India - the land to travel to, a haven of culture, a civilization to explore. Travellers come to India for its wealth of sights, cultural exuberance, diversity of terrain and in search of that special something, an extra punch that only India promises and delivers. Teeming with over a billion people who voice over a million concerns in fifteen hundred different languages, India is where people live with variety, thrive on diversity and are too familiar with largeness to let it boggle them. Mud huts and mansions face off across city streets. Lurid luxury and limp living are inhabitants of the same lane.

From the smoky mangroves of the Sunderbans to the steaming Thar Desert, sizzling cities like Mumbai and Delhi to the scintillating villages of Khajuraho and Hampi, from the heights of the Himalayas to the deep blue waters around the Andamans, India possesses one of the most breath taking diversity of landscapes in the world.

Kolkata sits just 6m (21ft) above sea level on the banks of the broad, slow-flowing Hooghly River. In summer (April to June) temperatures soar to over 30º C (86ºF), remaining high during the drenching monsoon that lasts from June to September. The best time to visit is from October to February, when the streets come alive with fairs and festivals and the weather behaves itself, for the most part, with modest temperatures and limited rainfall.

See Our Projects

Why does India Need Volunteers?

However large-scale poverty stains the natural beauty and history of India, which has the most people living in poverty of any country in the world. Alarming population growth has outpaced economic progress and now between 350-400 million people, about the population of the United States, live in poverty. One of the main causes of poverty is illiteracy and in India more than 40% of the population is illiterate. The poorest people in India are the ones with the least access to social services and education, the majority of who are women and members of the lower castes.

Perhaps the most important group to begin working towards a brighter future for India is with its children, which is why so many of our projects are focused on child welfare and community development.

Large systemic change must occur in India in order to eradicate poverty, but it is a goal that we can begin working towards today. The present needs of many communities can be met by the participation and care of volunteers. Your contributions are part the larger picture and are immediately beneficial and greatly appreciated. By working with Volunteer Visions in its efforts towards community development in an orphanage and healthcare center or as an advocate against child labor, you can be part of the difference.

Volunteer Projects in India