Volunteer in India with Volunteering Journeys

From when I first arrived to the homestay in Kerala my induction programme and medical placement was extremely disorganised. In fact, there was no medical placement to speak of; I found it extremely unprofessional that the coordinator had to take me to three hospital placements to decide which one I wanted to take. The first two hospitals were clearly unsuitable, with the doctors hardly speaking any English. I do not understand why I was even taken to these in the first instance as they were not appropriate and I wasted 3 days of placement in administrative delays. I also have a clear trail of e-mails in which I asked you several times for the location of the hospital and you refused to provide me with this, I had doubts then but these are now confirmed by the experience I have had with volunteering journeys. Nothing at all was prepared, the company lied that the hospital has a 2 week minimum commitment fee. This was not the case, the hospital was paid days after I arrived; this has been independently verified by the HR team at the hospital. Although my supervising doctor at the hospital was great, there was a complete lack of structure to the placement. I had specifically asked for 1 week of Ayurvedic medicine and 1 week of A+E (please see the e-mails); this was not provided as the coordination between the hospital and the coordinator was poor. The hospital placement and departments I was to be posted in should have been done before I even landed in India; there was plenty of time to arrange this and I was shocked that this was not arranged.
Furthermore, I have some serious concerns regarding the health and safety of the placements, with particular regard to homestay accommodation. The homestay was of a very poor standard of cleanliness for an accommodation that is supposed to cater to the needs of international volunteers. Myself and several volunteers fell ill on the trip; although identifying a link between this and the conditions at the homestay is difficult to prove, I have no doubt that the living conditions were certainly contributory. Even worse, there were unsheathed electrical wires in my bathroom which were NOT decommissioned in accordance with basic health and safety standards.
However, what I found most concerning was that myself and the other volunteers were NOT asked to provide CRB/DBS checks. Although it states in the handbook it is to be provided, as an activity provider it is their responsibility to ensure that all volunteers are safe to work with children in a resource poor environment. I was shocked to learn that alongside myself, other volunteers did also not have to submit their DBS.
On a separate issue, it says on their website that they are a social enterprise; the company was very clear that they refuse to provide a breakdown of exactly where the £921 pounds they received has been spent, including how much of this has actually gone into donations to the projects (many projects reported they received no money at all)
Overall, although I enjoyed my experience in India as a place to visit I have been disappointed by the service provided by Volunteering journeys. At a cost in excess of £900, the trip has been poor value for money. Several days of hospital placement were missed due to the coordinator rushing me around to take passport photos and finding my placement, I was not provided with the departments I requested and basic standards of health and safety were not met.

We had an absolutely remarkable time with Rainbow Voluntours. We were looking for a family volunteering opportunity and came across them in a web search. The director, Ridhi, was invariably thoughtful and responsive in our correspondence, listening to what we were looking for and matching us with a perfect situation. Our family of 6 (four kids, ages 5-13) would be teaching in a school and an after-school program, and I was worried that it would either be too much (i.e., "Here's your class for the week, best of luck!") or too little (i.e., "Sit over in the corner and watch.").

It was the perfect balance: making a contribution but not being asked to do too much, with Rainbow Voluntours staff with us every step of the way to help, support, clarify, etc. I was also impressed that they didn't feed us a line about how we were changing the world in a week; I knew going in that *we* would be the ones most changed, and the staff's perspective's was the same: we were making an impact by showing we cared and sharing experiences, which hopefully meant something to a lot of people.

The whole staff in Kerala -- Ridhi, Geeta, Midhu -- were wonderful, and it was a transformative experience for our family.

This is a great option for short term volunteers. Fort Kochi city is gorgeous, safe and really welcoming. There are loads of lovely restaurants, shops and markets so it is a nice place to explore when you are not with the school. Rainbow will organise great tours for you on your weekends off.

My homestay was really great, the family made me really welcome and they added to the fun and authenticity of the whole experience.

My volunteering experience was mostly with children in the school, and also with teacher some of the mum's English. They were wonderful people, I really enjoyed it. I had no previous experience of volunteering or teaching, I think if you have experience it is better for the children of course - but the most important think is to be enthusiastic, flexible and caring towards your young charges!

I would recommend Rainbow Volunteers to people who want to add on some volunteer experience to their trip to India. Or if you haven't been to India, it is a very good place to start.

