Overview
Volunteers working under the Disabled Care Volunteer Program in India serve at organizations helping the mentally challenged, children with multiple disabilities and autistic children. Volunteers can help out in a range of activities at the project. The project has three centers, namely the Special Education Center, Skill Development Center and Autism Center. Volunteers can be placed at any of the three placements while volunteering for the disabled children in India.
Information on the centers is given below:-
Skill Development Centre – The center aims to develop vocational skills among the disabled youth to improve their quality of life. Besides vocational training, the students are given therapeutic interventions (like speech and occupational therapy) and are involved in extracurricular activities like dance, music, etc. Some of the vocational training activities include Baking, Paper Bag, and Envelope Making, Clay Modelling, Tailoring, Candle Making, Book Binding, Computer training.
Special Education Centre – The Special Education Centre focuses on the overall development of the children depending on individual needs. Student assessments are done by special educators and also alternative strategies and therapies are given which include speech therapy and other multi-sensory activities.
Autism Centre – It is a full-fledged special school dedicated to autistic. Intervention is offered to children with severe needs including autistic spectrum disorders and multiple disabilities. There is an occupational therapy clinic which provides multi-sensory therapy for different sensations.
Participants can work from Monday – Friday for 5-6 hrs in a day.
Program Requirements
Volunteers must be 17 years or older at the time of joining the project. You need to have an open mind and a flexible attitude for working in a new and different environment. The volunteer should bring energy and enthusiasm to make a difference. Volunteers with experience in special education would have an added advantage. Participants must be fit and healthy at the time of joining the program. Participants should have no criminal convictions and should provide a clean criminal background check report. A parental consent form shall be required for Under 18 participants joining the program.
Volunteer Roles & Responsibilities
There is a different range of activities for the volunteers to extend their helping hand under this program. This includes work such as;
- Assisting the staff with routine duties.
- Help in improving the effectiveness of the staff.
- Teach specialized skills to students.
- Create new and innovative ways to make children participate in various activities.
- Spend time with these children to provide them love, affection, and care which they need the most.
Volunteers must note that the Project is closed during the month of June and for a short break during the end of December/early Jan for Christmas/New Year.
Volunteer Work Schedule
Volunteers joining the disabled care program in India are required to follow a basic routine on a daily basis. This covers everything from meals to volunteer work and back. It must be noted that every placement functions at a different pace and on separate timelines making the schedule slightly differ at times. A generic daily schedule for volunteers is as follows;
- Sunday: Arrival in Delhi
- Monday: Orientation + neighborhood familiarization tour. The orientation session will
- be conducted by the local coordinator, covering topic areas; such as safety, culture, language, places to visit, behavior, food, and other suggestion over things to do in Delhi. Those who chose the Language and Orientation Week will carry on with the same for the entire, rest of the volunteers will begin their volunteer work from Tuesday.
- Tue to Fri: Volunteer work
- Breakfast - 08:30 am onwards
- Working hours at the placement - 10:00 am (volunteers leave the accommodation by 09:30 am) to 04:00 pm
- Lunch - anywhere between 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm (volunteers have to manage lunch on their own expense)
- Dinner - 06:00 pm onwards
The same volunteer work schedule continues from the second week onwards
Weekends: Free to explore the city (No meal is provided on Sunday, as volunteers are encouraged to try the local cuisines.)
Note: Please note, the schedule may vary depending on the particular project the volunteer is participating on.
Living
When you choose to volunteer in Delhi, we make sure that your altruistic journey is comfortable and enjoyable. As a VolSol volunteer, you will not have to worry about the airport pick up, your accommodation or your stay.
Airport Transfer
Volunteers are picked up from the Indira Gandhi International Airport by a member of the local coordinating team in Delhi. Pickup will be provided between 6:30am - 10pm on the program start date. Participants already in country or arriving early can also be picked up from a designated meeting point decided beforehand as well.
Accommodation
While volunteering in Delhi you would be staying at one of our Volunteer home base in South Delhi. The accommodations are neat and clean and provide volunteers a home away from home experience. Our homes are equipped with wifi internet, filtered drinking water, geysers, air conditioning, satellite television, modern toilets and comfortable beds. The homes are close to useful amenities like banks, ATMs, currency ex-changers, restaurants, cafes and shopping arcades. All placements are around 10 - 30 minutes from the homes and volunteers travel to the placements everyday and come back home in the evenings.
