It is our pleasure to offer representation to a wide variety of educational projects in India. All of the projects listed below have expressed a need for volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, contact us and we will help you find an opportunity that suits your interests and skills. You can also contact the projects directly, but we urge you to communicate with the Omprakash Foundation and to use our Message Board to share your own volunteer experience with others. To learn more about social issues in India, visit www.infochangeindia.org and http://aidindia.org
Please don’t hesitate to email us with your questions, concerns, and ideas.
Opportunities listed below are organized by state and region.
North India
-Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL)– Ladakh region, Jammu & KashmirOne of the pioneers of educational reform in Ladakh, SECMOL can use volunteers on its own campus near Leh and can also help direct volunteers to needy schools throughout Ladakh. SECMOL can use volunteer teachers year-round for cultural exchange or to teach English and environmental skills to youth from remote villages. It is fully solar-heated and solar-powered, and can also use volunteers with architecture or engineering skills for solar design. They would especially like a volunteer to teach ice skating in January in a youth camp for kids who would otherwise not be able to afford skates or equipment. Please check out www.secmol.org and contact us or Becky Norman (becky@secmol.org) to learn more.
-Springdales Public School- Wakha/Mulbek, Kargil District, Ladakh Region, Jammu & Kashmir
The headmaster of Springdales Public School is eager to receive volunteer teachers who can help with any or all of the primary and secondary-level classes at this school. Learn more about Springdales>>
-Teya Government School- Teya, Leh District, Ladakh Region, Jammu & Kashmir
The headmaster of this school wants volunteers to come teach and enrich the atmosphere in this small village located within a day’s bus ride of Leh. The headmaster’s contact information is as follows: Choldan Tundup; 229 103 (home); 9906984353 (mobile). Individuals interested in volunteering here are encouraged to contact Becky Norman at SECMOL, listed above.
-The dZi Foundation– Ladakh region, Jammu & KashmirWorking to promote “Health, Education, and Welfare in Himalayan Communities,” the dZi Foundation is currently seeking volunteers to assist with some of its dental and vision clinics in the Leh region of Ladakh. Other volunteer opportunities may also be available. Check out www.dzifoundation.org to learn more about dZi, or go to http://dzifoundation.org/volunteer.html to learn about these particular volunteer opportunities. Please contact us or Lisa Raleigh at lisa@dzifoundation.org to learn more.
-Health-Inc.– Ladakh region, Jammu & Kashmir
-LHA Language School– Dharamsala (Mcleod Ganj), Himachal Pradesh
This school (www.lhasocialwork.org) provides free English, French and Tibetan language and computer classes to Tibetan refugees aged 18 to 40, who are too old to be eligible for the Tibetan school system in India. It also runs conversation classes between Lha students and foreign volunteers. Lha accepts volunteer English teachers who can stay for a minimum of a month, and computer teachers and conversation class partners for any amount of time. Contact us if you are interested in these opportunities. Learn more about our partnership with LHA>>
-Mother Teresa Home for the Dying and Destitute, New Delhi
This remarkable institution is home to three-hundred mentally and physically disabled Indian men and women. Free of cost, six nuns give these residents food, shelter, and health treatment every day. Contact information and address of the residence is as follows:
Missionaries of Charity
Nirmal Hriday
Majnu-ka-tilla
1 Magazine Rd.
Delhi 110054ph.- [01191] 238 12 180
[01191] 557 31 435
-Project Why, New DelhiProject Why (www.projectwhy.org) reaches over 500 children every day through the various educational programs that it offers to Delhi’s most disadvantaged citizens. Consisting of several slum-schools, a foster-care center, a Women’s Center, and several health initiatives, Project Why is always in need of volunteers. Contact us or Anouradha Bakshi at anouradha.bakshi@gmail.com if you are interested in lending a hand. Learn more about Project Why>>
Northeast India
-Promise World Wide– Calcutta, West Bengal
Promise World Wide is excited to welcome volunteers to their children’s center in Calcutta. They offer meals, tutoring, and counseling for children in need and have expressed their interest in having volunteers come teach and help run the center. We encourage you to visit their website for more information:www.promiseworldwide.org. Please contact Jaya Basu (jaya@basus.net) or Ashley Moore (ashley@omprakash.org) if you are interested in this opportunity! Learn more about PWW>>
-Rainbow Academy-Darjeeling, West Bengal
The purpose of the Rainbow Academy is to provide a quality and modern education to the underprivileged, disadvantaged, orphans, semi orphans, poorest and needy children of Gorubathan, District Darjeeling, West Bengal, India for their overall well being. The Rainbow Academy has expressed an interest in receiving volunteers to teach at their school. Learn more about Rainbow Academy>>
- Shanti Kunj Home for Destitute Women- Siliguri, West Bengal
-Parijat Academy- Guwahati, AssamThis small school for underprivileged children is looking for volunteers capable of teaching drawing and painting for at least a month. Learn more about Parijat Academy>>
-Asha Darshan- Nalbari, Assam
-Neerja Modi School and Nischay Girls School– Jaipur, Rajasthan
The Neerja Modi School (www.nmsindia.org), a high-school in Jaipur, wants volunteers to help with their English, Math, Environmental Studies, Science, Arts, Music, and Drama programs. Teaching experience and certifications are not necessary; the school’s main goal is simply to add an international dimension to their educational setting. Volunteers are welcome to visit for any amount of time, and room and board will be provided. 
