From the 7th of April to the 11th of April, our Bangalore office saw the arrival of 11 new long-term volunteers (LTV) from Italy, France, Germany and the Czech Repubic. The week long orientation for them was facilitated by 13 FSL-India staff members and included topics such as voluntarism roles and responsibilities, Indian pedagogy, India and Social Concerns, and a newly added session; A Reflection on Peace. This batch of volunteers showed a…
Solveig Freiling, a long-term volunteer (LTV) from Germany has been working at Nallurpala School in Mysore, Karnataka since August 2013. With four months to go, she writes to us about her experiences and insights so far. “I was brought up in a very creative family in Germany. My Mother is an artist and my father is a musician. So since I was small, I was in contact with all different kinds of arts. I think…
During the months of July and August, 2013, FSL-India had collaborated with Better World Korea, Hyundai Motors India and Hyundai Motor Company Korea for the 11th Happy Move Camp in Pappankuzhi, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu. A kitchen garden had been promoted then and on the 22nd of April, 2014, a field office of our Chennai team went to visit it. To their great pleasure, the field officer found the small 10 ft…
Once again, the month of April saw another long-term volunteers (LTV) get-together (GTG) in Kundapura. Attending the GTG on the 16th of April 2014 were seven LTVs and three of our Kundapura staff members. GTGs are not only a chance for participants to discuss and share their project experiences, but also an opportunity to explore a new place, as the location for each batch of LTVs varies monthly. These participants had a chance to…
During the 12th Happy Move Camp (HMC) held in January 2014, our Chennai Team identified Mrs. Perundevi and Mr. Duraisamy, agricultural labourers in Thenneri, Kancheepuram District, as in need of proper shelter. Due to a large family, low income and bad weather conditions, their hut house was beginning to deteriorate and could no longer provide shelter to them and their four children. From the 16th to the 27th of January, 2014, FSL-India, Better World…
Insa Lautzas, an ex long-term volunteer (LTV) from Germany volunteered at Seon Ashram Trust from September 2012 to August 2013. She returned to her project during the month of March, 2014 and writes about her experiences of her visit back. “From September 2012 to August 2013 I did a 1 Year Volunteer-Service at “Seon Ashram Trust”. This is a place for people who have no one to stay with. Most of them are mentally…
During the month of March, 2014, a Children’s Parliament was formed in the Panchayat Union Primary and Middle Schools to monitor and follow-up the activities of the 12th Happy Move Camp (HMC). The 8 villages that the Children’s Parliament is to monitor are Ayyamicheri, Thiruvankaranai, Uthukadu, Echoor, Senthamangalam, Thenneri, Shingadivakkam and Melottivakkam in the Kancheepuram District of Tamil Nadu. Four committees were formed to monitor: Environment committee Water and Sanitation…
On the 10th of April, 2014, a Health and Hygiene session was conducted for nearly 40 women and men in Thiruvankaranai, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. The topic of this session was awareness on hand washing methods; the steps, and its implications such as cholera and pneumonia. Videos and pictures were used by the field officer to demonstrate the importance of hand washing, and participants interacted throughout the session by asking questions and clarifying doubts.
During the month of March, two of our long-term volunteering (LTV) department’s staff members; Shobha Vaz and Aravind Thunga, attended the 5th Weltwaerts Staff Workshop in Hamburg, Germany. The workshop lasted for five days and was sponsored by the BMZ Ministry and organized by AFS-Germany. Attending the workshop were 19 partners from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe to celebrate the 5th year of the Weltwaerts programme, discuss the South-North programme, insurance, safety and…
On the 10th of March 2014 our hopes finally came true. The first Olive Ridley sea-turtles of this season hatched in our hatchery in Maravanthe, Kundapura. Nearly two months after their mother came ashore to lay her eggs, seventeen little babies made their way through the eggshell out of the nest. With the support of the Forest Department, our Home Based Project team released them a few meters before the sea to give them a…