Volunteering Holiday In India With Our Daughter Teenager
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My Mum was the biggest inspiration for my recent trip to India with our 14yr old daughter Olive. Since being widowed over 20 years ago Mum has spent February volunteering somewhere warm and a little bit exotic always returning with wonderful tales and refreshed energy. Her projects have ranged from beach cleaning in Columbia to temple restoration in Sri Lanka and at 75 she’s already planning 2026! So with time ticking (GCSEs next year) the Easter holidays felt like the perfect time for the pair of us to take on the challenge of a volunteering adventure.
After much research I was drawn to Volunteering Journeys, as an organisation they talked a lot about family volunteering so we opted for a 2 week teaching project in Fort Cochi, Kerela. Our timing meant that the schools were on their long summer holiday so the project was a free summer camp for kids from the local schools held at our volunteer house. We were given a loose brief of what to expect and what to bring before we went. I admit to being pretty unprepared in terms of lesson planning etc but within a few days we got into the swing of how to structure and navigate our group of 20 lively 8-10yr old kids and the local photocopying shop became our good friend printing off endless worksheets. The days teaching structure was 3 hours in the morning, so when the children had gone home and the heat had subsided we jumped in a tuk tuk and headed to a small orphanage ( introduced to us by our project co ordinator)to spend a few hours chatting and playing with the children, personally I think this was one of my highlights.
We both really enjoyed staying in the volunteer house and looked forward to all the delicious home cooked Kerelan meals, Olive’s palette was quick to adjust to the spice levels! (Would have been tricky for fussy eaters) It was lovely spending time chatting with our warm project co-ordinators and learning more about their own lives. The volunteer house was brilliantly located in Old Fort Cochin so we had lots of exploring on our doorstep from tourist sites to local shopping districts, it really did feel like home for 2 weeks.
If you are thinking of a similar adventure with a teen or going solo here are a few of my thoughts:
*Check how many volunteers will be on the project, during our time there was only one other volunteer so this could be a bit lonely if you are travelling solo
*Get a good idea of the project structure before going to help with planning and what to take.
*Check how many public holidays there will be, our project was four days a week but within that time we only taught 6 days due to holidays and festivals.
The combination of the project and having some travelling time was the perfect balance. We have definitely built shared life memories together, it’s a trip we will never forget and has opened both our eyes to so much.
Some of the many shoes that would often end up in the next door neighbours yard having been used as a lively game of catch!
Find out More: Volunteeringjourneys
Q&A with Olive (14years)
Did you feel nervous about the volunteering project?
Nope not at all, I didn’t know what to expect but that what was so exciting for me.
What did you enjoy the most from the volunteering?
Planning the lessons and just seeing the kids having a great time together
What was the biggest challenge working with the kids?
At times it would be stressful as sometimes it would just be me handling the boys morning energy buzz but by the end i knew exactly how to handle it.
Were you nervous about the food?
Absolutely not! i should’ve been a bit more cautious of some of the green chillies hiding in the rice as that never really went down well.. but besides that i loved trying new flavours which i’ve never experienced before.
Would you volunteer again one day?
Most definitely!
What do you feel you personally gained from the experience?
Overcoming the language barriers with the kids and becoming more confident with thinking something on the spot especially the warm up exercises, years of theatre classes came in very handy.
What will be your strongest memory?
A strongest and funniest memory from volunteering was definitely on one of the mornings ending up with neon orange (oil based) paint getting absolutely everywhere i mean everywhere.. i think that just overall describes who i am haha. unravelling a coconut infused red snapper imbedded in a banana leaf, the stray dogs cooling off under mum sun bathing on the sun beds, drinking fresh smoothies on the side of the road and the constant aromas of spices coming from all the local cafes. It was a sensory overload in the best possible way, The warmth of the people, and the beauty of the landscape created an experience that I know will stay with me forever! i couldn’t be anymore grateful that i shared and made many memories with my mum. we love you kerala.
Thank You Olive
Some of our purchases! We spent many hours on Palace road in local supermarkets, fabric shops and hardware stores unearthing treaures to bring home! The brass gadget is for making rice noodles!