India
“India is vibrant and rich and full of life. It completely changed my perspective on life. I loved working in the slums, particularly with the women and the children. The projects we did truly improved their lives. I also loved visitng the Taj Mahal and experiencing the adventure of this beautiful country!”
India is vibrant and diverse in both geography and culture. The Himalayan Mountains in the north to the plains along the Ganges River, the Taj Mahal, ancient temples, camels, and forts. It is located in Southern Asia, bordered by the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and lies between Burma and Pakistan. The climate is temperate in the north but monsoon and wet in the south. India is one of the world’s most populated countries with a population of 1.2 billion, 25% of which live below the poverty line. English is the official language, but Hindi is the most widely spoken language. There are 14 other official languages. Indian cuisine is characterized by the extensive use of spices, herbs, and vegetables.
With HELP International, you can volunteer or intern abroad during the summer or during the winter/spring in Mbale, Uganda. We have a year-round program available at Hogar del Niño Orphanage in El Salvador. Individuals join our program from a wide spectrum of academic background, interests, and career goals.
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As a volunteer, you will work on a variety of different projects, varying day-by-day. HELP focuses on projects in education, public health, and business. Potential projects you may work on include:
- Building a soilet in the slums with SAPID
- Meeting with young women in empowerment groups to teach about leadership and life skills
- Public health classes in the slums
- Music lessons
- Working with a leper colony
- Classes on tobacco and alcohol
- Painting educational murals in the slums
LEPRA – Office or Lab Intern: Interns will help with administrative office work such as annual reports. Medical and technical students can work in the labs or clinics.
MV Foundation – Field Intern: Interns will be assigned a village to combat child labor and child marriage. They will also work to open the discussion on child marriage.
SKS Microfinance – Field Intern: Interns will work on projects in financial literacy, health promotion, teaching English, and microfinance. Interns will stay in SKS-provided housing.
CARPED – Field or PR Intern: Interns will focus on projects related to public health, health promotion, sanitation and hygiene, life skills, workshops, etc. Interns in photography and videography are helpful. Interns will live in housing provided by CARPED.
SAPID – Soilet Intern: Interns must have a background in engineering to strategize and create innovative solutions for waste and community development in the slums of India.
May 15 - August 15, 2013
Volunteers can spend anywhere from one month to three months in-country, between May 15 to August 15. Dates are flexible. The program cost ranges from $2,950 to $3,750. Program costs include housing, food, program director, training, and other associated costs. Does not include airfare, passport, visa, and additional food and travel expenses. It is totally possible to fundraise your entire program cost. HELP International provides various training, workshops, and resources for fundraising.
To read more details about our Summer Program, visit our volunteer abroad page.