Also on the premises of the Neerja Modi School is the Nischay Girls School, an elementary school offering free education to poor girls. This school was started with twenty students in 2004, and now hosts over 500 young girls. Email us for more information on the Nischay Girls School. Volunteers at the Neerja Modi School will also be welcome to help at the Nischay Girls School, and vice-versa. Contact us or Pragya at pragya@nmsindia.org to learn more about this excellent volunteering opportunity!
-The Center for Unfolding Learning Potential (CULP)– Tonk District, Rajasthan
CULP is a well-established educational NGO based in Jaipur and operating throughout the Tonk district of Rajasthan. CULP brings educational services to over 700 adolescent girls, and needs volunteer English teachers to help them in village schools. If you are interested in volunteering with CULP, please contact us or a CULP representative at culp@datainfosys.net. Learn more about CULP>>
-Datta´s Library– Jaipur, Rajasthan
Submitted by Soumana Datta– dattaslibrary@yahoo.com
Datta`s Library is a private initiative. It has 3 rooms and one toilet and an open patio where people come to read and participate in activities. During summer months children come to learn computers also, so i have a basic computer there. Volunteers can teach some basic computer skills to kids also. We also show some interesting nature cds and films to students. We need to find a math and science tutor so that he or she can teach these subjects to weak students. Please contact us or Soumana to learn more about this opportunity!
-BECC– Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra
BECC offers educational support to street children and other impoverished residents of Mumbai. The organization’s director has requested volunteers to help with all of BECC’s activities. Learn more about BECC>>
South India
-Sevasadanam School– Madhira, Andhra Pradesh
Submitted by John Kanukolanu– johnkanu@yahoo.com
The Sevasadanam School is a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve mentally retarded children and adults by identifying and providing them comprehensive services in Madhira, a small rural town in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Volunteers will receive free room and board, and will work with mentally retarded children and help teach them skills so that they can be self-reliant. The volunteers will also work with the staff to identify innovative ways to engage these children and assist in tasks such as physiotherapy and vocational training. Check out www.sevasadanamschool.org and contact us to learn more.
-The M. Venkatarangaiya Foundation (MVF)– Andhra Pradesh
Committed to “making education a reality for every child,” MVF operates out of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, but also has branches emerging in a number of states throughout India. Their website, www.mvfindia.in, is filled with information about their various projects, most of which involve resisting child labor and increasing the availability of education throughout India. MVF has expressed a need for “enormous support” from volunteers, mostly with administrative tasks, but perhaps also with some teaching. Familiarity with Indian languages is not necessary. MVF will offer free room and board to volunteers for the duration of their stay. If you are interested in this opportunity, please check out the MVF website, and contact us or Arvind at mvfindia@gmail.com. Learn more about MVF>>
-COVA– Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Based in Hyderabad, the Confederation of Voluntary Organizations (www.covanetwork.org) works with over 800 grassroots projects that work for “communal harmony, peace, and social justice.” COVA has reported to Omprakash that language barriers make it difficult for volunteers to work at many of its projects. However, COVA needs volunteers to help with “organisational development of COVA, review of our present systems in HR, PR, communication and Finance etc., and to strengthen these systems.”To learn more about supporting COVA, contact us or Mohammed Turab at premazeem@gmail.com.
-Movement for Rural Emancipation (MORE)– Madanapalle, Andhra PradeshMORE promotes holistic community development through its focus on health, education, and the rehabilitation and empowerment of people with disabilities. Its director has eagerly requested volunteers to come stay at its headquarters and assist in its varied programs. Learn more about MORE>>
-The dZi Foundation– Ladakh region, Jammu & Kashmir
-Project Why, New Delhi
-Parijat Academy- Guwahati, Assam
-Sevasadanam School– Madhira, Andhra Pradesh
-Movement for Rural Emancipation (MORE)– Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh