About i-to-i What i-to-i trips and TEFL are, how and why we do what we do!
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About i-to-i What i-to-i trips and TEFL are, how and why we do what we do!
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Today you will be met at the airport and accompanied to your accommodation. It only takes around 45 minutes to travel from the airport to your arrival point so sit back, stare out of the window and take in the sights, sounds and smells of Kerala. You’ll have some time to unpack in your new digs before having an orientation with your in country team either that same day or tomorrow, depending on what time everyone arrives in Kerala.
The orientation will take place at your In Country Coordinator’s residence and will take you through what it’s going to be like at your project, do’s and don’ts, how to stay safe and it’s your prime opportunity to ask any burning questions that you haven’t yet had answered. After the orientation you’ll have some time to relax and prepare before your first day at the project tomorrow.
If you aren’t able to arrange a flight to get you into Cochin on the designated arrival day then we’d recommend you fly in a day early.
We can arrange an early airport pick-up for you including one night’s accommodation for an additional fee. Please call us for more information.
Today you’ll be accompanied by one of our team to meet your new project staff and of course the children. The children you’ll be working with range in ages from three to eleven years old and have no shortage of energy! They also have a real desire to learn which might make a pleasant change from classrooms back home. The first few days spent at your project will most likely be about sitting back and taking everything in, there’s no hurry here. of course, if you’d prefer to jump straight in then no one will stop you!
Take time to get to know the staff and build a bond with the children, we recommend it as the best way of settling in quickly and finding your own niche here. There’s plenty to get involved in and plenty to do – it’s just a matter of asking and getting stuck in. Once you feel more confident with the curriculum in place and perhaps having learnt some key words in the local language, Malayalam, have a go at some group work to get started. What’s the worst that can happen?
This is your chance to venture out and explore the exotic sights and sounds that Kerala has to offer! Whether it’s a backwater river cruise, lazing on the beach or exploring the bustling markets…Kerala is your oyster!
Get stuck in at your project and enjoy every moment of your time in Kerala! You’ll be making a huge difference to the children in your classroom as you teach them to enjoy learning and getting an education. Don’t worry if you’ve never taught before, it’ll be very different to teaching in a classroom back home anyway; the children have great respect for their teachers and whilst you’ll always get the cheeky children at the back, just like all around the world, the vast majority will relish being in your company and we’re sure the feeling will be mutual!
Your last day has come around so quickly, it’s time to say goodbye and move on to your next adventure. Whether you’re staying in India or heading back to the airport, we hope you’ve enjoyed your time and made many new friends.
If you’re heading back to the airport, you’ll need to arrange this yourself and we’d recommend taking a taxi which will cost around 1000 Rupees.
You will be helping in one of four primary schools based in the area of Cochin (known locally as Kochi). One of the schools works mainly with children with special needs. The schools were founded in 1984 by the Diocese of Cochin (Kochi) to give disadvantaged children a better education. Although the schools are relatively adequately resourced, quality teachers are always in short supply and there is a real need for help.
As this project is entitled ‘teach English’ your level of participation will depend entirely on you and your skills. There are local teachers at this project already, so whilst you might be happier assisting, some others might prefer to stand at the front of the classroom. We’d encourage you to give teaching at the front of the class a try during your time here; you’ll only know if you love it if you try! The main factor to bear in mind is that the children are actually happy to be in class and are keen to learn – something that some schools in other Western countries don’t see as much.
You’ll also get the opportunity to help out in extra-curricular activities to keep children actively learning and enjoying their education. If you have the skills and resources to implement an after school club then don’t be afraid to get involved!
Education in India is seen as a privilege and one that everyone is keen to aim towards. The depressing reality is that only around 15% of students in India reach high school. Your students will be motivated and eager to learn but might be frustrated by their backgrounds. Lessons might lack structure and content but the staff do the very best that they can for the children with what they have. The children enjoy learning new songs, games, arts and crafts and music.
