tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44714188208255241592011-07-08T12:04:58.484+05:30My experience volunteering in India with <a href="http://www.sewausa.org/yuva-for-sewa">Yuva for Sewa</a>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00515488632204727754noreply@blogger.comBlogger91100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4471418820825524159.post-73425214118847375872009-08-20T02:46:00.003+05:302009-08-20T02:52:51.942+05:30

This summer I was presented with a unique opportunity to volunteer in India through the Youth for Seva fellowship program. Looking for an adventure and motivated to do something for the country I consider my punya bhoomi, I decided to spend a couple months volunteering in Bangalore. Though I initially had doubts as to whether I would be able to handle the linguistic and cultural challenges, I

Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00515488632204727754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4471418820825524159.post-72262930703063443172009-07-25T12:39:00.005+05:302009-07-25T13:26:51.183+05:30

This entry is coming a bit late, but a few weeks ago, I went to a village called Basavapatna with a few other volunteers to help distribute school kits to children there. Youth for Seva has been running an annual "school kit drive" the past 2 years through which people can sponsor school kits (backpacks, notebooks, pencils, geometry sets, etc) for poor children in different slums and villages.

Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00515488632204727754noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4471418820825524159.post-30750584048064634972009-07-18T00:21:00.005+05:302009-07-20T16:10:32.894+05:30

The past few days I've been visiting slum development activities run by Keshav Seva Samiti. The work they're doing is phenomenal: volunteers run free tuition (coaching) classes for kids in 100 slums, medical camps, self-help groups, and vocational training. In one tuition center I visited, I spoke to an 8th grade girl named Kavya. Although she's a bright student, she studies in a government

Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00515488632204727754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4471418820825524159.post-91214997397889598842009-06-26T11:10:00.002+05:302009-06-26T11:15:11.687+05:30

It’s been 4 weeks since I’ve been here in Bangalore and I’ve learned and experienced more than I usually do in the span of several months. As I learn about the challenges people face in slums, the point of alcoholism keeps coming up. Everybody seems to agree that alcoholism is a huge problem in slums, mostly among the men; yesterday I saw this for myself. Some Indian Institute of Management

Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00515488632204727754noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4471418820825524159.post-17647942071572619522009-06-21T17:15:00.001+05:302009-06-22T17:19:43.835+05:30

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Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00515488632204727754noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4471418820825524159.post-15429166429546821152009-06-08T22:29:00.002+05:302009-06-08T23:14:33.496+05:30

Last weekend, a group of YFS volunteers visited two small villages near Mysore: Saragur and Hosahalli. There we met with Dr. Balasubramanian, founder of Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, and got to see the wonderful activities this organization is running. SVYM has been working in tribal villages in this area for 20 years, bringing health, education, and community development to these remote and

Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00515488632204727754noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4471418820825524159.post-43105794147133969452009-06-03T21:10:00.014+05:302009-06-08T22:22:24.149+05:30

These past few days, I've been visiting different slums along with local volunteers and speaking with NGOs/social workers who are working for slum development. Volunteers conduct activities in the fields of education (free tuition classes, study centers, evening adult education), health (free clinics, medical check ups), and economic empowerment (vocational training, microcredit), etc.In one of

Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00515488632204727754noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4471418820825524159.post-47714078468081600932009-05-28T17:43:00.004+05:302009-05-28T18:17:56.046+05:30

I’ve been in India for 3 days now and it’s really fantastic being here! I’m working with an organization called Youth for Seva (YFS). YFS is partnered with a number of local NGOs and connects youth volunteers with these NGOs. My project will be to study the social problems in urban slums and analyze/document the effects of slum development projects being taken by various NGOs.Yesterday,

Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00515488632204727754noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4471418820825524159.post-48285000330616316372009-05-11T01:55:00.001+05:302009-05-15T02:54:40.079+05:30

In a couple weeks I'll be leaving Boston to go to Bangalore, where I'll be spending two and a half months working for some development projects of Sewa International. The idea for volunteering first came to me last year, when I got a chance to visit a few of these sewa projects during Bharat Darshan (a tour of India that I participated in). I was impressed with their efficiency and effectiveness

Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00515488632204727754noreply@blogger.com0