Placement: Jaipur Orphanage, India

About the Placement

Would you like to do something different this year? Why not come and help out at a small orphanage run by a very remarkable woman, and do something for the underprivileged in Jaipur in the heart of Rajasthan.



Currently home to 27 orphans and poor hostel children, this building has an incredible history. It is the story of one woman’s struggle against all odds to do something for the underprivileged.



This project started in 2005 as a piece of land with a tiny tin shed, 8 orphans and a yoga nun. When she left the orphanage and school she had been running to strike out on her own, she was only assisted by a single volunteer, who had helped her buy a piece of land for the new project. Eight of the orphans from the original home decided to go with her to live in the tin shed with no water and no toilet. In the space of only two years this shed was transformed into a two storey building, though by October 2008, it still had no doors or windows. Now it has not only doors and windows, but security grills and waterproof paint, thanks to the courage and determination.



Environment

The orphanage is situated in a recently constructed housing colony in a green area of Jaipur. Jaipur, also known as the pink city due to the pink rock from which its walls are built, is a popular tourist centre in Rajasthan. It is famous for its cloth and silver markets, as well as for its beautiful temples and castles which are still inhabited by rajas. Although the town is prosperous, there are plenty of slum areas and pockets of need.



Right now we only need volunteers to help take care of the children, tutoring the big ones and playing with the small ones, but in the future we hope to also start a slum school and will ask our volunteer to help with that too.

Role of Volunteer

We accept only females or couples.



How you can help

When you come to stay with us, you join our family for the time you are there, sharing our joys and sorrows, learning from our culture and teaching us about yours. And most of all, you will gain a place in our hearts...when you leave, our children will never forget you and will request you to come back again and again.







What to expect

The construction of our building is not complete, and we still need some help with fundraising to be able to complete the upstairs floor, so accommodation and facilities are basic. We would like our volunteer to help us with this as well as teach the children spoken English. In India the children only learn to read and write English but never learn to talk it! We want to remedy this. In India rote learning is the norm and hundreds of bored pupils stream out of schools every day, burdened with books and with hours of homework ahead of them. Many also spend a lot of money on tutors in an effort to make up for the defects in the teaching system. As we cannot afford tutors for our orphans, we would love it if you teach the kids songs, dances, etc etc. If you wish, you can learn to cook Indian style and help out in the kitchen when you are free or take the children out on an occasional excursion...they would love that!



Cost

Approx Euros 300 for first month and Euros 100 for subsequent months

Travel Information

No travel information provided.

Photo Gallery

our children on their beds