About the Organisation: The headquarters of this organisation is a lively place, where you will spend most of your time when you're not at the project locations around the city. With years of service experience behind them this social work development organisation has been a huge catalyst for social change in
Bangalore. The organisation works with several local institutions, such as foster homes, slum schools, and an HIV hospice to improve the life skills of the children and give them a chance to grow in confidence and have fun.
Who they are: In 1999 a group of young people in India's hi-tech city of
Bangalore, believing that every individual (including children) has the power to affect life on the planet, decided it was time to harness the passion and energy of young people to help empower other less fortunate youngsters to fulfil their dreams.
What they do: They formed a non-profit trust working with children's organisations all over the city to help children achieve their ambitions in education, sports and life in general. These children live in the slums or on the streets and some of them are affected by HIV/AIDS.
Here's just one example: Slum dweller Arun, 13, is at the same time naughty, cheerful, helpful and sensitive. He attends a learning centre for underprivileged children and has joined one of the charity's sport programmes, where he has become a star on the hockey pitch, but has also learned to turn up on time and to co-operate with his team mates.
What you can do: Volunteers work very hard but it's a lot of fun. You could be asked to devise and run a whole summer camp programme, scour a district for art supplies for a creative workshop, carry a tired little child home after a picnic, teach a child how to play, fund raise, raise awareness - the list is endless.