Progetto India,The Shelter: volunteeers
VOLUNTEER IN THE SHELTER
We are going to invite you to reflect and contemplate with us some important points of view about the volunteer experience. We would like to extend an invitation to people to come and help us, but only after deep look within themselves. Some of us here have volunteer experience among the poorest of the poor and would like to point out some facts learned through personal experience:
- The Shelter, as any other trust working for the poor, DOES NOT survive thanks to the volunteers’ presence.
Instead, the volunteer must be ready to follow the present needs of the project, following the directions of the managers.
Sometimes volunteers find that they receive a different response than expected and become frustrated.
Because of their attitude, they then become a problem and a burden to the Trust.
That is why, we are going to ask anyone who wants to come for service time to first ask him or herself if this is something
that they truly value deeply.
We are also going to ask that they reflect upon the reason they have chosen this opportunity and to fully commit to the project.
You can contact the managers directly by filling out the following Form - The volunteers must NOT weigh on the trust’s economical balance, instead, they must be a help (even economically) to the project. A private structure as The Shelter (created and surviving thanks to the help of Divine Providence and the generosity of friends and benefactors) cannot and must not use its funds to support volunteers and guests. All volunteers and guests should be able to provide for themselves. That is why we are going to ask you to provide your own ticket to and from The Shelter, and to provide for your own expenses incurred through your accommodation in the Shelter (food, electricity, water, house maintenance, transportation, and any kind of daily expense).
- Before you leave your country it is always a good idea to inform yourself about the place where you are going to stay - about customs, traditions, weather, habitat, language…. India is a very difficult country for those who are coming from the Western culture ( in terms of climate, food, mental stress…) The Shelter is based in a village and rural area, not so far from the city, but still very much rooted in the traditional ways of life. It is a really beautiful and green area, where the people still live on the fruits of their hard work and off the land. Of course a foreigner here will be stared at by everyone and subsequently judged. That is why we are going to ask anyone who wishes to be our guest and the guest of the village, to be considerate and respectful, maintaining proper behaviour at all times.
- Any volunteer in the Shelter shall follow the directions of the managers. Our Trust is for abandoned and orphan children, all of them with different backgrounds and coming from a world of poverty, abandonment, violence, drugs, illness, sexual abuse. These are children who need specific care and boundaries. The consumption of alcohol and/or tobacco anywhere on the premises is stricly prohibited. The house follows a strict schedule for the needs of the residents. That is why we are going to ask our volunteers to primarily focus on meeting our children’s daily needs while observing their schedule and giving precedence to their needs.