Think how awesome our volunteers are to travel from the farthest corners of the globe, crossing miles of oceans, leaving behind the comfort of their homes just to shower some love on India and Indians, really what’s not there to love about them!?
We at Volunteering India are fans of our founders, for, in the 14 fantastic years of the existence of this amazing organization, we’ve had the delight of welcoming hundreds and thousands of volunteers, each with their own unique take on life. And somewhere along the way they have even rubbed off some of their passions onto us and have helped us in becoming the traveling maestros we are today! Impacting the lives of underprivileged children, preaching the true meaning of literacy, empowering womenkind, our volunteers have really got the Midas Touch when it comes to social impact.
When thinking of reasons for loving our volunteers, they are multitudinous and impossible to synthesize in a single blog post. But since we have already decided to write an ode to our remarkable bunch of volunteers, why not divulge the top reasons of why we simply can’t ever have enough of these extraordinary people!
#1 Our Volunteers are Do-gooders at heart
Volunteering is a noble act in itself and it needs good-hearted people at its foundations to truly understand the meaning of it and also the magnitude of the impact it can make. Always keep in mind that your intentions matter and it can make or break your volunteering experience. And so far the volunteers that we have welcomes had the best of intentions in their hearts and have worked like whiz kids when it came to bringing positive impact in the community. And we know the same passion has trickled down through the generations of volunteers that have come aboard, even the ones that are planning for a volunteering journey to India with us in 2018 as well.
#2 They are really flexible
Our volunteers are never the ‘Negative Nelly’ and always the bright and fun ‘Positive Polly’ when they are traveling. As every traveler would say, getting uncomfortable and wandering out of your comfort zone is a big part of your experience on the outbound. And no, here we are not talking about how limber our volunteers are but rather how adaptable they are to changes. Be it in their style of living, eating, or even the most basic of things- the kind of restrooms that they are gonna use, they welcome the change as a part of their experience in India and make the best of what they have got in their hands. From Dal Roti and Sabzi for food to shared beds and shared bathrooms in the volunteer houses, we simply love how our volunteers adapt to these changes.
#3 They are really good at mixing with the locals and making new friends
Come weekends, our volunteers put on their traveling pants and adventure hats and head out on their own to explore India. From taming the busy bustling streets of Delhi to the quaint hilly corners in Palampur, from a historical walk in Agra to checking out the traditional food scene in Jaipur, their travel cells kick into full throttle during the weekends. And the best part about their travel stories are the people, more so the locals that they meet along the way and how delightfully they mix in with them.
Hanging out with the locals (even the local animals) and sharing their travel insights is something that our volunteers enjoy thoroughly and what we love about this whole process is the lovely bond that they build with them. Some even go back with awesome friendships that are gonna last a lifetime. Their exchanges with the people no matter where they are traveling and the way in which they share their precious experiences with them is one of the many reasons we seriously crush on our volunteers.
#4 They go full throttle on cultural immersion
India is a culturally extravagant country and whenever anyone thinks of traveling in India, full-on cultural immersion is right at the top of the list. And in this case, our volunteers are also similar minded. Diversity echoes through every corner of India and it is this cultural diversity that our volunteers get keen on soaking up during their travels with us.
Some of their favorite activities when exploring India has been visiting cultural festivals, celebrating Holi with the locals (which is just a week away now and our present volunteers are prepping hard to get colors thrown at them), eating local food, local homestays, shopping from the amazing local thrift markets, donning a traditional attire, like a saree or a salwar suit maybe- when it comes to cultural immersion while exploring India, our volunteers do that in full gear. And what we love most about it is the joy that they get out learning more about delving deeper into the exotic culture of a country that is a world apart from their own.
#5 They have dinners together like a tight-knit family
During their volunteering tenure in India, our do-gooders share a volunteer house. Shared living is not everyone’s cup of tea or so we’ve heard but we’ve never seen anyone rocking shared living as our volunteers do. Living under the same roof with 20 people (max capacity) at a time, the prangs of sharing bathrooms in the morning when everyone is prepping to leave for their volunteer work and rushing to be on time- it might sound a bit difficult but our volunteers work it like a breeze. And the loveliest thing about living together in the volunteer house is that every night, without a fail the volunteers gather at the dinner table, all together and have dinner like a huge, tight-knit family. It is true what they say, a family that eats together stays together, and our volunteers sure go by this saying word for word. And they do make a really cute family, our volunteers!
#6 Fun is their middle name
And it is word by word true! These people are a hearty, fun-loving bunch and their energy is truly infectious. Every night in the volunteer house is a laughing riot and every one of our volunteers bring their own unique flavor of fun into the equation. And their fun tactics aren’t just limited to the volunteer house. They bring their own flavors of fun into their place of work as well, into the projects they work in and bring unadulterated smiles and joy to everyone involved. And they simply love spending time with them, especially the little bundle of joys in the teaching and street children programs- our volunteers totally revolutionize the meaning of fun with them with dancing, music, fun game and much more!
#7 We simply can’t get enough of their awesome travel photography
As our Instagram feed is evident, our volunteers are no less than any other travel photographers. One look at their pictures and we are readily transported to a happy place of travel. From beautiful landscape pictures while on a trek to majestic clicks in front of the Taj Mahal, from funny pictures with a monkey on their shoulder to fun group pictured with their fellow volunteers- they are sure to give you some serious travel goals.
#8 Responsible traveling is deeply imbibed in them
Understanding the impact that travelers have, be it environmentally or culturally, on the people and places that they are visiting pivotal. More so now because travel has become a trend now and many people forget about the impact they might leave on a place in the rush of their travels. But our magical volunteers truly understand the depth of the term called Responsible Traveling and we simply love them for their travel wisdom. Giving back to the people, the community or the place- from all of whom you’re getting much more in terms of experience and exploration, is indeed fulfilling. And no matter their traveling experience, our volunteers prove every time that they are legit born travelers!
#9 They like living on the edge
Be it Paragliding in the Himalayas, or rafting the rapids in Rishikesh, or going on high altitude treks in Himachal or even a solo camping trip in the hills- our volunteers like living on the edge and we love their thrill loving spirit. Living out loud is what they preach during their volunteering experience in India and we love being all the way with them as they go on about ticking one after another bucket list activities ticked.
#10 Bottomline- They are simply AWESOME!
They are awesome in whatever they do, however they are and every new volunteer adds new points to our love quotient!
Having said all of this we just want to say we love all of you and we can’t find more joy in anything other than adding to our huge family of volunteers. And trust us, it’s a fun family where you’ll be enjoying equal doses of love, travel, food, adventure, people, animals, places and driving social impact along with it all.
Ready to be the breeze of change in India and to make a difference. Sign up TODAY!