Volunteer in India

International volunteering is a wonderful opportunity to show compassion and help to others who are less fortunate. It is an amazing way to learn and live with another culture. It is my best choice for traveling to a different country, seeing the landscapes, learning the history, while feeling the pulse of the local people, and helping to bring cheer and self confidence to the people I volunteered with. All round it is a win win opportunity to strengthen personal ideals and gain personal reflections on a life changing mission.

The resources met my expectation while enhancing a smooth transition with the local organisation I was affiliated to. The local team was remarkable in many aspects. Their respective projects were well run, streamlined and very well managed. My teaching coordinator was caring, professional and incredibly helpful and supportive. I had a positive feedback from the students and I do believe they truly enjoyed our mutual collaboration during the program. Getting out of your comfort zone is the first step towards your inner transformation. The connection you will build over your experience with locals as well as with other volunteers will unfold a wealth of opportunities in your life.

The Local Team were all so lovely. All meals were amazing and they were so welcoming, nice and helpful towards us and especially wanted to make sure I was safe when I went out and about considering I’m only 14.

I feel I have gained so much from this trip, and will forever be grateful for it. At such a young age, it has really opened my eyes to the big wide world and what other children similar ages to me have to deal with and what their daily lives are. It has made me so much more grateful for what I have at home and in my life, and has really made me think about the way I act and my attitude to things that I thought used to be really big to me, but really these children that we were teaching have way bigger things going on in there lives and to worry about. It has also giving me a taster into a teaching career and whether that would be something I wanted to do when I’m older. It has been one of the best if not the best experience of my life and my advice to someone who would want to do it but is too scared is to “just go for it”. If a 14 year old girl can go around the world with her mum then I really think there isn’t anything stopping anyone else. It was an amazing experience and I would love to do something like this again in the (near) future. Thank you to the Local Team, our Tuk Tuk driver everyday, our tour guides and to everyone who made this a memorable trip for us.

The four months I spent in India allowed me to experience a drastically different culture from my own, get extensive hands on experience in the clinic, make friends with dozens of unique volunteers from all over the world, see sites I’d have otherwise never even known about, appreciate the comforts of home more, and grow as an individual. While I’ve always been an independent person, I feel this experience helped to make me more confident in my abilities and gave me skills that I can continue to apply throughout my life. I picked up a bit of Hindi and had the chance to practice medical treatments in a very close contact way.

The team at the accommodation was very welcoming and nice. They care about making sure you are satisfied with your experience. While some western conveniences are a bit different at the home, that is something I feel should be expected given volunteers are working in a slum setting in India. Overall I was happy with the accommodation. The cook was the sweetest of all time. He provided us with plenty of food and yummy tea. I definitely got more than my fill thanks to his insistence that I eat more and more.

While India is a country of extremes and may not be for everyone, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and would recommend this trip to anyone who is up for a little adventure. I enjoyed making new connections, getting lots of experience working in the clinic, and immersing myself in the vibrant culture. It was an experience I will never forget and I’d love to go back.