Care and Community Volunteer Stories, India

Care and Community in India - Mary Watkins I travelled to India for 3 months in 2000 before I started my undergraduate university study and had always hoped to go back. After completing postgraduate study, I decided to take a break from work and volunteer abroad – India seemed the ideal place to do this.My sister had recently returned from a Projects Abroad placement in Morocco and recommended I contact the Projects Abroad office in the UK to find out about placements in India. My employer had agreed that I could take a month of leave from work and offered me fixed dates for the time away.

Care and Community in India - Hannah Headden During my final year of school I decided to take gap year before going to university. Although I knew that I wanted a year out, I struggled to make a decision about where I would go or for how long. However I did know that I wanted a challenge and I knew that the country I eventually chose would have to be very different from home. With these thoughts in mind I eventually decided to go to India, a place of vast contrasts and exciting differences. I also decided to spend six months there, due partly for my desire to learn fully about the culture and also because I wanted to get far from home for as long as possible! As it turns out my decisions did not make life easy for me but in hindsight they were probably some of the best decisions I have made.

Care and Community in India - Heena Gudka Travelling is the fulfilment of one of my dreams. Being able to observe cultural differences, to discover the philosophy of ancient civilisations and to simply gain an insight into a different way of life is what I find truly inspiring. I decided to venture out and begin a journey that I knew was going to be extraordinary. My destination was the much talked about South India. I felt the best way to experience the essence of the country was to actually live and work with the local people. So when the opportunity to go to India arose, I accepted the challenge with relish.