In September 2002, Indicorps will send ten young professionals and college graduates to India for one-year fellowships in service organizations. The first month of the fellowship will be an intensive orientation to India and to the Indicorps program. The orientation will include one-shot projects to introduce fellows to the social service sector, interactive discussions to prepare fellows for upcoming challenges, debates, guest speakers and experts, intensive language courses, team-building activities, short academic courses on issues pertaining to India, and individually-tailored curricula to prepare fellows for their specific projects.

Indicorps requires fellows to attend bi-monthly retreats that will encourage participants to reflect, share progress, re-energize, and collectively solve problems. The currently planned retreat schedule includes visits to historical sites and adventure activities such as a Himalayan trek (activities will be dependent upon a survey of accepted fellows in early June). Indicorps activities during retreats are part of a continuing curriculum to help fellows understand India and themselves.

Fellows are accountable to Indicorps and participating Indian service organizations. An Indicorps representative will visit all projects on a regular basis to measure progress and assist fellows with logistical, practical, and moral support.

The last six weeks of the fellowship period is dedicated to building local capacity and ensuring sustainability of the projects. Fellows will make sure that their work is properly documented and communicated to our partner organizations.

Prior to completing the 2002 fellowship program, fellows will get a chance to help with the orientation program for our fellows in 2003, passing on lessons learned from the experiences of the pioneering first-year projects.

Indicorps will provide a nominal stipend to enable fellows to live and work in India for the duration of the program. Attendance at all Indicorps activities will be required, and basic ground transportation within India will be covered by our stipend structure. Room, board, and fellowship-related travel are covered by Indicorps.

Our hope is to allow intelligent people to grow and challenge themselves, while using their education, skills, and enthusiasm to make a difference in the community of their roots.

NOTE: The Indicorps stipend is minimal and covers only basic living costs. It does not include airfare to/from the US, incidentals, or a significant spending allowance. However, we are looking into the possibility of offering need-based assistance, discounts, or fund-raising assistance for international airfare.