Description

Embark on a truly unique educational opportunity with Global Service Corps! Built on 17 years of experience providing service-learning programs in East Africa, GSC is offering Integrated Programs in HIV/AIDS, Sustainable Agriculture, and Food Security for college credit.

Global Service Corps, in partnership with SUNY-Albany, is proud to offer a 9-Credit Summer and a 15 Credit Semester Integrated HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention & Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Community Development Program. Designed for individuals with multiple interests, these programs allow students to participate in two GSC program areas providing a cross-sectoral response to community development in Tanzania. The focus of these service-learning experiences is for students to expand their own knowledge while at the same time helping to educate local community members in HIV/AIDS prevention and rural sustainable agriculture. Students will have the opportunity to become fully immersed in Tanzanian culture as they live, work, learn, and play among local Tanzanian families, staff, and students in both rural and urban settings. Participants will receive orientation in the language, culture, and history of the Tanzanian people as well as academic and hands-on technical training in the areas of HIV/AIDS and Food Security that will prepare them to assist in a variety of community development and training projects.

Global Service Corps' 9-week summer program gives students the opportunity to learn while serving some of Tanzania's most vulnerable populations including widows, orphans, Maasai and other indigenous cultures. Students will spend their initial four weeks focusing on the GSC HIV/AIDS Prevention Program, engaging in projects such as the HIV/AIDS Peer Education and Life Skills Day Camp as well as assisting in additional community trainings and awareness activities. During week five, students will begin their training and participation in sustainable agriculture as part of the GSC Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Program. Projects include community workshops, trainings, and hands-on field work in innovative food security techniques such as bio-intensive agriculture, water catchment, and food storage and preservation. Weeks six through nine will provide opportunities for integrated sustainable agriculture and HIV/AIDS prevention work, highlighting the interconnectedness of sustainable food production, income generation, and overall health and wellness.

The Global Service Corps 15 Credit Semester Program offers similar service experiences to the 9 Credit Summer Program while also providing a more in-depth academic component. During the initial three weeks of the program, students will receive orientation and classroom training, providing a foundation in African Culture, Public Health, and Community Development. After this academic preparation, students will complete nine weeks of field work in the areas of HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention, and Sustainable Agriculture, serving as training assistants in community workshops. Community groups GSC works with include widows, orphans, Maasai and other indigenous cultures. As part of GSC's HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program, awareness activities and trainings target youth and adults with the ultimate goal of mitigating the spread of HIV/AIDS in a sustainable manner. Students will also receive training in GSC's Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Program, including hands-on experience in innovative agriculture techniques that aim to increase food production while alleviating the main causes of food losses. The final three weeks of the program will focus on the Service Learning Capstone Course in which students will attend additional class lectures and prepare their final papers and presentations.

Acquire in-depth knowledge of international development through first-hand experience working with community development organizations while living with a host family in Tanzania.

Global Service Corps' Community Development Program allows participants a chance for hands-on development experience in Tanzania. The program involves two parts: four weeks of community training workshops on HIV/AIDS education and prevention or Sustainable Agriculture methods; and then an assignment with a community organization to assist with program implementation.

Community development interns will spend the first month of their time in-country facilitating workshops with local Tanzanian counterparts to community groups about issues pertaining to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Awareness or Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security. Then participants will join a local organization in assisting with program development and implementation.

Community Development assignment options for HIV/AIDS Prevention participants include assisting GSC in-country staff with AIDS education and prevention program development, supporting GSC's Peer Education Health Clubs with HIV/AIDS prevention training and materials, working with a local community organization like Women In Action, and working with local orphanages.

Community Development project assignments in Sustainable Agriculture include activities such as improving and expanding GSC's sustainable agricultural program and demonstration plot, working with local farmer groups on their own plots and marketing programs, and working with GSC's Peer Education Health Clubs to develop family subsistence gardens. Other community development assignment options may be available, since GSC is continually being contacted by community groups requesting assistance.

Highlights

Homestays: Volunteers experience true cultural immersion by living with a local Tanzanian family. GSC places volunteers with hosts who enjoy learning about other cultures and appreciate the unique opportunity that hosting an international volunteer gives to their family. Host families have been carefully chosen by GSC and our partners, and many have hosted volunteers over the course of several years. Whether you are learning Tanzanian games or sharing a plate of ugali (corn meal) and sakuma weki (greens) with your Tanzanian Mama, your homestay experience with GSC hosts will provide memories and friendships lasting a lifetime.

Tanzanian Partners: The experience of GSC volunteers is greatly enhanced by their daily interaction with local counterparts, whether a nurse at a hospital, a teacher at a school, or a college-bound translator, Volunteers and their Tanzanian partners build mutually beneficial and often long lasting bonds of friendship. Local partners assist Volunteers with obtaining local transportation, finding the best local restaurants, learning local language phrases, meeting community leaders, and giving tips about and often participating in social activities. Counterparts play a vital role in providing a true cultural immersion experience while helping to insure that the volunteers interaction with and service to the community is appropriate and effective.

Cultural Orientation and Technical Training: All Tanzania Service-Learning programs include in-depth cultural orientation including Swahili lessons, a tutorial on how to use the dala-dala bus system like a local and an insiders tour of Arusha. Volunteers also receive technical training on relevant topics such as HIV/AIDS in a Tanzanian context and hands on agricultural training at the Global Service Corps demonstration plot.

Qualifications

Interest in international development a must. All nationalities are welcome. Proficiency in English is required. No experience is necessary, although many of our volunteers have school or professional experience in the area in which they volunteer. Must be at least 18 years and willing to work hard.

Intern Types

Languages

• English

Cost in US$:

9 Week Programs start at USD5,269

Cost Includes:

• Excursions
• Food
• Housing
• In-country orientation/Training
• In-country staff support
• Language instruction
• Pre-departure orientation/Training
• Registration fees
• Travel while in host country
• Written materials abroad
• Written materials pre-departure
• Living stipend

Credit Available

yes

Experience Required

no

Volunteer Types

Typical Volunteer

A typical Global Service Corps volunteer has interest, energy, a willingness to learn, and a desire to serve and have an enriching cultural immersion experience.

This Program is open to

Worldwide, American, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi and South African Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Home-stays

Participants Travel

Independently

Typically Participants Work

Independently or in Groups of 5-12

Application Process Involves

• Essay
• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Resume

Typically The Application Process Time is

90 days

Post Services Include

• Alumni Network
• Re-Entry Debriefing at Home
• Exit Debriefing Abroad

Global Service Corps's Mission Statement

Working from offices on three continents, Global Service Corps is dedicated to fulfilling our mission of designing and implementing effective service-learning programs that provide maximum benefit to our program participants and the communities we serve. Through the hard work of our staff, support of our advisory board, collaboration with our partners and the participation of hundreds of volunteers each year, Global Service Corps has earned its reputation as a leader in international volunteerism, service-learning and community development.

Year Founded

1992