Street Children Volunteer India

Before joining the program all of the questions that i asked were answered. My emails were always returned in very short time.
The program manager was there on my arrival to pick me from Jaipur Airport. I loved the kids that i worked with ! The staff was also helpful. Especially i would say the biggest challenge was the language barrier.
Host family were very nice.Meals were great especially.The family was very kind to me and were generous enough to let myself and other volunteers participate in their families Diwali celebration.
Project Coordinator was very helpful and kind. I felt like i could talk to him.He answered any question that i asked. He also bring me to his home and i have chance to dinner with his family. His mom is a nice cook.
I would definetly recommed this program to everyone.

I attended volunteering with India this past July, and had an amazing experience. I was put in with teenage boys, ages 12 to 18. These boys were incredible. They were so respectful, eager to learn, and once you got them out of their comfort zone’s super silly! The staff was staff was absolutely supportive, our host family equally. We got a ride every day to and from school with Totaram in his tuktuk. There is never a moment where I felt unsafe. Entering the classroom, there were no formal lesson plans to teach English. That was a challenge. But, I’ve been to school so I was able to tap into my memories and getting the hang of teaching. I would absolutely recommend this program. I only did it for two weeks and it definitely felt like not enough, if I were to redo it I would go for three or four weeks

Thank you to VWI for such an amazing experience in Jaipur. I participated in the street children project for two weeks teaching English and mathematics. The staff from all the projects is very professional, helpful and friendly which makes it very easy to adapt to the organization. Every morning the taxi driver picks you up and takes you to the school. There you will spend the morning with the children, teaching them basic subjects and doing many activities such as playing, crafts and dancing with them. This was the most rewarding part of the experience. In the afternoons, you have free time to visit the city or do other activities. One evening I went to another project for women empowerment to help them develop skills such as sewing, doing henna drawings or learning English. The staff members are very flexible and accommodating so you can profit 100 per cent of all their organization. If you want to learn about Indian culture and traditions, this is the best way to do it. During the volunteer program you will live with an Indian family where you will be able to get to know their traditions, religion, food…. The host family is very welcoming and helpful. For instance, we were made part in the Sister’s day celebration with the family this special occasion. In the weekends VWI staff also organizes some sightseeing activities to do some tourism around Jaipur. It was really fun as you can spend as much time as you like at the different forts, palaces with other volunteers.
I would definitely recommend for future volunteers to work with the children and women empowerment project

I recently volunteered to teach English and math at the school for street kids. It was a great experience to work with the kids. They were eager to learn and loved to play games and interact with me and the other teachers. The guest house was a nice accommodation and in a very good location to see things in Jaipur during free hours. The only strange thing is the curfew hours, I'm not really used to that as an adult but it wasn't too much of a problem. I wish I would have planned more time to stay because working with the kids was very rewarding and I was able to establish good relationships with several of them in a very short amount of time. The work being done is very important and allows an opportunity to make potentially a life long impact on their lives. I highly recommend the program and would suggest planning some teaching games or activities in advance to make the most of the experience."

I participated in the Street Children Program through Volunteering With India, and every minute of the program was incredible. From the moment I arrived in Jaipur I felt at home. Sukret met me at the airport and drove me to my host family's home. Every morning our host family prepared a wonderful breakfast for us, before our driver (Tota Ram- who is amazing!!) would pick us up and take us to the school to teach and play with the children. Teaching the boys English was the highlight of my trip! Everyday they are eager to learn and excited to play new games. The boys greeting us with smiles each morning made for a really rewarding experience. I also learned how to cook chapati, while helping prepare lunch for the boys one day. Govind and Sukret are so kind and helpful with guiding you throughout the entire experience. My host family left an imprint on my heart - my trip would not have been the same without them. Thanks to my host family, I was able to see Jaipur and Indian culture through an authentic perspective. I learned a lot about traditional food, Hinduism, family practices, fun local activities like flying kites. One night I went to the local temple with one of the family members. I will never forget how welcome my host family made me feel - they will forever be extended-family in my heart. I also became close with my fellow volunteers, and have made new friends for life. I will definitely stay in touch with everyone from the program, the entire experience was unforgettable. I will be back. If you are considering this program, don't think twice - just sign up!

In February 2016 I finally had the chance to visit India. It was a big dream since I was a little kid, but I never had the time to go. Since I took a whole year free before going to university in Zürich I decided to go volunteer. While I was searching online for an organization I got in touch with an old high school friend which told me about this organization in Jaipur. She went there last year and told me about her good experience. My parents were scared to let me go to India all alone, especially since I'm a girl and I have never been there. After several conversations I could finally convince them and I started to prepare myself for this big trip. I was really excited, since I went already to teach a few weeks before in a local school in Zambia. I knew though it would be different this time, because we would be taking care of a whole class ourselves.
As soon as I arrived at the airport Sukret was waiting for outside as promised. He brought me to the guest house I would be spending the next 3 weeks. The location for the house was amazing and the family was really nice. I needed a bit time thought, to get used to the spicy food. :)
Felipe, the other volunteer staying in the guest house during my time, and me, became really good friends, he even came to visit me in Europe a few weeks ago and at the moment I am planning to go visit him in his Hometown in Colombia.
The teaching was a bit hard at first, because we didn’t had enough help from the staff. We had a schedule to follow, like first math then english etc but they didn’t gave us any instructions for the subjects itself. After a few days we started to be creative and organized our own schedule. It was funny that after a few weeks exactly this became one of the positive parts of teaching. Since we didn’t had any instructions on what we had to teach we were really free and could take for example enough time for each student on any task we gave them. We could create our classes really fun to make the boys learn in a creative way.
Surprisingly I must say, that I felt really safe during my whole stay in Jaipur. Whenever we needed some help Govind, Sukret and the house family were free to help us or even drive us somewhere.
I hope that I will have the opportunity again to visit India and whenever I do, I will make sure that I can pass by in Jaipur and say hi to everyone.

I was a total newbie when it comes to travelling. Deep inside, I felt excited but nervous at the same time. However, I had no regrets on taking part of the volunteering programmes in Jaipur. The people who I worked with made it so much easier to settled in the place and their reliability made me feel confident that I would enjoy every bit of my experience in Jaipur. The guest house was cheap yet the service was good. I have enjoyed their vegetarian meals and the hospitality that the family has presented whilst staying in the house. Even though I only had a week of volunteering, I thought that I have learned so many things that haven't even crossed in my mind. Working with elephants made me aware of their situation and I am proud that I have taken care of their welfare. I have also enjoyed working with children, teaching them English alphabet and addition and subtraction. I feel that my small efforts on being there with them and interacting with have contributed to their personal growth and hopefully, these children would be successful as they can be. The city itself is full of attraction such as palaces and forts that made me love India more. I wish I had stayed a bit longer and I am sure that there's more to explore. Being a first timer, I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone regardless of their background

Volunteering in Jaipur for two weeks gave me new perspective on many levels. Living with a lovely family showed me how the culture lives and worships. I enjoyed their food and hospitality. Talking to different members of the family and hearing their views on daily life. The similarities and differences. I remember watching their version of America's Got Talent. Working in the orphanages teaching english and music to the boys was very rewarding and fun. I felt close to these kids after only spending a week with them. Sharing different kinds of music they had never heard before and teaching them about instruments they had never seen was exciting. The smiles from these kids lifted my heart and mind and I didn't want to leave.