Participation Fees, Refunds and Deposits
1) Mobile Clinic participants are required to submit with their application a non-refundable deposit of $100 dollars (discounted from the participation fee). Brigades require a significant amount of planning and set-up by our in-country staff; the $100 deposit is crucial in not only ensuring that students are truly committed to participating, but also for our on-site preparation in the months leading up to a brigade. By the time any balance of the brigade participation fee is due, we have already invested time and money preparing for all students who have made a deposit, and as such, the $100 deposit is absolutely non-refundable.
2) The cost of participation in a typical MEDLIFE Mobile Clinic is $679.50 (incl. the $100 deposit) for one week plus personal airfare to the Mobile Clinic location. This fee covers:
--Your meals Mon-Fri on the Clinic (weekends not included).
--In-country transportation (including airport pick-up and drop-off).
--Lodging during the brigade.
--The fee DOES NOT cover your airfare to the Mobile Clinic location (Quito for all Ecuador Clinics; Lima or Cuzco for Peru Clinics; Panama City for Panama Clinics).
The fee also provides funding for all expenses associate with the Mobile Clinic itself (the hiring of doctors and nurses, purchase of medicine and equipment, daily transportation, etc). Finally, the participation fee funds all aspects of MEDLIFE’s operation (outside of MEDLIFE Fund projects), including year-round patient follow up, the hiring of full-time staff, our office space in Ecuador and Peru, etc.
If participants choose to eat or lodge away from scheduled locations (eg go to a different restaurant than previously arranged) then this is at their own expense. Participants are also required to purchase traveler’s insurance to cover themselves while they travel internationally and in case they need healthcare services while abroad. Participants are likewise expected to meet the vaccination recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and/or their local travel clinic, according to the country and region in which they are traveling.
3) We understand that there are certain circumstances that may lead to a student not being able to participate in a brigade as they had planned. The MEDLIFE Executive Board will handle refunds for such an event on a case-by-case basis. Please understand that we cannot guarantee a refund of the participation fee, but will work to resolve all such situations in a fair and equitable manner.
However, MEDLIFE cannot be responsible for non-participation for reasons due to passport/visa issues, immunizations, flight availability or cancellation, etc, and as such, refund for these reasons is not possible. In those situations where advance notice is provided, which has been defined as greater than 4 weeks before the start of brigade, the participation fee minus the $100 deposit will be refunded to the applicant. In those situations where less than 4 weeks from notice is provided, refund of 50% of the original brigade participation fee is possible (minus the $100 deposit which is non-refundable), with notice of less than 2 weeks before the brigade start date only 25% of the original brigade fee will be refunded (minus the $100 deposit which is non-refundable). The reason for these calculations are based on administrative fees to organize a Mobile Clinic and payments that are made prior to a brigade in reservation of restaurants, lodging and transportation.
*Cancellation requests and requests for refund must be submitted via email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . In the case of a cancellation the day on which cancellation notice is received at this email address is the date MEDLIFE will use to calculate a participant’s refund.