Despite the fact that English is one of the official languages of India, the standard of conversational English in schools is usually very poor. As a teaching volunteer, you will play a vital role in improving the spoken skills, and therefore the life-chances of the children, and teachers, in the schools of Kerala. You can help shape young lives in India by sharing their English skills and teaching talents. Native or fluent English speakers with or without formal teaching experience can contribute greatly to a child's educational development.
You are not required to be fluent in any of the Indian languages as English is widely spoken and understood by most Indians. You are required to have a desire to help the people and environment of India. Be flexible, have self-motivation and an openness to a new culture and a willingness to learn.
Your time on this teaching project will typically be between 9.30am to 3.30pm to help out and get involved in a variety of activities. Whilst no two days will be the same on this project, you can expect to get involved in teaching English, this could be on a one to one basis, small groups or full classes depending on your confidence levels and abilities; you could get involved in music, drama or arts and crafts work, showing children how to be creative and learn simultaneously. There are also computers at the schools to help children learn IT skills.
Learning English and IT skills vastly improves the chances of a better future career therefore their income from future jobs can be a lot higher by having the opportunity to interact with enthusiastic people from all over the world!
The centre is under resourced but it gets by on a daily basis with what it has. What it really needs is man power and someone to give lots of cuddles and support and help to the existing team. The staff love their job and are extremely dedicated but rely on volunteers who can give them some help to get even better at what they do.
If you do make the decision to give resources in any way to the project, we would encourage you to wait until you get to Kerala before making your decision. Buying resources locally ensures sustainability rather than bringing toys from overseas that can’t be replaced as easily. It also helps the economy if you buy local!
Females should ensure that they cover their stomach, thighs and shoulder and should also avoid tight or revealing clothing that may draw attention to themselves.
It may seem like a strange concept to pay for your volunteer experience. You'd be right if you think you shouldn't and the truth is you actually don't! Your placement is free; it's the benefits around it that you pay for. It's important to note that i-to-i is a travel company and not a charity. We provide a professional travel service. We are responsible for finding and assessing worthwhile projects across the world, preparing you for the volunteering experience and supporting you whilst you're there.
Here’s some more information about what your placement fee covers….
We work with hundreds of locally run partner projects around the world and are constantly sourcing new opportunities. We visit all projects to check that they are worthwhile and legitimate and we also conduct a thorough safety assessment before we'll send volunteers there. More
Almost everyone who works for i-to-i has traveled extensively or worked overseas. This means we're a goldmine of information; we're always available to offer support and guidance before, during and after your trip.
Once you book on to a project you'll receive an online account that contains loads of general information about volunteering, about your chosen country and how to have fun and stay safe. We'll also give you advice on visas and inoculations.
It can be pretty daunting arriving in a different country for the first time - especially after a long flight! If you arrive on your project start date, there'll be a welcoming face at the airport to pick you up and take you to your accommodation.
Soon after you arrive you will attend a thorough orientation with our in-country team. This is to cover important safety and security information. You'll also get some tips about sight-seeing options for your time off and maybe even learn some of the local lingo!
Accommodation is included with all projects and meals are even included with some. We only use locally-owned and operated accommodation so that part of your placement fee is filtering back into the local economy. Most projects offer homestay, guesthouse or shared volunteer houses as standard accommodation, but some offer the chance to upgrade to a more comfortable living standard. More
Your in-country team will arrange a pick-up for you at the airport and will conduct your orientation upon arrival. All coordination teams are English speaking and are locals of your destination country. They won't be at your project every day, but will be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you need them. More
Aside from the local support from your in-country team you'll be given access to a 24/7 emergency phone line manned by our response team in case any problem should arise while you're overseas. We also hire crisis management professionals to be on hand in case of a situation that requires additional expert support. More
The safety and security of our volunteers is paramount. For this reason we provide ongoing crisis management and emergency response training to our local teams around the world. We also fly in our in-country coordinators to the UK regularly for thorough training to help them offer the best safety to the thousands of volunteers they support each year. More
We don't fund our projects directly from the project fee that you pay us. Instead we choose to support a number of projects through our Big Giving initiative to provide resources to those projects that really need it.
