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Volunteers are welcome to Mitraniketan.

Are you planning to go Mitraniketan? Good idea!!

You are very welcome, you can have the time of your life and at the same time make a difference and learn a lot about yourself.

You will stay at the Guest House where you will find volunteers of all ages from all over the world. You will eat delicious home cooked Indian food and you will be able contribute in many different ways (See below).
And all that for 10 $ a day.

COMMON VOLUNTARY WORK

Type of Work

Teaching English

Teaching Arts and Painting

Training Sports

Computer Training (IT)

Assistant in Kindergarden

Working Pottery/Carpentry

Working in Agriculture Farm (& Animal section)

Working in the Fruit Processing /Bakery centers

Working in Office Administration/Accounting

Mitraniketan also looks for experts in fund raising, please consider helping us if you have experience in those areas.

Setting up after-school activities :

Hand craft workshops
Movie nights
Chess lessons
Guitar lessons
Dance/music activities

To make your stay easier and more pleasant right from the beginning there is an ABC for you ……

ABC for volunteers.

“When you are in Rome you should do as the Romans do”

So when you are here please try and understand the life style of locals – you will learn a lot, and you will feel more comfortable if you can let go of some of your ‘Western’ life style expectations and ways of thinking.

A	Alcohol: Is not allowed here. Arrival: When you arrive at Mitraniketa find your way to the central Central Office to register. It is the law that you do this. If it is closed people in The Round House will help you. You will need your passport and information about your arrival Assembly: Every morning at 8:45 except Sunday. This is where the staff and students gather for news, songs and notices. The children organise the event and it is at the heart of the school day and you will be expected to attend. ATM: There are several banks with ATMs where you can get cash in Vellanad, the village nearby.

B	Bathroom: In your bathroom there is a bucket and a jug for washing. Remember always to keep your bucket full as sometimes the water maybe cut off for some hours.. Toilet paper is not the norm in India – you use water to wash yourself like the locals. Some rooms have a shared bathroom. When you are in the bathroom you lock your neighbour´s bathroom door, but please REMEMBER to open it again afterwards so that they not locked out.Bus: Busses leave frequently for Trivandrum and other places from Vellanad Bus Station. It takes around 75 minutes to go to Trivandrum. Ask for East Fort.

C	Charging: Don´t charge batteries during the night. Frequent power cuts might damage your batteries. Remember to bring your charging cables and a power bank can be useful.

D	Dogs: Don´t touch the dogs. Some of them are contagious and dangerous. There are no pet dogs so you must avoid contact with them no matter how appealing they seem to be. There is a different attitude to dogs here and it is important you adopt the local practice of not touching them.Domestic flights: You are only allowed to bring 15 kg + hand luggage. Usually you are permitted to have around 20Kg on International flights. If you undertakes some internal flights as part of your stay in India you will have a problem if you have a lot of luggage. Drinking water: You MUST NOT drink tap water. When you arrive at Trivandrum Airport buy a bottle of drinking water. At Mitra in the Round House there is always safe boiled water available where you can fill up your bottle. It is important to drink at least 2 litres of water a day to keep yourself hydrated especially when it is hot. Dresscode: Long loose trousers and blouses / T-shirts with short sleeves. Do not wear mini shorts or have bare shoulders. Men may wear long shorts but should wear long trousers when teaching. Cheap local clothing is available to buy everywhere – especially in Vellanad. Please do not offend local people by wearing skimpy Western clothes – this is unacceptable in this largely rural area.

F	Fan: There is a fan in your room. Please don’t waste electricity – Remember to turn it off when leaving. Food and accomodation: $ 10 a day per person. Please pay every 7 days. This charge is for your stay and does not depend on having a single or shared room This is an important part of the fundraising for the school . If you are away for a weekend the charge is still payable . This is a part of your contribution as a volunteer and it is very important to the school.

G	Guest House: The rooms are basic. Silence at around 22:30 but there is a roof top terrace if you want to stay up late. Please don´t disturb the other guests. Noise travels very easily in the house. People work hard here and can be very tired and exhausted if there is a lot of night time partying.

K	Kettle: Bring an electric kettle for a cup of coffee / tea or buy one in Vellanad. Make sure you have an adaptor for Indian plugs.

L	Lock: Bring or buy a combination lock for your room.

M	Meals: 3 meals a day at 8:00, 13:00 and at 19:30. Volunteers eat in The Round House. Groups have their meals in the canteen in the basement of the guest house. If you are eating in the Round House please remember that you are a guest in a family houseMosquitoes: There is no malaria in Kerala and mosquitoes are not a big problem. However If you want to sleep under a mosquito net you can borrow one at the Guest house.. The locally available Odomos as repellent is very effective.

