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SEVA Trust

Page history last edited by Phil Pierce 10 years, 6 months ago

SEVA Trust, Goa

Website: http://www.sevatrust.org/

 

Contributors (2012):

Selina Mead 

 

Instructions:

Contributors: for details on what is required in each section, please look at the Guidance Notes

Contents: 

Placement Information

Accomodation

Transport

Social life

Things to do, things not to do

Useful Contacts

Before you go

Costs

 

Placement Information

The placement is at a children's day centre for disadvantaged children who live in the local slum area. The children are between 3 and 7 years old. As part of the daily routine you will be required to attend the day centre  Monday to Friday from around 10am until the children go to sleep at after lunch, (usually around 2-2:30). Within the setting there are up to four volunteers, all of whom stay with Suneethi (see accommodation), and the teacher (currently a lady called Salema), who the children call "Teacher". It is Teacher's responsibility to be at the centre before the children and greet them as they are dropped off by their parents. Before the volunteers arrive Teacher will do some simple numbers, letters and words with the children on chalk boards. As the volunteers arrive it will be snack time then more chalk boarding. The idea is that the children receive basic education to teach them English numbers and letters, and for the more advanced children, basic words as well. The emphasis is not on educating the children however, it is about offering them a safe environment to be whilst their parents or carers have to go to work. If on any given day the children are not responding positively to the chalk boards, then it is okay to miss it out as an activity and play games and sing songs instead. Even singing English songs will help them with their use of English, and they all appear to love the songs, requesting certain ones repeatedly throughout the day. 

After the chalk boards the children will go outside to play until it is lunchtime. It is useful to learn the children's names as quickly as possible (there is a photo name book provided at the home stay to assist you with this). The sooner you learn their names the easier it will be for you to make sure the children stay within the grounds of the centre. It is important to note that there is currently a building site next to the centre and the children have easy access to this. Although most children know and understand that they are not allowed to play here, some children like to push boundaries and try their luck at sneaking over. You will quickly learn who these key characters are.

 

After outdoor play is lunch, you can eat your packed lunch with the children or, you are welcome to take a break and sit outside while they are inside. Before you take your break you must make sure all the children have washed their hands (using the water and jugs provided) and have gone into the classroom. After the children eat lunch the volunteers take the children outside again while Teacher has her lunch break. If you want to treat the children, fruit can be bought cheaply from a local shop (near the home stay) before going to the day centre, and the children can eat this fruit during the outdoor play after lunch. DO NOT FEEL PRESSURED INTO BUYING FRUIT AND TREATS BECAUSE PREVIOUS VOLUNTEERS HAVE, IT IS YOUR DECISION (AND MONEY) AND NOT A REQUIREMENT OF ATTENDING THE CENTRE. 

If you are wanting to provide treats or resources for the centre it is better to buy them yourself and not offer cash as this is not always spent where you intend it to be spent. To keep the pressure off Sister (the lady who set up the centre) it is advisable to buy things for the centre and not individual children, previous volunteers have bought clothes and food for children to take home, and have then noticed an increase in children attending the day centre for freebies, Sister cannot afford to keep up the gifts after you leave, so to relieve that pressure its best to buy practical things for the centre. Suneethi is a very helpful person to talk to if you are unsure where to spend your money. 

 

Accommodation

If you book through i-to-i then the accommodation is a home stay with a very welcoming lady Suneethi. The apartment/flat you live in accommodates up to 4 volunteers who share 2 bedrooms: one double room with en-suit and one twin room. All meals are included and there is an option to have your washing done for RS.200 per 12 items (exc. undergarments). 

Suneethi, lives with her husband and 2 young children (18 months and 7ish) as well as their maid. The whole family make you feel very welcome, their home is your home. Suneethi worked for SEVA trust before she had her youngest child and so knows a lot about the centre and can help with any questions or issues. During my visit she came down to the centre to help us to discuss some ideas for spending some money that another volunteer had raised before coming to the centre. 

 

 

 

 

Transport

The cheapest way to get to and from the day centre each day is by bus. Each journey is RS.5 and lasts about 10 minutes. The centre is within walking distance but due to the times you start and finish you may find it too hot to be going that far. In addition the road to the centre is fairly busy and there is no pavement for pedestrians so it can be quite dangerous, but if you are awake enough it is doable. 

The nearest city is Panjim and again the cheapest way to travel is by bus, it is RS.7 each way and the buses run until about 8:30 from the main bus station to the local cake shop or chemist (there are 2 buses through Merces). If you have a bit more money then you can get an Auto Rickshaw for about RS.80. Often drivers will ask you for RS.100 because they think they can get away with it, if you tell them its too much and move on to the next driver you often find they will cave as they want your business. Occasionally this doesn't happen and you will have to pay RS.100. 

Taxis are available but can sometimes be as uncomfortable as a Rickshaw so generally it is not worth the extra money. 

