Choosing a project is the biggest decision in planning a volunteer trip, and our advice is always the same: pick work that suits your interests and the skills you already have. You will enjoy it more, and the people you work with will get more from your time.
Our top five volunteering projects cover street children, the two-week mini break, childcare and elephant rescue, childcare in Jaipur and the medical internship. Here are five more to consider: two in Delhi, and three in Jaipur, where we began placing volunteers in 2026.
1. Women’s empowerment, Delhi
Local NGOs in Delhi’s urban slums run community centers for women and teenage girls, many of whom left school early or never went. The classes cover literacy, spoken English and computers, plus practical trades like sewing, embroidery and beauty work that help women earn.
Most volunteers end up teaching conversational English to young women, many of them aged about 17 to 20, and helping out in the computer and literacy classes. If you can sew, embroider or do beauty work, the vocational classes will welcome you too. The center’s staff lead every session, and you work with them Monday to Friday, roughly 10am to 4pm. You need to be 17 or older, with a background check, since you will be working with teenage girls.
2. Teaching, Jaipur
In low-income neighborhoods and villages around Jaipur, children rely on government, NGO and community schools where classes are big and each teacher covers several subjects. As a classroom assistant, you take on English, math or sports with students in the middle-school years, matched to your strengths and the school’s needs.
Lessons run Monday to Friday from about 8am to 1pm, so your afternoons are free for planning or exploring. You don’t need a teaching qualification, but you do need intermediate English and to be at least 18. Come with a few games and songs: the children learn English in class but rarely hear it spoken.
3. Special needs care, Delhi
You could be placed at any of three Delhi centers: one offering special education, one teaching vocational skills to teenagers and young adults, and a school for autistic children. Most of the children and young adults they support come from low-income families.
Trained staff run the teaching and therapy. Volunteers help with classroom routines and mealtimes, give one-to-one attention and join vocational sessions such as baking, candle making and tailoring. Qualified occupational therapists and physiotherapists may be able to support therapy sessions. Patience counts for more than experience here, and the minimum age is 18.
4. Slum schools, Jaipur
This one is small and local: a grassroots group that runs free classes for children in Jaipur’s slum neighborhoods, along with health and environmental awareness work in the same communities. Many of the children started school late or have fallen behind, and the informal, small-group lessons help them catch up.
You co-teach two or three small groups a day, usually between 2pm and 5pm, moving to mornings in the hottest months. English and math come first, with computers, sport, art or dance if you can offer them. Volunteers can join from 17, and part of your program price goes to the project.
5. Construction and renovation, Jaipur
Plenty of schools, clinics and community centers in Jaipur’s poorer areas have no money for repairs, let alone fresh paint. Our coordinators take on one building at a time, and volunteers do the fixing, painting and mural work that makes a classroom somewhere children want to be. Then the team moves to the next building on the list.
Expect four to five hours of supervised, physical work a day, and paint on your clothes. No building experience is needed, the program is open from 17, and it suits friends and families who like working as a team.
Planning your trip
Delhi programs run from one to 18 weeks and start on two Sundays a month. Jaipur programs run from one to 12 weeks and start every Sunday, with a choice of our volunteer house or a host family. Prices start from $495 for one week, including accommodation, meals, airport pickup and local support. Check dates and prices for your program.
Not sure which project suits you? Email info@volunteeringindia.com with a little about yourself, and we will help you choose.