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Volunteer personal development is a key part of ICS.

Alongside making a difference overseas, we work to build and develop our volunteers. 

Volunteers benefit from comprehensive training as part of…

ICS is not like other overseas volunteering programmes.

ICS is run by respected development organisations and funded by the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID).

We don'…

If you’d prefer not to apply online or if you would like the application form in a different format, such as larger text, specific fonts or a printed copy, please contact us. We’re happy to provide the ICS application form in a…

*UPDATE*

Unfortunately we are currently unable to offer placements in Nigeria.

Placements are available in:

Bangladesh Cambodia Kenya Nepal Tanzania Uganda Zambia

Your ICS journey doesn’t stop when you complete your placement overseas.

You’ll doubtless be inspired by your experiences and motivated to act on the issues you care about.

We’ll encourage you to…

While ICS makes every effort to ensure that information on this site in relation to ICS and its activities is accurate and up-to-date, it does not accept any legal responsibility for any omissions or errors on the site unless due…

Thank you for completing the additional form. You’re one step closer to becoming an ICS volunteer!

We may give you a call to check a few details with you, otherwise you will get an email from us when we have matched you up…

Thank you for applying to be an ICS volunteer. Your ICS journey starts here.

Now get your mates on ICS

Have you got a friend, family member or partner who you think would be a great ICS volunteer? Get…

ICS is about creating change. Not just for communities, but for volunteers too.

To make the greatest impact, all our volunteers will receive comprehensive training and support before they head overseas as…

We will arrange and pay for your travel – including travel to selection day, training and all overseas travel.

Travel to selection days and training

When we receive your application you will be assigned…

Our volunteers' health, safety and security is our first priority.

All our volunteers are provided with medical insurance, pre-departure vaccinations and antimalarials (if required). Necessary medication…

*UPDATE*

Unfortunately we are currently unable to offer placements in Sierra Leone.

Placements are available in:

Bangladesh Cambodia Kenya Nepal Tanzania Uganda Zambia

*UPDATE*

Unfortunately we are currently unable to offer placements in Senegal. 

Placements are available in:

Bangladesh Cambodia Kenya Nepal Tanzania Uganda Zambia

84.4% of Tanzania's working poor live on US$2 or less a day.

ICS runs numerous projects in Tanzania addressing a number of issues. These include supporting people to access a regular source of income,…

Restless Development ICS volunteer Rebecca Corbett spent her placement in Ushewekunze, a community just outside the Zimbabwean capital of Harare. Here, she tells the story of George and Arthur, two emerging…

*UPDATE*

Unfortunately we are currently unable to offer placements in Zimbabwe.

Placements are available in:

Bangladesh Cambodia Kenya Nepal Tanzania Uganda Zambia

*UPDATE*

Unfortunately we are unable to offer placements in Togo in 2018-19.*

Placements are available in:

Bangladesh Cambodia Kenya Malawi Nepal Tanzania Uganda

*If you have already been placed, your…

“We are one family even though we all come from different areas of Uganda,” says Nellie Ssali, a Ugandan businesswoman with a mission – to lift fellow women out of abusive relationships and empower them to make…

Distancing itself from its troubled past, Uganda has gained recognition in recent years for its tough stance in tackling HIV and AIDS across the country. 

ICS volunteers support Uganda’s growth through …

BeeSweet isn’t your average social enterprise. This Zambian business has set itself an impressive target – to give away 50,000 beehives to local farmers, who can then support their families and communities by…

Any conversation with young people about safe sex, anywhere in the world, is likely to feature a group of sniggering boys asking you what the best positions are. That’s according to Sarah Meath, an ICS volunteer…

With the UN predicting its population of 13 million will triple by 2050, Zambia is one of the fastest-growing countries in Africa.

26-year-old Bryony Sims from Bristol is a Raleigh ICS volunteer team leader on placement in the communities of El Jobo and Mango Solo in Northern Nicaragua, where volunteers mentor local entrepreneurs. By sharing…

*UPDATE*

Unfortunately we are unable to offer placements in Nicaragua in 2018-19.*

Placements are available in:

Bangladesh Cambodia Kenya Malawi Nepal Tanzania Uganda

*If you have already been placed, your…

Happy Friday! Before the weekend starts, take a seat and listen to the wise words of two wonderful ICS volunteers who cooked and climbed their way to the top!

Restless Development ICS volunteer, Cheree Vaan Jaarsveld …

Three cycles of volunteers working in the same community teamed up to raise money and help repair a community well, enabling up to 500 local residents access clean water. 

Bernice is a young woman from Owuram in Ghana.…

At 16, Mahomed Khatri lost his sight from retinal detachments in both his eyes. He was forced to quickly learn to cope with a life without vision – and all the challenges that suddenly came with it.

Now 26, ten years later…

Hello lovely fundraisers!
We’re mixing it up in the ICS office this week and bringing you our first themed blog. So, what better way to start than with Planning.
Coming up with a plan for your ICS fundraising is key to…

For 23-year-old Eleanor Calver, her ICS placement gave her the opportunity to gain more experience of working in sexual health – a sector she felt passionately about.

After returning from Zimbabwe, she’s now working for The…

Starting your own charity or NGO can seem like a scary prospect. Where do you begin? How do you test your ideas? What contacts do you need to make? And will it really make a difference?

But ICS can be a great chance to get…

Amelia Womack was just 29 when she was elected as The Green Party’s Deputy Leader in 2014 – the youngest ever in political party history. Two years and one re-election later, she’s more vocal than ever about the power young people…

Climate change will affect the world’s poorest the most. Extreme weather and natural disasters – like drought and flooding – are likely to increase as the world gets warmer, and poor communities struggle the most to cope with these…

ICS volunteers are ideally placed to reach out to other young people, particularly on issues like sexual health. Projects also focus on making sure people have decent toilet and washing facilities, which can hugely reduce sickness…

We want to make sure that people around the world know their rights and can make their voices heard.

Every child deserves a good education.

More and more young people are getting the chance to go to school, but some are still excluded.

Helping people to support themselves and their families.

Supporting small businesses

We believe that everyone should be able to earn a decent living and become self-sufficient, because no one wants to…

International Citizen Service is a development programme led and managed by Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).

VSO is committed to safeguarding your privacy online. This statement explains how we will collect, use and…

The UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) funds 90% of the ICS programme. The other 10% is funded by volunteer fundraising.

You don’t have to pay for ICS, but volunteer…

ICS is committed to ensuring the health, safety, welfare and development of all young people with whom it works regardless of gender, age, stage of development, disability, sexual orientation, religion, culture or ethnicity.

…

An ICS placement is a big undertaking but we’re here to help you get prepared, from providing training and travel arrangements, to making sure you’re fit to travel. 

We offer comprehensive support to…

The Department for International Development (DFID) funds ICS – representing a significant investment by the UK Government in young people.

All you need to volunteer with ICS is the ambition to make a difference.

International Citizen Service (ICS) is a UK Government funded programme providing volunteer placements to 18-25 year olds and Team…

If you've done NCS then you're guaranteed an invite to an assessment day,

Providing there is space and you're eligible, all NCS graduates are guaranteed an invite to an assessment day.

With your…

ICS volunteers visit Upendo enterprise, a local garment making company in Lindi, Tanzania

ICS volunteer Dan Hensman playing his guitar to his fellow volunteers and host home family members…

VSO ICS volunteers in Banteay Char, Cambodia meet with the leaders of the local Agriculture Co-operative…

Cathryn Tomnay with team of volunteers prepare for their school training session with pupils as part of the…