Cross-Cultural Solutions: Volunteer Abroad in India

Volunteering in India was one of the most rewarding and life changing times of my life. For one, the international travel experience and then the opportunity to meet similar volunteers from all over the world, and also host families and staff was so educational and culturally expanded my ideals. While there I had the opportunity to volunteer at the local hospital, help at a local school with computer education, and women's studies since I was in a rural area.

These memories are something that I will carry the rest of my life, and always share about the rewarding experience this opportunity provided me.

CCS is the best way to experience India. I learned so much about the people, religions, customs, food and everyday living. Helping the young women learn computer skills and conversational English was rewarding. I continue to connect with one of the ladies via facebook. The staff was very supportive and offered great suggestions to enhance our experience. All of the people who volunteered during the time I was there were great to share this experience with.

The program in Delhi, India is not run well and because maybe they have all been doing it so long lacks concern for your experience in a whole. They put in the bare minimum of effort to make you feel welcome and they enforce drinking and curfew rules for all ages which are ridiculous. What is the most upsetting thing is that I was told before I agreed to work with CCS and pay the exorbitant amount of money that I was going to have a full volunteer schedule, a minimum of 4 hours a day. I was lucky if I volunteered two hours a day. Then after volunteering there was so much downtime and it was hard to plan things around the mandatory meal times that there was a lot of just sitting around reading or watching movies in the apartment until dinner. That is not my idea of experiencing India and being immersed into the culture. I wanted to be amongst the people while learning of their culture and it would have been nice if one of the staff had a job to help us experience that. But instead when we did have cultural activities it usually involved dropping us off at a tourist attraction with a description and history on sheet of paper or bringing in people to discuss India in the comfort of our apartment. We were way too sheltered and it felt like a waste of an opportunity to experience India.

I could not be more disappointed with my experience, and I cannot believe the positive reviews. At least in Delhi, the organization is corrupted by nepotism and apathy toward volunteering. I came to India to volunteer, but often the three NGOs CCS chose from (yes, there were only three-- two now, since they cut ties with one that refused to be controlled by CCS' tyranny) left volunteers sometimes under two hours a day to work. A volunteer while I was there was not allowed to volunteer one day when the NGO was doing a project at a different location than usual. There are also arbitrary rules, like a curfew and enforced meals. You must eat with the rest of the group, despite being provided a kitchen in which to cook. I was treated rudely by the staff: the head of India continually made inappropriate comments about my appearance and weight. The staff again and again referred the volunteers to relatives and friends, which wouldn't be so bad except the businesses were the worst we encountered in India. I think that most volunteers don't see the corruption because they don't stay the full three months that I did. Many volunteers with me had problems with CCS as well. An adult woman was kicked out for breaking the fake curfew (they lied and said the gates closed at 10 on weekdays and 1 on weekends-- we lived in a very safe affluent area and staying out beyond then put no one in danger.)
The Hindi lessons promised are just basic phrasing unless you are doing the internship program. However, the 'teacher' is just one of the regular staff, a guy who, while well-meaning, is impatient and is just a regular Hindi speaker who doesn't have grasp of the grammar. The people learning mostly learned from books on their own. The placements were made without regard for personal preference whatsoever. A woman who was a nurse and wrote specifically that she did not want to do medical work was expected to do so. No one I talked to was placed in an NGO with a focus they had requested, probably because CCS did not take advantage of the many NGOs in Delhi. It only had relationships with organizations that it could bully-- for example, agreeing to refuse to let kicked out volunteers stay at the NGO, even if they were kicked out for reasons completely unrelated to their volunteering work (a 23 year old having a glass of wine at dinner, a 34 year old returning to the flat at midnight, etc.)
CCS, instead of integrating you into the community, cloistered you. You cannot interact with the staff and volunteers at the NGO as much because you are forced to have limited hours and meals at the office (the "chef" is actually just a regular guy who makes cheap, repetitive meals over and over.) You live in a sheltered gated community without just that- a sense of community. I lived in Delhi after leaving CCS and the community I lived in was welcoming and wonderful to me, so much more so than CCS was. If you want a real Indian experience, and want to travel to really make a difference and volunteer, avoid CCS at all costs. The organization, at least in Delhi, is an overpriced scam whose main focus is liability and cost effectiveness.

What an incredible, life-changing experience. I would go back in a heart beat! The staff are friendly and supportive and the experience volunteering abroad gives you a more holistic view of the world. Definitely go for it!

I have volunteered with Cross Cultural Solutions twice-both times in India! There's a reason why I chose CCS over other programs. Their commitment to quality and an authentic experience are unparalled. If you've never volunteered before they will help you every step of the way-if you're a seasoned traveller the country staff encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and experience new things. The country staff are what makes the program! They have their own lives and families, yet I always felt like their first priority. Everyone on staff was friendly and really listened to me. The placements are thoughtful and the staff went out of their way to make sure they fit our needs. The flats were clean and well stocked and of course the food provided every day was absolutely delicious! CCS is worth every penny-you won't regret it, it'll be the experience of a lifetime.

When you arrive in India it's a blur of colors, sounds, and smells. I arrived with a CCS group to New Delhi in the middle of summer and was surprised by how thick the heat was! We were taken out to shop for our very first salwar kameez and dupattas the first night and I laughed out loud as my rickshaw driver sang loudly to his favorite Bhangra song.

I had so many experiences in my short summer in New Delhi that it's hard to pick one or two to share. CCS placed me at a school called Akshay Prathisthan..one of the first integrated schools in the area, teaching both able-bodied and disabled students in the same classrooms. As a piano and dance teacher I was quickly put to work developing my own arts curriculum, and we ended the summer with a full school performance on their outdoor stage attended by the President of the school and many families from the area. I also had the opportunity to work as a guest at the Mother Theresa house in Newl Delhi which was a real touch with the harsh reality of poverty for me. Young babies without parents and the elderly without family to care for them. The grandmas loved me to paint their nails that';s for sure!

In short, CCS provides for the most unbelievable volunteer experience one could imagine, and a house that's run like a family with great meals and people that care about whether you're sick, or nervous, or upset. If you're thinking about going to volunteer, go CCS!!

When I participated in the CCS India program, I had never traveled outside of North America before. Since then, I've been back to India twice, and I am hoping to work in a field that will allow me to spend more time there in the future. I am incredibly thankful to CCS for making my first trip to India such a rewarding experience. CCS was an excellent, supportive program and a great introduction to India. My volunteer placement enabled me to learn a lot more about my field of interest (public health), and the staff were receptive to the projects I proposed. There were also a number of local trips/cultural activities in the afternoons, and I learned the Hindi alphabet (as well as a number of useful Hindi phrases) from the staff members. India can be a difficult country for Westerners to adjust to, but the CCS India staff are all wonderful people who are there to help you every step of the way.