Bangalore : At the Princess of Hill Stations, Kodaikanal, with a long history as a retreat and popular tourist destination, a batch of 18 volunteers and 6 FSL India staff landed at “Greenland youth Hostel & International Tourist Home” on 11^th Morning and stayed until the 12^th of April to conduct the Get Together (GTG) for the month of April.

Introduction, Guest talk on Global Warming, Visit to a tribal region, motivational and fun games kept the volunteers engaged for these 2 days. The Guest talk on Global warming, was conducted by Mr . Mahendra Babu from Tamil Nadu Environmental Council, which was indeed a very interactive session on Greenhouse gases, their effect on Ozone layer, Remedial measures to reduce greenhouse effect, etc.

The visit to the tribal village was also an event to remember as the volunteers had an opportunity to understand the lifestyle of the tribals in that region, their livelihood sources, their wedding ceremonies that are conducted in the temples which shocked the volunteers as they were informed that it did not end with a celebration, the day ended with a volleyball match between the people from the village and the volunteers.

Overall the GTG came to an end with an excellent feedback from the volunteers, who not only liked the place and the Inter-cultural activities but also the chance to interact with other volunteers from different projects and hear and learn from their experience and interact with their coordinators.

Kundapur : A total of 4 Volunteers, 2 Staffs of FSL India and an Intern from Bangalore office, reached the Green Woods Resort in Guddemmady, Kundapur on 11^th of April for the Get Together of April month.

Interactive games like Fish net, cloud and sun (Challenges and rewards), Visit to a flower farm and Subramanya temple, boating at a nearby river, one to one talk with coordinators were the major highlights of this GTG.

An ideal vacation spot surrounded by the serene beauty of lush green forest, Green Woods Resort was the perfect getaway for the staffs and the volunteers to unwind themselves and enjoy nature in her best attire. Local traditional sea food and typical south Indian dishes were the additional benefits.

Visit to the Flower garden situated around the resort and later in the evening to the ancient Guddemmady Subramanya temple situated on the bank of Sauparnika River, a destination attracting thousands of devotees was a perfect start to the GTG.  The volunteers also enjoyed boating in the beautiful Sauparnika river.

Sessions like “Fish net” where volunteers were asked to write the names of interesting/ inspiring people whom they have met during their volunteering in India made them reflect on the advantages of being a volunteer, which gave them an opportunity to meet lot of people and making friends with them. The “Cloud and Sun” session focused more on challenges and rewards of their volunteering service by writing them out on cards shaped like Clouds (Challenges) and Sun (Rewards). The GTG ended with a great session of One to One talks, where volunteers were given an opportunity to open up and share their experiences, difficulties etc. with their coordinators and seek support or advice when required.