Yesterday, I lay aimlessly on my bed, staring at the ceiling fan rotating at its lowest speed, wondering how I barely noticed its absence over the past year. Hoping to find something better to do, I picked up my phone and saw that I had a message from a friend – another volunteer who’d returned to Bangalore from Berlin last week. “Me too” read the message, a response to one I’d sent a few hours earlier saying “I want to…
FSL India’s CEL at Kundapura had the honour to welcome a group of 50 students from Roshni Nilaya College, Mangalore on 25th of September. The students used this chance to get some information on how NGOs work, getting insights on voluntary work and different projects. The day started with some fun activities. The students also got a tour around the Training Centre. Then they heard a short introduction on FSL India by our staff and attended a presentation of 2…
We were a group of 9 volunteers from Italy, Hong Kong, Spain and France participating in FSL-India’s work camp at Jaipur for 2 action-packed weeks. The focus of the camp was on education and heritage conservation activities. During this camp, we had several activities which really made us feel very happy to be a part of this program. We had the opportunity to learn and understand many things on Social, Education and Culture through working with the schoolchildren in teaching…
We were fortunate to participate in UNESCO’s World Heritage workcamp at the Great Himalayan National Park for the duration of 2 weeks, from 12th-25th August 2019. During this program, we had a wonderful experience to bring awareness on Natural Heritage Management among the community and the schoolchildren. We helped to organise various activities such as tree plantation, mural painting and conducted a presentation on biodiversity conservation. Our main aim was to bring unique motivation among the community and schoolchildren through…
My name is Riath; we were 4 volunteers coming from France to participate in a group work camp. The objective of this camp was to improve the sanitation and hygiene conditions of the tribal community by building bathrooms and toilets. We lived together in a host family in Hunsur. It is a good experience, because we can learn a lot about Indian culture and habits thanks to them. We bonded and formed a strong link with all the members. They…
In the month of September 2019, FSL India hosted 16 Long Term Volunteers from Germany at our CEL (Centre for Experiential Living). The volunteers underwent different practical, theoretical and outdoor sessions for their successful journey in India and actively took part in each session. The sessions included conflict management, roles and responsibilities, culture and Indian life style, safety guidelines, information and project introduction and also, preparation with their coordinators. The roles and responsibilities session started with asking questions on the…
On 19th September 2019, FSL-India, Pondicherry’s coordinator organised a Cultural Event (CE) for our regular LTV volunteers. Every month, we organise a Cultural Event for our regular volunteers and we take them to any cultural and historical places which are located in and around Pondicherry. This month, the Cultural Event was focused on Nature/Religion. Sri Karaneswara Temple is located on the Pudhukuppam Beach in Pondicherry, 12 kms north of Auroville. Sri Karneshwar Nataraja Temple is the most unusual and yet,…
Hi! My name is Morgane. We are 4 French people studying in a Civil Engineering school in France. We lived together in a host family in Hunsur, Karnataka. We went to India with FSL India to build toilets and bathroom in a tribal village named Ballenahalli and to go to school. First, living in a host family is a really good experience. I learned a lot of things about Indian habits and I shared beautiful daily moments with the family….
It feels amazing to know we have completed 9 out of 25 100th Monkey sessions each for both 8th and 9th Standard children at Siddivinayaka School, Karki. The children of 9th Standard have already gone through our intervention in the first pilot phase last year. There is a great difference in their receptivity and reflection from the first pilot phase to now. It is the same for me as a facilitator of 100th Monkey. The 4-day training for trainers held…
Being here in Karnataka, Keralites feel homesickness in the month of September. There is a king who visits us every year – this year Keralites welcomed the king to Kundapura where we, along with FSL-India CEL’s staff and volunteers celebrated the Onam festival on 11th September. As Hu Jintao says, “Culture is a window reflecting the history, culture and spiritual world of a nation, Cultural exchange is a bridge to enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the people of…