As a non profit organization concerned with social change, Joining Hands is committed to making your travel in India a meaningful and memorable one. That is why Joining Hands has introduced the new and upcoming concept of VolunTourism in its programs.
In the past few years, sustainability has gained more and more attention in general life, and also in the tourism sector. Many travelers are starting to discover the concept of sustainable tourism and feel the need to maximize their stay abroad and make it a meaningful one. The answer to this growing need is VolunTourism, combining as it does vacational travel with volunteering at the destination visited. It integrates the best of tourism – culture, nature, art and recreation - with the opportunity to serve and enhance the destination – its people and its milieu.
Joining Hands for Voluntourism
As an individual you gain interesting experiences that you would cherish for the rest of your life. As a group, you will go through life changing experiences together, that you will never forget. As a family, while bonding together, you will be able to make your children responsible global citizens, with a broader perspective about life.
VolunTourism provides people from all over the world with opportunities to visit or to work in our partnering NGOs in India. These NGO’s are working on issues related to health, social justice, education, rural and general development. Volunteers can contribute their experiences and/or time to causes specific to their destinations and thereby add value to their trip and explore India in a challenging and valuable way. |
Why you should become a VolunTourist
VolunTourism offers benefits not only to each individual but also to organizations and destinations.
As a VolunTourist you…
will experience a sense of social responsibility. You will not only travel as a tourist but will also have the opportunity to contribute in a positive way
- will learn how to travel in a different way. This way will not only explore a destination, people or the prevailing environment but will give you the opportunity of enhancing the lives of the local residents.
- will experience and explore a country and the local community in a unique way which is not easily accessible to ordinary tourists.
- will have the opportunity to interact with a different culture and gain a new perspective of the world, deepening your understanding of humanity.
- will gain meaningful life-experiences which will remain with you forever
- will feel the possibility of a sense of purpose in connection with your leisure activities.
- can become a VolunTourist, no matter what your background, age, experiences or interests are.
- will have a memorable stay in India that you will cherish for the rest of your life!
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Joining Hands and you
Most tourists find travelling independently a challenging experience and adapting in a new country is different each time, even if an experienced solo-traveler. If you want to give something back to the society you are visiting and are searching for a suitable and trustworthy NGO to help you, Joining Hands is able to suggest a wide range of different, reliable NGOs currently in Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
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- a whole variety of activities, from visiting a school or an orphanage to making pottery with local women and enjoying a local dance performance.
- the possibility to customize your VolunTouring-experience according to your interests, time and preferences.
- the certainty that you will be able to benefit a local community with your visit.
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the chance to expand your exposure to a different culture and to make your stay in India a remarkable one.
Our VolunTour-possibilities
Joining Hands offers you a whole variety of opportunities to make a contribution to a local community. These opportunities can be customized according to your interests and your travel itinerary. If you want more information about these and/or other VolunTour-possibilities, please contact us!
- Jaipur home for runaway children
Visit: ± 2 hours
Description: Interact and play with the children, exchange some information about your culture,…
- Varanasi school for street children
Visit: ± 2 hours
Description: Visit the school, interact with the children, teach them something about your culture,…
- Samode village, near Jaipur
Visit: ± 4 hours
Description: After having a look around the lovely village, you can join a workshop in making pottery, dyeing fabrics, making lac jewelry, traditional cooking,… while interacting with local people. And/or you can enjoy a performance of traditional Rajasthani dance and music, with singers and acrobats. You could choose either to stay and eat with a local family or to spend the night at the more luxurious Samode Palace.
- Ecological farm and school for rural children, Gurgaon, near Delhi
Visit: as per choice
Description: You can visit the farm and even spend one or two nights here. The green and peaceful area of the farm will surely charm you. You can see the animals, walk around in the area and visit the school. You can even join a workshop in making embroidery or traditional Indian cooking.
Some quotes from our first VolunTourists
In April 2009, Joining Hands was happy to receive its first VolunTourists. Some people from America who were in a competition called ‘Global Scavengers Hunt’ were to volunteer for some time in an NGO and chose to do this through Joining Hands. It was a wonderful experience. Not only for Joining Hands and for our VolunTourists, but also for the children in our partnering NGO.
We were sent to a school in basically the slum area of Delhi. We had students there from ages 3-16. We helped out with the English studies class for the older students. We also bought 75 toothbrushes for the students and I gave them a demonstration on brushing their teeth and told them how important it was to do it twice a day. The little ones sang songs for us. Read us their essays and just had as much fun I think, as we did.
- Bev and Buz.
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