Manako Adventures in West Bengal, India

Volunteering is one great way to extend your travels while also giving back to different communities around the world. This travel photo of the day hails from Daragaon, a small village in India, where Realtraveler Monako Adventures spent some time volunteering. To get to Daragaon from Rimbick, the closest town, she and her group had to trek for four hours up steep mountainsides.

Her blog entry describes what her adventure there has been like:

“Our days begin moving at a different pace. There is no running water or electricity in the village, so we go to bed shortly after dark, and rise in the morning with the sun…we slowly make our way to breakfast, which is cooked over fireplace stoves, and eat AMAZING Indian and Nepali food…

We then make our way up the steep hillside trail to the local school. There are seven rooms, five classes total. We split up and each teach a section of the class each day. Only a year or two ago no one knew English, now the class four kids are writing us notes and conversing with us in English! This is dramatic improvement. The children need education in order to go out and get jobs and livelihoods away from the village. While it may seem that it is “destroying” the local culture, it is, in fact, saving them. One family owns and farms about a 1/2 acre of land (agriculture is the main, if only source of economy for these people). After so many generations, and so many children, that 1/2 acre is all that is left to survive on. With five more children in the household that will need to generate income in the future, a 1/2 acre cannot sustain it.

After a day full of dancing, playing, teaching, and singing, we head down to the local health clinic. There is a feeding program that feeds roughly 27 malnourished children in the area, and we head down to try and help out with dishes or clinic work…there are so many stories that I have come away with from this village, but not enough time to type them all. The people have taught me more about kindness than I can ever imagine possible.” (more…)

Follow along on Monako Adventures’ blog to find out where her volunteer travels take her next. And for even more inspiration, read more travel blogs from Realtravelers who have incorporatated volunteering into their trips.

Organizations that can help you fit volunteering into your travels:

Stay Another Day
i-to-i Volunteer
Volunteer Abroad
Transitions Abroad Portal Site
Peace Corps

More Useful links:

West Bengal Travel Guide
India Travel Guide
Volunteering in India
Project C.U.R.E.