Program Reviews

My son and I were involved in this project for a week .Although this was a relatively short time, we learnt a lot about the daily care of the elephants and were able to build up a good relationship with several of the elephants, especially Rhooba. Although the Mahouts speak very little English, Govind, our Co ordinator, was with us daily to answer our questions and ensure we were still able to interact with the Mahouts and learn a great deal about the life of a working elephant.We were able to feed and bath the elephants daily and make elephant chapatis! The work does begin early, at 5 am but this does mean, the late mornings and afternoons are free to explore. Sukret, Govind and our driver were excellent helping us and providing advice when needed. The program is very professionally run and is to be commended.
People seeking to take part in the project should be aware that these are working elephants and although they are well cared for and have good relationships with their Mahouts, they are chained up for much of the time which does give rise to some welfare concerns. All the elephants were very friendly and showed no sign of depression. They were not over worked and did have regular veterinary care. In February, there are Elephant Games, when the elephants will play games such as football etc.They are trained for a period before this. This would be an excellent time to volunteer!

This program was really great! I spent a month there this past summer and I learned quite a lot about the elephants in Jaipur and Indian culture. The elephants are wonderful to work with. I loved being able to bathe them in the lake and help the mahouts paint them. It can be difficult seeing the elephants work with such heavy chairs and be chained the way they are. However, you definitely gain perspective after you learn about the elephant culture in Jaipur and learn about how other elephants are treated in other projects. I think the elephants are well taken care of and the mahouts genuinely care about them. My host family was really great too! I had a lot of time to myself, but they were really friendly and helped me with shopping. My room was great and I really liked that I had my own bathroom. I also enjoyed the sightseeing that was organized on the weekends - there are a lot of beautiful, interesting places to see in and around Jaipur. The program staff also helped me plan a trip to visit the Taj Mahal, which was stunning.
Overall, this program was amazing and I hope I can go back one day!

I had a wonderful time in India doing the teaching Project in Jaipur with VWI for 6 weeks. I met with many people and made a lot of Indian friends, ate a lot of delicious Indian food, and traveled to a lot of beautiful historical places.

I really enjoyed the time I spent at the school center, the time I worked with kids made me understand the meaning of life. I spent about 6 weeks with kids in August- September. The climate is good here in Jaipur as the rain stopped passed away during these months and the entire city which is covered by mountain look pretty by the greenery. In School sometimes kids were very naughty, but sometimes they make me in so much love; they gave me their toys; give their notebook to write my name and they get around me most of the time when I in the classroom. I was so happy and excited with kids every day; they made my heart soft and warm. They don't know what's good and bad; they are pure and natural. I hope they grow up happily and healthily.
I was living in the Indian Host Family. A caretaker cleaned my room every day. The host family prepares 3 meals per day for me Breakfast, lunch and dinner. All the meals which they served me during my placement was so delicious. But actually, I haven't spent a lot of time in the apartment because I spent a lot of time with my Indian friends. The VWI team members invited me to their houses to have dinners. Their parents and other family members were also very hospitable. I not only tried a lot of local snacks, but also traveled to a lot of beautiful spots because they recommended me many beautiful places.

There are hundreds of Gods in India, and my friends have told me some of their legends, like cobra God or the God with an elephant face. The stories are so mysterious, and I think it's really interesting to know about them. I didn't meet a lot of cultural shock in India, instead of some interesting cultural habits. My Indian friends taught me how to use hand to have dinner; I saw cows walk in the street freely and even the crowded traffic cannot disturb them. Every family has their own beliefs, and they believe in their Gods very firmly. Everything is fine in India except traffic, and I was afraid to cross the road, because all cars, autos, motorcycles are very fast. I learned one skill in India: bargain with auto men. I not only had to tell the auto man go by meter, but also tell him please go fast or he would choose a longer distance for charging more money.
Anyway, it was an unforgettable experience for me. I like Indian people, Indian culture, and Indian food. I will definitely recommend to my friend because it will give you a beautiful and unforgettable memory.

Doing a Volunteer work with elephants in Jaipur was a wonderful experience.
First of all, thanks to our host family they take care us well. They not only shared incredible love but also very informative, patient and gave us plenty of options during our stay.
At first on our day 1, I must admit I was rather timid around the elephants but after thirty minutes I felt like I had made some new best friends. During our stay my wife, some friends and I learned how to feed the elephants and establish a relationship. Soon, we were doing things I never imagined like bathing and feeding the elephants from close-up.

Doing a care work with elephants isn't just a fun experience but a true bonding experience between you and these wonderful, mysterious animals. Not only do you leave with a greater understanding of the species but an appreciation for mahouts efforts in creating a serene and humane habitat for the elephants. If you're going to India spend at least 1 weeks with them.

The actual volunteer project working directly with the elephants was amazing! The mahouts are wonderful to talk to and are clearly devoted to their animals. , govind and Raj were fantastic!

However, our group had travelled a lot around India before arriving at the project, and so were familiar with costs and scamming. Our host family at Prity guest house took advantage of the naiivety of the other volunteers and were taking them to shops where they would receive commission for extortionate tourist prices. As well as this, they were charging ALOT for henna, their own clothes and paintings that they were trying to sell the volunteers! They were rude and obviously did not want us in their home.

Overall the project was fantastic, and working with the elephants and their mahouts should not be missed. However, if you are interested in this project, PLEASE request other accommodation, as it ruined our entire experience.

My flight arrived early but within 5 minutes Sukret was there to pick me up. A great Service.

The accommodation was very good, the guesthouse had everything you could need including WiFi internet, space to dry your clothes and a shop nearby that sold everything you would need day-to-day. The food was very tasty, available on demand and plenty of it – there was always the offer of more.

