Come with Mentors to the Philippines in February!

A Mentors Field Trip is truly an unforgettable experience wherein you can witness microcredit in action.

Our next trip, to the Philippines begins Friday, February 20, 2009 with a return date of Saturday, February 28. Group departure is from Salt Lake City so additional flight plans will need to be made in order to make sure that you are in Salt Lake by that Friday morning. We have an excellent travel agency in Salt Lake City (Christofferson Travel), who can arrange any special travel needs (e.g. mileage usage) and who have discovered excellent travel deals for us.

The approximate cost per person (Double Occupancy), will be $3,150, which will include airfare, hotel, meals and other ground accommodations. We can not give an exact airfare amount due to the cost changing daily (ie. Instant Purchase). However, the cost does not jump drastically within a given time frame. Please note: once airfare has been purchased, the tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable and non-changeable.

Per our travel agent, all airfare and lodging will be purchased simultaneously; therefore a $500 per person deposit is due by Monday, December 8, 2008 as an assurance that you are committed in joining us. Once all deposits are received, Mentors will then purchase the airfare and ground accommodations and will then notify you of the exact cost and balance due.

Please contact Mentors with your credit card number, expiration date, and authorization (from you) to make this deposit and the remaining purchases. We will also need the exact name that is on, or will be on, your passport.

**IMPORTANT** According to our travel agent and Homeland Security, there is a 3-4 month wait for issuance of passports – not 6 weeks like in the past. So, if you do not have a valid passport, you will need to take immediate steps to attain one. Your passport must have your legal name on it. Also, your passport MUST NOT expire sooner than 6 months after your return from this trip. If your passport will expire within 6 months of our return, you will need to renew it as soon as possible or you will not be able to board an aircraft. Or, if you have internet access, go to http://www.americanpassport.com/ for a 24 hour turnaround on your passport. This will cost additional money.

Please call Mentors’ Office Assistant, Jenny Wells, at 1-801-676-7776 with your credit card information. Below is an in-progress itinerary and information concerning the your week:

Friday, February 20, 2008
-Our travel party will meet at the Salt Lake City airport in the afternoon and depart together on a flight to Manila.

Saturday, February 21, 2008
-Jovy Guanzon, our regional manager for our Philippines partner organizations, will meet us on arrival and we will travel by bus to our hotel. Because of the long distance, we will not actually arrive until Saturday morning.

Sunday, February 22, 2008
-Breakfast at the hotel (Holiday Inn)
-Overview of Manila and a visit to the American military cemetery. Church services optional.

Monday, February 23, 2008
-We will spend the day visiting the Mentors Manila office and attending some client meetings (wherein they pledge to receive a loan, a remarkable experience).
-We will then visit a number of clients outside of the immediate Manila area.

Tuesday, February 24, 2008
-More client visits and loan officer training
-Meet in hotel lobby to have dinner with members of Mentors Manila Board of Directors.

Wednesday, February 25, 2008
-Travel to Pagsanjan Falls one of the premier tourist spots of the Philippines. More than 500 tourists from all parts of the world daily visit the town. These tourists are ferried to the enchanting Pagsanjan falls in native bancas paddled by expert boatmen. They all experience a thrilling memory of adventure, seldom surpassed in their lifetime.
-Whole day Pagsanjan Falls Tour (lunch & boatride)
-Travel to Tagaytay City. Tagaytay, located on a ridge 2,250 ft. above sea level, is a leisurely drive to the countryside south of Manila, past small coastal villages and towns; rice fields, tropical fruit orchards and coconut plantations.
-Overnight at Taal Vista Hotel

Thursday, February 26, 2008
-Breakfast at Taal Vista Hotel
-Depart hotel for a Tagaytay Day Tour. From the heights of Tagaytay, enjoy the breathtaking sight of one of the world's strangest wonders-- Taal Volcano, a volcano within a volcano and lake within a lake.
-Overnight at Taal Vista Hotel

Friday, February 27, 2008
-Breakfast at Taal Vista Hotal
-Transfer back to Manila
-Last client visit
-Overnight at Holiday Inn

Saturday, February 28, 2008
-Breakfast at hotel
-Corregidor Tour. Corregidor is an island in the entrance of the Philippines' Manila Bay. During World War II, Corregidor was the site of several battles and its fall to the Japanese forces was instrumental in the subsequent capture of the Philippines and the retreat of the United States in the early stages of the war. Currently, it is an important historic and tourist site.
-Transfer to Airport For Departure back to Salt Lake.
-Arrive in Salt Lake at 11:14 p.m.

If you need to return to the United States prior to Saturday, February 28, special arrangements can be made. We look forward to your participation in this incredible week.