Women Empowerment in India

I thought the project was wonderful. All of the ladies were so nice to me and made me feel welcomed. I liked that I got the opportunity to plan lessons myself and lead the group. The homestead was always kept clean and lights and fan switches were clearly labeled. There was always tea and fruit and I liked the location of the building too. Everything was always clean in the house! The kitchen staff were so friendly and even paid attention to the portions of what I normally eat and adjusted it accordingly. Everything was delicious. My driver to the airport was on time and friendly. The driver for Munnar trip was so well-informed, and great at knowing the good spots as well as making me feel safe while traveling. The staff support was the best part about the program. I ended up alone in the program and they were always telling me the best spots to go and even helped plan my time here! Munnar was SO fun! Highly recommend to anyone who comes here. The Spite garden was the best. i liked the yoga classes and shopping around town. The tuktuk drivers were a little annoying to me and drive me places I didn't want to go but the Holi celebration was so enjoyable!

I’m very satisfied with the program and would love to volunteer again but next stay longer. The accommodation was spacious. Very humble and quiet. All my expectations have been met. The food was exceptional and was very pleased with the staff.

I have loved volunteering on this programme. Honey has been an excellent and supportive teacher. The students have been wonderful to teach. I would not improve anything on the programme as it has been great. Accommodation has been comfortable and clean. I have enjoyed staying here. Food has been excellent and have been provided with lots of different things. The ladies who work here have been very friendly and always ensuring we have eaten :). All transport has been great

The women’s programme is a fantastic project evident by the women’s enthusiasm and love of the attendings. The accommodation was lovely and clean. At times very hot if lots of people in one flat. The food was incredible. Some of the best food I have eaten in Kerala was made here at the volunteer house. The Transportation was fine.

Such a great work within the community to help, provide women with the opportunity to connect and develop skills for employment. The food was incredible! Thank you for all the lovely dishes and the care from the team to look after us.

I couldn’t be more satisfied! Had 0 expectations before coming and they were exceeded in every way. If I could stay longer I would have. Everything was perfect and it now feels like home for me. Let me stay forever, please! Highlight was all the women passing their exams, couldn’t be prouder of them, and seeing their confidence increase over the weeks was the entire reason I came ? The accommodations were better than expected, felt super safe at all times, room was spacious and surprisingly cool - shred space was comfortable and I found the beds comfy too. The hangers weren’t really usable but the rails are perfect for storage. The food was PERFECT! So grateful to Renuka and Baby for always making delicious tasty meals. Accommodating our needs and giving us a proper taste of Kerala. I’m a little bad with textures so it took me some time to get used to not just eating toast and pasta, but so many dishes blew me away. Prawn roast and chicken biriyani specifically <3 I didn’t need any transport for my project but walked most places easily and got cheap tuk-tuks from Junchan. Ubers also very easy to get from here and Shamla was really helpful in arranging airport pick-ups and drop-offs without any hassle.

Very satisfied. I loved the women’s staff, and time in Kochi. It was absolutely amazing. Having a syllabus of vocab, grammar and literature to follow could be helpful to add continuing. The accommodation was fantastic! Staff was able to accommodate upgrading me to AC, kept my room clean, and it was overall very comfortable. Location is perfect. The cooks are incredible. The food was delicious. I loved every meal I had. They are so talented and accommodating. They were able to make my changes and take requests. Only thing that could possibly add some extra magic would be offering fresh vegetables in addition to fruit!

I enjoyed working with the women English students and co-teaching with Raychelle. Honey’s orientation and ongoing support was very helpful. I enjoyed the freedom to create lessons around a topic. The students were pleasant, motivated and fun to work with. The schedule gave me time to both prep and relax and be a tourist. The accommodation was sufficiently clean. However, I was unfortunately not comfortable. The bed was a little too short and uncomfortable, and it was difficult to get adequate air flow. I would recommend getting larger beds with softer mattresses and installing more conditioners. The food was tasty. I enjoyed trying local dishes, and the cooks were very friendly. One thing that might be nice is to have masala tea with breakfast. Having transport included from their part was helpful. I found the drive right upon exiting the airport. I also appreciated having the opportunity to visit the children’s classes. And I appreciated the kind and helpful staff team.

I loved teaching here - the women were so excited to learn and very determined to improve their English. Famidha is an asset to the program. Without her, I don’t think my teaching would have been very effective. She confronted so much and is extremely dedicated to the program, the women and the teachers :) . The accommodation was good for the most part. I don’t like that every window has bars - how would you escape in event of fire? There should be a smoke alarm and sprinkles in every room. The food was excellent! Baby cooks with heart and all of her meals were delicious. As for transportation, tuktuks are convenient + cheap. Loved the Mannar trip! Our guide “Do’s?” was amazing and made the trip so memorable. I liked him very much, he was so accommodating and friendly.

I had a fantastic time and met so many lovely ladies. I will remember my experience forever and have learnt such a lot about the culture and people’s lives. I hope I have made some difference. Also loved my time with Cecily - Palliative Care nurse. Excellent accommodation. The only improvement I can think of is a bigger bottom sheet for the bed. I have spent most nights sleeping on the orange mattress as sheet untouched as soon as I climb in <3.

