Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence - Center for ...

Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence
educational support to ensure a maximally productive experience. Program quality is ensured
throughout each of the various components plus ongoing reflection and evaluation. Also provided
are:
- opportunities to serve in multi-cultural teams
- attention to health and safety issues
- attempts to meet the needs and interests of individuals of varying ages and backgrounds.
With 23 sending and 14 receiving countries working with indigenous NGOs and local
organizations, VIP exerts a major impact on communities in need and on the lives of participants
in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria,
South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey. Sample projects include:
- Aksay Pratishthan – a center in New Delhi for disabled people
- the Dhapakjet Health Post – in Nepal where volunteers assist medical staff
- the Kayamandi Beads Project – for women in South Africa
- TEMA – a Turkish environmental association
Additionally, sample projects available in Ecuador, the host country used in this study, include:
- CENIT (Center for the Working Female Child)
- FINE (Foundation for the Integration of Special Children)
- Santa Lucía Reserve (A community-based conservation organization in the forests of
Northwestern Ecuador)
- La Dolorosa Shelter (Provides education and a home for children whose families are
unable to care for them)
- the Conocoto Rural School (Serves neglected rural communities that lack the most basic
health facilities)
Volunteers cover their own travel and expenses; however, efforts are made to keep costs low.
Some projects offer accommodations in return for service. Information about scholarship
assistance is available by contacting individual sending offices. Indeed, it is VIP’s goal to
document program outcomes in hopes of increasing private support for scholarships.
5. Participants Involved in This Study
Three Experiment MOs were engaged in this research project: Ecuador, Great Britain, and
Switzerland. British and Swiss alumni were contacted to learn about post-program outcomes.
Great Britain began its service programs with Ecuador in 2001 and had 18 alumni in 2005;
Switzerland began programs in 1998 with over 100 returnees of whom 76 (those involved in this
study) were German-speaking Current VIP volunteers (1 British and 4 Swiss) and their host
mentors in Ecuador were also tracked during this study.
Center for Social Development
Washington University in St. Louis
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