VHR Volunteers in India

VHR’s team volunteers in India to help local community, hosted by WE Charity.

WE Charity

WE is an international charity that partners with communities to help lift themselves out of poverty using a holistic, sustainable five-pillar development model.

The five-pillar model focuses on improving the following: education, agriculture and tools, health, opportunity and water.

WE villages projects in India operate in the Udaipur and Rajsamand district of the northern desert state, Rajasthan. These districts suffer from many environmental, economic and social crises, for example: girls in India (specifically among tribal populations of Rajasthan) experience a pronounced number of gender inequalities — they have the highest female illiteracy rate in the entire country and only half of the female population attend secondary school.

Additionally, child labour is also a widespread throughout the Rajsamand region; this is not a quick problem to fix as child labour impacts at least 12% of Indian children throughout the country – it’s rooted in systemic poverty as more than a quarter of India’s population lives below the poverty line.

WE’s goals aim to combat child labour, provide access to education for the indigenous and most marginalised people, create health centres, build and refurbish schools as well as organising women’s alternative income groups.

VHR Volunteers in Rajsamand

VHR’s Delivery Executive, Andreea Olariu, and Marketing Coordinator, Samantha Taylor, were chosen by the company as winners of the WE volunteer trip to India, ran in partnership with Virgin Atlantic.

Leaving for Udaipur two weeks ago, both Andreea and Samantha met with the incredible ME to WE staff to work alongside community members on a sustainable development project that allows volunteers first-hand experience in helping break the cycle of poverty, as well as an amazing opportunity to make genuine, lasting connections and tour the local region.

It was an unforgettable, rewarding journey for VHR’s team members who spent their time in India assisting in the following tasks:

. Collecting water for the family and community

. Feeding their livestock

. Cooking

. Assisting in building their family home

. Assisting in laying the foundation for the local primary school

. Demolishing old school buildings

Spending time with the local women and children, learning about their hardships and struggles, but how WE charity are helping them overcome extreme poverty was an honourable experience for Andreea and Samantha, who were generously welcomed by the community and thanked for their hard work.

By gaining a new perspective on Indian culture, and by spending quality time with the local community members, both Andreea and Samantha have developed a personal appreciation for the commitment and commendable hard work accomplished by the WE charity. Through hands-on experiences, they cultivated a deeper empathy, compassion and understanding of different traditions, customs and environments in India.

Volunteering in India is part of VHR’s CSR initiatives which have also included:

. Competing in the London Marathon for VICTA charity

. Cycling a tour around Australia for the Steve Waugh foundation

. Completing the Bloodwise Blenheim Palace Triathlon

. Supporting Christmas Jumper Day in aid of Save the Children

. Running the London Santa Dash in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital

Donate to the great cause supported by WE charity and contribute towards improving lives in rural India.