India - Volunteer Comments - Bikash

Annick Sandars
'I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Bikash and made many good friends! I will go away with so many memories and lots of pictures!'

Elly Hares
'Bikash is lovely. The people are so kind and are treating us like princesses. They have a rented out a flat for Annick and I to stay in for the two months we are here which is only ten minutes from the school, so is perfect!'

Susanna Mann
“I think the Mondo formula allows more people to get a taste of working abroad than any other I know of, simply because it allows volunteers to travel for a shortish period of time. This means there are more people with a personal attachment to more and more development projects which can only be good for raising awareness of issues. I felt that I was able to make a meaningful contribution to Bikash in this time as I helped to create their new website, to update literature, help with funding proposals and assist with running stalls, (as the only white woman in town having me on the stall was sure to get people interested!!).

I also appreciated the Mondo “friend” ideal of having a volunteer nearby. This really helped in the enjoyment of the project and allowed shared discussion and experiences to improve and co-ordinate our contributions. Finally, the opportunity to get to work for an internationally renowned agency like CARE allowed me to witness an expertly run local NGO and to gain a broader perspective on the NGO sector in West Bengal. Thank you for making this happen, the Mukherjee’s (couple who run Bikash) are wonderful and their work is truly inspiring!”