EIL Intercultural Learning

The latest news from Meabh O'Driscol in Jaipur

27th of June: Start of My Trip: My big, exciting and at times quite scary adventure started today. The plane journey was quite enjoyable with minimal problems, slept a lot and the in-flight entertainment was good. On the flight I got my first impressions of the Indian people, they come across as very upfront and blunt, which I'm sure my friends would find quite hypocritical coming from me ha, but they do tend to take it to a whole new level. It can take awhile to get used to but it is genuinely just there way.

Volunteers (seated on the left) on a house visit in the farming village of Sunderpur.  It is the house of the woman in the yellow sari, where she lives with her husband and extended family.  Her son is holding his small son on the right, and sitting next to him is our executive from Lalsot camp.  Neighbour's children look on.

Sara and Saraswati in the office of the Family Planning Association during the internship programme in Jaipur, India

Revelle from England, Sara and Ber from Ireland, Christina, Sacha and Christian from Denmark at the Taj Mahal during their internship programme in India

Volunteers teach in primary schools or work in day care centres in Shiv itself and in the surrounding villages. These are government schools - free education, books and lunch for all the children. But it is hard to get good teachers to come and live in this arid and poverty-stricken region, so the host organisation focuses on providing help with education. 

Emer Jacksn with students from the school where she volunteered in Himochol, India.