Media Centre for Volunteer in Ghana

Joanna Marlow

My experience working as a volunteer on this project is one not to be forgotten. From the point of arrival in Delhi to leaving our cosy Bedla apartment for the final time 2 months later, the period in between proved to be a great one!

The initial orientation programme that took us from Delhi to Udaipur via Jaipur constituted an insightful 5 days. Spending a few days exploring the delights of the beautiful city of Jaipur, witnessing how the 'other half' of India so to speak, live by staying with a very welcoming middle-upper class Indian host family was a great way to start the trip. Within those few days, we attended lectures on Indian history and culture focusing predominantly on Rajasthani culture, allowing us to gain a fractional understanding of the society in which we were about to immerse ourselves.

Arriving in Udaipur, we were met by the other volunteers and taken to our apartment located just outside of the city in a small village named Bedla. From thereon, the many events that were to follow seemed to make the time pass far too quickly!

Teaching at Temple school was obviously the most time-consuming, involving a lot of lesson preparation and mental commitment, yet was the most rewarding. My class of kids, comprising 9, were a gorgeous, happy and smiling bunch despite their unimaginably impoverished lifestyles. Teaching was broken up by community visits and being involved in the national Polio Campaign which felt good to be part of.

Outside the teaching schedule, the series of workshops provided at the apartment were interesting and fun. In spite of the early start at 6am, the week of intensive yoga classes proved to be highly beneficial, having learnt, by the end of the week, a lot more about yoga and feeling significantly more toned! The cookery lessons conducted by our in-house cook (who, incidentally, provided us with many yummy meals) were also great leaving me with many Indian recipes under my belt!

However, the Hindi lessons I would say were the most invaluable in terms of being integrated into Indian culture. By picking up only a little meant that the communication with the kids at school was made a lot easier and enabled you to minimally converse (after their initial shock and amusement!) with the locals.

The mini expedition also included in the programme was brilliant, needless to say, the camel trek, being the highlight! Having explored and shopped around the colourful and extensive market of the beautiful golden city of Jaisalmer, we were taken by jeep to the edge of the Thar Desert where we hopped on our camels and meandered around the desert, ending up at our base camp. That night was spent dancing to folk music performed by traditional Rajasthani folk musicians and sleeping under the beautifully clear and starry desert sky.

My 2 months spent on this project not only enabled me to be part of a project that is of immense importance for the education of under-privileged tribal children, but also allowed me to gain a deep insight into the paradoxical and fascinating state of today's cultural society in India. By living in Udaipur, an overwhelmingly beautiful and mystical city, i was able to be marginally integrated into, and achieve a slight understanding of, the Indian way of life, subsequently leaving me with a thirst to see and experience the many more cultural delights that India has to offer!