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About Us Open World was established in India with the support of various Non Profit organizations. It is a non-profit, charitable, social and independent Non Governmental Organization (NGO) with the main objective of promoting Global Understanding/Inter-cultural learning and to work for togetherness encouraged on World Peace through Youth Mobility. Open World is registered under the Indian Trust Act and is not inclined to any political or religious groups. It acts as a support structure for other Youth and Social Organizations. It co-operates with a large number of NGO’s all across India in coordinating the international exchange of volunteers and supporting the volunteer structure in India. Open World does volunteer projects all across India and its office is located in Sivakasi. Open World is a membership organization and is open to receiving committed members irrespective of any social background. Open World does projects that are always in co-operation with the local community, and always in a section where the international volunteers can make a real positive impact towards the local communities, by encouraging the work initiated by Open World and the volunteers. Our ideas We believe in giving an opportunity to every young person to make a difference in his/her own life and in the life of others that he/she comes across. By placing volunteers throughout India and the world into various societies, we show interest in the work and lives of people, which encourages them. We also hope to make people more aware of the world in which they live in and its possibilities. The volunteer work that we promote is a kind of non-formal education, wherein access is attained to a section, which is rather unavailable on the labor market. This requires non-formal skills and fundamental education on practical experience. Further, the individual is under no obligation to work, therefore youth exchange in a way, initiates and facilitates this wholesome and unique experience. The comprehensive working field is considerably vast and scopes various activities. This field does not limit your choice, but gives you the satisfaction of choosing your own special area of interest to volunteer your services to a needy organization/projects and individuals. However, volunteerism is also an imperative, complex, responsible and caring order of work where the individual and the social project jointly invest in the improvement of a particular community. If it were only about getting helping hands, the local community would be more than happy to contribute, but the need and demand of these projects go way beyond the local community. Therefore, the process involves various organizations and individuals who co-ordinate and collaborate with each other to motivate people into taking a more personal, profound and active role for the success of volunteers and the concept of volunteerism. In this endeavor, it also opens the minds of local communities towards internationalism in an age of globalization; it further exchanges individual experiences and points of view among all the participants involved. It also creates awareness in the reflection on one’s own culture and way of life. Millions of volunteers contribute to our society worldwide every single day. We believe that the experience to live and work with people from different cultural backgrounds should create understanding and respect, something we should all work on and feel responsible for in this world! Our Activities Open World organises various volunteer and social projects throughout India mainly through organizing Short time Workcamps and Long Term Volunteering. Most of the projects are done independently and some are done in co-operation with local NGO’s of the region. The local NGO knows what work needs to be done and we support them in their work. During the last few years, Open World had grown to become the largest volunteer hosting organization in the country. Our support consists of social support and bringing active volunteers from different countries that are interested to learn, share and are willing to work together for improvement and understanding! Our projects are carefully organized where the local community really needs the support of international volunteers. Volunteers are the blood of our work and activities, we initiate programs to work together with local communities in building and more peaceful and self-content society. Open World Program The objectives are to Promote international understanding and cultural exchange Encourage voluntary service as a resource to promote peace, equality and democracy Support community development and bring an intercultural dimension to community projects Offer people in India direct contact with people from other countries as a way to understand international issues To offer the opportunity to volunteers to learn more about ones self What is needed to be an Open World Volunteer! We welcome anyone interested to come and participate in our voluntary programs. One need not have any special skills for most of our programs. However, since it is humanitarian work, the volunteers can survive and make a positive impact by having these three simple attributes: Open Mindedness is the first attribute that is needed to become a volunteer. One cannot expect to volunteer in any program with a closed or fixed mind! Flexibility can help the volunteer in settling down and to start working in a foreign culture/society. Creativity is essential for volunteers to come up with appropriate and suitable proposals for their work. It helps in keeping the motivation going, and prevents routine and boredom! 