Parent / Caregiver Resources
When a family member prepares for a trip—whether for personal growth, education, or a fun adventure —you are often the behind the scene supporter, helping make it all possible. As a Parent/Caregiver, your influence is powerful, and although your primary concern is safety, your support through encouragement and expectations can shape how a traveler approaches and reflects on their experience before, during and after the program.
You don't have to be on the trip to help it become transformative. By talking about peacebuilding opportunities, you help travelers move from simply "going somewhere" to "growing everywhere” and help shape your traveler into a future global citizen and peace advocate.
Questions to consider – Ask Travelers (Before and after the Trip):
Before the Trip
What is your responsibility as a guest in someone else's City, Community or Culture?
How will you show kindness, patience, or respect—especially in unfamiliar situations?
What do you want others to think about the place and people where you come from?
After the Trip
What surprised you most about the people or places you visited?
Did the trip challenge any of your assumptions or perspectives?
What did you learn about Peace—from the people you met, the environment, or your reactions?
What perspective surprised you the most after you started the trip?
Below are some suggestions a traveler can include to “Make Peace Part of their Journey”!
Pre-Trip Awareness
Start the Conversation – Help your travelers Prepare Mentally and Emotionally
1. Discuss how travel is more than sightseeing—it's about understanding, empathy, and shared humanity.
2. Encourage an open mindset: "You may not understand everything right away—and that's okay."
3. Help pack a travel journal or reflection prompts to guide thoughtfulness on the road.
4. Research together: Learn about the places they'll visit and explore cultural dos and don'ts.
5. You can ask them to do something for you, pick up a souvenir, try a delicacy, or visit a specific site to create a conversation connection when they return.
Promote Purpose – Support Choosing Travel Providers That Include Peacebuilding
1. When the trip is selected, ask travel providers about the itineraries and inquire if the trip provides opportunities for cultural exchange, sustainability, or service learning.
2. Ask the trip planners: "How is peacebuilding or cultural understanding incorporated into this trip?".
3. Encourage the traveler to be more than a tourist—to be a learner, listener, and guest.
4 Peace Engagement
Model Reflection – Lead with Curiosity and Compassion
1. Stay connected while they travel—and decide beforehand how often you will connect. You can also select the platform that works for both of you.
2. Model your interest in Peace: Talk about issues you care about and how you try to make a difference.
3. Upon their return, resist the urge to ask, "Was it fun?" Instead, ask:
- "What stayed with you the most?"
- "What's one person or moment that made you think differently"?
- "How did this change your understanding of the world or yourself"?
- “What was a highlight of each day on a personal level and as a traveler”?
4 Peace Sustainability
While traveling - Travel Lightly and Thoughtfully as a steward of this planet.
1. Carry a reusable water bottle, utensils, shopping bag, and other reusable items.
2. Request and stay in eco-conscious lodgings where applicable and use public transport, bike, or walk when possible.
3. Turn off lights, air conditioning, and electronics when not in use.
4. Eat a plant-based meal when you can—it’s better for the planet.
5. Avoid wildlife exploitation: don’t support attractions that exploit animals for entertainment.
6. Pick up litter when you see it—leave places cleaner than you found them.
7. Reduce your footprint: Conserve water, refuse single-use plastics, and leave places better than you found them.
Post Trip - Pass It On
Support the Ripple – Encourage Post-Trip Action and Sharing
1. Suggest ways to "pass it on"—sharing stories at school, online, or in your community.
2. Share stories from your travels and how they influenced your values or views.
3. Ask how they want to apply what they learned—maybe by volunteering, supporting causes, or changing habits.
4. Celebrate their growth—not just their photos.
5. Reinforce this message: "How you travel can change how you live.
6. Amplify voices: Share stories from your travels in ways that highlight the dignity and richness of other cultures.
7. Travel in Peace… and Pass it On to others!
