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A Volunteer Program: Towards creating Enriched Communities

Kalanjiyam’s vision is to make rural communities “rich” and is committed to its efforts in taking this vision to reality. 

Far from being materially wealthy, we consider a person is rich when he/she has the ability and the tools to take care of some of life’s most  basic needs  that we all take for granted:  a proper shelter,  adequate nourishment and  a restful sleep each day.  It does not take a huge research or scientific brain to know that the foremost factor in achieving that goal is education, information and knowledge, without which an individual or a community will be unable to develop.

When is a rural  Community really “rich” ?

• When every family in a community has at least one educated person who can think without feeling insecure or  completely relying on a third party.
• When a man or woman in the community with a stomach ache or joint pain  no longer goes to a quack medical practitioner and blindly follow any  treatment or medicine offered.
• When every person in the community has access to information and resources that can help him/ her to make informed decisions
• When the quality of rural life is enhanced by paradigm shifts in attitudes followed by behaviors that affect all aspects of life.

What is  Kalanjiyam’s role in this?

It is Kalanjiyam’s aim to create such an environment in our villages by  significantly supplementing and further enhancing the education and developmental programs that currently exist.   We believe that our rural communities need vast and varied exposures beyond what is now available:  that such exposures can be provided through interactions of our village communities with people from different walks of life, having different professions, and coming from different countries.

We are convinced that the services of a group of motivated, capable and talented volunteers will help us to reach towards this vision.  Through a volunteer program anyone from outside of these villages can come and spend some length of time, one to two weeks, and participate in the educational and developmental programs and activities.  A volunteer program such as this would benefit Kalanjiyam community to develop their capacities, bring new exposures in our villages, create new networks, provide opportunities for skill development, and pave way for us to mobilize different types of resources.  From the perspective of the volunteer, such a program is sure to be an enriching experience, providing volunteers the opportunities to learn first hand from village communities about their life as it exists today and participate in imparting knowledge and skills for development of these rural communities.

How can you help?

We need volunteers from anywhere, anyone with the spirit, a caring heart and special skills to help a rural community in India to get “rich”.  There are two ways you can help

1. We would love you to come and spend a few days or weeks here and see what we do and tell us how you can help.  While we can arrange for some modest accommodation and basic needs during your stay, unfortunately, we are not in a position to pay for such expenses.  This minimal expense for you would be more than offset by the enormous gratification you will derive for being a part of the rural enrichment program and the gratitude of the associated community
2. Considering the enormity of the needs of the many rural communities that we work with, we are convinced that the success of our efforts will clearly depend on a steady stream of volunteers to help us with their skills and /or funds.  Kalanjiyam would eventually like take care of the volunteer’s basic accommodation, food and local travel,  sort of a “base camp”  for lack of a better handle.  In that regard, we want to construct a simple / modest guest house with all basic amenities in Kalpat village to house the incoming volunteers.  Being onsite, the volunteers would be able to participate in any / all of Kalanjiyam activities, contributing while at the same time enjoying their time away in heart of tucked away villages, widening knowledge and perspective for themselves and that of our village communities.  We believe in the long term such a volunteer program can have tremendous developmental impacts, paving the way for rich communities.

You can help us with your monetary contributions and ideas to help us to build the volunteer house.   We sincerely hope you do.

Kindly contact us at:

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call us at 044 24455568

IF you are interested in volunteering your time or wish contribute in some way please write to us by completing the follwoing details:

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