Global Service Corps (GSC) is registered as a non-governmental organization in Thailand and Tanzania, and offers volunteer programs of two weeks to six months long in these two countries. Thanks to a Travel With A Challenge article for pointing me to this organization.

GSC says its programs are established “on the view that the personal lives and activities of people around the world are increasingly intertwined…The projects of GSC provide a means for volunteers to understand each other’s cultures and problems while at the same time actively addressing at a community level some of our many global issues.”

They describe the two-week programs as ideal for people with limited time; both (in Thailand and Tanzania) consist of at least five days of training, orientation and excursions. Volunteers in Thailand can choose between education, health care and Buddhist immersion activities, and volunteering in Tanzania involves assisting in training seminars on HIV/AIDS prevention and care. Long term programs – nine weeks are more – offer the possibility to work on multiple projects in Tanzania, and to collect and analyze data for monitoring and evaluation purposes. A key component of long term service in Thailand is providing opportunities for those in the host community to practice their English; volunteers may also develop their own projects.

There is a chart accompanying program descriptions in each country which illustrates program costs depending on the length of participation. For an approximate idea, the cost of a nine-week project is about $4000 in both Thailand and Tanzania. This includes volunteer orientation as well as room and board; flights and insurance are separate. GSC provides an explanation of how fees are used here.

I also thought GSC expressed a nice sentiment in its mission and so will close with that: “Those 20% of us living in developed countries, who consume 80% of our natural resources, have the benefit of material wealth, technology and education to appropriately share. We have a moral responsibility to do so. Those 80% of us in developing countries have a wealth of culture, tradition and community to share in return. We need each other!”