1. Structure of the Program The program goes as follows: Application, the volunteers have to apply directly or through our partner organizations in their own country. Placements will be completed as soon as possible. Info sheet and pre arrival letter includes project profile, info about the place, arrival details, etc. Arrivals, volunteer’s arrival to Sivakasi. Registration will be done on the first day of your arrival. Orientation the program will start with an orientation. Projects, the volunteers join their respective projects, in different locations, depending on the placement. They can volunteer for a minimum duration of one month. “Week End meetings” will be organized every alternative month. Final evaluation - handing in final project report and evaluation. Follow up system – keeping a track of volunteer’s progress and project development. Application In the Project Information section you will find details about the type of projects you can volunteer in. Please read carefully and consider what field interests you most. We request all applicants to state 3 project choices in order of preference in their application form. After we accept your application the placement and the projects will be organized on an individual basis, according to your preferences stated in your application form. Please be specific about your interests, experience and project choices in your application form. We will place volunteers on a first come first serve basis and therefore some projects may be full so we can offer you your second or third choice or ask you to come later when the place is available. Please note that even when we work very hard in trying to confirm you in the project of your first choice, we cannot always fulfill everybody’s wishes. We provide the best possibilities for our volunteers and will accommodate for your individual needs and interests. Changes of project placements and hosting accommodation can only be made for in special cases, but not before trying to adjust in the first placement. We kindly ask all participants to adapt to your project once you are directed to it and to stay in their assigned placement for a minimum of one month before changing to a new placement. We consider that one month is the time required to adapt to a long-term project. Placements You will be placed in the most suitable project of your choices according to your details we receive in your application. Info sheet and pre arrival letter Your info sheet will contain all the information that you need to know for you to prepare for your journey and stay in India. It is very important! That you read the whole info sheet at least once and understand all the contents. Pre arrival letter will include all the necessary information that will make your way to Sivakasi as smooth and trouble free as possible. Arrival Landing in any one of the following Three Airports will be easy for you to reach Sivakasi, where the office of Open World is situated: 1. Chennai 2. Madurai 3. Trivandrum One of our staff will meet you in the airport and he will come with you all the way to Sivakasi. From all the three places frequent Trains, Buses and Taxis are available to Sivakasi. Registration All the registration and formalities will be done on the first day of the orientation. Orientation The Orientation will take place in Sivakasi. This will prepare you for your program and introduced you into the Indian culture and people. This will be the time to ask all your questions about the program, the organization, the country, the culture, etc. The orientation usually consists of: The Open World Program introduction: aims, way of working, finances, rules and appreciated behavior. India: culture, religion, habits, customs, history, geography, social issues, are some of the topics that we will introduce you Language Skills: A first contact with an Indian language and you will learn a few phrases to get by. India has 18 official languages, and as many or more dialects and sub-dialects. We will start with teaching Tamil language. Do not forget that English is widely spoken all throughout the country, however we urge you to learn and speak the local language, since this will open more doors for you. Projects: an overview of the projects of Open World, and an explanation and presentation of your particular placement. There will also be project visits, where you will also have a first chance to meet other present volunteers who can share their experiences. Local sight seeing and meeting people will make you feel right at home. You will have the opportunity to visit market places, Indian homes, and natural sites in groups or individually during free time. Does and Don’ts: there are some simple rules, which can help you and the others around you to have a smooth integration with each other. This will also help to overcome your culture shock. Coordinators will be taking care of all activities for the entire orientation. Week End Meetings Open World is offering at least one Week End Meeting for all volunteers. This is an occasion to meet altogether for 2 to 3 days to exchange experiences, have fun and relax. These meetings will take place in different locations and will have different topics and activities. This offer is additional, so Open World will provide for basic food and accommodation but volunteers have to pay for their own transportation and “extras” during the weekend. It is after all a very good occasion to meet again with a larger group of volunteers and the coordinators of Open World to make a mid-term evaluation, discuss