Youngsters volunteer for a summer of change

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Volunteers at Protsahan teach kids various arts and crafts; (below) Youngsters holding placards for a volunteer poster

This summer many city NGOs are offering interesting volunteering opportunities to youngsters who want to pursue causes close to their hearts. So, if your are an artist with a knack for digital art, a techie who can help with a mobile app development or even a travel junkie who loves photography and multimedia, be a volunteer and you can put your skills to good use. From managing social media platforms to conducting multimedia workshops and being part of the participatory projects, holidays could be a season of opportunities.
Ian McBride of Etasha Society, an organisation that provides career guidance, employability skills, vocational training and placement to young people from disadvantaged communities, says that they are looking for volunteers to take up jobs like online content development, maintain social media forums and write blogs. “We welcome volunteers who have specific skills sets and have genuine interest, and not just want credit for their course,” he says.
Ian adds that the organisation is developing a mobile learning application for their trainees, for which they are particularly looking for youth to look at aspects like software development and fund-raising. “We make sure that their stay with the organisation is not only enriching but the projects they take up actually interest them. That’s why we try to devise diverse opportunities to suit the youth,” he adds.
Another youth-based organisation, Protsahan Foundation which uses art, design, technology, digital stories, theatre and cinema to bring social change is looking for volunteers with a creative bent of mind. “Creative people — artists, storytellers and graphic designers — are always welcome to help us with our art and digital story projects at our school for young adolescent girls. Also, youngsters with skills like jewellery designing, origami and other creative talents are welcome at our slum school,” says Sonal Kapoor, director Protsahan.
Youth-focused organisation, Pravah has a challenging opportunity outside Delhi, called Rural Retreat. Says Arjun Shekhar, co-founder Pravah, “The idea is to help the city youth develop an ability to learn from life, while learning about the community, and its joys, struggles and social, economic and political conditions, and at the same time have fun and make lasting friendships. We need passionate and committed youth for the same.”
Siddarth Upadhaya of Stairs, an NGO working towards providing education to underprivileged children, says their organisation invites students to mobilise the college community. “Youngsters who display a spirit of sportsmanship can volunteer for various sporting events and help in conducting various workshops,” he says.
Interestingly, many NGOs are making special arrangements to make the stay of volunteers an enjoyable and enriching experience. Like Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), an organisation working to promote the spirit of volunteerism, has time-bound volunteering opportunities, involving travel and stay at rural areas. “Our focus is also on children with disabilities, and opportunities around them involve alternative teaching, dance and communications,” says Sachal Aneja of VSO India.
Starting next month, youth-run, youth-focused initiative Must Bol has launched a filmmaking volunteer program. “Our idea is to encourage youngsters promote the cause of gender issues through filmmaking. And we all know the power of social media. So, with a simple cell phone, we will be teaching them to make films and then produce the films for us,” says Manak Mathiyani of Must Bol.