Discover the beauty of South India and Pondicherry, while helping the unprotected children and communities!
In BLESS, you will be able to help the community in many ways, starting from teaching or helping the children from our Children’s Home, with about 60 orphans or unprotected children, to contributing in a local farm daily routine, or just help us with the administration and fundraising of many projects that are continually improving the health and quality of life of the poor and powerless people.
Check the Worldpackers page opportunities or Workaway page to apply for the programs listed below:
Feel free to apply for those or different programs or to discuss your creative ideas for helping us, by sending an e-mail to: admin@bless.org.in, presenting your experience, skills, motivation and ideas!
Accommodation
During your stay we will provide you a private or shared room in our complex and typical home-made Tamil Nadu delicious food (breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner). You will be living in a family environment in our small farm, where is also located the Children’s Home.
We can provide airport pickup, if needed.
Former volunteers’ testimonies
Lotte, 2020 – Fundraising, project management
“I really had an amazing time at this project. I spent almost 3 months there, and I would definitely recommend people to stay at least 1-2 months, because it takes some time to get used to everything and figure out where your help is needed the most. During my time there I focused on my own project, to upgrade the kitchen in the children’s home, for which I first did a fundraise online. The kitchen work is still going on, and I’m hoping it will be finished soon. Everybody is super friendly and the accommodation and food is very good. Although there was always something to do, it never really felt like working to me. You also have a lot of free time to explore nearby areas, for example Pondicherry, which is a lovely place! I would definitely recommend this place as a workaway!”
Julia, 2018 – Teaching English, facilitating activities
“The time I spent here was incredible. The kids were awesome, we teached them English and we were doing some workshops like dancing or yoga. I also had the opportunity to teach some English in a tribe. The people working with Anthony and his family were so kind. There was many other volunteers from different parts of the world and I spent a wonderful time with them. You have to organise your time there in the morning becuase you will work with the kids in the afternoons, when they come back from school. There is some activities to do, helping the family, gardering, fundraising or you can develop some other projects.
I’m so grateful for the experience I had the opportunity to live there. Hope to go back some day!!!”
Théodore Cohen, French, 2014-2015 – Fundraising, project management, ground work
“In the frame of my studies, I had to achieve an internship abroad and I luckily found Bless.
This was my first real working experience and my first time in India. Depending on where you come from, you might be surprised to discover a so different country, but also thrilled. It is a beautiful country, with a great culture and all its qualities are amazingly represented by Bless, which is a welcoming organization. Also, as I was able to observe, visiting different villages, they are doing great work helping the needy people. Their projects have a great impact on people living in rural areas: those whose houses were destroyed or damaged by the 2004 Tsunami or the 2011 Thane cyclone have been able to repair them and build new ones thanks to Bless; those who were openly defecating are now aware of the issues caused by this practice and are learning to use the toilets built by Bless; those who never got access to medical assistance are now about to access healthcare; and these are just the projects I worked on, there are many more.
As for my own work in Bless, I could achieve several tasks, such as fundraising for the 300 toilets projects or writing a complete description of the Medical camps project. I also worked on the ground, supervising and helping the construction of a toilet and collecting information about different villages. Apart from this, in Bless headquarters in Reddichavady, I helped the staff taking care of the children and gave them English classes. They are very lovable and funny and furthermore, they are curious and eager to learn!
During the weekends, I could easily go to Pondicherry by bus or motorbike, it is quite close to Bless centre. It is a beautiful small city with many shops, restaurants and the beaches you will find close to the city are gorgeous.
If you need any details or have questions to ask me, don’t hesitate to send me an e-mail : theodorecohen75@gmail.com“