International Visiting and Volunteering

(India Trip)

Process

Samagra In Canada

initial contact, information and guidance in preparing for the trip.

Samagra In India:

Settling in with SMTA and visiting places of cultural significance and interactive workshops.


Visiting NGOs and living in rural areas


Reflections, sharing, conclusion and departure

Day 1:

A representative will welcome participants/visitors at the airport and will drive them to Vikasnagar though the fertile plains of Meerut and Dehradun. A Mahindra jeep and a Tata Sumo, which can easily accommodate 10-12 people with their luggage, will be used for the road journey.

Viakasnagar is a mandi (supply town) for Jaunsar Bawar mountains (vide Map 2 & 3). The group will reach it around 9 am.


Dormitory type accommodation. Separate for Girls and Boys. Bedding provided. Attached restrooms. Running water. Electricity present. Hot water available.


Phone in: Vikasnagar facility.
Phone out: nearby public phone.
Internet: Vikasnagar town.
Connectivity and speed improves early in the morning and late in the evening.


Indian dishes with low spices and low fat. Basic Western items- bread, butter, jam, cheese spread would be available as alternatives. Self service in kitchen is permitted. Helping the kitchen in charge in cooking and washing is highly appreciated. Timings: Breakfast – 8 to 9 am. Lunch 1 to 2 pm. Dinner 7 to 8 pm.


Water filters will be available both in dining room as well as in dormitory. Participants are however, recommended to chemically treat the filtered water with Pristine drops or Iodine tablets. Boiled water is available on request.

Activity

During the day participants/visitors are free to settle in, relax, explore the campus, watch TV or go to market accompanied by staff/volunteers. In the evening at 5 pm, there will be 'Handle Ceremony', where the group and the local staff, will get introduced formally, ground rules (eg: roster for summaries¹)daily summaries - a few paragraphs outlining the main events and major insights of the day. This will be followed by dinner and early retiring to bed.


The group will get up early (6 am) and assemble in the hall (if interested in Yoga and Meditation) for one hour session of Yoga postures and meditation. This fun session would be conducted by an experienced practitioner. He/she will demonstrate, explain the benefits, precautions etc. Then, students will be helped to achieve the posture, as far as they can comfortably. This session will conclude with a brief introduction to meditation. After Breakfast, students will be free to review their preparation for SMTA Niketan, Chakrata, make a marketing list of what they need and finish off marketing in small groups- assisted by SMTA volunteers on need basis.

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Items needed for stay in India

Three sets of loose cotton Salwar, Kameez, chunni (for girls) and Kurta, Pajama (for boys).

1. Good rubber soled walking shoes. Trekking shoes will be ideal.
2. Insect repellent
3. Umbrella (collapsible, light weight) for protection against sun.

SMTA its activities, approach and challenges² (Ruben). A cross cultural case study for discussion & brain storming. Evening Movie: Jaunsari Dances, Culture or an Indian movie. Begin 5 pm.

Visit to places of Cultural Importance:

Day trip

Visit to Leprosy center and Tibetan villages in Doon valley



Visit to the temples and Bathing ghats on the bank of river Ganga. Exploring Sivananda ashram and observe Ganga Aarti.

Taking a trip to Brahmapuri Leper colony, 6 km from Rishikesh on Devprayag road. Brahmapuri is a field unit of KKM leprosy center, visited on day 5 in Dehradun; On the banks of Ganges, this colony reflects early days of Leprosy rehabilitation movement in India.



Visit to the temples and Bathing ghats on the banks of river Ganga. Explore Sivananda ashram and observe Ganga Aarti.



Mussorie is a hill town situated at the altitude of 6500 feet. Besides visiting the Tibetan settlement in happy valley and visitors can have a glimpse of snow capped high Himalayas from various points in this town.

