Chronological Checklist to Become an Accompanier
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1. Read the Program Overview and About NISGUA to familiarize yourself with G.A.P. and the organization it is part of, and to make sure you meet the requirements. Review the Fundraising and Accompanier Budget to ensure that you understand the financial responsibilities involved in the program. We also encourage you to read this selection of Accompaniers' Reflections to gain a sense of what accompaniment work looks like on the ground. Contact the U.S. Program Coordinator if you have any questions.
   
2. Check our calendar to find out when the next trainings are, as well as the corresponding application and reference form deadline.
3. Download the application form and reference form or write to gap[AT]nisgua.org to request paper copies. Ask two references to complete the provided form and return to NISGUA/G.A.P. References can be emailed to gap[at]nisgua.org or mailed to 436 14th Street, Suite 409, Oakland, CA 94612. 
4. Submit your application package. Send the application and resume via e-mail to gap[AT]nisgua.org and a hard copy to G.A.P., 436 14th Street, Suite 409, Oakland, CA 94612. 
   
5. If we believe that you could be a good match for accompaniment, the G.A.P. Program Coordinator will contact you to set up a phone interview. This provides us with an opportunity to get to know you better as well as a chance for you to ask questions about the program. It will also include a brief Spanish assessment.
   
6. Prior to the interview, thoroughly read the Join the Guatemala Accompaniment Project section of the NISGUA website and prepare a list of questions that you have about the program.
   
7. Approximately 4-6 weeks prior to the training, the G.A.P. Program Coordinator will contact you to let you know if you have been invited to training. If we invite you to attend, we believe that you are qualified to become an accompanier. However, the decision to commit to accompaniment is an important one and we consider the training a time of mutual discernment for both the trainee and NISGUA. Therefore we do not make a final decision on acceptance into G.A.P. until completion of training.
   
8. Before arriving at training, decide the earliest and latest dates that you are able to depart for Guatemala, as well as the anticipated length of your commitment. This information will influence when you are scheduled to arrive in Guatemala.
   
9. At the end of training you will be assigned to a U.S. Sponsoring Community. The trainers must take a variety of factors into account when deciding when to place accompaniers, and we do not guarantee a particular placement.  Decisions about where accompaniers are placed will be made during the in-country training in Guatemala City.
   
10. Once you have been assigned, you will begin to develop a relationship with your Sponsoring Community and initiate your fundraising activities.
    
11. Depending on your schedule, the schedule of the accompanier you are replacing, and the needs of those you will be accompanying, you will travel to Guatemala sometime within six to eleven months of the training. If you need additional language study, you will complete it at that time. After a week of in-country training you will begin your work!