Charitable to the ‘hill’
Many youngsters from the city are heading to this mountain region to serve as volunteers
By : sneha k sukumar
Update: 2015-05-23 00:11 GMT
Every year, hundreds of Westerners arrive at the Himalayas for views of the picturesque mountains, to be surrounded by the warmth of locals and to perhaps, lend a helping hand. Now, it’s our turn. A number of youngsters from the city are actively taking to volunteering across the country, to pitch in any little way they can.
“Big cities are faceless and this was a great way to connect with interesting people,” says Fatema Freya Rehman who took off to the Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh recently. Helping out Spiti Ecosphere with content, organisation and documentation of the surrounding village life, she stayed on for over five months.
“It’s the best way to get back to your roots, to meet interesting people – something that’s not possible in big, faceless cities and to learn something about yourself in the process,” she says about her experience up North. Whether it’s to learn, travel or pocket experiences, this is a trend that’s quickly catching on. Hopping on to Assam with his camera, 23-year-old Sriram Shete hoped to document the life there and ended up volunteering at a relief camp for over five months. “The communal clashes saw Adivasis running for cover and I decided to stay on and help with medical aid and rations,” he says about his stint at Deosar.
You can now pick from a plethora of opportunities that suit your skill set too. “Be it pitching in to empower local women, health camps, farming, biodiversity conservation or teaching kids with special needs, there’s plenty on offer,” says Kriya Seth who is all set to teach kids at a rural Himalayan school this June. With an abundance of choices, the experience of voluntourism is now standing its ground.
“And it’s growing because the youth are seeing benefits of an immersive experience, something that a shorter sightseeing visit cannot really offer,” says Vinod Sreedhar, founder at Journeys with Meanings that organises trips that challenge and inspire you. Vinod further believes that youngsters are taking up a gap year to get a perspective about their interests and that’s where this fits in. Although safety isn’t an issue, volunteers have other concerns. “Since it’s become a fad with foreigners to pitch in, organisations charge for a service we’re providing for them,” says Freya. “If only we could get a free dorm and perhaps, two meals a day, there’ll be more people looking to take it up,” she says