The nearest beach is at Calangute and you can get there by 2 buses, one in to Panjim (about 15 minutes) and one to Calangute (about 45 minutes). This should cost a total of RS.20 (RS.5 and RS.15). When you pay for the second bus try to have the exact money and explain you will get off at the market, they will charge you more to go all the way to the bus station in Calangute (which is 5 minutes walk, if that, from the market), they sometimes try to take advantage of tourists and charge more than they should. It can be useful to check with your home stay host what the going rate is so you have an idea if they are overcharging you. Buses are very frequent from Panjim and so if the first bus seems full you can walk onto another bus immediately and wait for it to fill up (this guarantees you a seat but will delay you by 5/10 minutes). 

Again you can get a rickshaw to Calangute, this is roughly RS.450, a taxi can sometimes be haggled down to RS.500 and on the long journey can be preferable to a rickshaw. 

 

When heading back to Merces a good landmark to ask for if you are taking a Rickshaw or Taxi is Monginis Cake shop, most people have heard of this and will know where to drop you off. This is 2 minutes from the front door of the home stay. 

 

 

Social life

As you are only working until 2pm (ish) everyday you have all afternoon and evening to spend time seeing parts of Goa. There are a number of markets in the evenings and Panjim (the capital of Goa) is only 10 minutes on the bus, and has a number of bars, shops, and touristy activities. A MUST SEE is the boat rides that leave every day, the times vary each season (apparently) but run once every hour from about 6pm from the main harbour in Panjim. The tickets are about 150RS. per person. This entitles you to an hours boat trip with traditional dancing and some not-so-traditional dancing. If you do this boat trip go with an open mind and a camera. Even if you don't get up to dance yourself it is very entertaining watching everybody else! 

On the weekends there are some beautiful beaches to visit. If you have time there are some that would require an over night trip to. Calangute is the nearest beach to the homestay, but can be very busy and girls (particularly) get hassled quite a lot here. If you take the bus to Calangute and walk further up the beach to Baga Beach, you will find there are fewer people hassling you. The general assumption is that you will go to a bar or restaurant along the beach and buy a drink from them. In return they will let you have a sun bed for free. You don't need to order your drink when you arrive, just make sure you buy something before you leave. Most offer a really nice fresh fruit salad for around 80-150RS. 

If you want to experience riding an elephant, there are a couple of spice plantations to visit where you can ride an elephant and have a bath with them. The time on the elephant is short and costs around 600RS. You also have to add on to this the taxi ride. It costs about 1200RS for a return taxi. You can also visit old Goa (which is on the way to the spice plantation) as part of this taxi fare. There are some old churches from when the Portuguese inhabited Goa. They are beautiful, but don't take very long to see. 

I-to-I provide a welcome booklet with other ideas of trips and visits to make, and Suneethi is very willing to make suggestions for things to do. 

 

Things to do, things not to do

When using public transport try to have the exact money so that you aren't over charged, and if you are given change (by anyone, not just from transport) don't accept notes that look damaged as you will find it difficult to pass them on to other people, shops and buses refuse them.

If you find you have been given a broken note, the best way to offload it is if you eat out and leave a tip, they can't refuse it if its part of a tip. 

 

If you are haggling it is best to have change, where possible, for what you are buying. This way they can't claim they don't have enough change (they often do have enough change, they just want more money). If you are haggling always be willing to walk away from the purchase. 90% of the time if you walk away they will call you back, especially if you go in March/April time as this is coming to the end of their season and they want to make the sale. 

 

Its useful to get an Indian SIM card when out there, as its 1RS to text other Indian numbers and 5RS (about 6p) to text home (some English networks want 35p). You will need 2 passport photos and photocopy of your visa and passport. It is the law in India. Try to buy from a reputable company, there is a shop near to Sineethi's that sell sim cards for a reasonable price. If you are planning to leave Goa then roaming charges will apply to your sim card charges (similar to if you take an English phone overseas).

 

The sea is very strong along Calangute and Baga beach, if you are not a confident swimmer don't even paddle. If you want to go in the sea you will find that further along are coves where the sea is not quite so strong. 

 

 

Useful Contacts

Before you go

Getting your visa can be tricky. You are a tourist requiring a tourist visa, as per the information provided by i-to-i, but make sure you check with i-to-i before you apply. Your in country team are there to help you, and they are willing to offer you help if you contact them. Before you go the i-to-i website is very useful for preparing you for arriving in the country. 

 

You cannot change money before you go, India has a closed currency so you can only buy Indian Rupees in India. It is advisable to exchange some when you land, at the airport, just so you have some money to get to your placement. You will get a better rate outside of the airport. Most people just use the ATMs, this is then your bank's rate plus a small charge for withdrawing money. This still (often) works out as a better exchange rate than in the shops. Make sure you check with your bank before you go though. 

 

 

Costs

 

 

 

 

 

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