Work in Orphanage in India

Project At A Glance

Location: Delhi, Jaipur Start point: Delhi End Point: Delhi Duration: 2-12 weeks Hours: 30-40 hours per week Food: Local food (3 times a day) Room: Host family or hostel Date: First and Third Monday of each month

Project Summary

The orphanages in India offer homes, education, hope and love for orphans. Volunteers in the IFRE orphanage program will primarily help children by teaching basic English and organizing creative, extra-curricular activities such as game, singing, music, drawing, etc. Resources and manpower to support orphanage programs in India are spread thin and volunteers in Indian orphanages provide relief. This program is the perfect place for volunteers who are looking for opportunities to share their love, passion and skills with very-unfortunate children who crave (and deserve) support and attention.

Skills/Qualifications Needed

There is no specific qualification needed to join the orphanage volunteer project. However, volunteers must be flexible and patient. You should have passion and love for orphans.

Volunteer Responsibilities

When you volunteer in an Indian orphanage project, you will teach English in either the orphanage or school (where kids go for day schooling). Volunteers will also help with day to day life skills, assist children as they dress properly for their day and escort them to reach school safely. Volunteers may also organize games, art lessons, singing, dancing and other creative, educational and extra-curricular activities for the children. This may include group sports training, teaching arts and crafts organizing inter-school football (soccer) or cricket matches and playing music. Volunteers may tutor for other subjects such as mathematics, world affairs, personal hygiene and nutrition. The possibilities are endless! In the evening, volunteers help the children with homework and encourage academic progress.. Some participants will assist in the care of the children who cannot yet attend school, and others may lend a hand with food distribution, kitchen work and garden maintenance.

Room/Food/Supervision

IFRE manages living accommodations, provides meals and supervision for volunteers for the entirety of their stay in India. During the volunteer period, most volunteers stay in our safe and secure home base, project hostel or host families. Our office and home base is located in Gurgaon, a beautiful city 40 miles a way of Delhi international airport. This location is very safe and manned with onsite security. It is a clean, sparsely furnished apartment but will meet all your needs as an IFRE volunteers. It is close to the local bus station. Info on amenities close by and transportation to nearby city, etc. internet café, restaurant and supermarket, local police station. This is the ideal arrangement for sharing your daily experiences with fellow volunteers and local staff. Home base bedrooms have multiple beds, so volunteers will usually share a room (same gender). Our in-country coordinator also lives at our home base to assist our volunteers 24/7.

Dependent on the season and flow of volunteers, you may be placed with a local host family or project hostel (mostly in orphanage). Our host families are socially respected and are experienced with hosting international volunteers. They have strong interest in our volunteers’ safety and well being and demonstrate this with caution and care. In most host family situations, volunteers will share a room with another volunteer of the same gender. Another viable option is an at-orphanage stay. Many orphanages in India have set aside special rooms to house international volunteers.

IFRE arranges room, food and supervision for volunteers throughout the program. All of IFRE’s cooks prepare a variety of delicious Indian food (naan, dahl and chapatti breads, curries, rice and pickles/chutneys). Details covering the arrangements for room/food are outlined in the prepared placement details. Volunteers will also have 24/7 access to IFRE's office as well as the mobile numbers of in-country coordinators. In addition, the director of the orphanage will serve as a local contact person for volunteers. IFRE's staff also visits each volunteer every 1-2 weeks as part of our program.