Voluntary work in India

[ICUNurse]

A friend of mine is currently trying to decide whether to take a six month sabbatical in India to work at Gwalior Children's Hospital on the Gwallior Project.

A leaflet was posted up in our department at work asking for nurses (and doctors and teachers) to give up a minimum of three weeks and go out to central India to help on a voluntary basis. The project is run as a Registered Charity (registered legitimately in the UK) but we cannot find any information that is verifying its existence. I know we sound cynical but the Charity asks for £400 in order to send her out there and we just feel uneasy about it.

My friend has heard that nurses from the US have worked there......can anyone out there tell us more?

Any one have any experience of working for a charity in India?

[BillRN]

don't have any experience with voluntary work in india, yet, but am putting things in place now so i can spend six months in bodh gaya working with the shakyamuni buddha health clinic. this is a ngo (non-government organization) that delivers free health care to the poor as a gesture of thanks to the indian people for the hospitality shown to tibetans who fled, and continue to flee, the chinese invasion of tibet. the clinic was started by lama yeshe and lama zopa rinpoche, who are the spiritual directors of the foundation for the preservation of the mahayana tradition. as a volunteer in the clinic, i will be provided room and meals but nothing else. all travel to and from india and expenses while there are my responsibility. at no time have i been asked to "pay" in order to volunteer my services. the fact that the gwallior project wants such a payment is suspicious, but you say the charity wants the 400 "to send her out there", so maybe that is to cover transportation? if the request for money is indeed legitimate, the charity should be willing to explain what the "donation" will be used for. hope your friend finds a meaningful situation. i'd be interested in hearing more of her experiences. namaste