All of us have skills that can be used to serve God and serve the poor. For those with engineering or architectural abilities, eMi² is a great way to do just that, while at the same time gaining valuable experience and learning more about another country. Since 1982, EMI has been mobilizing design professionals like you to serve the world-wide Body of Christ. Maybe you never thought you could give in this way. We think you can, and we work hard to make your efforts strategically beneficial for our client ministries. Many volunteers have been impacted in some way by God through participating with eMi² in South Asia – probably the most diverse and culturally rich region of the world.

No. EMI and eMi² are non-profit organizations and all workers serve on a purely volunteer basis. Each intern and volunteer is asked to cover his or her own costs to participate and to help EMI / eMi² continue to be able to provide design services free of cost to approved charities. Most workers raise financial support from friends and family to cover their cost. Don't worry if that sounds challenging, we will guide you through the process.

Each project is unique in its design needs, so email the project leader for the trip that interests you. Most trips have place for volunteers with only a little experience to assist the primary designer. Some trips are more technical and need a volunteer with good experience in a certain niche, such as water treatment or hospital design. For most trips, simple and basic skills in architecture / engineering / surveying need to be used creatively to meet the specific constraints or local restrictions on the project or construction environment. On all trips, eMi² staff will prioritize and guide the design so that it is the most fitting for the South Asian context.

Your total travel time will be about 10-14 days, which includes about a week on site with the client. The actual trip length varies from project to project. Also, to rest and readjust to life at home after the project trip, many volunteers choose to take another 1-2 days off from work, while some choose to take the day before departure off from work as well. We understand that each day away from family and work is a sacrifice and, as such, we attempt to make the most effective use of your time in-country, balancing your value of time against the South Asian culture’s value of time.

We understand that you may have exhausted your holiday time to participate on the trip in the first place, and that you have a pile of work waiting for you on your desk at your office. Typically, our goal for each trip is for you to be finished with your project portion before you board the airplane to return home. Your strategic contribution is in person, in country. After the project, you may be asked to complete a brief portion of the project work (usually a part of the design report) or review the developed project materials later from your home. This post-trip involvement will depend on the scope of the project and the available in-office resources. When the design report is published, we will mail you a hard copy.

Available projects vary from season to season. For a complete listing of what's coming up this year, visit the upcoming projects list. Project types range from the design of hospitals, schools, children’s homes, and training centres to renewal plans for existing campuses, remediation programs for water or wastewater systems, etc. The project trip design is focused on Conceptual Design, which is a project development tool for the client ministry, and a good vehicle for strategic input from short-term volunteer design professionals at a broader, consultative level. Detailed Design, is carried out in-office after Conceptual Design for selected client ministries.

Maintaining an EMI Passport is the first step in joining a project team. Send it to the project leader for a trip you are interested in now, or if you want to commit to being a Project Volunteer for a future season for a project yet to be determined. Some times project trips formalize at late stages, so volunteering in advance fills a critical need and lets you plan your trip well in advance.

Your project leader will guide you in the trip preparations and, in some cases, provide you aides to help. Updating or renewing your passport, obtaining the required visas, providing the needed financial documentation to EMI are the major steps. To coordinate the whole team, your project leader will ordinarily make other logistical arrangements for your trip, such as: international flights, in-country rail or air tickets, hotel accommodations, EMI-required travel insurance, etc.

The EMI website contains more volunteer resources and information for your use.