We make no secrets of the fact that part of your placement fee is reinvested in to recruiting volunteers just like you! The volunteers recruited in one week will typically deliver over 2000 man-days of service. The difference this makes to projects overseas is immeasurable. Many of our overseas projects rely on assistance from international volunteers, so it's necessary for us to put together brochures and websites to find the people who can support them. This recruitment process is vital to ensure programs have a constant stream of reliable volunteers.
Volunteering through a company like i-to-i has a lot of intangible benefits to developing overseas communities and the individual projects that we work with. To find out more about our placements. click here
It's important that you get adequate travel insurance for your i-to-i experience and as many of you will be working this often means standard policies won’t work. The good news is that no matter where your coming from we have already found a policy to suit you.
The best time to get your insurance is when you book your project as this means you can get a fully tailored policy exclusive to i-to-i, just ask your consultant for further details at the time of booking.
EU Customers – find out more here >>
Australian customers - find out more here >>
All other customers - find out more here >>
As with insurance we advise you get these booked as early as possible to avoid high prices and to make sure you arrive on the right day. The i-to-i team is right up to date with the best deals no matter where you’re flying from; their insider knowledge could save you some time and money.
You will be staying in lovely, clean accommodation in a great location, close to shops and restaurants. You will have enough amenities to make your stay comfortable, including hot water!
You’ll be staying in a volunteer house during your time in Kerala with space for seven guests. You’ll be staying on a shared basis and each room holds two single beds. The rooms are kept clean and have enough furniture for your use during your stay.
Basic bedding consisting of sheets and pillows are provided, so you might wish to bring a sleeping bag and pillowcase with you but it isn’t strictly necessary. A mosquito net isn’t necessary whilst staying at the house, but you might want to bring one if you are travelling around India.
There is a living space with several comfortable sofas and chairs along with a dining table and a fridge for your use. We’d advise you to bring some playing cards or books to entertain yourself and others in the evenings!
The volunteer house is clean, comfortable and the owners live right next door to you, so you’ll have your own space but have local experts next door. The house is on a residential street and is located within walking distance of local shops and a small supermarket. The house is well ventilated so you’ll be able to cool down, and is surrounded by a variety of tropical fruit trees – we’d advise you to check before picking them though!
You will be provided with three tradition Indian-style meals a day. Vegetarians are easily catered for since over 70% of Indians eat a mostly vegetarian diet.
The volunteer house is based in a Thopumpady, a suburb of Cochin and is in a residential area – although life will probably be noisy compared to residential areas that you might be used to.
You’ll find several shops and a small supermarket within a short walking distance of the volunteer house. This house is also shared with other i-to-i volunteers on other projects in this area.
To get to your project from the house, it’s a 15-20 minute public bus journey which costs around US$0.10 for a return ticket, or by auto rickshaw which costs US$0.50 for a return ticket.
For over 5000 years the subcontinent of India, has seen the rise and fall of a succession of great empires, regional states and colonial powers. The first great Indian empire-builders were the Harrapans (The Indus Valley Civilisation) who flourished across parts of modern-day India and Pakistan from around 3500BC. The Harrapans opened up trade routes with Mesopotamia, built carefully planned cities and developed a pantheon of deities that over the years morphed into the Hindu deities Shiva and Kali. After the Harrapans came the Aryans who developed the caste system and wrote the sacred Vedas (including the Upanishads and the Brahamanas). These philosophical teachings were instrumental in the development of Buddhism and Hinduism – the religious foundation stones of the Indian cultural psyche.
After a brief incursion by Alexander the Great in 326BC, the Mauryan Empire gained control of much of central, eastern and western India. The first Indian empire to embrace Buddhism, the Mauryan civilisation reached it’s peak under the guidance of Emperor Ashoka and a long period of political stability enabled the caste system to flourish and allowed many cultural and technological advancements to be made. During this time envoys were sent to Sri Lanka and Nepal to spread the word of Buddhism.
