Dear Fellows, 

The next year, or two, promises to be personally and professionally challenging.  You will be asked to wholly immerse yourself in an unfamiliar community, relinquish your comfort zones, create a new network of family and friends, and help transcend entrenched apathy and social barriers to positive progress.  At each step, you will have to re-assess your beliefs and personal biases in light of the local community traditions and experience base.

You will have a unique opportunity and support structure to create community-based solutions through selfless service.  In the process, you will hopefully gain new understandings about yourself and how you can best contribute to the world around you.  We look forward to being a part of your journey as you challenge your potential to affect change.   

This handbook is merely a guide for your journey. It is designed to provide some information to many of the practical questions you may have about the Indicorps fellowship and about preparing for your trip to India.  It is NOT all inclusive. You will receive other preparatory materials and recommendations throughout the coming months, and during orientation. We anticipate, however, that the entire fellowship year will be a learning process.

There may be certain topics that we have overlooked, or that this document does not cover. We encourage you to consult other resources as you plan for the year(s) ahead.   

Welcome aboard. We look forward to seeing you in India.

The Indicorps Staff