• Types of volunteer work
• Work areas by age and vocation
• Where to volunteer?
• Places where we work?

Types of volunteer work

• Daycare Centers: Volunteers work with the teachers according to the schedule and curriculum.
• Mother Teresa's Center: Caring for sick, destitute, mentally and physically challenged.
• Special Education: Mainly therapeutic and teaching work- occupational, physical, speech and hearing, play, family therapy, assisting teachers in the classroom and play ground, etc.
• Integrated education schools: helping out in the classrooms, assisting in vocational training, teaching dance, drama, music and arts.
• Cancer Support: Participating in therapeutic activities for cancer patients and their family, fund raising and grant writing, helping patients in the hospital visits etc.
• Comprehensive Help Centers: Gender equality activities, school, clinics -dental, eye and general, micro-financing, skill training- baking, computers, knitting, embroidery, etc.
• Working with Aids Affected People: Counseling, education, after school activities for school going children of aids affected parents, etc.
• Camping and Trekking for Environment Protection and Environment Issues: Learn about environment challenges and be a part of solution, witness flora and fauna of desert state and help locals in projects to protect the environment. Help organization that are working for toxicity in products used on daily basis, pollution in the cities, education about degradation of life on earth due to environmental reasons, interfacing with Government agencies for improved living conditions, coming up with ideas that can revolutionize living conditions for better, etc.
• Women and Related Issues: Help the organization in disseminating information, work for women related issues in the area of gender equality, health and nutrition, social and economic upliftment etc.
• Literary Work: Some organizations need help in writing stories, plays, music, songs, etc. for children. Skill in graphic designing, sketches, IT, library work, etc. are very helpful.

Work areas by age and vocation

Teenagers

• Daycare Centers: Use play-way method to teach pre-school concepts, brighten up the place by painting murals, colourful charts, making toys and musical instruments by using recycled materials, teach healthy habits like washing hands etc., teach nursery rhymes and poems.
• Primary Schools: Teaching conversational English through different themes, arts and crafts, play games, gardening, painting murals etc.

19 years and above

• Daycare Centers: Help the teacher in planning activities and carrying them out according to the syllabus, painting murals, preparing teaching resources, etc
• Primary Schools: Assisting teacher in teaching English according to the syllabus, teaching geography by preparing resources that explains the subject matter, assisting weaker students in math and science class, helping in computer class.
• Skill Training: Teaching computers, stitching, knitting, pickling, gardening, conversational English, etc.
• Gender Related: Help the women organisations in their research, participate in talks in the schools for gender related issues, prepare posters for education, document efforts made by the women organisations, etc
• Mother Teresa's Centers: Their Centers for the dying and destitute and the mentally and physically challenged require assistance of all kinds. It could be with basic office work to volunteering with the inmates and helping them get through their daily tasks.
• Assisting Public Health Workers: Public health workers operate under constrained conditions as they work in rural areas with limited resources and time. Assistance here would include collecting data, filling out forms, tabulating results of their surveys, etc

Professionals

• Apart from the list above, professionals, depending on their expertise can also assist in the following areas - therapeutic work, computers, nursing, health care and issues, special education, education, ESL, veterinary, gender issues, social work, public health, cooking, baking, marketing, book keeping, thrift banking, micro-financing, organic farming, water management, environmentalist, solar energy, etc.

Where to volunteer?

Choosing an area for volunteering depends on 4 factors: qualifications, skill and interest, that are matched with the fourth – need of the community - to finalize your placement and area of work

Target groups

• Daycare children
• School children
• Women’s group
• Differently – abled children
• Hospital and clinic patients
• Urban and rural communities

Places where we work?

Delhi, India

Since Delhi is very hot during May-August, We do not work in these months in Delhi. Rest of the year there are plenty of varied opportunities available.

Dharamshala, India

Except for two months, July-August, Dharmshala placements are available throught the year. It's scenic beauty is appealing to one and all.

Jaipur, India

Jaipur is famous for it's forts, stories of kings and queens, Jewels and hospitality. Other than the summer months, May-August, placement is available rest of the year.

Lima, Peru

The placements are available throught the year. Other than Machu Pichu, Peru is famous for it's culture, music, crafts, weaved fabric.

Home base in Peru

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Karanga, Tanzania

Tanzania is famous for it's mountain, kilimanjaro and the programme is situated in the foothills of the mountain amongst the lush green forest and rich culture of Chagga people.

Home base in Tanzania

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Cultural on my plate

We believe that God gives you opportunities to combine your passion with what you want to do with your life and be productive. That is what this programme is all about – learn about food and its cultural background, learn to cook, travel and meet people from different regions.

India is a land of many cultures, flavours and taste. There is diversity in every form and area in its soul. It is a place where spirituality and hospitality merge into a seamless unity.

“Indian cuisine uses the whole palette of flavor- spicy, sour, sweet, and hot all at the same time – making it something that wants to jump off the plate”, says Floyd Cardoz, the executive chef and a partner of North End Grill in New York.

Indian cuisine is both intimidating with its use of ingredients and exciting with varied uses of these exotic ingredients to create many flavors.

Basically there are 30 spices that are used in combination or singularly. “Every spice has a reason for being there. They have health benefits, and they make the food more exciting and flavorful,” says Cardoz. It is important to know that all Indian food is not “curries” contrary to the belief. Curry means any dish, which is watery and uses more spices than usual.

Today’s Indian food is invasions and fusions. Indian civilization to Vedic times to Buddhists to invasions, everyone has left their mark on Indian food. This makes Indian food very interesting and reflects cultures from where the food originated. When you order Tandoori food in an Indian restaurant, you will be surprised to know that the origin of it is from Mughlai invasion. Yet there are many dishes that are prepared keeping in mind what and how much grows around, what spices are available, what is the weather, what is the occasion, etc.

We intend to showcase exactly this. Not only you will be able to taste the food but also witness how it is cooked, what communities are involved in it, what is the occasion, why and what ingredients are used, what are the cultural elements playing a part in it, how people dress up in that region, what songs and dances are associated with it, etc.

Travel and learn

Why do people travel? What have I been gaining from my love of travelling?

The answer is interesting and worth paying attention to. It challenges you to push yourself to get out of your comfort zone. Travelling is considered to be a condensed course in history, sociology, geography, economics, time management, cultures, architecture, etc. When you are out there, you learn and leave with new skills acquired. You witness a new world where things are done in a different way, the realities are different, yet, solutions are reached. This teaches you that when things are done in a different way, it is not necessary that it is wrong or right. Your mind opens up to see things from different perspective. Now you start looking within yourself and face new challenges and issues and learn about your strengths and weaknesses.

Being an intelligent and purposeful tourist, you build relationships that are mutually beneficial. You extend a helpful hand to the newly adopted community in finding sustainable solutions to their problems and in turn, learn from them. Thus, fostering cultural exchange and mutual respect. Bridging Global Cultures encourages and invites you to become an intelligent tourist and tell us about your interests. We will customise your trip. You will learn about the country from the horse’s mouth, and it makes the information authentic.

Bhaili (Girlfriend)

Attention girls/women

Are you afraid of travelling alone? Are you a group of women who want to travel not as a tourist but do a meaningful trip? Do you want to know about Indian women from urban to rural areas and forge a meaningful friendship with them?

Then all you need to do is to contact us and register. Once you tell us about your area of interest, how many days you want to commit, we will plan the trip for you. All through, you will be accompanied by experts in the field, travel safely and will participate in activities that will immerse you in the world of girls/women along with all the touristic activities.