As part of our sea turtle project a huge green turtle weighing nearly 100 kilograms was spotted near Uppunda, 25 kilometers north of Kundapur. This turtle was accidentally caught in the fishing net of a fisherman here and he informed our new contact person Mr Kamalaksha who called the project immeadiatly. FSL sea turtle team rushed to the spot immediately and released this turtle to the sea. It is very good motivation to the sea turtle volunteers who worked very…
Welcome to our 12 new volunteers from France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Germany! Standing: Carolina (Shanti Ashrama), Christina and Marianne (Balabalaga), Emmanuelle (Sheon Ashrama), Cecile (St. Marys old age home), Caroline (Little Flowers, Karkala), Janina (Shanti Ashrama). Sitting: Margrit (Manasa Pamboor), Ilha (Ashrama School, Kundapur), Nadine (Shanti Ashrama). On the pictures two french girls are missing: Yasmine (Matruchaya) and Jasmine (Sea Turtle).
This month FSL welcomed 14 new volunteers from countries like Germany, Italy, France and Finland. During our monthly orientation week, they learned a little bit of the kannada language, visited some of the projects and prepared themselves with their roles and responsibilities in the project and in general. “I think the Orientation week is a lot of fun. I have learned a lot about the Indian culture in the different sessions. People are friendly, food is good!” said one volunteer,…
Every year during holidays, FSL organizes two „Winter Camps“. They are called this way, because right now is the coldest time of the year in India. Children of nomadic families, that normally stay in and around Kundapur for as long as they can find work, can visit these camps to play games, learn about the environment and paint the playground – to name a few examples. These children normally get no regular education – they’re not elligible for government schools…
It’s been the annual “JC” (Junior Chamber International India) Event on September 10th. Since four years, FSL-India’s international volunteers have been one of the groups challenged to perform. This time, our volunteers showed the audience a wild mix of Indian and European culture: They sang a German song “Die Gedanken sind frei” (thoughts are free) followed by the Indian pop-song “Jinke Marina”. The volunteers also performed a traditional Indian dance and finished the show with a 15-minute play – an…
I am please to inform you all that one of FSL India’s camp got coverage on National TV!! The camp was on working with blind children, and our volunteers did a wonderful work in the area. Thanks to our team leaders Prathap and Julia. Follow this link to view the video of the news posted on youtube:
Apsara konda (Apsarakonda) is a small village near Honnavar, town in North Kanara district. Six km from Honnavar, is situated the Apsara Konda Falls. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honavar You can see a picture of the falls : http://gallery.holidaymakers.in/v/album02/Waterscapes-Karnataka/apsara-konda-honnavara.JPG.html I had been there last week and felt a urge to just jump in and take a dip. It is situated in a serene environment of green tropical forest. Just above is the is the Narasimha temple, if you follow the steam after the falls…
The sparrow in Austria: In Museum Quarter in Vienna, a little sparrow came and sat next to me. And then I remembered, around 25 years back there used to be lots and lots of of sparrows in Kundapur and the surrounding areas. One could see great flocks of 50 to 100 sparrows flying down like a huge cloud and perch on shop floors, shop roofs and in rice fields. But now, you cannot see any!! It really started got me…
Ubuntu is a South African ethical ideology focusing on people’s allegiances and relations with each other. The word comes from the Zulu and Xhosa languages. Ubuntu (pronounced “oo-boon-too”) is seen as a traditional African concept, is regarded as one of the founding principles of the new republic of South Africa and is connected to the idea of an African Renaissance. A rough translation of the principle of Ubuntu is “humanity towards others”. Another translation could be: “the belief in a…
We the volunteering community of FSL contribute a lot towards world peace and cultural understanding. In the process we do meet lot of people and visit many places. So, Ivo our (present) web master, popularly called by us as Mr. Ubuntu, came up with this wonderful IDEA of creating a general blog to share to the world, what we do and what we can do!! come and enjoy, learn, Share, spread the good feeling that we have 🙂 For all…