issues, topics and problems…and, of course, have fun altogether! Final Evaluation At the end of your program Open World kindly ask you to take part in a final evaluation session with your coordinator. This will be either individually, or in a group depending on the project. You will talk about your experiences (good and bad ones!) and complete a feedback form. Open World will provide each volunteer with an official certificate of appreciation to formally attest of your international voluntary experience. The final evaluation will be done at the end of the program term and will consist in a meeting with one of our program coordinators. You will talk about experiences (good and bad ones!) and fill in a feedback form and receive an official certificate of appreciation to formally attest of your experience. It will also be the time to say good-bye to all those you have shared time with. Follow-ups In our organization volunteers are regarded as extended team members. Through our volunteers we can monitor, develop and create a sustainable way for running a project. It is important for the volunteers to understand that they are the hands and eyes of our organization. In order to keep a track on the volunteers’ progress and project development we have the following system. Follow-ups (host family, project, volunteer): the Coordinator will meet them or phone them to find out how they are doing and to help the volunteers in their transitional period as well as during their entire stay. Monthly reports: each month the volunteers need to fill in a simple report format in order for us to follow the systematic development of the project that the volunteer is working on. There is also a small evaluation regarding the hosting situation and so on. Phone contact or office meetings with their coordinators: Each project has coordinator or a contact person who is available on call or in the office. So, the volunteers can meet the coordinator personally and discuss or take advice/help from him/her. Week End Meeting: Any volunteer staying for more than a month gets a chance to have a relaxed In-between meeting always organized in an interesting place for two nights and three days! It is a time to enjoy a kind of weekend retreat with the other volunteers and also to review their time in India/ in their project and their experience. Final Evaluation: is a final evaluation from the volunteers to the Open World coordinating team leaving any suggestions and constructive criticism. So that the team can work on to be more efficient in handling projects and volunteers better. Final Report: it is a report or record left by the volunteer for the next volunteer who is going to join the project. In this way the next volunteers can continue the work that has been started by the previous volunteers. Through this we try to encourage sustainable development in the projects. 2. Open World Project Information The following section provides an overview of the Projects available with Open World In this section you will find details about the type of projects you can volunteer in. Please read these carefully before applying. OWI EDUCATION: OWI Teach English OWI ENVIROCARE: OWI Environmental Conservation OWI Environmental Education OWI CARE FOR HELPLESS: OWI Street Children- General OWI Physically and/or mentally disabled children OWI Orphan Children OWI Old Aged People OWI MEDICINE: OWI Help the Doctors OWI Rural Medication OWI Traditionals OWI Yoga OWI Ayurveda OWI OTHER: OWI Women Empowerment OWI HIV Awareness OWI Education: OWI Teach English Education is an important tool in development. Teaching spoken English and extra curricular activities to local school children and seeing the impact this makes on the children can be a very rewarding experience. You will be working in a Local School, which is lacking in resources or teaching staff. The aims of this project are to support the teaching staff in the classroom and bring an international dimension where your tasks will be; Assisting with English language learning, Using creative teaching methods to encourage and develop learning in the students, Assisting with extra-curricular activities, Inspiring children to learn new languages and learn about new cultures, and teaching the students about your country. You will be developing teaching methods, planning ideas in the group and passing this information through for future volunteers in a view to create long-term improvements in an educational model, which will be created with the help of hundreds of volunteers. The volunteers should bring creative ideas to initiate new activities in the school, for example, in environmental, organizational, or computing. You have to love children, as they everyday will surround you with. If you have many ideas in teaching different kinds of activities such as games, songs, arts and crafts or sports and athletics to children then this type of project is for you! You will be teaching any subject depending on your personal interests and skills. Volunteers should have a good level of spoken English and some knowledge in teaching children will be useful. Please note: The academic teaching year starts from June and ends 15th March. During the last two weeks of March there will be examination time and April and May is summer holiday. This is the reason we can involve volunteers in teaching projects only between 1st June and 1st March. OWI Envirocare: OWI Environmental Conservation Much of India’s wildlife and habitat are at risk from destruction due to the rapid development of the population and the growth of urban areas. Furthermore, the modernization