Global Service Corps (GSC), founded in 1993, offers international volunteer programs and service learning experiences in Tanzania and Thailand.  GSC volunteer programs are offered year round from two weeks to six months in addition to one year Fellowship Programs.  Volunteers enjoy a true cultural immersion experience by staying with a host family while working hand-in-hand with local partners. GSC volunteer programs are offered year round including HIV/AIDS Prevention & Education, Sustainable Agriculture & Food Security, International Health, Teach English Abroad, and Buddhism Immersion.  All programs begin with in-depth training sessions, and no special skills or knowledge are required.  Volunteers of all ages, including students, families, mid-career professionals and active retirees, are encouraged to apply. Global Service Corps volunteers have an unforgettable experience while providing sustainable, beneficial results to the communities they serve.

By Rick Lathrop, GSC Founder and Executive Director

The idea behind Global Service Corps (GSC) began evolving in 1992 during my mid-career graduate studies. Prior to that time I had gained experience as a high school teacher, a print advertising account representative, a non profit administrator, and an adult holistic educator and leadership trainer. My graduate studies were part of the Human and Organization Development Ph.D. program at The Fielding Institute in Santa Barbara, California. At Fielding I became interested in global studies, particularly in the area of sustainable development, and discovered that there were few educational programs available for adults to gain first-hand experience in the field of international development and community service. With the assistance of a small start-up grant from Fielding, I began the development of a program of short-term, "mini Peace Corps" types of experiences to provide Fielding students and others international grass roots exposure to global issues. The concept soon expanded to include participation of adults from all walks of life interested in this kind of experience. I began developing the GSC program part time while continuing my studies, finished my Masters degree in Organization Development in August of 1994, and have since been working full time on this endeavor.

In 1993, GSC developed a working relationship with Global Routes, an organization that had been providing international community service summer programs for high school and college students for about ten years. Acting as the nominal adult division of Global Routes, GSC began to establish volunteer service programs for adults with an emphasis on village-based sustainable development. The first project trip took place in December of 1993 in Costa Rica, when 7 volunteer participants spent two weeks volunteering at the Montverde Cloud Forest Preserve and the Curu Biological Reserve. The GSC program expanded to Kenya in 1994, with projects relating to small-scale food production utilizing biointensive gardening, and community based health care education. In 1995, a project was established in Thailand with an emphasis on teaching English and community health. In 2001, we moved our East Africa program to Tanzania with an emphasis on sustainable agriculture and HIV/AIDS prevention education.

In August of 1995, GSC took another step in its development by becoming a project of Earth Island Institute (EII) in San Francisco. EII was founded in 1982 by David Brower, first Executive Director of the Sierra Club, and founder of Friends of the Earth. EII supports over 30 environmentally related projects ranging from Baikal Watch (protection of the Baikal Lake in Russia) to the International Marine Mammal Project (dolphin and whale protection including the "Free Willy" project). GSC benefits from the support of the Earth Island network services which include assistance in project administration, accounting, promotion, fund development and computer services. The relationship established with Earth Island Institute acknowledges the inherent connection between sustainable development and environmental concerns. In 1998, GSC launched its college internship program and soon thereafter an agreement was reached to provide academic credit through SUNY Albany. Also in 1999, GSC was honored to establish a relationship with David Brower and the Brower Fund to collaborate on the Global CPR (Conservation, Preservation and Restoration) Program. In 2001, GSC launched an HIV/AIDS and Sustainable Agriculture program in Arusha, Tanzania.

In 2005, GSC Thailand expanded its program and began collaborating with Greenway Thailand in the Singburi and Lopburi areas of Central Thailand. As part of this expansion GSC developed a weeklong orientation including Thai language lessons, introduction to the Thai culture, Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) training, and an overnight Buddhist immersion experience at a local temple. 2007 marked an important year for GSC.In Thailand after months of planning, GSC launched the pilot ‘English for Life’ summer program bringing HIV/AIDS prevention and education training to nearly 300 secondary school students and 45 teachers throughout Thailand. Over the course of two months, GSC worked in collaboration with Programs for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) to hold two teacher training sessions and eight weekend student camps. This has led to the launch of GSC’s new HIV/AIDS Education Program that is now providing HIV/AIDS related education and training to secondary school students in the greater Bangkok area.

2007 also marked an important development for GSC in Tanzania as we welcomed
Erwin Kinsey as our Tanzania Director of Operations. Erwin recently retired after 30 years in Tanzania with Heifer International as the Tanzania Country Director and more recently Africa Development Director. With his many years of experience in Tanzania and Africa, Erwin’s work expands and diversifies GSC’s reach and provides GSC programs and participants significant professional international development expertise. GSC moved into a beautiful new office with ample space for all staff members including a conference-training room. This facility provides a lovely space to welcome volunteer participants and community members alike. Programmatically the summer youth day camp program expanded to include year-round Peer Education programs. The HIV/AIDS program continued to expand providing prevention training, counseling and testing to rural populations. In collaboration with local partners, GSC’s International Health Program also expanded to include a telemedicine project where GSC participants lend support to area hospitals working with this new technology. And the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Program began a program to assist its trained farmers groups in marketing by helping initiate an organic certification program in the Arusha area.

Over the course of the development of GSC, the organization has benefited from the efforts of regular as well volunteer staff members. Volunteers and interns have assisted GSC with office administration, research, project coordination, in-country logistics, accounting, promotion, electronic communications and general support. One of the major reasons for the initiation of this organization was to provide opportunities for adults to become more actively involved in addressing our many global issues. GSC will continue to emphasize volunteer and intern participation, both at our headquarters office and in the field as opportunities become increasingly available.

Tanzania
Community Development Program
Community Training Program
HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program
Integrated Program
International Health Program
S.O.S. Fellowship Program
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Program

Thailand
Buddhist Immersion Program
HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program
Integrated Program
International Health Program
Orphanage Care Program
Teach English Abroad Program
Volunteer Vacations