Toteram-ji, the taxidriver, drove me everywhere and he was awesome! I found that most of the time I would get into the tuk-tuk and I didn’t know where I was going but I always went somewhere exciting! I will miss our samosa parties in the tuk-tuk a lot. He was on time, his driving was great and his smiley hallo, good morning! at 4:30 a.m was always much appreciated.

Govind was my project supervisor and he really made my trip amazing. He was very helpful with any questions. I am yet to find one he couldn’t answer. He included me in things outside the project with his friends and family and I loved every minute of it. Sukret was also extremely helpful and answered my questions promptly. He was always around to check everything was ok.

I did the elephant project for 3 weeks. Everyday we left at 4:30 a.m and started by cleaning the elephant enclosure, picking up her poo with your bare hands, washing and scrubbing the elephant, then dressing the elephant ready to go to amber fort. Once the elephants had left we made bundles of food for them to eat later. Some afternoons we would make chappathi’s for the elephants. The mahouts were great fun and I could always get involved with whatever they were doing. The project itself was really enjoyable with a highlight being washing the elephant in the elephant pool on my last morning.

I was bit nervous about going to India with VWI, but there was absolutely no need to be. The staff at VWI was professional, friendly and couldn’t have been more accommodating. They were very inclusive and I really enjoyed getting involved and learning about Indian culture firsthand. I was treated so well – I loved meeting their families and their friends. My sari will remind me of all the great times I spent with them. The sightseeing trips on the weekends were very well organized and included everything. Jaipur is a wonderful city to live in.

I got to experience all the projects offered by VWI; this organization does such a worthwhile job. All projects are well-run and great value for money. All transportation food and accommodation is organized for you, all you have to do is enjoy every minute of the experience, the end of my time in India came a bit too fast.

I would give VWI 10/10, I had an awesome time and want to thank everyone involved. I would highly recommend this company to future volunteers and will come back the next time I am in India.

Project was good, all mahouts that I worked with were friendly and tried to talk to me even limited English. Elephant work was good. It was good to be up close and personal with the elephants. All were well trained and I felt 100% safe when working closely with them. The Transport was reliable, on time and friendly. Project coordinator Raj was great to show us around and answer our question about elephants, the project, Indian culture. His English is really good which enabled us to communicate with him and the mahouts. Project was great, everything associated with the elephants was amazing, such a great experience.

The elephant project is incredible! The mahouts were very friendly and obviously we devoted to their elephants. Being able to wash and bathe the elephants was a highlight! The Project coordinator was amazing , very helpful and lovely to talk to. Totoram was the best driver. He was so friendly and accommodating & took us every morning for chai!
I will be back again with my mother.

The Project itself was very enjoyable. It was cool to get to know the elephant. The work was not too challenging. The Mahouts were friendly and joking with us. Raj the project coordinator was pleasant to have with us. Govind and Sukret were very accommodating too. Totoram the driver was kind and caring and we enjoyed his presence.
Definitely recommend the project.

My younger daughter, Tini and I were fortunate enough to be able to spend the month of April voulenteering for The working with Children Project, set up through the Voulenteering with india (VWI) Organization.
It was an amazing and humbling experience, which I will recommend for all those interested in getting to truly know India and in making a small difference.
Our main objective was to teach English, Maths and Art and Craft/life skills.
Teaching is a huge challenge given the difference in age range and the boys various degrees of education. Most did not speak a word of english either.
We were lucky to be 2 and found it useful to divide the boys into different groups in which we were able to adjust our teaching to better suit their needs.
We started our days with English, everyday repeating days of the week, which day is it today, yesterday, tomorrow. We worked with basic knowledge as the alfabet, colours, months, seasons, fruit, vegatables, parts of the body etc. We then connected these topics with the other subjects, which included drawing and colouring fruit and vegetables, give them a price, drawing money, setting up "stalls" where the boys had to be customers and merhants greeting eachother politely, buying and selling, working out change etc. We all really enjoyed this!
Some of the boys were really clever in maths solving all the work we could give them easily. Others had no experience at all and we worked on really basic numers and adding single figures. We played with dice and counted dots.
In Arts and Craft the skills were also very variable. We worked on simple shapes, put these together to make simple drawings. Sometimes we read stories which our intepreter translated to Hindi, then we made drawings on the blackboard connected to the story which the boys copied. We also drew typical scenes from the different seasons in our country, showed the pictures from Norway, which they had to copy, we talked about continents, countries and capital cities. We played board games and did jigsaws.
I will recomend to bring materials from home if at all possible. We managed to buy some materials in Jaipur, but found the supply was very limited. Paint, colours, scissors, rubbers, pencil sharpeners and definately items showing letters and numbers.- but also simple board games! Memory was a big winner! Anything suitable for indoor activity.
Most of all we tried to be there for the boys - tried to make them smile and laugh - praising their work and effort, trying to help and encourage them to take a step forward however small.
The VWI organization was faboulous! Sukret organized everything perfectly, all meetings and pick ups and trips were without fault, Govind our intepreter was soo sweet, both with us and the boys. Our driver Totoram was fantastic mastering the eratic traffic in Jaipur, and we soon deared to keep our eyes open! - He also knows the best place for strong sweet Chai where we all used to end up after work.
We were also pleased with our accomodation, a far cry from a luxury hotel, but all the same a safe and quite place that felt strangely like home!
VWI certainly made us feel comfortable and welcome! We also had a super week end away on safari with Sukret and Govind. Thank you Sukret, Govind (must get your mums receipe for that peneer dish!) and Totoram! - And thank you to Ramesh at Bal Basera and last but not the least our sweet, sweet boys !!