Hey, my name is Richard I’m 19 years old and from Hamburg (Germany). I volunteer in a child home in Pondicherry (India) under the Samugam Foundations which contains different projects and organizations to strengthen the unprivileged people in the Indian society. My project is called: Jally Home. 2 separate Homes, one for girls and one for boys which accommodates a total of 70 children. Most of the children come from the gypsy community. It is a community on the outside of Pondicherry in a rural area. Due to historical and social disparities, Gypsy communities live away from the majority in the society. Most of the parents in the gypsy families don’t think that education opens a lot of doors for their children yet, because they didn’t experience it itself or in their family.

The Samugam Foundation tries to get the parents to understand that education is important and enables a future with more opportunities and this is where Jally Home comes into play: It is an environment that makes it more easy for the children to receive and commit to their education. Bruno started only by picking up a few children from the streets who were picking garbage to find something to eat. From there on he built multiple childhomes and continues to support the people in need whenever it’s possible. 

My Role in the Jally Home changed from being a volunteer to a big brother. Unlike most volunteers I don’t have a separation between my working and living space. My accommodation is in the Boys Home itself which makes me really close to all the children every day and lets me spend more time with them. I support them every morning to get ready and take them to school with the Jally home School Bus. When the children are in school I get time for myself or I help the other staff with organizing things like buying vegetables from the local market. In the afternoon I get the children from school again. Afterwards, I’ll spend time with the boys, do activities with them and see that they’re spending their study time usefully. I also travel with Bruno whenever a foreigner or donor comes to visit the projects outside of Pondicherry, like a child home in Trichy or a leprosy community halfway to Chennai.

In general I can say I don’t have a strong working schedule. I can put my energy into the things I enjoy the most. In the beginning that was quite overwhelming but now having this freedom, with the knowledge of the project, enables a lot more than having strict rules and reglementations. 

After just about 5 months in the Project by this time it feels like a big family to me. Already thinking about leaving this place with all the children makes me really sad and going to be an emotional challenge for me for sure. Coming back is not an option, it’s already fixed.