Simona Skandro, a long-term volunteer (LTV) from Germany has been volunteering at Aruloli Home for Girls, an orphanage in the Cuddalore District of Tamil Nadu. She has been volunteering since September 2013, and will be completing her term in July 2014. Following is an account of her time spent so far. “After finishing my school in Germany I decided to go abroad, far away. India sounded interesting to me whenever I heard of it. And I…
Antonia Hauser, one of our long-term volunteers from Germany, volunteered for four months at the Paramedical Educational Trust in Tamil Nadu. The organisation believes in “Health for the Rural Mass in India.” Antonia conducted awareness programmes for community members on the topics of health and hygiene and taught school children English and environmental studies. Following is her reflection of her stay in India. “When I planned my trip to India, I was talking to…
Svenja Melina Opitz, one of our long-term volunteers from Weltwarts AFS Germany has been working at the De Mercede Orphanage since August. She writes to us from the village of Paneer, in Mangalore Taluk, Dakshina Kannada District. Following is a personal account of her experiences. “Namaskara everybody! India – on the 4th of August I arrived here in the middle of the Monsoon. Actually I was really excited and counted the days before my arrival. And…
Joining us from Poland for close to 7 months, Anna Pacześ, one of our long-term volunteers writes about what it was like to work with physically and mentally challenged children in Arani, Tamil Nadu. She gives an insider’s perpective to what volunteering in India is all about, talking of her own personal journey through the months, from first impressions to final goodbyes. We hope you visit us again Anna! ‘May: Here I am! My dream came true – I’m in…
The picturesque city of Jodhpur, the second largest in the Indian state of Rajasthan, is known for its historical forts and palaces. One of our work camps (which last between 2 to 3 weeks) is set in Jodhpur, against the backdrop of the great Indian Thar desert. Our volunteer, Anna Novikova, writes about her experiences in the work camp. ‘Dear readers, I say it again: India is a fabulous country! The end of August I have spent two weeks volunteering…
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…
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…
One of our volunteers, Marta Troc, writes about her experience in India: What can I say about India after being here almost three months? I didn’t expect that it’ll happen so soon, but I already found MY OWN India and I must admit – it is incredible. Five paragraphs to prove it: Intercultural experience
Two of our volunteers Marlene and Paula write about their experiences in India: