Two testimonies of volunteering in India

Volunteering is always a unique experience . We have already told you about it in previous articles, where we have told you stories and related direct testimonies from people who have experienced it in different parts of the planet. One of the places where volunteering provides one of the most unique experiences – due to its culture, its customs, its way of life, its contrasts… – is India . Two women, Mariona and Gemma, tell us about their experience . India © Oxfam Intermón A very personal decision Mariona had been explaining development projects to Oxfam Intermón partners for several years and felt the need to experience them first-hand . “I decided to go to India. I was attracted by the richness and religious and cultural diversity of the country. Once there I met with several organizations that worked in different sectors to understand what volunteering needs they had and assess if I could contribute something. Finally I collaborated with Creative Handicrafts , an organization of fair trade women producers in the mornings and in the afternoons with Akanksha , an NGO that supports boys and girls in the slums of Mumbai. Gemma is a publicist, she had nothing to do with this world . However, she has always thought that “ we are all responsible for the well-being of others and that our duty as a human being is to contribute to ensuring that all people have a dignified life.

That's why she decided to change her profession and make her work have a social purpose. She had to wait two years for a project to emerge that fit her profile. It happened in conjunction with the Vicente Ferrer Foundation and that experience was what would end up changing the course of her professional life . “I remember receiving an email,” says Gemma. “It was short, 3 lines, but with a clear message: they had a place for me but they asked me for a minimum commitment Albania Mobile Number List of six months.” Everyday life as a volunteer in India Mariona lived in Mumbai, in Andheri East. It is a neighborhood in which slums mix with residential areas for the middle class. “The building we lived in was very normal,” she remembers. “However, we were surprised to see rats walking around the stairs at any time of the day. Every morning some girls came by our house to pick up the trash. It was their job to select what they could resell.” Gemma's destination was Anantapur. “Life on campus was like an oasis in the desert, it was like living in a little bubble. It had the minimum but necessary amenities to make my stay comfortable. “If I wanted to be in touch with real life I had to get out and go to the city.



Things I had to adapt to was not having leisure,” Gemma continues. “She only took Sundays off and dedicated them to resting, washing clothes (by hand) and reading. I remember with nostalgia and affection the long conversations and evenings I spent with the rest of my Spanish colleagues (most of them volunteers) who at that moment became my family.” The best and the worst From any experience, in which there are usually moments of everything, there is always a positive side and another that, sometimes, may not be so positive, but in any case it always brings with it a learning experience . On this question, Gemma and Mariona tell us the best and worst of their volunteering. Do you want to meet him? For Mariona, the worst thing about Bombay is the inequality . “It is the city of Bollywood, but at the same time the city in which hundreds of thousands of people live in poverty , many of them entire families living on the streets.” “On the other hand,” Mariona continues, “it is hard to see how difficult it is to get women to realize their rights and be able to demand them . Right to choose a profession, to their physical integrity, to be respected.” The hardest moment came when Mariona's husband, who was with her in the country, fell ill. “We went to a hospital and had to adapt to the reality of the country . Before treating him, we went out to buy medicines. We did not understand the system very well, since after giving us a diagnosis they sent us to another private center.