of the economy and the use of “productive” and “high yielding” techniques in agriculture and industry has lead to the destruction of natural ecosystems. This project works in association with local NGOs to support lower economic and social groups and communities in the development of sustainable water resource use and management, Sustainable working methods in agriculture, and Tree-planting campaigns. This is usually in rural areas where there has not been much development. You can take part in a project to develop and support nature conservation projects in local communities to protect local endangered ecosystems, to raise awareness of environmental and conservation issues to schools and the local community, and to educate the local community in the economic and social benefits of environmental protection and nature conservation The above project fields will all be in rural areas where there has not been much development or economic activity. The projects described above are seasonal and vary accordingly. OWI Environmental Education This project works in association with local NGOs and our organization to educate lower economic and social groups, local community, youth and children in educating them in environmental concerns, good practices and present situations. This is usually in rural areas where there has not been much development. You can take part in a project to develop and support in creative education on nature conservation and to educate the local community in the economic and social benefits of environmental protection and nature conservation. You will be visiting schools, colleges, and youth groups and organizing environmental educational workshops. OWI Care for Helpless: OWI Street Children- General Many NGO and local initiatives in India work for the welfare of so-called “street children” or “working children”, Open World is one of them. The aim is to take these children away from the streets and from their working place in order to give them a chance to live a decent and balanced life. By placing them in centers, boarding schools and or day-care shelters, the aim is to put them back into the regular schooling system and/or to train them in vocational activities to give them skills that will help them to find a decent job, and keep them away from exploitation. Much of the development work in street children projects is based on education. Therefore the volunteers will be required to teach in most of the projects working with street children. So an interest in teaching and a love for children is important. Other work activities will involve supporting staff and daily running of the schools. If you have many ideas in teaching different kinds of activities such as games, songs, arts and crafts or sports and athletics to children then this type of project is for you! You will be teaching any subject depending on your personal interests and skills, such as spoken English, are also possible, depending on the interest. A creative approach to work is useful and you will have the opportunity to initiate new mini projects or activities. You will need to take a flexible approach to the work and you should be prepared to undertake a variety of tasks. OWI Disabled children These children are rejected by normal society and so volunteers are really needed to help bring joy to the lives of these children and help the NGO to bring some structure to their daily lives and prepare them for adulthood. Work will include supporting the NGO working in the cause and motivation, to help and care in the daily tasks of the community, to maximize learning, to develop self-awareness, to socialize in human relationships, to increase the knowledge of community resources and civic responsibilities. Working with disabled people can be quite a challenging task for anyone. The spirit of these people can bring joy to anyone and a lot can be learnt. The main work will be teaching and supporting the staff in their daily activities for the care of physically and/or mentally disabled children. In the home, being part of the group is essential; help has to be done wherever necessary and so you should be flexible and open to all kinds of work and activities. Other work activities involve maintenance and gardening work, preparing meals, serve them, cleaning and giving company. A creative approach to work is useful and you will have the opportunity to initiate new mini projects or activities. You will need to take a flexible approach to the work and you should be prepared to undertake a variety of tasks. OWI Orphan Children Volunteers have the choice to work in orphanages, being invited to be a support staff for the members with the daily care of babies and children. Work would include teaching English, drawings and taking part in the community activities with brand new ideas! The work is varied and so you must flexible in tackling your work. The work could involve rehabilitating, educating and bringing them back to the main stream of life. OWI Old Aged People Working at an Old Aged home can be quite a challenge by itself; work will include inter-acting with the old people and basic support towards the staff in their daily routine. The volunteers will take part helping with in the daily activities, medical care, special programs for physical exercise, and simply give company to elders. OWI Medicine: OWI Help the Doctors The Medical volunteers are mostly accommodated in local families close to the hospitals. These families take a loving care of the volunteers. Although the volunteers can share the facilities in the family, they are given separate rooms for sleeping