|
The Volunteer Programme - Weeks 1-4
Wherever your volunteer placement occurs, the general pattern is to work five days a week for approximately three to five hours per day. Most work occurs in the morning before lunch. But some placements require afternoon work as well.
Resources are limited and communities live in very basic conditions. There is a real need to encourage children to attend school and a bigger need to educate them. Education is possibly the only way to enhance their opportunities in life after school.
Whilst in Rajasthan, you have the option to volunteer on one of the following options; it will depend on your choice together with the needs of the local community.
1. Education
Class sizes in India can be extremely large leading teachers to become little more than traffic police attempting to keep order therefore volunteers are greatly appreciated. Volunteer activities include:
- Teaching children English and Maths in schools
- Creating a playful environment through painting, playing games, singing etc
- Working with local teachers in creating low cost teaching material
- Take responsibility for everyday attendance of a few children to the school
- Ensuring regular health check ups of the children in each school through co-operating with the local doctors and hospital staff.
- Creating basic hygiene awareness amongst children on a regular basis for healthier living.
2. Child-care
Child-care volunteers assist in local childcare centres, known as Aanganbari. The concept of `preschool' childcare is a new one in India. This is where the joint family system has long provided ample child-care providers. Unlike Western countries, where child-care facilities exist primarily to free women to work, the aanganbari's main purpose is to provide a safe, healthy and hygienic space to young children who would not be able to receive proper care at home. Volunteer activities include:
- Ensuring maximum attendance by the children
- Personal attention and care to the children
- Helping to make and feed the children a specially prepared nutritious meal every day
- Continuous survey of all pregnant women and newborn babies in the area for regular health check ups and vaccination.
- Creating a colourful and enjoyable environment for the children with games, stories and other creative activities (all material support and training for such activities is provided to you)
3. School for Snake Charmers’ children
Working with this ancient and very interesting nomadic community will be a culturally and socially rewarding experience. Volunteers will be involved in regularly imparting education to the children attending school, spreading awareness about the importance of education amongst community members.
Extra Afternoon Volunteer Options in Rajasthan
If you would like to do more volunteer work than your core option offers, you may have the opportunity to get involved in some of the following:
1. Special residential training camps for adolescent girls
2. Conversational English and computer education classes to adult women
3. Maintenance of institutional facilities
*Transfer Between Projects*
On day 31 you will catch an evening train to Jaipur and will arrive in Jaipur the next day. You will have the whole day in Jaipur to relax, shop and do your own thing.
On day 33 you and your guide will board an overnight train for Goa at 11am, you will arrive in Goa on day 34 at 2pm – during this journey you will be in an air-conditioned compartment.
Weeks 5-8
Whilst in Goa you will be giving invaluable help to children and adults in deprived communities. Despite Goa’s tourist industry, Goa needs the assistance of volunteers, as a lot of the region remains extremely poor.
You will be volunteering on one of the following options; again it will depend on your choice together with the needs of the local community.
If you choose the 4-week Goa project your volunteer options are:
Morning volunteer work
1. Day care centre work with children
2. Special education camps and bridge courses to children of immigrant and slum dwelling families
3. Computer education to the children for a variety of population segments which may include orphanages, groups of local women and adolescent girls
Extra Afternoon Options:
Girls Orphanage (women only)
The Orphanage homes people from 0-80 years of age. As a volunteer you will be involved with computer education, helping with homework, playing games and organising fun activities.
Bridge Courses
Teaching conversational English and sharing your computer skills with adolescent girls and women.
Child Care
In Goa there are early child-care centres called “Anganwari”, these centres carry out holistic childcare in the area.
The child-care centres ensure healthy growth and stimulation of children in rural areas. Health monitoring, improvement of motor skills, nutritional supplements, vaccination etc. are provided for children from poor uneducated families. The volunteer activities include:
- Personal attention and care to the children coming to the centre everyday.
- Assistance to the local worker for record maintenance for each child based on health, vaccination, growth and nutritional condition.
- Making and feeding the children a specially prepared nutritious meal everyday with the help of a local worker.
- Continuous survey of all pregnant women and newborn babies in the area for regular health check ups and vaccination.
- Creating a colourful and enjoyable environment for the children with games, stories and other creative activities (all material support and training for such activities would be provided)
- Developing the motor skills of the little children by making them use their body parts in various games etc
Project Age limit
Minimum 17 years old with parental consent form
Project Support
Throughout your stay in India you will have the support and guidance of a Camp Manager and their team. They will provide you with competent assistance and help you with any questions or advice you may need during your stay. The staff will be on hand throughout the day.
In addition, we will provide you with a 24 hour emergency contact number before you depart, so that you can contact one of our UK staff at any time should you need to.
Project Orientation
You will be given a comprehensive 3-day orientation in Jaipur. Here you will also have the option to visit the Taj Mahal on an organised excursion at your own cost. During your 3 day orientation you will learn about India and the volunteer placements, the afternoons will entail excursions and in the evenings you will be living with a local family where you will have dinner and breakfast.
The 3-day orientation will include:
- An introduction to Indian history, Hindi, culture and values
- Your health and safety whilst in India
- Workplace ethics before starting your project
- An introduction to the area
- Amber fort with elephant ride (if permitted) and old city
- Hindi “Bollywood” film
- Shopping for traditional clothing
Accommodation & Meals
Rajasthan
Your accommodation is unique – a comfortable and clean mud hut! It even comes with en-suite bathroom! All meals are served in the restaurant area – buffet style. There is Internet, telephone, DVD/TV facilities. For the active volunteers, there is volleyball net and other outdoor games. You will be sharing with a maximum of 3.
The food is amazing and there is plenty of it. Besides from your personal space, volunteers benefit from a dining area where they eat food prepared by our staff, a kitchen where they can cook special meals, a common area for relaxing, watching movies and holding cultural workshops in yoga and Indian cooking. There are also Internet facilities. Breakfast is served at 08:30, lunch at 13:30, Chi tea at 16:00 and dinner at 19:00.
Goa
When doing volunteer work you will be living in purpose built accommodation 2km from the beach. Accommodation in India is basic; you will be in bunk bed accommodation sharing with up to 4. You will have simple bathrooms attached - European toilets and showers with a bucket bath in case you want to use hot water; this is seldom required as it’s so warm! The food is amazing and there is plenty of it.
On this volunteer programme you are required to be responsible for the up keep of your own room as well as helping out with washing up dishes after meals etc. Meals are all included and consist mainly of vegetable and sometimes fish curries, Indian breads, rice and fruit.
|
