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Volunteering With India

Why choose Volunteering With India?

Volunteering With India gives you opportunity to work in India for various development volunteering program including work with children, Orphanage work, Work with elephants,Women empowerment & Theater Volunteer program.

Reviews

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Aanchal
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

VWI: Women Empowerment

This was such a fulfilling program and I recommend it to anyone looking to help equip disadvantaged women / children with the skills and information they need to get by in the world.

The females in the program were very eager and excited to learn from the volunteers, which makes the experience all the more fun and uplifting! The staff / program coordinators also make you feel very welcome and comfortable.

Jaipur is a wonderful city and there was so much to see during my off time - it was a great experience!

Pros
  • Work with amazing young women
  • Beautiful city
  • Great staff
Cons
  • Accommodations could be better
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Sara
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Empower Women

About the women's empowerment program is really a challenge in a society where the role of women is not relevant that they believe they can be more and better.  My contribution was to try to give them a little bit of my knowledge in English and I loved the experience, these girls are receptive to volunteers and want to learn from them what they can give.
About the team that made this experience possible and did all the support, I recommend them they were just incredible
they advised, they recommended, they cared
So i just have tell  us thank so much.

Default avatar
Federica
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Volunteering with children

It is an experience that I recommend to those who want to enrich themselves on a personal level. The organization was excellent and I spent some wonderful time with these children. During the morning they attended classes in Hindi, English and Math. The program is very complete and the organizers involve you in teaching the subjects. I truly recommend this experience to all those people who want to try something new and discover a completely different world from the one they are used to, as these realities exist and are to be fully experienced.

Pros
  • Teach English
  • Relationship with children
  • Teach Maths
Default avatar
Beatrice
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great experience

Volunteering with India is a really good organization. I applied for women empowerment project and I had my best time. The organization helps you a lot before and during your stay. Sukret is very patient and answers your questions quickly. The girls are very kind and sociable and welcomed me with enthusiasm. During the project, I talked with them taking part in sewing and beautician classes, as well as giving English lessons.
I lived for two weeks with an Indian family at the Prity guest house. They are really nice people, the food was great and the room very clean.
I am really happy to have done this experience with volunteering with india, and i will surely miss the girls so much!

Default avatar
Richelle
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Volunteering with Elephant - Jaipur

Hi All. This was my first time. I chose to volunteer here because I wanted to work with animals and be in a familiar country.
The communication was handled seamless by Sukret much before I travelled. All responses were prompt and Sukret was quite considerate as he took extra care to highlight, the weather, the need to carry water on the day denoted for sightseeing.
I chose to stay out on my own however was picked up and dropped off every day , on time.
Shekhar, the driver was a very nice person. Not only did he drive safely, he bargained for me at local fruit stalls without me even asking for it. He took me sightseeing being mindful of what I would enjoy which he picked up on his own. He would give the little children in the village a few bucks to buy candy for themselves and always spoke respectfully and patiently. I’m glad I got to meet him.
Now, the elephants. The mahouts involved with the elephants. It’s was a wonderful experience to be in such close contact of such a big animal having no previous experience under the supervision of the staff, Rohit and the mahouts.
I never felt unsafe, as a woman, as the only volunteer in a village.
They are all individuals, in their own person and to observe their interaction with the elephants was actually quite cool.
The elephants I worked with were gentle, except for one. She was playful too. As with animals, one must respect their boundaries.
All in all, the one week that I spent there was very well planned with enough work, enough opportunities to take initiative and enough free time to do your own thing.
The people I worked with were wonderful and I am glad to have met them.
I am an Hindi speaking person so please do note that language was not a barrier for me. The staff of VWI do speak English though.
I urge one to visit with an open mind as it is a developing country and the sights of the city’s historical grandeur juxtaposed with the current reality can take a while to digest.

I would want to go back again sometime and am grateful for this experience

Pros
  • Well planned
  • Punctuality
  • The volunteering experience itself
Cons
  • The cons of an underdeveloped country

Programs

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Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you choose this program?

I wanted to participate in a program that empowers women; this program is helping women to learn and develop new skills so they can have a professional career and a way to earn income on their own, it was a great fit.

What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

The program provider assisted me with my 7-day stay at a local's family home, all meals were included, pick-up and drop-off transportation from the house to the volunteer space. Due to timing, I organized a few things on my own, but the program provider can also help arrange at an additional cost to cover transportation, food, entrance tickets, etc.

I arrived in New Delhi on a Friday and arranged for a private driver picked me up. I hired a private driver because I was traveling solo and I thought I'd feel safer and also I could move faster from place to place. My flight arrived around 2:30 am and by the time I passed through customs it was past 3:30 am. We jumped on the road to Agra and it took us about 5 hours to get there, so I rested for a few hours once arriving and freshened up.

