Experiences: Uma Nivas

* Projects > Asia > India

Simon and Lyndsey Clegg from England volunteered at Uma Nivas in March 2007. They write of their experience below:

Simon
Simon

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a month at Uma Nivas earlier
this year and can honestly say that it was a unique and fascinating
experience. I had travelled in India for several months previously but
I feel that the time I spent at the school - and the friends I made -
provided the most unique cultural insight I gained throughout my trip.
Didi Vratiisha was a wonderful host and did everything in her power to
make our stay as enjoyable as possible. The children and other staff at
the school were extremely welcoming and very excited to learn in new
ways. Their warmth and generosity of spirit really made the whole
experience worthwhile and taught me much about Bengali living and
culture which I would have been extremely unlikely to encounter without becoming involved in such a project.
(Simon)

Lyndsey taking pictures in the village

My partner and I stayed and worked at Uma Nivas for a month from mid
February to mid March and were able to help out with teaching,
gardening and IT training as well as working with other volunteers on a film project.
We both had comfortable rooms and were very well taken care with
delicious food and frequent treats of hot milk and biscuits (I think we
may have both put on a couple of pounds during our stay.). The
bathrooms were very clean and the girls made doing the laundry a lot of
fun finding the fact that my male partner was getting on his knees and scrubbing our clothes hilarious.
The children at Uma Nivas were an absolute joy to work with. We were
both a little apprehensive about teaching but found the kids to be
incredibly polite and well mannered and SO keen to learn that we really
didn't have anything to worry about.
We also got to spend time visiting the nearby village and to socialise
with some of the teaching staff which offered an insight into rural
Indian life which we would not have been able to experience travelling alone.
The volunteers also made the work a lot of fun and we have made
lasting friendships.
I really couldn't recommend Uma Nivas highly enough. The Didis,
children and villagers all made it an amazing experience which we will
treasure for the rest of our lives.
(Lyndsey Clegg)