I have been very satisfied - The whole house is fantastic. If any improvements, maybe it could be a better insight into what the women gain most from before you start. That way, it will be quicker to work it right. The accommodation is very spacious and clean- but could do with a little upgrade to make it more inviting. The food was really really good - and, the care for getting it right according to preference and taste so lovely <3. The transport was timely and safe!

I am very satisfied with the project, it has been a very rewarding experience and I am looking forward to coming back. Accommodation is good, I however feel that the bunk beds itself could be better, it is slightly difficult to climb up and down. The food has been fantastic, it was lovely for them to always ask what we wanted. The transport does seem slightly expensive, so I have been finding my own transport.

I found the project to be extremely rewarding and gave me real insight into the Indian culture and opportunities to connect with local women in the community. I was a little surprised by the amount of work required to prepare each lesson and would have loved a bit more proactive suggestions of how I could have prepared prior to my arrival in India. The house was very clean and comfortable. Wifi was a bit spotty but overall ok! I would love some hand soap in the bathrooms next time. The food was amazing! So good to try all types of authentic Kerala food and was so yummy. I’m sure the next batch of volunteers would be interested in learning more about the food, perhaps even a cooking class? The transport to/from the project was great and easily explained by the coordinator. I’d suggest adding a general pricelist somewhere in the house to let new volunteers know what prices to expect and what is reasonable.

I absolutely loved this project. I was worried that I was lacked with the teaching skills, however Honeywas so supportive - providing ideas, materials and feedback to help me improve! Getting to know the women was so wonderful - mey came so open-minded and ready to . They made me smile everyday. Facilities were fantastic - everything I could ever need and more! All staff went above and beyond to make adjustments to people's needs. I really appreciated thei understanding. I loved the food! I loved every Kerala dish - I really like spice so this way the only thing I missed but I thought it was very lovely that they adjusted the food when people normally were upset. I enjoyed every meal and will miss the food! The taxi to the accommodation was great - he helped me and was friendly & showed me to the room, very helpful!

In the beginning it was really hard for me because I'm the only not native speaker. And to switch the classroom and also volunteers during the day is not easy. It always feels like the third wheel. Basically the ideas for the afternoon group was always from me but they used the ideas for the morning group as well, which is fine. I really liked the accommodation but had the feeling it was the loudest room due to the water tanks. Always in the morning and late at night I woke up when someone turned on the water pump because the tank was empty. The food was wonderful and great, sometimes a little bit too spicy for me but that's fine. The transport was really good as well.

To Geetha, Sheeral, Milha, Aiswasya! Thank you soooo much for everything, you ladies really and truely are amazing and you all deserve so much praise and appreciation for all the amazing work you do here and for all the volunteers in this house. This house is so homely and I have really felt I can trust you all with anything and if I ever had a problem you were always all there to help! I wish you all well for the future and would like to thank you for how much knowledge and experience I have gained from living here with you all and from my project. Lots and lots of love!

The project is going really well, I think! Please encourage future volunteers to ask ladies to speak English as much as possible (even just a few sentences every lesson). The schoolroom: if maing house, a quiet room will help to make listening activities easier and more effective. Also, some nails in the wall to allow hanging up of whiteboards would be very useful. If moving house, somewhere with 24-hr water supply would be wonderful! The food was delicious and great for vegetarians - keep it up! The staff support was excellent- extremely helpful and understanding staff. Thank you!! I just went to yoga, cooking and kadhakali dancing for activities and all of them were great experiences!

To everyone at Volunteering Journeys, You're a real star! Many thanks for a wonderful time and meeting such a great team and lovely women's group members. I will remember my time fondly!

Dear Geetha, Ridhi, Aiswarya, Anju and Sheetal, Thank you for this great experience. I think you have an amazing program here, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to take a small part in it. I really appreciate all your support in the project, as well as your help and recommendations for our free time activities. I had a great time here and hopefully I'll come back someday. I wish you all the best.

To the amazing team at Volunteering Journeys (Chechi's & Zakeer too), Words cannot really express the gratitude I feel for my time here in Fort Kichi. You have played a huge role in fulfilling a long awaited dream and for that reason, all of you; this house, and this city, will forever be etched into my heart. All of my memories of this time will be fond ones - even when I think abut the heat! Thank you for your kindness, generosity, care, love and helpfulness, it not only touched my life, but I can see how it is touching the lives in this community ( and of all those who come to volunteer). You are doing incredible work here, and I am so lucky that I could be a part of it, even if only short while. 5 weeks doesn't seem like a long time in the grand scheme of things, but I think these 5 weeks have impacted my life in ways that will echo on into the far future. My heart aches to leave, because this place ha some to feel like home in so many ways that will echo on into the far future. My heart aches to leave, because this place has come to feel like home in so many ways - coming back after a weekend trip felt like I was coming home! I will miss everything about this place, the beach, the food, the sunsets, the masala chai, the teaching, the women, how everything tastes like coconut... but MOST of all, I will miss each one of you. You all have a home in South Africa should you ever want to visit! All of my love, admiration and adoration, Page Lotze