Incredible India

Dropping everything and heading to a new country for three months to volunteer can be a scary thing. As a college student, I wanted to do something meaningful with my summer. IVHQ made my volunteer experience an incredible one. They provided me a fully arranged sightseeing week, an incredible homestay family, and truly caring local staff. On top of that, IVHQ gave me the chance to impact a community.

My placement was in the Sandesh Slum school. I taught twice per day with three other volunteers. The children were so precious. Everyday we could always count on twenty kids eagerly running up to us to shake our hands, saying "hello ma'am!" in their excited little voices. Fridays were "fundays", and all the students would bring goodies from home. As with any teaching job, it can be challenging, but the reward from doing it in the end is so great.

The homestay life was incredible. I stayed with four other volunteers, and our family was beyond great. I had such a positive experience that I've actually already made plans to come back and see them in the future. I'm a vegetarian and one of the other volunteers was vegan, and Mamta (the homestay mom) always accommodated to our dietary needs. The food was delicious. Her hospitality was unparalleled, also. She had twins who always accompanied me to the fruit market or to hail a tuktuk, and we even made dessert together one night.

The local staff was so helpful and kind, and all of the volunteers really got close to them during our time in Delhi. In addition, the 30 volunteers that I began the program with have become some of my best friends. We traveled on weekends together, and we're even making plans to visit each other after we all part ways.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about IVHQ or the Delhi program more specifically. I am going to Rabat, Morocco with IVHQ tomorrow and I am super excited because of the super positive experience I've had here in India.