Rules for volunteers

These rules are put in place to protect the children, volunteers, staff and Kumharla yuva mandal. If these rules are not followed strict disciplinary action will be taken and if serious misconduct has taken place then volunteers will be asked to leave.


Note:
Please ensure you settle your bill with Amrit (unless agreed otherwise) to ensure the much needed cash flow is maintained!

+ All Volunteers need to be registered at the KYM office before commencing volunteer work.

+ Volunteers are only permitted to be at the KYM between the hours of 8am and 9pm unless approved otherwise.

+ No Smoking or drinking alcohol in front of the children

+ Absolutely no drugs anywhere anytime

+ No outside visitors are allowed to our Commune or the volunteer center. Please do not bring visitors in (this includes drivers, people making deliveries as well as friends).

+ No gifts to be given to individual children. It is inappropriate and unfair to single out children in this way creates conflict and hurt for the children.

+ Please respect the other volunteers living at the volunteer centre by keeping the noise down after 10pm

+ When volunteering in India you need to be respectful of Indian customs and traditions. So when you are outside please dress appropriately with your shoulders covered and do not wear short skirts. It is also inappropriate to kiss or hold hands in public and when in the home-stay accommodation please do not kiss or do anything appropriate in from of the host family as they may be offended

Appropriate conduct for volunteers
We ask that volunteers be mindful of their impacts on the children and to understand that they are here to help improve the lives of children of pabbar valley and other parts of India by teaching English, raising cultural awareness and through offering other skills such as art and sewing to name a few. In other words, there are many ways to help, and many tasks that need doing that may not involve direct and regular contactwith the children at our education projects.

We value the input and hard work of volunteers and the positive impacts that interaction with the volunteers has for the children, and for the wider community. We at our Commune want you to enjoy your interactions with the children and take pride in assisting them with homework or teaching them. Volunteer interaction opens up the minds of the children as to what they can accomplish with hard work and as a result our children have great aspirations and motivation to succeed.

However, please be mindful that in having contact with the children, a volunteer’s role is not to parent the children or be their best friend. Think about the relationships you had with your teachers at school. The role of volunteers is to be ‘friendly’ with the kids but not ‘friends’. Although we understand that the children are infectious and you may become fond of them, we ask that you remain professional and remain aware that you will be returning home, leaving these children behind. Please does not promise to come back as chances are you may not and this would leave children feeling disappointed and let down.

We encourage you to think about your role in relation to the children, and to establish relationships based around a practical involvement such as teaching English or another practical skill. Think about what you could offer- can you run an art workshop? Organize some games? Teach sewing or music? Many tasks do not need specialist skills, just a willingness to have a go.

For More Information :
www.volunteeringhimalayas.org