Community Development in Rajasthan

  India

Jaipur,  Shimla

Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: Please Visit our Website for updates

Description: This is a short term project with long term results. By motivating a community to clean up their village, repair and build schools and community centers, and educate the members on the importance of health and hygiene, volunteers are able to make an impact that lasts longer than their stay in India. The hope is for the community to continue teaching the young about sanitation and other health issues even after volunteers return home.

Actual activities of the volunteers vary depending on the village you are helping. In general, volunteers work alongside community members to assist with the refurbishment of day care centers, primary schools, community centers and even homes of local families.

Volunteers will be painting, planting, gardening, picking up trash, and building or repairing structures throughout the village, while at the same time, encouraging villagers to value and continue the efforts. Volunteers will also motivate groups of children in the village to pick up garbage and help maintain gardens. Social development work can also be incorporated by educating the village about health issues.

Highlights: Volunteers will be picked up from the airport in Delhi and stay the first night in a hotel arranged by Greenheart Travel. Participants will then travel to Agra and visit the Taj Mahal. Later in the day, volunteers will travel to their "base-camp" near the project and begin their orientation that will address cultural differences, health and safety, local customs and language, as well as any additional information you will need to know for your project.

Additional Activities

Himachal Program

    * Visit to Amritsar, holy city of Sikh religion
    * 2 day excursion to McLeod Ganj, home to Dalai Lama (3 week volunteers only)
    * One week of morning yoga sessions
    * English translator nearby

Rajasthan Program

    * Tiger Safari
    * Visit to Hindu town of Pushkar with a desert camel ride (3 week volunteers only)
    * One week of morning yoga sessions
    * English translator nearby

*All transportation to/from the exclusions is included.

Qualifications: There is no language requirement for this project. The ability to work well in a team setting is necessary.

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Greenheart Travel volunteers are all ages and come from diverse backgrounds. All are caring, flexible individuals who are interested in an authentic cultural experience rather than a typical tourist experience.

Age Range: 18 and up

This Program is open to American and Canadian Participants.

Participants Travel to India Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Written Application

Greenheart Travel's Mission Statement: Greenheart Travel is a division of the Center for Cultural Interchange. Founded in 1985, the Center for Cultural Interchange (CCI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of cultural understanding, academic development and world peace. Greenheart is CCI's way of promoting the health and welfare of the earth and its people through cultural exchange, ethical travel, responsible consumerism, and community service.

Year Founded: 1985