Responsible Tourism

Volunteer Work with Tribal Communities in India

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Despite being a rapidly developing nation, poverty still exists in many parts of India, making community projects like this extremely invaluable. This project takes volunteers to teach basic English and Mathematics to underprivileged primary school children in a fun and playful way, giving them a better start in life through education. You will work with tribal communities in Rajasthan, north-west India - an area famed for its palaces, maharajas and exotic colours. Also included are opportunities to take part in weekly workshops, including Hindi Classes, yoga and cookery, giving you a great insight into the local way of life. At the beginning of the first month volunteers will go on an excursion, camel trekking and camping in the desert, visiting the famous desert town of Jodhpur. Volunteers also have the opportunity to finish off their placement by visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Highlights of this tour.

Working closely with tribal communities, exploring the best of Rajasthan, staying with a host family in the desert and enjoying a camel safari with them, taking in the sights of Jodhpur, getting to know the romantic city of Udaipur, learning the Indian culture from the locals in cultural workshops, a good balance of work and free time.

Example of the itinerary.

 

Volunteers work on the project from Monday to Friday and are free at weekends. Days start around 8am, with a relaxed morning having breakfast and planning your lessons for the day before you make the trip to school by rickshaw. Volunteers will teach at the schools in the morning covering mainly English and maths allowing the local teacher/s to cover the Hindi based syllabus in the afternoons.
Volunteers will return home for lunch. After lunch volunteers will take part in that week's workshop, which usually starts with Hindi classes. Then each week a new workshop will take place. After dinner volunteers are free to relax.
Side trips: All volunteers have the opportunity to explore the best of Rajasthan, such as; Agra and the Taj Mahal, a multi day safari in Ranthambore to see tigers, or a day trip to the Jain temple at Ranakpur and Kumbhalgarh Fort. These side trips can be arranged for an additional cost

The benefits you bring in taking this tour.

Local schools are understaffed and under-resourced. Sometimes a single teacher has to manage a large number of students as well as administrative duties in the school. You will help ease the work load on the teacher by teaching the students. In recent years, English was introduced into Rajasthan Government Primary Schools, but the teachers are not skilled in teaching English as a foreign language. Often their knowledge of the English language is limited, so volunteers are able to expose the students to excellent English language models.

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