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Integral Workshop

Four days workshop in Vikasnagar through which participants will explore (through dialogue)concepts of Integral (physical, mental and spiritual) development

Visiting, staying in mountain villages and volunteering

Departure to SMTA Niketan, Jakhdhar, Chakrata or Chirbatia (JVS)at 6 am. Transport: A Mahindra jeep and a Tata Sumo. A seven hour journey (160 km) through Jamuna pul, Lakhamandal. With one hour stop at Lakhamandal to visit old temples and to have snacks. (Vide Map)


Dormitory type accommodation (lights out by 10.00 pm). Separate for Girls and Boys. Bedding provided. Attached restrooms. Running water. Hot water from a solar water heater available outside. A playground in front of student’s residence. Solar lights available. May use additional solar lanterns, but must give them back every morning for recharging to solar maintenance person (Mr Gunta or Guru ji).

1. Since connectivity is patchy and poor in the mountains, the group will be requested to have just one common email ID to receive and send all their emails while in the mountains. They can create this email ID at any free email service.
Food: Indian dishes with low spices and low fat. Basic Western items- bread, butter, jam, cheese spread would be available as alternatives. Self service in kitchen is permitted. Helping the kitchen in charge in cooking and washing is highly appreciated. Timings: Breakfast – 7 to 8. Lunch 1 to 3 pm (depending on the village visit). Dinner 7 to 8 pm.Water: Water filters will be available both in dining room as well as dormitory. Students are recommended to chemically treat the filtered water with pristine drops or Iodine tablets. Boiled water is available on request.

Activity:

Lunch. Settle in.

Evening: Get together at 5 pm for introduction with SMTA field team. The group will make an informal presentation about SIHI and student life in Canada in general.

1. Following is an overall structure. Specific details of this phase will depend on local factors and events. May is the month of village fairs. If there is a culturally important fair in a particular village, precedence will be given to that visit. Similarly, the government ANM may be available in her Mother and Child (MCH) Health center on a particular day, calling for a visit to that village on that day.
   
   Breakfast finished by 8 am.
   Village visit: 8 am to 2 pm. The participants will go to the villages in one or at the most two groups.
   
   Every fourth day there will be a rest and maintenance day, with following highlights:
   1. Learning Loop (LL) meetings, wherein we will be reviewing lessons learnt both by internal and external teams. In this meeting innovative ways of sharing will be emphasized.
   2. A collective shramdan (community labor) on or off campus.
   3. Time for documentation and journal writing
   4. Time to interact with children & learn local song and dance
   5. We will try to send and receive emails on this particular day. This though is subject to functioning Internet server in the region.
   
   
   
   Volunteering Opportunities
   
   in SMTA Niketan
   
   (A) with school children:
   Teach them Paper machier. Develop nursery plantation (digging pits to be used for plantation during monsoon, a few month later)
   Teach them conversational English, Water colors, Sketching, Origami, Dramatics, etc. (small groups of students needing (or volunteering for) such inputs can be identified by the teacher and then SIHI student can focus on that group for as long as they are there)
   
   (B) with SMTA teaching staff:
   Interactive learning games Computer skills (Word processing, spreadsheet, graphics)
   
   (C) A few students who can cope, will be allowed to directly help one or two local families close to campus, in day to day task like collecting water, fodder etc provided it does not disrupt their or the family’s schedule too much.
   
   (D) According to the needs identified by the villagers themselves, a Shram Dan (manual work) project may be undertaken which could include such work as:
   • Tree planting
   • Repairing the village trails and paths
   • Supporting the evolution of Samagra, a centre for integral development. A detailed document about this emerging organization is available for participants to read.
   Travel back to Vikasnagar. Rest, recoup; Prepare/ rehearse for presentation and cultural show
   
   
   Day 29:
   
   Various events will be organized to bring out the important learnings and to capture the prevailing moods:
   
   
   Best Snippet
   
   write up: Participants will describe in writing something funny or interesting or moving- seen, experienced or heard while in India, in 50 words. It will be a kind of word sketch or snap shot.
   
   
   Cultural Show
   
   A combined effort of local people and Samagra staff with the help of visitors
   
   Day 30:
   
   Breakfast and Lunch as per routine. Pack up. Souvenir marketing. Departure. Those opting for Eco-trek will be staying back in the region.
   
   
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