Raleigh International Citizen Service

International citizen service (ICS) is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and is an amazing opportunity to get immersed in another culture, work on a community development project and learn new skills. We are recruiting volunteers for projects in India, Nicaragua and from summer 2013, Tanzania as well!

With places still available for our September/October departures – you could be on your overseas placement as early as this autumn!

You will work in teams with volunteers from the local area, as well as others from the UK. The placements can involve a wide range of different activities, but the community will always be heavily involved in the process of establishing what projects would be most beneficial to the people living there. Examples of issues that will be covered are: education, health, livelihoods, strengthening civil society and the environment. Projects will aim to address some of the Millennium Development Goals and could include:

• Infrastructure building
• Training and workshop delivery
• Collaborating with partners to enhance livelihoods of some of the poorest communities

In addition to the overseas project you will have to fundraise for your trip, attend compulsory training beforehand and a debriefing session on your return. Also, crucially, you will be expected to use what you have learnt to help on a more local level, by taking part in Action at Home.

During the Action at Home phase of Raleigh ICS the you will be asked to consider what you care about, what the issues are and what you can do about them. This can be as simple as ‘I care about reading, my library needs volunteers, I can be a volunteer’ or even ‘I care about the environment, we have no local recycling collection for plastics, I’ll campaign for a recycling service’.

You will have lived and worked in a community and learned a bit about what helps communities grow and develop.  Action at Home is your opportunity to start using the skills and understanding so that your role in community development doesn’t just stop with your ICS work placement. Action at Home will also help continue to develop your skills and help your to achieve future goals and ambitions.

ICS will empower you to make a difference and become an independent, active global citizen. With leading employers citing ‘Global knowledge’ as a crucial skill for prospective employees, now is the perfect time to volunteer overseas.

If you would like more information, including how to apply visit our website