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 Volunteer Travel
during summer 2008 and immerse in the cultural
journey in the heart of cultural India in the
capital of Delhi. The journey will start in
Delhi with a week long cultural orientation week
followed by volunteering work with street children
for 2 weeks. You get to work
with local people, helping them hand to hand for
the upliftment of children of the downtrodden
society. You would work 5 days a week teaching
street children basic conversational English in
the heart of Delhi.
Volunteering Solutions Summer 2008 Delhi - India program
will provide you with a great cultural and volunteering
experience of a lifetime.
After learning language, culture and volunteering in Delhi
with street children for 2 weeks you would head out for a
1 week tour around the Golden Triangle, exploring Taj
Mahal, the Agra Fort in Agra and seeing the local cultures
and forts of Rajasthan in Jaipur.
Detailed
Program itinerary is given below:
Program Details & Itinerary
DAY 1:
(Arrival in Delhi & welcome)
Arrival at Delhi airport/railway
station/bus stand.
Pickup and transfer to volunteer’s home.
17:00 Pickup from volunteer’s home
17:30 Assemble in Office/House
17:30 – 18:30 Chai and welcome at partner office (group introduction, discussion of
orientation and misc. matter)
18:30 Transfer to volunteer’s home
Orientation
Day 1 :
Welcome to India,
introduction to the program help in Delhi, safety
issues, basic culture and history about India. Also
learn about your weeks program and details about your
volunteering program in India to follow after this week.
Day 2:
History, culture and traditional insight about India
followed with Hindi
language class for 2 hours. Learn basic letters and
words of welcoming, greeting, short expressions, as well
as learn about important and handy words whici would
help you while at work in your placement. You would get
a chance to explore by yourself around Delhi in the
evening. Your coordinator would guide you about the best
places to go and visit.
Day 3:
Hindi language class
continues for 3 hours, more extensive words, sentences
and expressions. Explore the local markets in the
evening time .
Day 4:
Discover
Delhi -
Go on a
guided tour to Delhi's most visited tourist spots. This
would be a full day tour of New Delhi included with a
lunch at a restaurant. The places you would visit are:
 India
Gate - At the centre of New Delhi stands the 42 m
high India Gate, an "Arc-de-Triomphe" like archway in
the middle of a crossroad. Almost similar to its French
counterpart, it commemorates the 70,000 Indian soldiers
who lost their lives fighting for the British Army
during the World War I. The memorial bears the names of
more than 13,516 British and Indian soldiers killed in
the Northwestern Frontier in the Afghan war of 1919.
Lotus
Temple - South East of Delhi, this temple is built in
the shape of
 a
lotus flower and is the last of seven Major Bahai's
temples built around the world. Completed in1986 it is set
among the lust landscaped gardens. The structure is made
up of pure white marble The architect Furiburz Sabha chose
the lotus as the symbol common to Hinduism, Buddhism,
Jainism and Islam. Adherents of any faith are free to
visit the temple and pray or meditate.
 Humayum's
Tomb - Located near the crossing of Mahura road and
Lodhi road, this magnificent garden tomb is the first
substantial example of Mughal architecture in India. It
was buit in 1565 A.D.nine years after the death of Humayun,
by his senior widow Bega Begam. Inside the walled
enclosure the most notable feature are the garden squares
(chaharbagh) with pathways water channels, centrally
located well proportional mausoleum topped by double dome.
 Qutab
Minar - is a soaring, 73 m-high tower of victory,
built in 1193 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak immediately after the
defeat of Delhi's last Hindu kingdom. The tower has five
distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony and
tapers from a 15 m diameter at the base to just 2.5 m at
the top. The first three storeys are made of red
sandstone; the fourth and fifth storeys are of marble and
sandstone. At the foot of the tower is the Quwwat-ul-Islam
Mosque, the first mosque to be built in India. An
inscription over its eastern gate provocatively informs
that it was built with material obtained from demolishing
'27 Hindu temples'. A 7 m-high iron pillar stands in the
courtyard of the mosque. It is said that if you can
encircle it with your hands while standing with your back
to it your wish will be fulfilled.
