Hi, my name is Magdalene and I am on my volunteering experience in India. Sun, culture and work – these three keywords describe my time in India. I live in Pondicherry, a beautiful city which is on the east coast of southern India. Here I spend my time with impressive moments. Through my work in the Community Seva Center and the associated company of my colleagues, I get to know a small piece of Indian culture.

Working with women and children is the focus of my work. My contact person and I usually drive to different women, talk to them and listen to them. We try to help them become self-employed, set up their own small shop or support them with everyday problems.

I also spend a lot of time in kindergarten, playing with the children and teaching them basic knowledge of the English language. Sometimes the director of the NGO takes me to the mountains where he runs two schools. There I help students improve their English skills and try to develop their individual skills by organizing workshops with them. These workshops relate to subject areas such as music, jewelry making or simply crafting and painting. With my work I try to make a contribution that is not urgently necessary, but beneficial. The country and the work with the people give me a perspective on how life is perceived here and how the people’s values and norms relate to my European values.

India gives me a community and being a part of society, rather than an individual, in the foreground. Everything is geared towards living in a good society and not taking yourself too seriously. I have only been living in this country for three months and in this time, I have been able to experience and learn a lot. I experience new challenges every day, in which I often fail, but in the end, I see to grow. The journey to this country and this other reality opens my eyes and at the same time closes doors that I leave behind. It seems like there’s a new surprise waiting for me around every corner. I have learned to live in the moment and accept all these impressions without always questioning them. Life here seems so much simpler than I know it is in Germany and despite that there is a world full of energy and challenges and adventure.