Muir's Tours - Volunteers India

Helping the Street Children of Kolkata to Help Themselves

In a number of cities around the world there is a growing problem of children living rough without sufficient food and shelter, in addition to virtual no caring as often they are separated from family. In Kolkata (Calcutta) India the problem is a massive one, and although we are only able to help a small number of children, it is important work. We want to help as many of the children as we can through care & affection, good nutrition, education and training to enable them to help themselves by the time they reach 18.

Homeless Children's Daily Life
Were will tomorrow's meal come from ? is a question millions of people have asked themselves over the millennia.  For the street children of Kolkata they know the answer - the rubbish dumps and trash piles are the main source of food for these poor souls. Sometimes they are able to buy some food from the results of begging or maybe some task such as shoe cleaning or baggage carrying, but these jobs are often carried out by the children as slaves of some local gang and the children get to keep very little of the takings.  For most street children this means a diet lacking in many essentials, particularly protein - so illness is rife. At the end of each days search for something to eat, they retire to a slum building or maybe the shelter given by a railway station for the night, if they are lucky. Every day is the same, as hunger is ever present.
 
Basic Care and Nutrition
Teams of volunteers are providing basic necessities - care and friendship - a good meal and fresh water - a dry clean place to sleep.  There are two centres where the children are able to come for free education, and while with us they get free food and attention to their medical and hygiene needs.  There is a need to establish other school houses, so if you cannot give your time as a volunteer please consider making a donation towards the cost of running another centre.
 
Education
In most cases the street children will have never been inside a school.  Our aim is to equip them with the means to help themselves, starting with a general education and finally they will be trained in order to allow them to integrate into normal life. Some will be trained as tailors or seamstresses and on completion of their training they will be given work in our workshops where we provide a caring environment for these individuals to make a life for themselves with SELF RESPECT.

Medical Support
The cost of medical care in India is high compared to average incomes, so a large proportion of people are unable to get the treatment they need.  The street children receive nothing at all, unless it is provided by an organisation determined to support those who cannot afford treatment of any sort. Our volunteers are able to provide basic first line support such as applying ointments and bandaging wounds. Wherever possible we will pay for additional specialist medical services. If you are a trained medical person willing to give some time, we desperately need your help.

Your skills are needed

We would be very pleased if you joined our team in Kolkata who are giving love and care, as well as relieving suffering and retraining of street children.  The tasks we would like you to consider are;

 

A - Teaching English and other subjects,

B - Skilled / semi skilled roles such as medics, nursing, welfare project management / field assistant,

C - Various manual tasks - building work, washing, cleaning, distribution of food / clothing, and

D - if you are so talented you could help entertain the children, or work on specialist office tasks - web design, promotion etc.

 

Our aim is to help the children through love, care, education and vocational training so they can later lead a normal life.

 

We are looking for people who can work in one or more of the above roles.  Because we have no funding for staff we need willing and capable volunteers in the field.  The volunteers will be performing crucial work and success will be very rewarding for those who care.

 

Minimum Period

The minimum period is one month, but ideally to be most effective you should try and devote about 2 or 3 months or more, if possible.

 

 

Dates
You can volunteer at any time of year, but please note the months of July and August are extremely hot in Kolkata. Some of the time during the high summer teams go off to Darjeeling to help and support children working in the brick making industry.

 

The Accommodation

We offer our volunteers food and accommodation at low cost and practical / logistical assistance with travel. The accommodation is either a hotel room or one of our single sex small dorms, in a suburb in the north of Kolkata.  In the dorm you will be sleeping on the floor (bring a foam mat) in a room that is very different from what you are used to.  If you want a hotel, we will suggest some good quality options for about USD42 for a single or USD54 for married couples, but you can find cheaper albeit not so attractive options.

 

Basic Information for Volunteers

All volunteers must pay their own international / local travel and food / accommodation costs.  We can offer you discounted long haul flights from the UK.  Whilst on the project costs are minimal, typically about GBP5 to GBP7 / USD10 per day for food and basic accommodation.  In addition there is a once only Registration Fee of GBP200 / USD350 (reduced to USD290 for full time students who obtain a letter from their tutor / college) per person. The local transport and living costs are paid on arrival in Kolkata together with 50% of the registration fee.  The other 50% is paid on application, prior to travelling to India.

 

If you are interested in volunteering please read what some previous volunteers thought and then sign up.  Please note a police records search may be needed for those working with children.

What next ?
Ask some questions or ask for an application form