Day 5:
Hindi language class
3 hours, covering more words and vocabulary to help you
in daily use. In the evening explore along with your
coordinator to the local markets and then go for a Hindi
movie in the evening to see and understand it in a
visual way. Indian cinema makes more movies in a year
than Hollywood!
Day 6:
Discover Old Delhi -
go on a guided historic trail to visit old Delhi and see
beautiful historic sights, with lunch in a tradition Indian
restaurant.
 Jama
Masjid - This great mosque of Old Delhi is the largest
in India, with a courtyard capable of holding 25,000
devotees. It was begun in 1644 and ended up being the
final architectural extravagance of Shah Jahan, the Mughal
emperor who built the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. The
highly decorative mosque has three great gates, four
towers and two 40 m-high minarets constructed of strips of
red sandstone and white marble. Travellers can hire robes
at the northern gate. This may be the only time you get to
dress like a local without feeling like an outsider , so
make the most of it.
 Red
Fort - The red sandstone walls of the massive Red Fort
(Lal Qila) rise 33-m above the clamour of Old Delhi as a
reminder of the magnificent power and pomp of the Mughal
emperors. The walls, built in 1638, were designed to keep
out invaders, now they mainly keep out the noise and
confusion of the city.
 Chandini
Chowk - When the famous Mughal Emperor Shahjahan
shifted his capital from Agra to Delhi and established the
city of Shahjahanabad, he had the majestic Red Fort or Lal
Qila, on the banks of River Yamuna. Chandni Chowk was
built in 1650 AD as an accompaniment to the fort. It was
designed by Jahanara, the Emperor's favorite daughter. A
large chowk ("square") with a central pool was built at
some distance from the fort.
Day 7:
Get ready for your
volunteering program the next day or choose to visit Taj
Mahal for a day trip at an extra $50 only per person.
Day 8 - 21:
Volunteer work with street
children in the heart of Delhi.
Day 22 - 27:
Golden Triangle tour for 6 days
 Volunteers
travel by road in a a/c vehicle, accompanied by a Guide
to the famous Golden Triangle (Jaipur, Agra, Delhi).
You will stay in a 2/3 star hotel while on the tour. You
will visit some of the most exotic palaces in Jaipur including: The Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Jantar Mantar. You will also be exploring Jaipur’s famous Johary Bazar which is a shoppers paradise for hand crafted materials. After staying in Jaipur your next destination would be
Fatehpur Sikri on the way to Agra, famous for it’s Taj Mahal and Agra fort. You will see Taj Mahal which is located on the banks of river Yamuna and is a symbol of love in Indian history. You will also see the Agra Fort.
Day 28:
Back to Delhi and pack up for leaving back home after an
exciting journey in India!
Accommodation & Food
The
volunteers will stay in a flat or a volunteers house
together. The meals will also be served here. Different
facilities would be available for the volunteers in the
volunteer’s home are as follows:
Food
would be provided 3 times during orientation week.
Food
would be provided 2 times during 2 weeks of volunteering
Food
would be provided 3 times on set menu during hotel stay's
while travelling the Golden Triangle.
**No
Alcohol, soft drinks, mineral water, juices etc would be
provided during the trip.
Medical Facilities: Availability of first aid kit
and close proximity to a good hospital.
Program Cost
For the program of
4 weeks $1100
per person
(After 4 weeks of program duration for
extra per week for volunteering only $125 per week)
Cost Includes
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Following services are included:
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Meeting and pickup at the Delhi airport/railway
station/bus stand
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All
transfers with private or public transport for:
a)
Introductory week in Delhi
b) Local sightseeing programs
c) All excursions included in the programs
d) Local transport to project premises
-
Delhi
sightseeing during the introductory week.
-
Accommodation provided by Volunteering Solutions on
twin/triple sharing basis during the program.
-
All meals - during the introductory week
and working.
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Filtered water - during the introductory
week and working. All
materials such as colored pencils, paper, sports
equipment etc that are needed for the various activities
throughout the program.
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Excursion to the Golden Triangle during
last week.
-
Information for independent excursions during the
weekends
Apart from the program fee
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