The volunteer teaching program was a great experience. Having never taught children before the first couple of days were a bit daunting but by day three I was very comfortable. The kids were adorable and loved interacting with us. Just seeing their faces light up each day when we arrived was amazing. I will never forget them.

I was a bit scared to begin with, it was my first time traveling on my own and the furthest East I had been. When I arrived in Calcutta, I saw no other Westerner, but..........I felt India. I felt part of the scene, part of the culture and part of the community. The charity I volunteered for added another dimension to my experience.
The experience I had with Rainbow Voluntours has enthused my desire to travel and hopefully have other wonderful experiences. Thank you!

I had an enriching experience in Kochi. I'd say plan for a minimum of two weeks to have some sort of impact on the children's lives. The program could have benefited from some more structure and concrete objectives, but it was flexible to accommodate each volunteer's interest.

Working as a Rainbow Volunteer was amazing. It was hard work but such a great experience for me to be in India. I was teaching lower kindergarden children between the age of 3 and 5. They were just ready to absorb anything taught and it was great to be with the local teachers and staff. The project is wonderful and really helps the children who are living in the slums.The children are always smiling despite living in difficult backgrounds and many are so poor. I learnt a lot about the culture of India, learnt Yoga and got to explore Kerala. I also visited Rishikesh in between my program. The staff are so helpful and always ready to give ideas and get materials needed for the project. My experience has been amazing and I will always remember my time in Kochi. I cant wait to come back.

I've done a 3 weeks Volunteering in Vidydhanam school in Mattancherry, Kochi.

Rainbow Volontours is very well organized. It started before I've arrived: I always got a quick answer to my e-mails, which gave me the feeling of professionalism and safety. When i arrived, everything was perfectly organized. I got the important numbers and the program of the next days etc.
On the first day, Rainbow Volontours gave me a presentation about India, Kerala and Volunteering. Although interesting, it was given very quickly and loveless. The Rainbow Volontours members showed me around town and introduced me to locals - which was a beautiful arrival for me!
During the whole 3 weeks of my Volunteering, there was always something going on. If I didn't have dinner with Rainbow Volontours or friends, they suggested me sth to do - and gave me only the best suggests!

The volunteering itself was an unforgettable experience! However, it was far more tough than i expected! I was the first Volunteer in that school - so everything was still new and unorganized. I've worked with 3-4 different classes every day, which was lovely and very hard at the same time. Most of the kids hardly knew any english.

I didn't like the first day at school: After many times having said that the first day was only to get an impression of the school they directly sent me into the classroom, without any preparation. As someone who hasn't really taught before i found this very tough.

The girl of Rainbow Volontours with whom i've always worked in class was lovely!!! She did an amazing job by translating the things i've said into the local language Malayalam and helped me wherever possible!

What I didn't like was the Homestay they put me in - as it was very loud, i couldn't sleep for 2 weeks and had to change it. Of course, this may vary from person to person. Rainbow Volontours was always there to help me.

In any event, the organization Rainbow Volontours was always asking about my well-being and needs, although i felt that they actually don't care but have to do their job.

What i definitely didn't like about the organization, was where my money went!!!
I've payed 700GBP for 3 weeks Volunteering. That's where my money went:

2'200 Rs airport transfer (go and back)
3'500 Rs island-trip (two day-trip with cycle, over-night-stay, food, backwater-tour)
3'000 Rs Munnar-trip (two-day-trip with cab, over-night-stay, food)
3'600 Rs 4times yoga a week
17'000 Rs Homestay (incl. food)
500 Rs two cooking classes

That makes in total 29'800 Rs, means 293 GBP. There last 407 GBP (41'500 Rs) for the organization. Pretty much!!! If you think about that a school teacher earns only 2'000 rs a month!! According to Rainbow Volontours, even a doctor in Kerala doesn't earn more than 25'000 Rs a month.
The team members of Rainbow Volontours were always there to help me. Still I think this amount of money is not at all legitimated.
Rainbow Volontours bought little things for the children to play - but nothing more for the school! And I am very sure, that also inside the organization Rainbow Volontours the money isn't equally spread!

All in all: For me, it was an amazing experience with loving children, very well organized, but I am upset about the spreading of the money.

If you really want to help India: don't come here.