Volunteering programs in India

India is the fastest-growing and fifth-largest economy in the world, with a nominal GDP of $2.94 trillion.  However, being a nation of 1.3 billion people, it is not astonishing that there exists an evident class division with a majority of the population suffering from poverty, corruption, illiteracy, and lack of basic amenities, etc. To eradicate these challenges and improve lives, many NGO's have risen to the challenge with well-structured volunteerprograms in India working in many sectors such as teaching, medicine and nursing, women empowerment, animal welfare, sustainability, etc. Such volunteering programs admit people from various demographics and backgrounds possessing diverse skillsets. Functioning together, they act as social catalysts that enable the community's progress towards a brighter future.

Lakshyam, initially founded by the young social entrepreneur Rashi Anand, started as a small group of individuals motivated to work towards child development, skill-enhancement and self-sufficiency for women. Since then, we have steadily grown into a large family and are always ready to welcome eager and dedicated volunteers who would work under our collective vision of uplifting children and women to impact and better lives in downtrodden areas. We strongly believe that everyone should be provided equal opportunity and knowledge to be able to harness and realize their potential to the extent to be able to live a dignified life free from the clutches of social evils.

Despite being the capital of India, Delhi is the home of an estimated 4 million people who reside in slums in destitute conditions lacking the basic human amenities to sustain themselves. Lakshyam volunteer work consists of reaching out to these marginalized communities and providing social and financial stability through holistic development at its centres spread across five different country locations. Also, Lakshyam has informally adopted three ghettos areas as well, thus giving volunteer candidates the freedom of choice of where they want to work. We focus on bringing passionate and driven individuals to the forefront to enable them to experience and empathize with the lives of the marginalized communities. This helps them gain relevant insights to create sustainable and efficient models and solutions after interacting with them to understand their woes and lifestyle, providing an extremely fulfilling and well-rounded experience.

Volunteers at Lakshyam get the opportunity to create and organize various engaging social events such as workshops, festival celebrations, and field trips to allow children to learn and make merry with their friends. Such activities help them realize their precious childhood years to protect them from exploitation at such a tender age. People can also choose to involve themselves in and work for the various literacy training, skill development workshops, and fun activities organized for rural women to enable them to sustain themselves and lead strong lives.

The success of a few doesn't simply determine the progress and prosperity of society. We must work as a whole to uplift others and through participation in volunteer programmes we can help rebuild and shape society towards equitable and sustainable growth. Sharing and using our different expertise to enable change in backward areas will help transform the socio-economic landscape of India and bridge the gap between the classes. Individually we may be droplets, but together we form the ocean, and only through active participation can we hope to bring about a tide of change.