In the month of January 2014, work camp team leader, Manjunath, led a bilateral camp for six volunteers from South Korea. The theme of this work camp was education, environment and children. The volunteers worked in a government school in Bangalore, teaching around 80 children about environment related issues such as pollution and conservation, as well as basic Engish schools, educational drawing and wall painting. The…
Joining us from Poland for close to 7 months, Anna Pacześ, one of our long-term volunteers writes about what it was like to work with physically and mentally challenged children in Arani, Tamil Nadu. She gives an insider’s perpective to what volunteering in India is all about, talking of her own personal journey through the months, from first impressions to final goodbyes. We hope you visit us again Anna! ‘May: Here I am! My dream came true – I’m in…
FSL’s work camps usually last between 2 to 3 weeks and are held across India in some of the most historically significant and culturally vibrant parts of the country. The month of September saw 4 work camps being held across 3 Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh. Take a look at just some of the things we got up to in our work camps.
In the year 2011-12, nearly 720 hatchlings* of the Olive Ridley sea turtle were released through sea turtle conservation initiatives mobilized by FSL India. For close to 8 years, our volunteers, local community members and conservation organizations in the area have been working together on the coastline of Udupi District, in the State of Karnataka, which forms the sporadic nesting grounds of these turtles. It is one of FSL’s oldest home based, self-funded projects. While there has been much progress,…
On school days Shanthi (meaning peace in Hindi) Ashram is bustling with the sound of children going about their day-to-day activities. Located in Vijayadka village, Mangalore (State of Karnataka)* and home to some 65 students who reside there, the ashram works to provide children from disadvantaged backgrounds with a safe, nurturing environment that enables their education and future development. The summer holidays in April provided an excellent opportunity for the ashram community to work on child-friendly infrastructural improvements. A group…
The picturesque city of Jodhpur, the second largest in the Indian state of Rajasthan, is known for its historical forts and palaces. One of our work camps (which last between 2 to 3 weeks) is set in Jodhpur, against the backdrop of the great Indian Thar desert. Our volunteer, Anna Novikova, writes about her experiences in the work camp. ‘Dear readers, I say it again: India is a fabulous country! The end of August I have spent two weeks volunteering…
Galina, one of the volunteers to our work camps recently wrote back to us, reminiscing about her experiences. She also sent us a ‘friendship map’, traditional Russian sweets and candies, inviting us to visit her in Russia. Thank you Galina! You are always welcome back! ‘Dear Friends, My name is Galina, I took part in [an] FSL project in Kerala in January 2013. It was my sixth international voluntary experience and I want to say: it was THE BEST project…
The month of September saw another enthusiastic group of volunteers coming to India for mid- to long- term projects of 1 month to 1 year. The mix of 20, hailing from Germany, Spain and France will be working in various projects ranging from environment-related initiatives such as sea turtle conservation to educating children of migrant families in ‘tent schools’. As with all of our long-term volunteers, their first week began with an orientation on India and Indian culture. This ‘orientation…