Internship & Volunteer Programme

Rajendrani Sarkar, Indian Volunteer

I joined The Hope Foundation’s Volunteer Programme as a volunteer teacher for Spoken English in February 2022 in one of the Child Care Units. Initially the girls took some time to open up to me and so did I. But gradually, as time passed, they found not only a teacher in me but also a friend and a guide. They lovingly call me a nickname, ‘Raju’. Every Saturday, their smiling faces and glittering eyes makes me forget the stress of the entire week. I realise that they aspire to become successful in life and that they are willing to work hard for it. I hope that I can inspire and guide them to fulfil their dreams. I wish them all the very best. I also greatly appreciate all the staff of the Child Care Unit for being such wonderful guardian to the girls.

Derek Wright, Ireland
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Mahatma Gandhi

After forty years of travelling to India on business it was no surprise that my volunteering time with HOPE in Kolkata, was not a culture shock. What however was a shock was the personal satisfaction and happiness I found during this time volunteering. Never in my life have I felt so fulfilled and the above quote from Gandhi been so true.
From the moment of arriving in Kolkata, I felt part of a team; everyone was genuinely so kind and welcoming. Orientation time travelling to see the various projects were excellent, a real eye opener, with the scope of the HOPE projects truly remarkable.
I enjoyed working in the crèche with such talented and wonderful children, but found I could contribute most when working with the children in the homes. I conducted a series of lectures on Professional Development and Entrepreneurship in the Life Skills units.I was privileged to be invited on Christmas day to one of the homes. This was truly an amazing and memorable Christmas. The children were so happy and excited and put on such a wonderful show. The toughest time was saying goodbye to the children. Flowers and cake were a nice surprise. There is not a week that goes by without me thinking of the children in Kolkata, and I honestly can’t wait to return. The lasting impression was one of happy and very talented children being given the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

Pinaki Burman, India

My time in ‘Life Skill’ was a learning experience. My role was to prepare an English curriculum and to teach English to the students of ‘Life Skill’. I am humbled by my co-ordinator Sabitri Ma’am, all co-teachers, and students. It was a unique experience which enriched me to think how our educators silently invest in our life. I must appreciate and congratulate ‘Life Skill’ for such initiative.
It was a thought-provoking and challenging responsibility as the English curriculum demanded a thorough understanding of the student’s socio-cultural and economical background. These students are underprivileged children of our society and many are state-migrants but their talents know no boundary. During teaching time, I got ample occasion to dialogue with the students, while sharing their life stories they revealed their longing to achieve excellence and their stories helped me to develop the curriculum. The Student’s love and gratitude towards ‘Life Skill’ for such a learning window and passion to rise above their socio-economic situation is praiseworthy. Equally, ‘Life Skill’ is also devotedly encouraging and planting the seed of optimism by sharping the skills of the students.
I am grateful for the responsibility to convey English as a ‘language of opportunities’ to the students, which will prepare them compete with the outside world. Truly, a “transformative” step by ‘Life Skill’ to boost the inner confident and exhibit student’s deservingness in the job market. I am thankful to Jhulan Ma’am for such opportunity and boundless awe-inspiring experience. I wish all the best to all the students.

Maria Van Kleef, UK
The Best Thing I Have Done in My Life

It is now four months since my return from Kolkata, and I still feel as though I have not had enough time to process all that I experienced throughout my voluntary placement.
The intensity of Kolkata cannot be fully explained (certainly not by me!) but my overall impressions include; traffic, noise, pollution, gratitude, people, food, litter, colour, laundry, community spirit, kindness, respect, secure/safe, appreciated and spiritual. Everything is lived and experienced to the full.
My two months were spent visiting patients in HOPE Hospital, teaching English to 22 boys in a protection home and assisting in SICW special education project. I am very grateful to Jhulan for sourcing and organising these placements. Each establishment provided me with memories that open my heart and fill me with joy. I was welcomed by the staff and the residents/children/patients.

Roksana Bulawa, Ireland
My Long Relationship with HOPE

Volunteering! Something you hope to give to others but gain a lot in return. I am a strong believer that kids all over the world should have equal chances of living to their full potential. One of the charities that provide that is The Hope Foundation. Volunteering with them in Kolkata was the best thing I have done in my life. The foundation stands for everything that I do. The HOPE staffs are amazing and were very helpful, I would be lost and confused without them.
They really helped give me the best introduction to Kolkata and the foundation’s projects. Work that I chose to help with was the English classes, crèche, hospital, photography classes and helping girls with the self-defence. The best part was learning a lot from every project that I helped in and laughing and smiling with the kids. I will never forget the kids’ bright smiles and happy faces that have taught me so much about life.

Debmalya Dey, India

VI have had a long relationship with The Hope Foundation as I grew up in Tollygunge near some of the HOPE protection homes. As some of the children were my age, I grew up playing with them. As I grew up, I realised that despite the difficulties the children faced, they were also so happy.

In my final year of college I decided to apply for the volunteering programme with HOPE and it was a life-changing decision for me. For a year, I taught the children English, maths and played sports with them. I would encourage anyone to volunteer with The Hope Foundation as giving back is what matters. Happiness is always the key to life and I found that at The Hope Foundation.

Sandip Ghoshal
(HOPE volunteer from India)

Sandip is a research and development engineer who completed his post graduate from IIT, Mumbai. Sandip spent 1 month volunteering in HOPE’s projects. "I know Kolkata like the back of my hand.” I always exaggerated till the day I joined Hope. For me Kolkata was Esplanade, Coffee House, Gariahat, Princep Ghat, Maddox Square bla bla bla with a long list."
But my list never contains the slum behind the Dhakuria AMRI (though I visited the hospital 1000 times before), a shelter for more than 1700 families, the list never has “Ashirbad Boys Home” no less than “a real home” for more than 50 homeless children and many other places full of people from my city I never did care about.Yes, HOPE gives me an insight of my city and the people living there, who were far away from my previous world of fun, enjoyment and carelessness.
Coming to the people, I would never know, there is a 6 year old girl living in the roadside of Esplanade, who is way better than me in terms intelligence when I was at her age, there is a differently abled child living in one of the HOPE boys homes whose general knowledge and IQ is higher than most of us, unless I joined this organization.