and privacy. Depending upon the distance they use bicycles, rickshaws or local buses to get to work. The hospital work normally starts at 9’O clock every morning. It begins with ward rounds with the doctors and then the out-patient treatment. They also help nurses in getting the beds ready for the patients, moving the patients, recording blood pressure and the temperature. Surgeries would be mostly in the evening which every medical volunteer can observe. As the lunch break is bit longer ie. From 2 Pm to 6 Pm, they get back to the family for lunch and then do personal work like internet, shopping etc. The evening session of work normally lasts until 9’O clock. Thus they work around 50 Hours per week from Monday to Friday. In addition to the above routines they also visit specialized hospitals like Leprosarium, Tuberculosis Hospitals, Ayurvedic Hospitals, Siddha Hospitals and Homeopathic Hospitals for a couple of days each. During the organized weekends, they travel to the appointed places and meet with other volunteers. On free weekends, they spend the time with the family visiting their relatives / friends, attending marriage functions, festivals or visiting nurse’s family on invitation. OWI Rural Medication The regional medical collages and government institutes conduct rural health check ups and rural medication as part of health legislations. And there is always a lack of staff support. Volunteers applying for this program must have medical back ground. The volunteers will work and serve as medical assistants and help the rural medical team as a team member. OWI Traditionals OWI Yoga Yoga is practiced by over 20 million Americans daily. Everyday people are reporting their wonderful experiences with Yoga, the transformation of being, taking you beyond the here and now. In one wonderful session of Yoga, people get to practice a number of things, some Yoga poses (asanas) breathing exercises (pranayama), meditation and chanting. In Yoga you get to learn basic terms like Mudras, Bandhas and Chakras. Best of all, Yoga is fun and relaxing while, at the same time, being delectably challenging to beginners. The Volunteers, who insist on continuing their practices, get more and more of the taste of this great 5000+ year old wondrous way of life. Yoga is for the body, mind and spirit. You learn to use your body, breath and mind to stretch, relax and energize yourself. So get up and go! OWI Ayurveda Etymologically Ayurveda has two word- Ayu and Veda. Ayu means life and Veda stands for the knowledge. So strictly speaking Ayurveda is knowledge for life. For what this knowledge is? What is the aim of Ayurveda? Talking about both Paramount Scholars of Ayurveda- Charka and Sushruta has told that- Aim of Ayurveda is to prevent the diseases in a healthy person and to cure the diseased one. They have given these following definitions of Ayurveda- • Ayurveda is a science of life. It tells what is good and what is not for the healthy life. • A science dealing with the details about the life, its endurance and eminence is Ayurveda. • An eternal knowledge, aimed to cure the diseases of all creatures is Ayurveda. • Ayurveda is a science which tells us how to use foods, herbs and other natural resources for maintenance of health. • All natural things and their effect on body is where discussed that science is known as Ayurveda. • Where all ailments of body, psyche and consciousness are cured and made healthy is Ayurveda. From these definitions it is clear that Ayurveda is a complete knowledge about life, how to live life in a healthy way and to achieve harmony with the nature. OWI Others OWI Women Empowerment Many NGOs and government organizations are increasingly putting women at the center of their projects and are working out programs and strategies in which they support the socially and economically disadvantaged women of India. Empowering women and educating them on their constitutional rights, making socially abused women aware of the law, like the special women’s cell and a woman’s responsibility in a family and working towards the achievement of social and economical security are working aims in this field. Since most of the women you are going to work with come from an underprivileged background, they speak very little English. Be ready to find creative and alternative ways of communication. Please note the work mainly involves working in the office with the NGO and rarely on the field. OWI HIV Awareness HIV and AIDS related issues are a World wide problem which is threatening the entire human population. There are many NGO’s taking up this issue and working to tackle this problem. Each NGO adapts different methods; some work in awareness issues and some work with the affected people. The volunteers applying for this field must have some prior experience or some medical background. The work is varied and will involve assisting the NGO’s in their programs. 