Uma Nivas (West Bengal)
Introduction
Do you want to really make a difference to the lives of the poor? Come on an adventure to the tribal villages of West Bengal and help teach English, math, computer studies, science or any other skills you have.
The skills that you can offer will help the desperately poor Santhal tribal children at Uma Nivas, a primary and girls’ high school with attached orphanage.
Join our children’s daily yoga and meditation sessions and develop your
full potential while helping our children to develop theirs.
Environment
Uma Nivas Project is located in Katanga Village, Purulia District, West Bengal. The primary school has around 60 boys and girls, 20 of whom are residential, while the high school has around 150 children attending. The orphanage is home to 23 girls aged between 10 and 18.
The surrounding area is populated by tribal santhals who, for the most
part, live well below the poverty line. The high school provides
subsidized, and in some cases, free education to the local children. A
school hostel accommodates around 50 girls from further a field who
cannot come on a daily basis due to lack of easy transportation.
Right now we are only providing education to the village children. In the future we want to help develop infrastructure for the villages…a mobile medical unit come ambulance, a maternity clinic to provide hygienic conditions for childbirth, wells, and much more. The people here are unimaginably poor. They need our help so much. Bring your skills and come and join us!
Management
Didi Ananda Vratiisha, the principal of the school is a very jolly person who is warm and hospitable. She's a great social worker and has been running the Uma Nivas high school for the last 10 years. She speaks very good English and will make you feel at home right away. She is also open to change and new ideas as far as the management of her project is concerned. She is also deeply respected by the local people as she really tries to help them solve their problems.
Volunteer Coordinator
Malati is originally from England, but has been working in India for over 15 years, learning about the culture, the languages and about the people. Five years ago she started a programme to help provide infrastructure to struggling village schools and has since arranged funds for many schools to help them to become self-sufficient.
Accommodation
The school can offer one medium sized room where one or two volunteers can stay. The electric supply is generally good, except in the rainy season.
At the school bathing water is carried up to the bathroom from the well downstairs and washing of clothes is done at the well. Volunteers will receive training in Indian style bathing!
You will be provided with vegetarian food but can eat other food outside the compound.
Cost
First month:
Rs.18,000 (approx. Euro 300)
Subsequent months:
Rs.6000 (approx. Euro 100)
Regardless of how you choose to help, P.O.O.R's volunteer program gives
you a rich experience of the Indian culture and way of life that will
stay with you long after you return home. And your students will never
forget you...
Who do we need?
We prefer female volunteers or couples; however we will accept male
volunteers who wish to help when we run our one week holiday English
camps. You must have a good, moral character and respect the local
culture.
Your job as a volunteer
- to teach English, math, computer studies, science, history, geography or any other academic or non-academic skills you have.
- to train the teachers to plan and teach creative lessons
- to help with after school homework
- to play games with or organize activities for the children during recreation time, teach them about your life and learn about theirs
- if you have a taste for physical activity, your help with our garden will be appreciated, laying paths, planting vegetables or clearing out the underbrush which constantly threatens to take over.
- become a member of our small family for the time you are here and have fun with us together.
- we will be happy if volunteers can also teach songs and dance and drama to the children.
What to expect
In India rote learning is the norm and hundreds of bored pupils stream
out of our schools every day burdened with books and with hours of
homework ahead of them. This results from teaching defects in class
time.
We
would like a volunteer who can help teach the teachers how to make
lessons more interesting using playful methods. If you are a
kindergarten or lower primary teacher with a creative mind and the
capacity to work wonders on a shoestring budget, we will welcome you
with open arms.
We need your help to teach spoken English to the children and teachers.
In India the children only learn to read and write English but never
learn to talk it! We want to remedy this.
We need to finish the construction of several rooms so we can relieve
the overcrowding of the school hostel.
Extra accommodation will also mean we will be able to admit more village
girls in our school. For this we urgently need help with fundraising.
And also we need a new jeep for our transportation.
To learn more about our volunteer programme
Email: info at poor.org.in
Other Projects accepting volunteers:
Shillong, Jaipur, Trivandrum
Read more stories of our volunteers
Meet our volunteers who spent time at Uma Nivas
Denise
I have had a wonderful experience. The project is so worth while. We were
made so welcome by the girls and the Didis and teachers. Sunita cooked for
us so well. Didi Vratiisha is lovely, as are all the Didis. I was treated
to a ride on the back of Didi's scooter into the village to meet some of
the families and the children. It was safe to go with her and it's lovely
the way everyone respects her. (more about Denise).
Lyndsey
I stayed and worked at Uma Nivas with Simon for a month from mid February
to mid March 2007 and we helped out with teaching, gardening and IT training
as well as working with other volunteers on a film project. Our rooms were
comfortable and we were very well taken of with delicious food and treats
of hot milk and biscuits (more about Lyndsey).
Simon
I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a month at Uma Nivas earlier
this year and can honestly say that it was a unique and fascinating experience.
I had travelled in India for several months previously but I feel that the
time I spent at the school and the friends I made provided the most unique
cultural insight I gained throughout my trip (more
about Simon).
Vanessa
My husband and I worked at the Ananda Marga Girls High School from February 2008 to March 2008. We had such a fantastic welcome from the Didis and all of the girls. Everyone was so friendly and they made us feel completely at home. We taught English classes, helped with the gardening and played cricket with the girls. While the girls were studying we would either talk to the Didis or just relax in the sun. We had delicious food every day and our accommodation was very comfortable. We took regular walks around the area and found the villagers were interested in meeting us. We learned a lot about Indian culture and the girls enjoyed teaching us some Bengali. I wish we could have stayed longer as we met such wonderful people and working with the girls was so rewarding. We had an amazing time at the orphanage and I hope we can go back there one day.