Hello, I’m Emma, ​​I’m 19 years old and I’m in India as a volunteer for a year. I have been here for three months and live in Mysore. There I work at Sri Chayadevi Anath ashrama, a children’s home. \

On the train I was once asked if I could name something that India and Germany had in common and even after thinking about it for a long time, I couldn’t think of anything. Because everything is different. And that’s exactly why my work in the children’s home turned out to be a big challenge in the first few weeks. After I was warmly welcomed by the entire staff and the children immediately felt like siblings, the first challenges came, the upbringing methods as well as the work ethic and the way we interact with each other are very different than here in Germany.

It wasn’t just the children’s fates that touched me emotionally in the first few weeks, but also the monotonous lives they have in the home. They certainly don’t accept it themselves and for them the life they are allowed to lead in the home is a gift, but for me, who grew up very differently, it was difficult to understand how the children can be so happy. It was only over time that I learned why they were, and it was out of pure gratitude that they were allowed to live here. Here I first experienced for myself what is important in life. I learned what gratitude is and how much I can be grateful for my life. After I managed to cope emotionally with the new situation, the next challenge came. Because in India there is a lot more work than I’m used to as a German. And even though I work according to German labor law, I’m actually just tired after work and could always sleep.

At least in the first few weeks. The Indians in the home therefore work much more than I do. I have to say I have so much respect for how they can all handle it and even when they can’t do it anymore, they continue to work and do their best. As a result, I met very interesting people for whom I have the greatest respect and who inspired me a lot. I also learned that I can work more than I thought and that I have more capacity than I thought. In the first few weeks I had to get used to it and get used to the amount of work. But after just two months, the children’s home, which is actually my workplace, turned out to be a second home. The family relationship was there from the beginning, but when I learned that all problems can be solved by talking, I found out what the commonality was. India and Germany both feel like home.