GSC’s four to six week Short-Term Volunteer Abroad Programs are ideal for those interested in gaining a greater understanding of another culture by living in a local home while participating in community training and volunteer service work overseas. All GSC Short-Term Volunteer Abroad Program participants receive at least one week of cultural orientation and technical training prior to their community training assignments. For a more in-depth volunteer service and community training opportunity, GSC suggests our 9 week to 6-month Long-term Volunteer Abroad Assignments and International Internship Programs.
Tanzania Short-Term Volunteer Abroad Assignments: 4-6 Weeks
GSC’s Tanzania Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Program includes two weeks of participant classroom and field orientation and training followed by two to four weeks of training local community and farming groups in organic agriculture practices. 
Our GSC Tanzania HIV/AIDS Prevention Program includes one week of participant orientation and technical training followed by three to five weeks of training local community groups in HIV/AIDS prevention. Frequently, participants with extra time in the afternoons and weekends will also volunteer at one of the local orphanages affiliated with GSC.
All Tanzania volunteer abroad programs begin in Arusha, Tanzania where a GSC representative will greet you upon arrival at the Kilimanjaro International airport. You and your fellow volunteers will then participate in one week of cultural orientation and theoretical training followed by the second week of activities specific to your program. Participants are housed in a hostel near the GSC office and training center the first three nights and are then welcomed into their homestay on Wednesday afternoon. The HIV/AIDS Prevention Program includes technical HIV/AIDS training followed by participation in one week of training a community group in HIV/AIDS prevention. Topics covered include AIDS transmission and treatment, gender and stigma issues, and the importance of HIV testing and counseling. The Sustainable Agriculture Program includes theoretical training in bio-intensive (sustainable and organic) agriculture followed by one week of hands-on participant training at the GSC demonstration plot.
Thailand Short-term Volunteer Abroad Assignments: 4-6 Weeks
Short-term programs are available in Thailand in five distinct program areas raging from Public Health to Buddhist Cultural Immersion.
The International Health Program (minimum six weeks) includes a six day orientation and training, three to five weeks of shadowing doctors, nurses, and health professionals in a Thai hospital, and two to four weeks of teaching either English or HIV/AIDS education and prevention.
The Orphanage Care Program (minimum five weeks) includes an initial week of orientation and training followed by four to five weeks of mentoring, teaching, and interacting with young Thai orphans.
The HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program includes one week of training followed by three to five weeks of teaching HIV/AIDS education and awareness to Thai secondary school students.
The Teach English Abroad Program includes one week of training followed by three to five weeks of teaching basic and conversational English to either primary or secondary school students.
The Buddhist Immersion Program includes one week of training followed by three to five weeks of teaching English to novice monks at a wat (monastery) or to public school students at a school adjacent to the wat.
All Thailand volunteer abroad programs begin in Bangkok, Thailand where a GSC representative will greet you upon arrival at the airport. You and your fellow volunteers will then be given a two-day tour of Bangkok before traveling to the Orientation Center in Singburi (about 140km north of Bangkok). Here, GSC will provide you with a three day cultural orientation which includes Thai language training, an introduction to your project, project-specific technical training in HIV/AIDS Prevention and/or English as a Foreign Language, a day trip to Wat San Phra Kan (Monkey Temple) in Lopburi and the Wat Phra Baht Nam Phu AIDS Hospice, and an overnight stay at a Buddhist temple. During the overnight stay you will have the chance to interact with the monks while learning about Buddhism and meditation. At the end of the week, you will be escorted to your homestay near your assigned project site, and settle in with your host family. Participants then begin their service work of teaching during the second week.
