“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” -John 10:14-15
Registrar/Ship Staff/Base Leaders
The Ships Registrar, Ship Staff and Base Leaders all work very closely together. It is a mutual effort to recruit, process applications, make phone calls, etc.
We try to have all formal communication come directly from the Ship Registrar ( Arrival Details, etc) and more of a relational relationship being built between the ship staff and applicants.
Email templates
Located in the Medical Registrar Google Drive as well as the Email Templates Drop Down Bar is a folder called “Email Templates.” We have specific templates we use for the following:
- Medical Enquiry
- Crew Enquiry
- Follow Up Email
- Acceptance Email
- Arrival Details
- Fundraising Ideas
- Vaccination Explained
Please select the appropriate email template to be inserted into the body of the email you are sending. The templates are meant to assist you and help you to work more efficiently as well as communicate clearly.
If an enquiry or applicant asks specific questions in their email feel free to add to the template. The template is not meant to limit your communication, but to assist you so you are not re-typing the same email over and over. Feel free to add in additional paragraphs where you answer individuals questions, get a specific word or verse for them, tell them a bit about your missions experience, etc.
You may also remove sections of the templates if they are not applicable to an applicant. Example: You may remove the paragraph regarding marine volunteer information from the “Application Received” for medical volunteers as they do not require the marine experience form.
Attachments
Located in the [email protected] Google Drive is a folder called “Pre-Arrival Attachments.” These attachments are for applicants or enquiries prior to them arriving in PNG.
- Health Forms
- Medical License Applications
- Information Packets
- Indemnity Insurance
- Customs Letter
Enquiry Received
When you receive a new medical enquiry please forward the email to [email protected]
If the enquiry has provided their phone number please create a task for “medical volunteers” to call them right away to answer their questions as well as to pray for them and encourage them.
If they have provided their address please have Sharon in reception send them a post card.
When you receive a new crew enquiry please create a “Lead” for them then send them the “Crew Volunteer Enquiry” email template. Then create a follow up task for yourself to contact them again in 1 weeks time. Also create a follow up task for “DPA” to call them.
Applications
When you receive a new application please send them the “Application Received” email template. Please feel free to remove any portion of the email template that does not pertain to the applicant. Eg. For crew applicants remove the medical volunteer requirements. Please feel free to give them a call to answer any questions they might have.
Add them to the “Ship Tracker” and “Application Tracker”.
Create a follow up task for yourself to contact them again in a week or two.
For an application to be considered complete it must have the following:
Online Form
Please double check to ensure the online form is completely filled out and legible.
2 References – one must be from a pastor or spiritual leader. Please email applicant online links. References should have know the applicant for at least 2 years and not be an immediate family member.
Health Form – Vaccination portion must be completed, it does not need to be signed by a doctor.
Once an application is complete please change the application status to “Ready to be Reviewed”. This will send an automated notification to Brett Curtis and the Ships Manager to read over the application.
Once they have accepted the application you will receive an automated notification to your inbox as well as your task list that the applicant has been processed.
Now you can go ahead and sent the applicant the appropriate acceptance email template.
At the same time you receive automated notification that the applicant has been processed, so does the visa desk. Once you see the applicants visa has been granted you can send them the “Arrival Details” email.
General Volunteer Information
The Pacific Link is not suitable for families with children under the age of 6. There is a great risk of falling, going overboard, sliding down ladders etc. If children do accompany the parents on an outreach they should already be competent swimmers.
All applicants must be 18 if traveling alone to PNG.
If a family would like to volunteer with younger children we recommend they apply to YWAM Townsville as the m/v PNG is a much more stable vessel.
Accommodation for Families
There are only 2 rooms on board the Pacific Link suitable for married couples. Each room has a double bed and some storage. Children are housed in dormitory style bunk beds.
There are no private family bathrooms or showers. All facilities are shared dormitory style.
All volunteers are housed in bunk dormitory style accommodation. There is one female cabin with 20 bunks, two male cabins with 8 bunks each. Each individual is assigned a bunk as well as a small locker for storing personal items.
$95 USD Registration Fee is due prior to arrival on board the m/v Pacific Link. Fees can be paid online at www.ywamships.net/donate or through a wire/bank transfer – details can be obtained from the finance office.
Outreach fees are due in cash upon arrival to the Pacific Link. Please ask individuals to pay in USD or KINA. If paying in USD the bills should not have been printed prior to the year 2000.
Please refer to the fee calculator to determine the exact cost of a volunteers outreach.
Please refer any difficult questions regarding tricky subjects such as homosexuality, medical marijuana, etc. to Gateway Ministry Leader.
Visas
Once an applicant has been accepted the visa desk will receive an automated notification and send them the visa application. All of our volunteers join us on the Aid Worker visa. This visa can be applied for up to one year in length. This visa costs about $50 USD (depending on country of citizenship) and can take up to 12 weeks to process.