I did some sightseeing and visited Agra Fort. The next morning, Saturday at 5:30 am, I visited the Taj Mahal at sunrise, this was a priceless experience. On that same afternoon, we drove to Jaipur, which took us over 4 hours, I arrived at a hotel that my driver recommended and rested. Finally, on Sunday I went sightseeing in Jaipur, my driver took me to places that he knew it'd be worth visiting, but also we went to the ones on my list. I visited Amber Fort, City Palace, Hawa Mahal, a well in Amer City.

After sightseeing, my program organizer welcomed me at the local's family home and provided more information to start volunteering for the week.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

Make sure that you do research on the season you go, so you can prepare and minimize any discomforts. It's important you feel well to give the best of yourself when you are there. Also, do research in general about the food, the dos and don'ts, and what vaccines you need. Carry medicine, especially for mosquito bites, anti-mosquito repellant, traveler mosquito net (this helped to not get bitten at night time).

For the program, it would be good to contact the program provider to find out what your assignment will be and what you can bring. I wished I knew that I needed to prepare English lessons and exercises. There's a small whiteboard and I had to teach two groups of around 25 women each on separate class times.

All of the women sit on the floor and many of them don't have a notebook or textbook for exercises. Since they need to practice a lot of vocabulary and grammar, a poster with a list of the most used verbs would be incredibly helpful.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

Breakfast is available from 8 am - 9:30 am at the house you'll be staying, then you have free time until 11:30 am. You must eat lunch before 12:00 pm because the tuk-tuk will pick you up right at noon.

You'll volunteer from 12:30 - 4:00 pm. The driver will pick up and drop you back home. Once you're back home, it is up to you to decide what you'd like to do with your free time. Since it got dark early, I stayed home most of the week, but some afternoons you can walk to the center to see the markets or shops, and on my last day I went to see the elephants.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

My biggest fear was traveling solo and being the easiest target for bad people. Also, I was afraid of getting sick or getting malaria. I overcame these fears by doing a lot of research and hired a driver who I knew I could trust. A user from Lonely Planet referred him and then I did research on my own. His name is Balveer from Rural India Vacations.

I was very careful with the food I was eating, I ate no meat at all and I avoided eating outside unless it was recommended. Avoid eating salads and anything raw. To prevent malaria, I took pills before entering the risk area and for 7 days after, I avoided getting bitten by mosquitos during the day and at night time, by spraying Jungle Juice (contains high DEET), wore long sleeve shirts the whole week and used my mosquito net at night.

Did you travel independently before or after volunteering?

I chose to go to Nepal because I love nature and also because an acquaintance met me there. I only had a week left to spend in Nepal, so I did the Poon Hill trail, which is considered a short hike between 3-4 days. Then I did the most of it sightseeing in Pokhara and Kathmandu.

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Sukret Sharma

Job Title
Marketing Manager

Tell us a little about Volunteering With India and your role at the company.

Man with an elephant

Sukret: Volunteering With India is an Indian based non-profit that wants to unify people around the world to help those in need.

Volunteering With India's founders were originally just a group of friends. In the beginning we used to help local NGO’s with their work with the community. We would teach children in rural areas how to use the computers, help homeless children, help kids placed in orphanages, and took part in the women empowerment movement. Next, we got involved in a program that offered theater education to school children and we were amazed at how well the kids performed. After this, we started working with animal care centers in Jaipur and started running an awareness program about animals. All this work led to our desire to build an organization that could handle all these problems.

Currently the organization is running successful programs in the city of Jaipur and in the rural areas that surround it. Our work is about helping children stay in school and give them a better education. In addition, we want to develop their talents, help women become independent and aware of their rights, and raise awareness about animal rights. We hope our work will help develop a more powerful, educated and aware society.

I overlook the marketing and promotion part of the projects and provide online support to the volunteers before they join the project. I am also Relationship manager for the volunteering organizations and with local NGO's.

How did you get involved in the volunteer industry?

Sukret: I graduated with a degree in Commerce and IT. I found a job in one of the India's IT leading firms where my role was to provide computer education in rural areas and send computers to government schools. I went to local schools fixing computers, teaching classes to both children and teachers to give them basic knowledge about computers. After a while, I started doing this for free. This was the initial start that inspired me to get a group of my friends together and start a volunteer organization to help people in need.

What makes Volunteer with India unique?

Sukret: Our foreign volunteers often say they don't feel like tourists when they are with us because they get totally immersed in the Indian culture. This is something makes Volunteering With India unique. In addition, volunteers have said repeatedly that they trust the organization because it is local based organization, has lower fees compared and presents everything in a clear manner through the website.

In your experience, what characteristics make a good international volunteer?

Sukret: First, try to not to feel and act like a tourist. Get immersed in the culture, be open and be friendly with everyone in the community. It's important to respect the culture and tradition of the country. Also, be sure to do the tasks that are assigned to you.

What does the future hold for Volunteering With India?

Sukret: The future looks good for Volunteering With India. The organization is achieving its goals and mission day by day with the help of the team members, partners and local NGO's.