Galina, one of the volunteers to our work camps recently wrote back to us, reminiscing about her experiences. She also sent us a ‘friendship map’, traditional Russian sweets and candies, inviting us to visit her in Russia. Thank you Galina! You are always welcome back! ‘Dear Friends, My name is Galina, I took part in [an] FSL project in Kerala in January 2013. It was my sixth international voluntary experience and I want to say: it was THE BEST project…
Recently, we had the great pleasure of seeing one of our volunteers from last year, Caroline Pilling, revisiting us at our office at Kundapura. She writes about what it was like to go back home to Germany after volunteering in India and the sense of nostalgia she feels whenever she thinks of her experiences here. Thank you Caroline for still thinking of us, and you are always welcome back! ‘On the 20th of July 2012 the last volunteers of my…
It is said actions speak louder than words. On September 21, the joint endeavors of close to 600 local and international volunteers lay testament to this old adage. We came together to be a part of the world’s largest volunteering initiative to clean up waterways and the ocean: the International Coastal Cleanup. Our concerted efforts resulted in 11 tons of trash being collected in 1 day over 26 km of Karnataka’s coastline*.
The month of September saw another enthusiastic group of volunteers coming to India for mid- to long- term projects of 1 month to 1 year. The mix of 20, hailing from Germany, Spain and France will be working in various projects ranging from environment-related initiatives such as sea turtle conservation to educating children of migrant families in ‘tent schools’. As with all of our long-term volunteers, their first week began with an orientation on India and Indian culture. This ‘orientation…
To celebrate the hard work, introspect the progress plus performances, understand the programs better, achieve a common resolution for the future years and above all to Get together and have fun, FSL India arranges an Annual Meet for the staff every year. This year, the event was arranged at Out2Learn campus located 40Kms away from Bangalore city from 16th to 18th of May, 2013. The calm, scenic and the serene campus of Out2Learn provided a perfect platform for this Annual…
Our volunteer Elise Duquenne writes about her experience in India, volunteering for women’s empowerment in Chetpet town, Tiruvannamalai District, State of Tamil Nadu. Dear readers, You surely have this question in your mind, what to expect of volunteering in India within FSL India? At first, when you arrive in India, you still wonder whether you did the right choice, everything is so different: the landscape, the language, the food, the religion, the body language… You just can not grasp onto…
Interesting sessions like – Mood Chart and Suitcase (I will take back home)– Washing machine (I would like to improve) – Dust bin (I could not change) was conducted to enable the volunteers share their good experiences and challenges that they faced or are facing in their project, host family and during travel. The FSL India coordinators who facilitated these sessions, concluded them by giving valuable suggestions and appreciating the volunteers work and effort in their projects.
Rakesh S. Soans, President of FSL – India, recently wrote on the transformation that volunteering brings about in the individual. The article which appeared on Monday, July 8 2013 in the ‘Education Times’, is here republished: Undoubtedly modern higher education has undergone a radical and unprecedented change in the last few decades. New age learners have diverse learning needs, and the scope and methodology of learning for new millennium learners is immense. Education is all about personal development that imbibes…
With monsoon in its full bloom especially in the coastal region of Kundapur, when everybody confines to their rooms, hesitant to go outside, FSL India was bursting with energy and enthusiasm for the Orientation week for the August arrivals. 51 Participants – 43 Germans, 4 French, 1 Finnish, Swedish, Irish and an Austrian altogether along with the 15 staffs from FSL India’s Bangalore and Kundapur office, made this Orientation, the best ever. Among these 51 Participants – 37 Participants were…
Kundapur : Every month Get Togethers (GTG) are conducted to give all the Long and Mid Term volunteers of FSL India, a chance to share their experiences with the group and also a one to one talk with their coordinators and this month’s GTG met its goal too. With 4 International Long term volunteers and 3 Staffs, the GTG in the month of June was conducted on 12th of July at the Green Wood Resort in Senapur. Although the group…