Vaccination Policy
YWAM Ships requires all physically able incoming staff, volunteers and trainees to have up to date vaccinations. Our heart behind this policy is the belief that God has called us to reach the most isolated people in the South Pacific Islands, utilizing ships to bring much needed medical care and supplies.
In many rural areas of the globe certain diseases are still quite rampant. An example would be that every day world wide there are about 400 deaths just from Measles alone. One of the ministries we do when we go into rural areas is provide basic health care training, deliver medical supplies as well as administer vaccinations.
Pregnant women, new borns, those with compromised immune systems and the elderly are very at risk and highly susceptible to preventable diseases. These are quite often the individuals we are serving and ministering to. We believe as potential health care providers it is our calling to protect those who are unable to guard themselves against illness.
This is not a YWAM International policy, but a policy of YWAM Ships Kona.
Our list of the minimum vaccinations we require are:
Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Hep A and Hep B and Polio
We highly encourage individuals to take Malaria medication for the duration of the outreach.
We do understand that there are varying beliefs regarding vaccinations, please feel free to encourage trainees to take some time and prayerfully consider joining with us. Alternatively if they feel called elsewhere we are able to transfer their application to a YWAM location of their choice that does not have this requirement.
Arrival Information
All volunteers joining YWAM Ships, and family members accompanying them, are required to have health insurance for the duration of their trip. They are required to provide proof of insurance prior to arriving on board. If they arrive without insurance, they will be required to purchase some as part of the registration process.
Volunteers will need to research international health insurance / travel insurance companies and choose a plan that best fits their needs and budget.
YWAM Ships Kona does not recommend or endorse any one company, in the past volunteers have used www.talent-trust.com However, we recommend they do their own research and choose their own plan.
Medical volunteers are also required to purchase indemnity insurance. A sample company can be found in your Google Drive Attachments.
We ask that all volunteers arrive on the official arrival day into the airport on the Ship tracker. This day is when Registration occurs, and Orientation starts the following morning.
Once a volunteer has sent you their flight itinerary please add their arrival details to the appropriate “Application Tracker” in your google drive.
The “Acceptance Information” is essential for all incoming volunteers to receive. It has all the pertinent information & details they need in order to plan their trip. Every volunteer should receive a copy of this PDF in the “Acceptance” and the “Arrival Details” emails.
If there is ever a medical emergency, incident or withdrawal of any kind the ship manager must complete an incident report.
Please upload the report to the individuals contact in Salesforce.
Medical License Application
All medical professionals who practice medicine in PNG needs a valid PNG medical license. We gather the applicants information and submit the application to YWAM Townsville who then lodges them in person.
There are specific documents required for the above applicants. We must submit the following as one PDF to Townsville. Please name the PDF as follows: Last name, First name – PNG Medical License App.
- Applicant Sponsorship Letter
- PNG License Application (notarized)
- Secondary Application Form stating specialty (notarized)
- Copy of Degree
- Copy of License
- Copy of Curriculum Vitae / Resume
- Written Character Reference
- Professional Reference on Letterhead
- Police History Letter
- Medical History Letter
- Copy of Passport ID Page
Submit the following as one PDF to YWAM Townsville. Please name the PDF as follows: Last name, First name – PNG Medical License App.
- Applicant Sponsorship Letter
- PNG License Application (notarized)
- Copy of Degree
- Copy of License
- Copy of Curriculum Vitae / Resume
- Police History Letter
- Medical History Letter
- Copy of Passport ID Page
Once applications are submitted please upload them to the individuals Salesforce contact. Rarely will PNG send us a copy of approved licenses. However we must be diligent to file all of the paperwork correctly with them.
Unordinary Applications
When a volunteer returns to the ship for a second or third outreach they do not have to re-do the application process. Simple change the dates on their previous application, and change their application status from “Accepted” to “Ready to be Processed”.
Once you have received notification their application has again been accepted by Brett Curtis and the Ship Manager send them the “Acceptance” email. Confirm with the visa desk if they need to apply for a new visa, or if their previous visa is still valid.
If they are a medical volunteer you will need to re-submit their PNG Medical License Application with their new volunteer dates on it to YWAM Townsville.
Please remember to add them to both the “Ships Tracker” and “Application Tracker”.
Once their visa has been granted please send them the “Arrival Info” email and collect their itinerary and insurances.
When someone applies to join staff on the ship we process their application just as we do for volunteers. You will need to alter the templates to stay “staff” instead of “volunteer”.
You can also request their previous YWAM leader as one of their references.
We do however require the health form to be signed by a doctor.
Staff join for a minimum of 2 years.
We do not require staff to get indemnity insurance, just travel/health insurance.