StepUp Corps

Stepup Peace Corps offers a unique experience to make a difference around the world and bring the benefits of that experience back home. The personal and professional rewards of Stepup Peace Corps service last a lifetime, building consciousness, responsibility, honesty, respect, resilience, empathy, gratitude, temperance, giving, courage and compassion.

StepUp Peace Corps Key Goals:

  • Helping the communities of emerging countries in meeting their need for sustainable development
  • Helping promote improved consciousness, character and values on the part of the youth served
  • Helping promote respect and a better understanding of other peoples on the part of our youth

Overview

Stepup Peace Corps provides Volunteers to more than 35 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, South America, Europe, the Pacific Islands, and the Middle East.

The length of service is 27 months, which includes an average of three months of in-country training that provides language, cross-cultural, technical, and health and safety skills. Volunteers are placed where their skills match the needs of host countries. They live in the communities they serve, from small rural villages to large urban cities.

Volunteers return to the UK as global citizens, with an improved consciousness, character, awareness, leadership, cross-cultural understanding, and language and technical skills that position them well for professional opportunities. Unlike many other international volunteer programs, there is no fee to participate in the Stepup Peace Corps.

To be eligible for service, you must be: At least 16 years of age with an upper age limit of 26

Volunteers have a variety of skills, work experience, and education levels. The benefits of being a Volunteer are many, including the following Stepup Peace Corps benefits:

  • An award of £2,500 upon completion of service
  • Language, cross-cultural, and technical training
  • Travel to and from country of service
  • A monthly living and housing allowance
  • Medical Insurance
  • 48 paid holiday days
  • Leave for family emergencies
  • Transition and job support and social networking

Period of Commitment
Stepup Peace Corps serve 27 months, generally spending three months in training and 24 months on the programme. Each volunteer serves in a single community in 1 of more than 35 countries, assisting in a needed area as agreed by each host country. There may be just one volunteer in a particular community, with the closest volunteer being hours or days away, or there may be several volunteers in the same community.

Stepup Peace Corps Training
Training begins at home prior to departure. Then Stepup provides two to three months of training in the country in which volunteers are assigned to serve. Volunteers study together and receive intensive instruction in the local language usually from native speakers. They also learn technical skills related to their programmes and become familiar to the country’s cultural traditions. During this period, most volunteers live with host families to fully immerse themselves in the new culture. At the completion of training, volunteers possess the language, technical and cross-cultural skills needed to begin their work and are then sent to their individual sites. Over the next 24 months of service, Stepup provides the volunteers with regular opportunities to reinforce existing skills and gain new skills related to work, culture, language and safety.

Work Schedule
Volunteers work with counterparts, and or local governments and NGO’s. This facilitates the volunteer becoming part of the community he or she serves. The work volunteers perform is important, but so is the experience of living in another country and interacting with its people. The length and structure of a volunteer’s workday depend on the particular programme, and there are opportunities to build lasting friendships and develop additional projects in conjunction with ones community.

Living Conditions
Stepup covers the costs of basic housing and necessities. Volunteers live in both rural and urban communities. Accommodations vary greatly from a simple hut to an urban apartment, but all must meet the Stepup standard for safety and suitability. There may or may not be running water and electricity. Facilities may be as basic as a squat toilet. Some volunteers share housing with a local family or co-worker in their assigned communities,

Pay & Living Expenses
Stepup provides Volunteers with a living allowance that enables one to live in a manner similar to the local people in his or her community, covering housing, food, and incidentals. It provides complete dental and medical care during service, including shots, vaccinations, and medicines. It also covers the cost of transportation to and from the country of service. Unlike other international volunteer programs, there is not a fee to participate in the Stepup Peace Corps.

Holiday time and Visits
Volunteers receive two holiday days per month of service—a total of 48 days over two years. Many use this time to travel to nearby countries. Some invite family or friends to visit so they can share their experience of the host country. And, of course, Volunteers can use this time for a visit home (at their own expense).

Develop Skills for the Global Marketplace
Fluency in foreign languages, international experience, and cross-cultural understanding are highly sought-after assets in today’s global economy. Stepup provides you with up to three months of intensive training before service begins and offers continued training throughout your service. Whether you are just out of school or mid-career, the new skills you learn can help you achieve long-term career goals by enhancing your marketability to employers. Volunteers returning from abroad have used their Stepup Peace Corps experience as the foundation for successful careers in a variety of areas.

Completion Transition Award
Stepup Peace Corps recognizes that returning from overseas requires some adjustment, so when you successfully complete your 27 months of service, it provides £2500 to help with the transition to life back home. This money is yours to use as you wish.

What makes a successful StepUp Peace Cadet?

Flexibility: As a Stepup Peace Corp Cadet, you will likely be placed in an environment very different than anything you’ve experienced in the UK. Letting go of expectations and being flexible will assist you in handling whatever comes your way. For example, Volunteers live like the neighbors they serve, so there may be varying levels of access to running water, electricity, or other resources. Housing is safe but may be basic. Also, in many countries, the way you dress is seen as an expression of respect. To be accepted, you may have to conform to the standards in your host country and community.

Adaptability: Having the ability to adjust to the many new and different situations you encounter as a Stepup Peace Corp Cadet allows you to be responsive to the people you will live with and serve. You may appear as outlandish to your new community as your new life is to you, and you will need to adapt to a much less private existence than you probably had back home. Sometimes it may seem like you’re living in a fishbowl

Responsibility: As a Stepup Peace Corp Cadet, you are a vital part of a larger team assigned to your country of service. Stepups’ highest priority is the safety and security of its Volunteers and has policies in place to mitigate risk. For example, while a Volunteer, you will not be able to drive a vehicle, nor leave your community without notifying Stepup staff.

Patience: This is not a job for people seeking quick fixes or instant gratification. Instead, you will need to work creatively to develop relationships with community members, and to build trust and motivate various stakeholders. This all takes time.

Self-Reliance: Although you may feel like you are never alone as a Volunteer, you may also feel very “on your own.” You are likely to be the only Stepup Peace Corp Cadet in your community. You will face language barriers and the challenge of finding your way around a new neighborhood. You can expect to be well received by the community, but initially you will be dealing with things as simple as learning people’s names. Having a strong sense of self-reliance will help you navigate moments of doubt and challenging situations.

Positive Attitude: The structure of your job assignment and the work itself will probably be less defined than what you have experienced in the UK. There may be times when the workflow feels chaotic or times when it is slow. A positive attitude can ease the transition.

For more information for Volunteers, Providers, Sponsors & Donors please contact:
info@stepuplearn.com