GVI: Volunteer in India

IN 2011 December I spent a month in Kerala, India with GVI on their teaching program. It was my first time volunteering.From the onset the support I received from everyone in the organisation was awesome.
The experience was fulfilling and so humbling that I went on to volunteer with them for the next 2 years - and will continue to do so. Highlights include watching elephant parades, seeing the difference that being able to assist those lesser privileged makes in their lives, celebrating Christmas's and New Years with new friends in different parts of the world ... A truly life changing experience

To echo the previous review and to put this very simply, I similarly had the time of my life on this volunteering program.

From the get go, everything about GVI and this program excited me. The thought of having to adapt to an entirely different culture, living in a house with a possible 11 more people, having the opportunity to teach Indian children and being able to experience Indian culture seemed like the perfect mix – and it was.

We worked almost 46 hour weeks – all of those hours being hard work but extremely, extremely rewarding. I was able to become very close to my group of 7 kids and to this day, almost 3 months later, I miss them dearly. There are so many positive aspects to this program but it is being fortunate enough to get to know the children that makes this program incredible.

On top of this, I was able to develop life-long friendships with a group of volunteers from all over the world. It is comforting to know that I have made such substantial friendships throughout this program and something I will cherish for many years to come.

I fell in love with Indian culture and Fort Kochi – where the GVI house was based, in ways that I cannot explain. Despite working 5 days a week, our weeknights were spent at cafes eating cakes and drinking tea, at local restaurants experiencing the delicious local Kerala food, while our weekends were spent taking trips to places such as Munnar (eating delicious homemade chocolate), Varkala (soaking up the sun and swimming in the Arabian sea), Periyar (going on adventurous Jeep safaris and treks) and many more.

If you’ve read this entire review to get an idea on whether or not to join this program, I urge you not to hesitate. The experience I had was so much more than I could put into words. You will spend an amazing amount of time with the adorable children who will undoubtedly change your life, the warm and welcoming locals, and with Ridhi and Ross – the very best and program manager and coordinator you will ever come across.

If Aladdin's genie magically appeared right now and gave me 3 wishes those would definitively be: 1. Go back in time to July 1st, South Kerala, India. 2. A family for the Manipur kids we tough. 3. One more month in this program.

Working with GVI in this program changed my life. I have to admit I thought it was not going to be hard for me to adapt to the country considering that I was born and raised in a 3rd world country. But it wasn't easy at all. My first week on the program was driving me mad; I was scared of messing up and I was not confident on what I was doing considering that I had never taught or even worked with children before. But I had the wonderful support of the coordinators Ridhi and Ross all the time. They gave me strength all throughout the program. After the first week, teaching came out naturally, I easily learned the name of my kids and I was starting to have the best time of my life. I got really close to my kids, its like if they became part of my family and I have to admit I still shed some tears when I go through pictures and recall memories.

This program helped me see things different. The social scene is obviously an impact, but despite the poverty in India, people will always smile at you while walking on the streets of Fort Kochi. It is a whole new culture but I loved it. The living conditions where simple but comfortable. It was hard to live with 11 other people in the same house. We all had shores to do every day and we had to be responsible for the house cleaning. I remember the early rush in the morning, 12 people in a small kitchen trying to make their breakfast. This simple things made me grow as a person. It made me learn how to work in groups and how to get out of my "comfort zone".

I have to admit that GVI did a great job with all their information on the program before I got there but they forgot to tell me something crucial: "you will have the time of your life".

Yes, this program changed me. How? In words I can't explained. I was completely happy for a whole month. I met the most wonderful people on this trip. The children I taught became "my kids" and my housemates became my friends. I became so close to these two groups of people that I can call them family and this program wouldn't have been the same without them.

Working on this program made me grow and mature as a person and it made a difference on me as well as I made a difference on this world. I could see that on my last day, when Songayao gave me a big hug and didn't let go for a while and when Rominao and Tamchimla started shedding tears as we said goodbye.

I enjoyed volunteering abroad and I would definitively do it again. I recommend this program and GVI to others and I am sure they will have a wonderful experience as well.