Volunteering

This is the first time I have posted here. Hope I am doing it right! I have a question. I am going to be going next year to India and doing volunteer work. The organization that I am looking at is called Volunteering Solutions. Has anyone heard of them, and is it a good organization to work for?

No idea friend,
If you can provide their contact details i can try.

Never heard of them before, they are at http://www.volunteeringsolutions.com/.

What do I know, and you shouldn't let me talk you down on it just like that; but it looks to be the kind of outfit where you pay (and not a little, either, esp. considering you'll just be locally and communally housed and fed), for a short or longer spell of volunteering, with some excursions thrown in and stuff (either that, or depending on their schemes you pay extra for the latter. Ditto for something handy like a language course.)

I'm not crazy about the concept; I think for this kind of work one should either get paid, or be a volunteer expected to pay for one's housing and food and other daily expenses (and at the local cost) at the most, no more. What one should then be bringing would be specific and locally required expertise, and a commitment in terms of effort as well as time, of course (and perhaps preparation in terms of language and so on). Check e.g. the requirements of Doctors Without Borders or some other such established and major organizations by comparison.

Save for giving the participants a no doubt worthwhile experience, I'm not alone in doubting how much practical good this approach really does, esp. if it's gonna be for anything under say a few months, and not preferably followed up on later. Just to get someone new set up as a worthwhile and contributing member of a team can and likely will take a lot of time, as we all know. And now in an entirely alien surroundings, though you'll be supported in the process (and partly paying for that), no doubt. And to do what kind of non-specialist work, precisely; when workers to do it the countries in question don't tend to have any shortage of. (How's about collecting that same money and setting up the same local projects, now employing locals? Whilst not massaging anyone's egos, could prove a lot more effective, you'd think, and greatly diminishing any overhead expenses. Would be harder to collect though, minus the volunteer-experience bonus...)

If those guys have an overturn like they no doubt will, save for running their organization, does this get locally invested? Is there transparency on the matter? It's a question, not an accusation, but it's one that I would ask. I find nothing very conclusive on it at a glance on their site; although it says somewhere (under their "why pay to volunteer") 10% of their proceeds goes into "further project development." (!) (And 40%, the bulk of it, into food and accommodation. In India, or many of the other places they serve?)

But, as noted, that is all just my opinion. I didn't go through their testimonials, I'm sure you'll find enthusiastic reports there.

For a different kettle of fish and just as an example, in Orchha where I stayed earlier this year, this outfit, Friends of Orchha, offers homestays that I heard good things about, as well as volunteering opportunities: http://orchha.org/. Their requirements from a glance: "If you would like to share your expertise in management, catering, working with youth, civil engineering, health care or teaching English, we would appreciate the investment of your time. For it to be profitable to both, you would need to spend at least three months here with us. To live in Orchha you will require about 150 Euros per month."

Sounds both more realistic, and more like my kind of thing.

Thank you

That sounds very good, thank you. I wanted to stay in India for a couple months, but is way too expensive that long in hotels, and I wanted to do something to help out there, plus be able to afford staying that long. I will definatily check out the Friends of Orchha Thank you so much!

Y'r most welcome. If volunteering should be a way to make ends meet is a question you'll have to ask yourself; I'm not saying the two considerations can't meet one another half-way.

What I can tell you is you'll be able to independently travel around there, minus any volunteering, a lot more cheaply on a per-day basis than that outfit you were thinking of were gonna charge you. That's not even speaking against them; they'd be offering you something for it, of course.