If you’re planning a gap year, career break or holidays in which you can spend some time volunteering abroad, consider travelling to India.
Here, you can make a difference to people, wildlife, nature and the environment in popular India travel destinations like Agra, Rajasthan, Dharamshala and Goa.
Why Volunteer in India
India is the ideal destination for heading overseas on a cultural break and there are plenty of iconic sights to witness, from the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort to all sorts of exquisite temples and fine beaches.
As well as visiting the golden sands and top attractions, on an India volunteering break you can really give something back to the country during your stay and be far more than just your average tourist.
You’ll meet new people, learn more about the country and people and also get the satisfaction of helping good causes.
Best Volunteer Projects in India
You can find lots of volunteering opportunities in India with local NGO’s, humanitarian aid organisations and international volunteer/travel agencies.
A popular way to help is working with communities that require assistance, whether it be through teaching English, helping repair buildings or organising activities for little ones.
You can spend four weeks or more based at Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayas and offer your services within the communities that are greatly in need of people to help with teaching and childcare.
As well as helping youngsters learn conversational English, you can get creative with children through painting, music and dance and work alongside local teachers to produce low-cost materials to aid youngsters in their learning.
If you aren’t placed in a school, you may instead work in an aanganwari – a local day care centre for children of preschool age. Government run, these centres offer a safe environment for youngsters to grow, providing them with food, health checks and vaccinations.
Should you be placed here for your stay, you’ll be tasked with helping add to the appeal of the centres through renovation and the addition of facilities, playing games with youngsters to improve their motor skills, helping promote the facility among the community to ensure maximum attendance and providing personal care and attention to the children coming to the centre.
Another popular area in which you could volunteer include working in orphanages or alongside people with special needs.
If you have less than a month to spare, you can still volunteer abroad in India. Heading to Himachal Pradesh or Rajasthan, you can get involved with the social development of these two villages or lend your hand to labour work projects.
The latter could see you help restore and decorate the local primary school and day care centres, repair the houses of families classed as living below the poverty line, enhance community facilities alongside the villagers, motivate youngsters to plant trees and clear rubbish, and help construct dustbins to improve hygiene awareness among children.
If you choose to help with the area’s social development, you’ll learn about numerous health-related issues such as hygiene awareness, the significance of a balanced diet, precautionary measures to prevent HIV infection, iodine deficiency disorders and the importance of breastfeeding – all of which you can then relay on to those within the village during the course of your break.
Preserving natural resources and sustainable development is very important right now and conservation projects to help maintain unique and traditional locations are very popular. Some projects are located along coasts like in Goa where you can help nature and wildlife like elephants and sea turtles.
Free Volunteer Opportunities in India
India is one of the cheapest destination on the planet and although some gap year companies and international volunteer programs charge a fee to participate, most options in India are free or optional donation.
Some companies offer structured placements are charge a sign up fee, this generally includes the volunteer placement and activities, all accommodation and meals, airport pickup and transport to the projects.
Other local organisations offer totally free/low cost projects but you might need to pay for flights and accommodation separately. Most India volunteer organisations are run in tiny budgets with little or no funding.
If you have a specific skill e.g. working in the medical/healthcare industry you can find completely paid for trips, some even offer payment.
Accommodation
Homestays, shared housing with other participants, and private rooms/apartments/hotels can be arranged depending on your requirements.
Combine Volunteering and Sightseeing
As well as working hard, you can expect some free time to spend as you like. Most organisations also have weekend excursions arranged for you, so you can explore and take in the sights while helping out communities in need.
As part of your volunteer trip or gap year in India, you must have a trip to the Taj Mahal and a stay in Agra. Other popular options include checking out the beautiful beaches and coast of Goa, as well as yoga lessons and workshop lesson on Indian cooking.
Testimonial
Why India? You won’t regret it! says Imogen from the UK.
I travelled to India, where I volunteered in Sikkim, a tiny state in north-east India, nestled between Nepal to the west, Tibet to the north and east and Bhutan to the southeast.
I volunteered in a primary school in the village of Rorathang where I taught 4–10 year olds English, maths, science, drawing, spelling and RE.
It was an incredibly different system, quite traditional and strict. There was no sense of praise or rewards (so I made the children a star chart for good work, which they loved), and I really worked on artistic activities.
By the time I left I’d turned their classroom from a concrete shell into a colourful, inspiring place!
During my 4-month placement I visited the tea plantations of Darjeeling, rode a yak by Tsomgo Lake and swam in hot springs. I also travelled to north Sikkim to the icy alpine Yumthang Valley, just 13kms from the border of Tibet.
We stayed in the village of Lachung, a tiny and remote community nestled deep in the Himalayas. I then left the hills and headed south into the plains towards Jaldhapara Wildlife Sanctuary near the Assam border, where I went on an elephant ride through the thick jungle.
After my placement, I flew from Kolkata to the Andaman Islands, 1000km off the east coast of India. After arriving in the capital, Port Blair, I visited the eerie colonial ruins of Ross Island and the red brick jail and gallows of Viper Island.
I then took an 8-hour boat trip to Diglipur on North Andaman. It was a beautiful journey, most of which was spent perched on deck spotting flying fish and appreciating the spray on my face and the cool sea breeze! Accommodation here was amazing – little bamboo huts nestled between palms with paddy fields one side and beach the other.
Whilst here we climbed to the highest point on the Andamans, Saddle Peak. It’s a 6-hour trek to the top and back through sub-tropical rainforest. The journey back down the Andaman Trunk Road was by bus, a 12-hour journey through the reserves of the Jarawa tribe – indigenous inhabitants of Middle and South Andaman.
Next stop was Havelock Island, the most inhabited of the islands but still pleasantly deserted. I cycled 12km through the flat paddy fields observing the traditional farming methods still in existence, to Radha Nagar beach, a gorgeous white sand beach backed by jungle.
South of Port Blair, I went to the village of Wandoor and to Red Skin Island, which is in the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, and snorkelled around the beautiful coral reef surrounding the island.
My experience was amazing, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone. If you’re not sure whether to take the plunge or not, just go for it – you won’t regret it.
Apply Today
India, with abundant volunteering opportunities and its vibrant culture, history and natural beauty, should be a preferred destination for anyone wanting to help.
If you want to give something back to this beautiful country, don’t delay in booking your volunteering break to India.
No matter what kind of project you choose to get involved in, spending some time volunteering in India you can rest assured that you’ll be making a worthwhile contribution towards building communities and are able to give something back to this beautiful country.
If you like the idea of helping in other destinations too view more Asia volunteer programs.
