family.
If we find that you are not following the rules & regulations of the organization.
If you indulge in sullying the image of the organization/making propaganda against the organization.
In case the agreement is terminated due to volunteers’ involvement in any of the above activities, he/they will not be entitled to any refund from SHAKE HANDS.
DISCLAIMER
User expressly agrees that use of SHAKE HANDS is at user's sole risk. Neither SHAKE HANDS, its affiliates nor any of their respective employees, agents, third party content providers or licensors warrant that SHAKE HANDS will be uninterrupted or error free; nor do they make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from use of SHAKE HANDS, or as to the accuracy, reliability or content of any information, service, or merchandise provided through SHAKE HANDS.
SHAKE HANDS is providing on an "as is" basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of title or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, other than those warranties which are implied by and incapable of exclusion, restriction or modification under the laws applicable to this agreement.
In no event will SHAKE HANDS, or any person or entity involved in creating, producing or distributing SHAKE HANDS or the SHAKE HANDS software/content, be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages arising out of the use of or inability to use SHAKE HANDS. User hereby acknowledges that the provisions of this section shall apply to all content on SHAKE HANDS.
SHAKE HANDS does not take any direct responsibly for the use of third party online payment facility. PAYPAL will not be responsible for any malfunction in their software for online payment. All disputes arising with Credit Card fraud will directly be dealt with PAYPAL.
In addition to the terms set forth above, neither SHAKE HANDS, nor its affiliates, information providers or content partners shall be liable regardless of the cause or duration, for any errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or other defects in, or unseemliness or unauthenticated of, the information contained within SHAKE HANDS or for any delay or interruption in the transmission thereof to the user, or for any claims or losses arising therefore or occasioned thereby. None of the foregoing parties shall be liable for any third-party claims or losses of any nature, including, but not limited to, lost profits, punitive or consequential damages. Neither SHAKE HANDS nor its affiliates, information or content providers warrant or guarantee the timeliness, sequence, accuracy or completeness of this information. Additionally, there are no warranties as to the results obtained from the use of the information.
SHAKE HANDS will only deal with any disputes or charges in India and is governed by Indian Law. All copyright issues including others will only be dealt in Indian court of Law. All disputes and cases will be solved in New Delhi, India only.
SHAKE HANDS does not take any responsibility of photos and documentation provided by our partners and affiliations abroad, who might supply such material to other businesses of similar nature as well. If any one has objection on any part of the site will write us formally to take appropriate action.
SHAKE HANDS does not take any responsibility of any third party links from our site and will not be held responsible for content or service provided on those sites.