Orientation
A half day orientation will be provided by our staff on the next day after your arrival. We cover areas like culture, greetings, locations, transportation etc. Start your volunteering experience by taking the 1 week Language & Culture Orientation Program in Delhi.
Meals
Indian food is famous around the world for its diverse flavours, colors and aroma. While staying at the homes, you would be provided with freshly cooked breakfast and dinner, we have cooks at the home who prepare meals for the volunteers. A sample of the meals you can expect are mentioned below.
Breakfast - Parantha, Bread, Tea (chai), Jam, Butter, Porridge etc.
Dinner - Dal (lentils), vegetable, rice, roti (indian bread), pickle, yogurt may be provided along with some sort of curry.
For lunch volunteers usually eat somewhere close to their placement at a local restaurant, our coordinators would show you around at the time of orientation. This also gives you a chance to eat a variety of food that India has to offer. You would be able to have a comfortable lunch for around $3-$4.
During Your Free Time
During the free time volunteers can visit the local markets, visit internet cafes and the different restaurants in Delhi and try out the different Indian cuisines. During weekends volunteers visit the neighboring states of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. Our specialised Travel Desk can help you to book tours to any part of India or to neighbouring countries like Nepal or Sri Lanka.
Program Cost
Please Note: -An application fee of $199 is charged over and above the program fee as an application payment. (A 4% international banking fee is charged at the time of payment)
What are you Paying for?
- 24 hrs Assistance and support from staff
- Comprehensive Pre- Departure Information
- Pick up from the airport
- Orientation
- Food (2-3 times a day)
- Accommodation
- Travel & Medical Insurance (Available at an extra cost)
- Certificate Of Completion (Upon Request)
What's NOT included?
- Airfare
- Return Trip to Airport (Can be arranged at extra cost)
- Local Transportation
- Visa Fees
- Vaccinations
Program Dates
| Months | 2021 | 2022 |
| January | - | 0216 |
| February | - | 0620 |
| March | - | 0620 |
| April | - | 0317 |
| May | - | 0115 |
| June | - | 0519 |
| July | - | 031731 |
| August | - | 14 |
| September | - | 0418 |
| October | 0317 | 0216 |
| November | 0721 | 0620 |
| December | 0519 | 0418 |
FAQ's
FAQ's Application and Program Details
Volunteers must be 17 years or older at the time of joining the project. Medical Program volunteers must be at least 18 at the time of joining.
16-year-old volunteers can participate in Childcare projects with a Letter of Consent from their parents.
Volunteers need to have an open mind and flexible attitude for working in a new and different environment.
Participants must be in good health.
India is a country of different cultures and traditions, though it is modernized, the cultural sensitivities need to be kept in mind before volunteering in India. The volunteers should bring energy and enthusiasm to make a difference.
Volunteering Solutions India program has hosted large student groups as well as families coming to volunteer in the program. We have hosted groups from universities in UK, Europe, and USA as well as other countries, in Delhi.
To add to the project experience, you can also join the Language and Orientation Week in Delhi before beginning the program. It's an optional week, besides that we recommend participants to brush up their Hindi skills (learn basic terms and phrases, greetings) before traveling.
Flights and Visa
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air India, Jet Airways, Etihad Airways, United Airlines, Swiss Air, KLM Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Austrian, Air France, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Finn Air.
Health and Safety
If you already have a valid Travel and Medical insurance, you can email us a copy of the same. It is also advised to bring along the Insurance documents during your trip.
Accommodation and Living
You will be told about the directions to the project from your accommodation as well as the best and the most affordable mode of transport you can use. Volunteers use a variety of modes of transport to commute to different locations in Delhi. Major modes of transport are Delhi Metro and auto rickshaw (tuk-tuk?).
On Sunday, volunteers eat out and explore the different gastronomical delights that Delhi has to offer. Accommodation is shared amongst volunteers on the ‘same gender sharing’ basis rooms. Air conditioning facility is provided during the night in the volunteer home accommodations. Wifi internet is also available for volunteers’ convenience. Some volunteers are also provided accommodation in the project premises itself. For example - volunteers working in orphanage project can be provided accommodation in the project premises itself in a separate room that is allotted for volunteers. All meals will be provided to the volunteers in that case.
Connect with Past Volunteers
Volunteers can also view the volunteer testimonials of Delhi program participants by clicking here.
