Internship Cancellation Policy

As an organization grounded in the principles of responsible travel, we are closely  monitoring the COVID-19 situation both in Mexico and worldwide. We are following recommendations issued by the World Health Organization, Mexican Secretariat of Health, and the Center for Disease Control; if by May 13th it is deemed unsafe to host the internship program, we will cancel it. The safety of our participants, staff, and community members is without question our first priority. 

We have developed a deposit refund policy that takes into consideration the flexibility you need at this time, as well as the devastating economic reality the pandemic implies for our partners, community, and organization. We invite you to consider the following options:

  1. Transfer your acceptance and deposit to a future student program with Human Connections, such as an internship next winter or in Summer 2021. 

  2. Donate your deposit to our Partner Emergency Relief Fund (more info will be on our website about this shortly). Hosting our interns typically translates into an important income source for our partners during their low tourism season. This year, many partners will face unprecedented challenges given the tourism-based nature of our economy - and this hardship is compounded if we cancel our programs. If you choose to donate your deposit, we will ensure 100% is channeled directly to our partners. For reference, US$750 translates into about 3 months of household income for many community members. If you choose this option, we can issue you a tax receipt. 

  3. Join us virtually. As a new frontier for Human Connections, we are offering a virtual internship June 1st - July 1st, 2020. We will bring as much learning, rigor, and impact as possible into a program designed to connect our interns with staff and partners on meaningful projects. 

If none of these options work for you, please contact us to discuss alternative measures. Please note that your second internship payment of US$2,200 is fully refundable in the event that the internship is canceled after you’ve processed this payment.