Volunteer Your Skills in India

I am a freelance director and have been aspiring to contribute my skills to help tell stories for a cause. Through Moving Worlds’ introduction, I collaborated with Bodhi Tree school in Bodhgaya, Northern India. With the video, they hope to raise awareness and funding for the special needs children program.

I had amazing time working with the kids, families, school staff and exploring deep into their culture during the one month visit. All was seemingly overwhelming for the first few days of my arrival, yet the organization along with other volunteers were so welcoming that helped me ease in and feel like home. My everyday visit to the school and time with the kids in the classroom were the most rewarding experience. They might not be perfect perceived by society's standard, yet their energy and smiles are the most powerful!

I was truly honored to spend time and learn from those strong little souls. They were the inspiration of the documentary. I followed their daily routines at the school and visited families in the villages to document the predicament and the help needed to overcome.

It was certainly a lifetime experience that I will never forget. I am grateful to discover Moving Worlds for such an incredible opportunity.

We are a couple who worked with Moving Worlds to land a project at an animal recovery center in Northern India. Our time there was incredibly rewarding and we learned a tremendous amount about the challenges and opportunities in animal welfare. We fell in love with the animals at the farm (including cows, donkeys and bulls, animals that we had no prior relationship with. Unfortunately, we saw some brutal animal cruelty by humans on cows, but we also discovered they have unique personalities, from the cow that would push me from behind in the butt or would eat from the garden when I wasn't looking. Some of the big animal recovery issues received significant social media and traditional media attention, thanks to the efforts of our video work. It was definitely a personally and professionally rewarding project.

Moving Worlds is amazing! They provide connections to volunteer opportunities all over the world targeting specific skills, and they also support through online training and a comprehensive document that becomes the pre-departure conversation between the volunteer and the organization. While I can only speak for the two organizations I volunteered with, I had experiences that both benefited my career and gave me new ideas for future endeavors.

In my first placement I was the ESL coordinator at Vanavil Trust in India tasked with setting up a computer lab, training teachers in English instructional practices, working with students, and providing recommendations for improvement. Everyone I worked with cared deeply about the children in the program, and I felt safe and at home immediately. I still plan to work with them on future projects.

When I got home I didn't feel like I was done volunteering so I checked out the Moving Worlds website again to find a fantastic opportunity to further develop my skills in curriculum writing and consultation. I began working with Honduras Child Alliance. I was able to visit the project site twice and write an entire curriculum. I was then able to train volunteers and program staff and observe my project in action.

Because of Moving Worlds I have been able to extend my global network, deepen my skills, and explore a new career option.

I wanted to gain more experience in the international sustainability space, and by working with MovingWorlds to find three concrete work opportunities, I not only was able to grow and develop as a professional, I also had the chance to become emerged in three distinctly unique cultures. If you love to travel, Experteering is a great way to truly meet local people and have a deep and meaningful experience. Experteering is also a way of advancing one's career through innovative projects that you can mold to what you want to achieve.