P	Pharmacy: There are several in Vellanad and there is also a hospital. Please remember to bring from home any medications you need on regular basis Plastic storage boxes – if you want to store food – ants and other insects can be a nuisance of food left around not stored properly. You can buy these cheaply in Vellanad. Power cuts: They are frequent so remember to bring a good torch. A candle in the dark is also very nice.

R	Rubbish: Burn paper including toilet paper behind the guest house. Ask the warden what to do. Put your plastic bottles in the blue barrel in the hall.

S	Smoking: The school is a no smoking area.

T	Taxi: If you want the school to pick you up in the airport or at the station it costs around 1800 INR. Payment at Central Office. Another option is to take a prepaid taxi which you can get inside the airport if your arrival is in the day time.Towels: Buy them in VellanadTrivandrum/ Thiruvananthapuram: The capital of Kerala. A great place for shopping. Department stores: Big Bazaar, Pothys or Ramachandra. There are also plenty of sights to see and the markets are always a great experience. There are Temples, museums, palaces, a zoo and art gallery as well.Other volunteers will help you find your way around.

V	Vellanad: The nearby village with around 20.000 inhabitants is just a 20 minutes´ walk. There you can buy most of the things you need. Visa: If you want to come as a volunteer, request an Invitation Letter from Mitranitan to support your visa application..

W	Weekends: If you need some time off you can go to Kovalam which is a seaside resort. There you can enjoy the beach and and have a swim. The sea can sometimes be very dangerous and you should not swim unless the lifeguards are on duty. It is the Arabian Sea – please respect its power. To get there you must take a bus to Trivandrum, get off at East Fort which is the last stop. From there then you take a bus to Kovalam. There is a regular service – the normal bus and an air conditioned tourist bus which is a bit more expensive.There you will find nice and cheap guest houses / hotels and good restaurants.Another option is to visit Varkala which is a bit further away. Take the Bus to Trivandrum Railway Station and then the train to Varkala – about 30 minutes. It is smaller than Kovalam – a bit more alternative with lots of yoga and little shops. Again the sea can be dangerous. It is a holy place for Hindus so please respect family ceremonies when you see them taking place.

NOTE: Please don´t expect any luxury. Mitraniketan is not a 5-star hotel. The important thing for volunteers is the unique chance to meet India and the equally unique opportunity of meeting other volunteers who have come from all over the world to volunteer at Mitraniketan.

If you want to volunteer, please contact Dr. Reghu Rama Das kvmitraniketan@gmil.com

Volunteer Experience

Foreign connections help bridge the gap between countries and convey a global awareness that everyone benefits from the uniqueness of a foreign, exchange knowledge base brings about abundant opportunities for both volunteer educators and local citizens. Each year, a number of volunteers from India and abroad work together to bring additional teaching, workshops, research, sports training, health care and directing of arts and theatre.

“I have travelled around the world, taken in beautiful landscapes, met captivating people and visited countless monuments, but nothing compares to my experience at Mitraniketan. It was, a total immersion experience to a fascinating culture which restore my faith in human kind. Now, I see the world with a new set of eyes. I look ahead to a future that supports individuals, nurtures their diversity and gives equal opportunity. I learn that education doesn’t come in a book, but in understanding our different roles in life and rensponsibility to generations that will follow.”

Ms. LAURAINE (France)

My name is Lauraine, I am 23 years-old and I was a volunteer in Mitraniketan for a period of 8 months during 2019 -2020.

I was engaged in teaching English and Arts to primary school students. Besides teaching, I also worked in the bakery where I help the bakers to make products like bread, muffins, sweet buns etc.

Working with the children of Mitraniketan was a wonderful experience for me. It’s about giving the opportunity to these students the time and resources to develop their interest in Arts, Sport, environmental awareness and broaden their scope of activities. But above all, the most enriching part for me was to engage the youth in personal development. As our cultures are different, the children are very curious to learn things from us, it is a good way to exchange with them and to teach new things as well as learning new things from them. Exchanging with the locals & students to understand how life in community was also really interesting to me, and the longer I stay the more I learnt about the values, culture and problems of the community.

About the accommodation, the Guest house is simple but spacious and peaceful. It’s a good start to experience the real rural way of life ! The Guest house is located in the campus so it is not far away from the place of work. All the meals are prepared and served in the Round house. Large portions of rice, sauces and fresh vegetables are available. For the breakfast, you will have delicious meals like Puttu/steam cake, dosa served with boiled eggs, bread, butter, Jam and bananas.

There are lot of things you can do in the campus but it’s up to you to see how you want to help and contribute to the community of Mitraniketan. For example, you can set up dance or music activities after school, organize movie nights, guitar lessons, chess lessons etc.