Program Reviews

Before joining the program all of the questions that i asked were answered. My emails were always returned in very short time.
The program manager was there on my arrival to pick me from Jaipur Airport. I loved the kids that i worked with ! The staff was also helpful. Especially i would say the biggest challenge was the language barrier.
Host family were very nice.Meals were great especially.The family was very kind to me and were generous enough to let myself and other volunteers participate in their families Diwali celebration.
Project Coordinator was very helpful and kind. I felt like i could talk to him.He answered any question that i asked. He also bring me to his home and i have chance to dinner with his family. His mom is a nice cook.
I would definetly recommed this program to everyone.

I participated for 14 days for the childcare programm.
Teaching basic english, math, playing. This was one of my most beautiful experiences in my life and something to remember forever. To live the happiness of the children following my teaching was something very deep.
All was very well organised by the organisation and they have done all the possible to make me feel comfortable.
Sometym it was very hard to realize the conditions and the background of the childrens life. But when i saw the smile in the faces of those kids i felt so happy and glad to be there.
Those kids needed a teacher and a person to give them love and attention.
And I was proud to be there for both things.
I recommand this experience to anybody who want to live a great moment in there life and doing something helpful.

I participated for 14 days for the childcare programm.
Teaching basic english, math, playing. This was one of my most beautiful experiences in my life and something to remember forever. To live the happiness of the children following my teaching was something very deep.
All was very well organised by the organisation and they have done all the possible to make me feel comfortable.
Sometym it was very hard to realize the conditions and the background of the childrens life. But when i saw the smile in the faces of those kids i felt so happy and glad to be there.
Those kids needed a teacher and a person to give them love and attention.
And I was proud to be there for both things.
I recommand this experience to anybody who want to live a great moment in there life and doing something helpful.

I was looking for a program that would enable me to help out either children or women who are disadvantaged and don’t have opportunities to break free from the poverty cycle.
This program was amazing for helping me do that.
I went specifically to help with the women’s empowerment program and ended up also helping in a day care center and also a boys shelter.
My role was to teach English though I think they got as much out of just having someone come and spend time with them.
VWI helped massively with all the logistics from airport pickup, finding accommodation, transport to and from the volunteer location and all sorts of other areas.
On top of that Govind and Sukret took us out at night and made us feel very much a part of the local culture.
VWI have great connections with numerous local charities and
I would highly recommend using them to make your volunteering in India an unforgettable experience.

Here are some photos we took during our unforgetable experience with Elephant Program.
It wasn't hard to wake up twice a week at 4:30 am to go to Elephant Village. We enjoyed leaving so early because we knew that we will see "our" elephants still sleeping or just awoken. It's a magical experience to look at them wake up gently at dawn. It's also very interesting to learn how to feed them (especially by making chapati ! It's a hard job !)

My wife and I stayed one week in Jaipur in September 2018. We choosed the Elephant Program of VWI. It was an unforgetable and a life time experience. It was beyond our expectations and we were very sad to leave after spending one week with the elephants and their mahout. Before staying there, we couldn't imagine how elephants are intelligent and also very sensitive animals.
We would like to thank Sukret and Govind for their kindness and availability.
It is a really wonderful experience for those who want learn more about elephants. But it's also an unforgetable human experience.

It is simply one of the best experiences you can have traveling abroad. Not only is it an authentic experience but you also get to give back and travel with a purpose and I loved every minute of it.

The organizers Sukret and Govind were just wonderful, and of course the guest house family. When I arrived as a solo traveler during November 2016, the black money crisis was going on and I was quite worried about withdrawing cash. I had only been in India 1 night and Sukret came to pick me up and covered the cost of my guest house expenses since I had no cash at the time. It was a large problem across the country. That gesture right from the beginning really wow'd me. Everyone went over and beyond to help me during my stay to ensure that I had enough cash to cover the basics and enjoy some of the tourism too. I am so grateful for their gracious hospitality. Also the food is fabulous

Furthermore, I clearly didn't read all the details but was pleasantly surprised with the activities taking place every weekend ( monkey temple, amber fort, bollywood movies, etc). However, if you are abit of a yogi Sukrets father does his morning yoga and is a great teacher. A great opportunity to start your day off right after you finish with the elephants first of course. They live not far from the guest house, but is still a drive away.

I spent a total of 2 weeks with the project and did 1 week teaching at the orphanage and the other with the elephants. A nice balance of being exposed to both projects.

I thought the accommodations were perfect since it is a guest house after all, you are a guest in their home so don't forget it. The family is very accommodating and look after you well. No need to hesitate to speak up though either if you need something. I would definitely recommend staying here, the location is seriously in a prime spot, you can walk to most things or are a short tuk tuk ride away:)

My name is Sol, im from Argentina and i decided to travel alone to India. I always loved elephants so when i find this program it seemed to me that was ideal because it will give me the opportunity to have a closer experience with them. I have the chance to prepare their food ( chapati) to wash them, and for the first time in my life to be near and hug them.
It was really a unique experience also to share time with the people that take care of them and learn some local custom.
Also what i loved from the program was that in our free time they had scheduled free siteseeing of the city. You get to know people from all over the world that in such a short time they become your family.
Everybody was very kind with me, its like i feel home being very far from home.
I will never forget my time in India and with the elephants!!!

I attended volunteering with India this past July, and had an amazing experience. I was put in with teenage boys, ages 12 to 18. These boys were incredible. They were so respectful, eager to learn, and once you got them out of their comfort zone’s super silly! The staff was staff was absolutely supportive, our host family equally. We got a ride every day to and from school with Totaram in his tuktuk. There is never a moment where I felt unsafe. Entering the classroom, there were no formal lesson plans to teach English. That was a challenge. But, I’ve been to school so I was able to tap into my memories and getting the hang of teaching. I would absolutely recommend this program. I only did it for two weeks and it definitely felt like not enough, if I were to redo it I would go for three or four weeks

I had a great time doing this program, teaching English in Jaipur. It was a great way for me to gain meaningful experiences for the future, an amazing opportunity to meet new people and to see the world from a new perspective. My recommendations for future participants would be to prepare well, and to have as much fun as possible during your stay. The time goes faster than you would imagine. Also, use the weekends to see the many different places around Jaipur and India, arranged by the program.