3. Accommodation for volunteers Host Families You will be staying in local families near to the project. You will be sharing rooms with 2-3 volunteers. What is it like to live with a host family? The people who host volunteers are of all kinds, couples with or without children, joint families, single parents, single people etc. Host families provide accommodation, food, emotional and moral support, and guidance. A routine day in a host family is the behind-the-screen look into the culture of the hosting country and gives a large insight into the customs of a family; an experience like no other can give to one who wants to learn about another culture. Not only learning but also understanding why the culture is like the way it is. Host families help you to interact with the local community, which increases their chances of making friends and contacts. An Indian host family requires that the volunteer who live in their home should be willing to become part of his/her host family with the same rights, that he/she should be prepared to help with the daily household chores (clean his/her room, help to prepare meals or to clean the dishes etc.) We also expect all the volunteers to make an honest effort to share the daily life of the family he/she is living with. The volunteer is required to participate in family activities, show interest in the family functions and activities, help in the kitchen and play with the children. You are also requested to refrain from smoking and consumption of alcohol in the house unless permitted by the family. Volunteers also should be ready for basic accommodation and basic Indian food three times a day, community living: shared bedrooms and bathrooms, strict timings for meals, internal rules, and dress code. Living at the Project Sometimes, projects provide accommodation. The project will provide a room that is shared by other volunteers/staff. You must respect the living conditions of the project and respect for the local environment is expected at all times for example, there will a designated smoking area. Volunteers also should be ready for basic accommodation and basic Indian food three times a day, community living: shared bedrooms and bathrooms, strict timings for meals, internal rules, and dress code. 4. Expectations “Your Expectations are your worst enemy?!” What do you expect from your volunteering experience? To learn about a new culture? To eat good food? To take part in a political and/or humanitarian act? To receive support and to help others? To work within a dynamic team? To change the world? Or simply to have fun? However, if these expectations are not met, how will this make you feel? Disappointed? Frustrated? Useless? Or just let down? Imagine having NO expectations, meeting your new experience with an open-mind…. Will this enhance and enrich your experience? YES! It will give you the freedom to be accepting. It will give you the chance to discover and for you to enjoy your wonderful personal experience, with accepting and enjoying every thing that you come across. What can volunteers expect from Open World? To integrate with local Indian communities To meet with many young people, experience, exchange and learn a lot and also have fun. A contact person to assist you during your project Access to reports and project information as well as material that could be useful for your project A comprehensive Orientation Transportation from accommodation to your project. Basic Board & Lodging An Evaluation Meeting An experience Certificate at the end of the Program term to formally attest your participation What do we expect from you? We expect all volunteers to have read and understood this profile. Be on time and stay the entire length of the placement, SO PLEASE PLAN ALL THE PERSONAL TRAVELLING THAT IS LONGER THAN THE WEEKEND AFTER OR BEFORE YOUR PLACEMENT. Quitting your project before the end of the program term can cause a lot of inconvenience to the project and the people involved in it. We expect all the volunteers to remember that they are the representatives of the organization in their projects. Your actions directly or indirectly will effect the reputation and image of the organization. We expect the volunteers to respect the local culture/ values and traditions. We expect the volunteers to respect the religious beliefs of the local people. We expect the volunteers to make a serious effort in integrating into the local community. We expect the volunteers to keep in touch with our coordinators. We expect the volunteers not to de-motivate other volunteers in any case. To support/help the organization in our programs and projects. Expect you to have a good time! To be Committed and Show responsibility We expect the Volunteers to be creative and work in a team towards our common goal. Please consider all these points before you apply for an Open World long term volunteering project. 5. Costs Open World is a non–profit organization and does not have external funding. All costs of Open World are sustained through participation fees from volunteers. We work only with local organizations that need our support. The participation fee will be collected only for a full month and it is not possible to apply for half a month. Please remember that the participation fee is non refundable. Open World financial flows. This varies from year to year because of the changes in the number of volunteers we receive. There are three main parts in which we divide our expenses: a) food, travel and accommodation b) program c) organization We accept application for only six months; however, reapplying once again can extend the term. The payment will be collected, 15 days before the program starts. Please try to exchange your foreign currency as soon as possible. However try not to do it immediately after you get of the plane, at the airport; the rates are more disadvantageous than outside. Open World staff can assist you to find a convenient place for the exchange of currency or traveler cheques and cash withdrawal at ATMs. Contact Open World 2-1/442,Munish Nagar, Vilampatti Road, Near Sabai Matchworks, Anaiyur (Post) Sivakasi (West), Virudhunagar (District), Tamil Nadu, India. Mobile: +91 99943 18866 E-mail: openworldindia@gmail.com Website: www.openworld.webs.com
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