There lived a boy in the eastern coasts of Puducherry, India with many dreams to fly but along with the limitations that pulled him back in the forms of several underprivileges still he somehow fought all the odds of his life and the challenges to build himself as a volunteer supporter. His wish to support the least fortunate through the minimal fortunes he had, became true when he started volunteering for the needy through several NGOs and through his mental health studies. On this path he was blessed to support them through his strengths and capabilities which turned out to be fruitful.

An opportunity from FSL turned out to be the turning point for him to accelerate his potentials and for him to upgrade as an international intercultural exchange volunteer in Germany. The learnings he is gaining through the work with the elderly and people with special needs are totally new from the learnings he gained through working with Children and youth in the previous experiences. Right from greetings, food, attires, weather, language, work culture, people in public, socialisation, charity, transportations, cars, health and governance everything excited him with novelty. The newness in everything made him feel like a kid once again. Through this learning journey his volunteering is also turning out to be fruitful. The beneficiaries are also happy to have a volunteer supporter from a different country and a continent since we can witness a lot of intercultural learnings mutually. This opportunity shapes both the ends positively and he’s one sample of so many international volunteers who are contributing their part to the UNSDGs globally.

As the boy from Puducherry, I sincerely thank FSL for this wonderful opportunity to explore a totally different experience with respect to language, culture and norms which makes me better from what I was yesterday.

By Rasaiya Govindhasamy – Outbound volunteer, GRC – FSL India