“Not all classrooms have four walls,” as the saying goes, and a week or two at a project in India can teach students things no textbook can. For older students and their teachers, a group volunteering trip combines useful work, a close look at another culture and a great deal of growing up in a short time.
This guide is for teachers and school leaders thinking about bringing a group. One thing to know from the start: our minimum age is 17, so these trips suit senior students, usually in their last year of school, traveling with their teachers.
What students gain
- Learning from each other. Students plan activities together, share what works and solve problems as a team.
- Leadership. Running a game for a room full of children, or leading a group through a painting job, builds confidence fast.
- A wider view of the world. Students meet people whose lives are very different from their own, and see how local organizations support their communities.
- Real experience. A placement abroad gives students something concrete to write about in university and job applications.
- Independence. Living away from home, managing their own money, finding their way around a new city: lessons like these stay with students long after the trip.
Who can take part
- Every student must be 17 or older on the start date, and 17-year-olds need a consent form signed by a parent.
- Some programs start at 18: teaching and childcare in Jaipur, special needs care and the medical internship. A group that includes 17-year-olds should choose from the programs below.
- Anyone who will work with children or vulnerable adults, students and teachers alike, needs a clean criminal background check issued within 12 months of the start date. These take several weeks in some countries, so start early.
- Travel and medical insurance is compulsory for every member of the group.
- Alcohol and drugs are not allowed at our accommodation.
Programs that suit school groups
1. Street children, Delhi
Students join the staff at shelter homes and non-formal education centers, helping with basic English and numbers, games, art and sport. In 2017, students and teachers from Wolfert Dalton School in the Netherlands spent a week on this program; you can read their story and their teachers’ account. Open from 17.
2. Two-week mini break, Delhi and Agra
A fixed two-week plan that fits neatly into a school vacation: eight days with children at shelter homes and day-care centers, a guided tour of Delhi and a day trip to the Taj Mahal. Open from 17.
3. Childcare and elephant rescue, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
A 15-day trip around the Golden Triangle: a week at children’s projects in Delhi, the Taj Mahal, three days helping the keepers at an elephant rescue center near Agra, and sightseeing in Jaipur. At the center, volunteers prepare food, make enrichment and look after the grounds. Volunteers never ride or bathe the elephants, and there are no performances. Open from 17.
4. Construction and renovation, Jaipur
Students repair, paint and decorate schools, community centers and clinics that can’t afford the work themselves, and can see what they have achieved by the end of the week. Renovation suits groups well, because a team can finish a room quickly. Open from 17.
5. Slum schools, Jaipur
A grassroots project that gives children in Jaipur’s slum communities free lessons in small groups. Students help with English, math, computers and sport, or run art and dance workshops, alongside the project’s own teachers. Open from 17.
Groups new to India can begin with the Hindi and culture week, a week of language classes, culture sessions and sightseeing in Delhi, before moving on to a placement.
How to plan the trip
- Talk to us early. Send us your group size, the students’ ages and the dates you have in mind, and ask about group prices: the discount depends on the program and the size of your group. Delhi programs start on two Sundays a month and Jaipur programs every Sunday.
- Choose a program that suits everyone’s age and interests.
- Apply and hold your places with the booking deposit, which is part of each person’s price. The balance is due 45 days before the start date.
- Gather the paperwork: consent forms, background checks and insurance details. We send pre-departure information covering packing, visas and health.
Teachers who travel with their students can volunteer alongside them, as the Wolfert Dalton teachers did. Our coordinators meet the group at the airport, run the orientation and can be reached at any hour, just as they do for every volunteer.
If you are planning a trip for senior students, email info@volunteeringindia.com and we will help you work out the details. For individual students, our guide to volunteering as a teenager in India is a good place to start.