Care & Community - INDIA Volunteer Stories

Hannah Headden

Care in India

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. I was doubtful that a placement could be arranged with such short notice but contacted the Projects Abroad team anyway.

The team could not have been more helpful with all my questions - I was reassured that a placement could be organised in the time I'd given them although I may have to flexible about what placement I'd be on and was offered a placement at an orphanage in Tamil Nadu. I would be working and living in an Ashram that was not only an orphanage for children aged 3 - 18 years old but also a Care Home for old people (and practically a small farm - chickens, cows, vegetable gardens, plus a pack of domestic dogs!)

Before leaving for the placement I used my Project Abroad personal website a lot! All the information was so useful, I liked having personal pages where I could find all the essential information about the placement, accommodation, culture, insurance, flight, handbooks etc.

I arrived at Trivandrum airport early in the morning and was greeted by Pandi. I had already been contacted by the Projects Abroad team in India who had explained the pickup process and placement in detail. We waited for another volunteer from England who was arriving shortly after me and who thankfully was equally as jet lagged so understood my limited conversation and inability to stay awake.

After stopping for breakfast on the way, we arrived at the office in Sivikasi. We were introduced to the team, fed and given a comfortable bedroom to get some much needed rest. The following day, I was driven 2 hours to the placement - on the way I was introduced to another volunteer staying at the nearby model farm. Projects Abroad staff encouraged all the volunteers to keep in contact with each other either by texting or if close enough, meeting up with each other.

I had been given a daily schedule of work to look over and could see that my days would be long and full but I hadn't really thought about what it would be like to work and live at the Ashram. My days would involve caring for the younger children; getting them ready for school, helping them with their duties, teaching them English and playing with them but I was able to get involved in so much more than this. Despite speaking very little English the 4 kitchen staff allowed me to get involved with their responsibilities, I also worked with the high school children on their endless study, looked after the older people, fed the animals and more. The host family encouraged me to get involved in all aspects of the Ashram and would send me on errands to their local town (Tenkasi) with other staff members or residents of the care home.

My host family were lovely - it's really difficult to sum up my experience of staying with an Indian family. They gave me time to recover from the jet lag and gain confidence with the children, they gave me more responsibilities in the areas of work I enjoyed and generally encouraged me to make the most of my time in India. I was welcomed into their family - I was invited to attend several weddings, went on excursions to local temples and waterfalls, taken to an Indian Department store (which is an experience in itself!) to help with Dewali preparations with various family members. They also helped me to organise meeting up with other volunteers, organising transport and tickets etc.

Being on a placement for a month meant I was able to go on one of the Projects Abroad organised weekend. Tons of information was sent to me by e mail so I knew how to get there, where I could stay and what activities had been arranged for us and I was called the day before to check if there was anything else I wanted to know or needed help with. The weekend was a good opportunity to meet up with other volunteers and swap stories. It was also good to see more of the country and to get away for the weekend - living and working at the same place was quite demanding.

I was in constant contact with the Projects Abroad office, who telephoned, e mailed and sent texts every few days. It was reassuring to know that they were there to answer any questions or sort out any problems that I may have.

The month went very quickly and on the day before I left the Ashram the host mother suggested a short walk by the local waterfalls before breakfast. So at the crack of dawn, about 20 high school girls and female staff piled into the minivan and set off for a 'short walk'. Thankfully I'd worn trainers (unlike the girls who had come bare foot) because after a 2 hour trek up a mountain we reached the first lookout point!

The view was amazing and the last resting point (an hour later) was worth the physical exertion at that time of the day. When standing on the side of a mountain with a waterfall running next to me, 20 screaming women dousing each other with water and a temperature around 35°, it was difficult to imagine that in under 5 days time I'd be back in my office working and that it would be the beginning of autumn. It was a fantastic way to finish off my experience in India and I was touched that my host mother had arranged something so memorable for me.

For anyone thinking of volunteering in India - I say do it! You won't regret it but nor will you ever be truly prepared for warmth of the Indian culture and people. I can't explain how much you will be welcomed by pretty much everyone you come into contact with; everyone will want to know your life history and everyone will want to give you tea or something to eat (prepare to be constantly full because meals are huge, then there's tea drinking and a lot of snacking). Food is definitely an integral part of Indian families and culture - you won't go anywhere without being offered a banana or cup of tea.

I had a fantastic month on a rewarding placement and with a lovely family, I was able to experience another culture and country and meet other volunteers (some of who I have been in contact with after returning home.)

I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity and experience of volunteering abroad and I'm very grateful to everyone at Projects Abroad and at the placement who made my time in India really special.

Mary Watkins

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