The time that I've spent in India is indescribable. I've had so many experiences and met so many people that I never had dreamed I would be blessed to experience. I was scared and nervous about my experience as I had never travelled outside of my country before. At the airport I was greeted by a warm and friendly staff member and fellow volunteers who helped me to feel part of a community. The next orientation week was just what I needed to get use to the Indian culture and to make valuable friendships. It was such a good idea to do the main sightseeing in that week so I could focus my remaining time on my volunteer placement. My host family in India was such a blessing! They were so helpful and so funny! I haven't laughed as much as I have in the past five weeks! They were so helpful in giving us their opinion on our volunteering and our extracurricular activities. I was able to create lasting friendships with my host family and fellow volunteers. My volunteer placement was so amazing! I was able to help teach kids in a school within a local slum. It was a challenging yet rewarding opportunity to see these kids learn and grow! I think I will leave with more lessons they taught me than what I taught them. I find it hard to describe just how life changing this experience has been. I truly believe that I am a better person because of the time that I've spent here. I feel as though I am leaving part of my heart here but I know that I am taking so much more with me home!

In total, I spent 3 weeks in India. Orientation week was an incredible experience that I am so grateful I got to have. Being immersed in such a rich culture was a great way to learn about the lives of the people and their language. I then spent 2 weeks teaching English in Bir, a Tibetan village near Dharamsala. As a first time volunteer, I was obviously very nervous. My nerves subsided as I found myself in an amazing, kindhearted group of people, not only in the program but in the village as well. I really felt as though I was a part of the community and it started to feel like home. I am still in close contact with people I met on my journey, and will hopefully remain in contact for a long time.

I spent three months with about thirty children in Faridabad, India. I didn't think it was possible to care so much about so many people at once, but I definitely fell in love with each and every one of them. With IVHQ I was able to adapt to the culture and environment comfortably with a host family from Faridabad. I would recommend this organization for anyone who is compassionate and hard working. It's life changing and well worth the small fee you pay. India is a tough country but IVHQ makes life there easier.

My experience with IVHQ and it's local team in India was far better than I expected. The local staff, host family, and other volunteers were immeasurably helpful and overall amazing people to spend time with. I participated in the healthcare program, where we did regular check-ups and provided free medicines to the people in a local slum in Delhi. The impact the project has on the underprivileged is direct and profound. The summer heat in Delhi was almost unbearable at times, but the smiles of our patients made up for it. We had more than enough time during the day to explore Delhi and Faridabad, and it is very easy to take weekend trips to neighboring cities.

Choosing India to travel to at the age of 18 was a very "why not" kind of decision. I knew the culture shock was going to be crazy, and boy was I right. Every thing about India screamed "different" than the comfort of my western home in the states. But boy did I love it! India was such a beautiful and magical country that one can only be there to know what I am talking about. Being around temples, monuments and just the people was eye-opening! The kids were also the best part about it! They were so sweet and and gracious for everything I did! IVHQ was a great program and I cant wait to do another one!

IVHQ India
IVHQ organisation was an amazingly straight forward program that was efficient, organised and easy to work with. They provided a lot of information about all aspects of the program and country. They were also very responsive to email inquiries. I was grateful for how smoothly everything went for me, from airport pick up and a very helpful orientation.

Program
My program was teaching Slum Children. Before beginning I was nervous and didn't know what to expect, however once I arrived in India I received a lot of tips about how to manage the kids and ongoing support from the IVHQ staff. Working with the kids was an unbelievably humbling experience, you really get to know them on a personal level, teaching them every day and then playing cricket or soccer with them after school. I grew so much as a teacher, learning how to manage the kids and came to really enjoy going to school and seeing their smiling, excited faces.

Homestay

I had THE BEST homestay family. I stayed with Chandni and Mohit - living with them was so much fun. I felt like part of the family as they took us to the movies, shared amazing food with us and had hilarious late night conversations. I could't feel safer and more at home in India then with these amazing people.

I graduated from university last month, and want to start my new life. It's very lucky that I choose to be a volunteer in this slum school with my cute host family. I taught maths in school,and students have so many passions for learning that.Finally, I forgot I was a volunteer cause students are helping me to know myself! My experience here let me know who I can be and who I want to be. Also, staying with the host family is the best choice to experience the real Indian life. I had a lot of good Indian food I've never tried before. My host family members ate meal with me, we sat around the table, had dinner together,and talked about Indian culture and our interesting stories. I'm so happy to have such a sweet family. Now I have more brothers and sisters.They warm my heart,and let me touch the feeling of home.

Dropping everything and heading to a new country for three months to volunteer can be a scary thing. As a college student, I wanted to do something meaningful with my summer. IVHQ made my volunteer experience an incredible one. They provided me a fully arranged sightseeing week, an incredible homestay family, and truly caring local staff. On top of that, IVHQ gave me the chance to impact a community.

My placement was in the Sandesh Slum school. I taught twice per day with three other volunteers. The children were so precious. Everyday we could always count on twenty kids eagerly running up to us to shake our hands, saying "hello ma'am!" in their excited little voices. Fridays were "fundays", and all the students would bring goodies from home. As with any teaching job, it can be challenging, but the reward from doing it in the end is so great.

The homestay life was incredible. I stayed with four other volunteers, and our family was beyond great. I had such a positive experience that I've actually already made plans to come back and see them in the future. I'm a vegetarian and one of the other volunteers was vegan, and Mamta (the homestay mom) always accommodated to our dietary needs. The food was delicious. Her hospitality was unparalleled, also. She had twins who always accompanied me to the fruit market or to hail a tuktuk, and we even made dessert together one night.

The local staff was so helpful and kind, and all of the volunteers really got close to them during our time in Delhi. In addition, the 30 volunteers that I began the program with have become some of my best friends. We traveled on weekends together, and we're even making plans to visit each other after we all part ways.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about IVHQ or the Delhi program more specifically. I am going to Rabat, Morocco with IVHQ tomorrow and I am super excited because of the super positive experience I've had here in India.