Over the next 1000 years many empires gained control of regions of India – the Gupta’s in central India, the Chola’s and The Vijayanagar Empire in the south – but it wasn’t until the emergence of the Islamic empire of the Mughals that the whole of India came under the control of one power.
The Mughals ushered in a golden age of art and architecture, and have left us with many of the most recognisable symbols of Indian grandeur and architectural excellence – Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal, Agra’s Red Fort and Hamuyan’s Tomb in Delhi. They ruled from the early 16th century until the rise of the British East India Company and the advent of European control of the Indian subcontinent.
After much jostling for position, the British emerged as the dominant colonial force in India. While Portugal held sway over parts of Goa and Kerala and the French had small colonies such as Pondicherry, British influence spread from the verdant valleys of Kashmir to southern shores of Tamil Nadu. India was now under British rule and would stay that way for over 150 years – the British Raj had been born.
The European colonisers exploited the many natural resources found in India and the excesses of the Raj were many and spectacular. Every summer, as the heat in the central plains grew unbearable and the streets of Delhi shimmered in the heat haze, the entire apparatus of government was moved more than 300km north to Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. To this day Shimla - a strange little town perched high in the foothills of the Himalaya - resembles nothing quite so much as a Victorian English village - complete with parish church and fun fair!
The excesses of British rule created widespread resentment across India and a succession of uprisings and civil disputes lead to independence from British rule in 1947 and the partition of India and Pakistan. Following independence much blood was spilled as Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims tried to ensure their place in the uncertain future of the subcontinent. Many wars have since been fought between Pakistan and India and to this day the Kashmiri borders are still disputed and fought over. The pristine valleys and glacial lakes still reverberate to the sound of gunfire and army convoys ply their trade across the mountain passes of the Jammu and Kashmir.
India’s recent history has seen relative peace and since the recent earthquake that hit Pakistan and Indian Kashmir, relations between the two countries have greatly improved. Although poverty and deprivation are still endemic in India, economic strides are being made and India now has a reputation as one of the world’s leading e-business nations.
Due to the sheer size and the complex geography of the subcontinent, Indian weather is as complex as Indian history. While the people of the central plains are searching for shade and respite from the heat, the inhabitants of the Jammu and Kashmir are waiting for the last snows of winter to recede.
From as early as February the whole continent gradually begins to heat up and by May temperatures of 45C are commonplace. As the hot season drags on the country takes a collective deep breath and waits in anticipation of the south-west monsoon. When the monsoon finally hits, the hot, dry and dusty conditions are gradually replaced by intermittent heavy downfalls. It doesn’t rain all the time during monsoon, but it rains every day – heavy tropical showers are punctuated by warm sunshine that turns the parched subcontinent into something of a mudbath.
When the rains have finally cleared the country experiences a brief but beautiful spell of warm sunny weather. The period from October until around early February sees much of the country experiencing comfortable conditions that are ideal travelling weather for foreign visitors. That being said, in the far north (Kashmir, Ladakh and parts of Himachal Pradesh) winter has taken hold, snow covers the mountains and passes up into the Himalayan Plateau shut down as early as September 16th.
Travel in India is unlike anywhere else on the planet, the distances are huge, booking tickets can be tricky and comfort is often at a premium. If you are short on time or just don’t want the many hassles of travelling through India, flying can be a good option. Local airlines such as Deccan, Kingfisher, Jet Airways and Indian Airlines offer services to destinations across the country.
India is home to the world’s largest railway system and offers the resilient traveller some of the greatest rail journeys known to man. Journeys can be long - Delhi to Chennai comes in at around 30 hours – but when you travel by train in India you get to see the vast complexity and natural beauty of the subcontinent roll past in all its glory.
If you decide to travel by train, the complex issue of booking a ticket must be addressed. First you’ll need to decide what class you wish to travel in: this can be tricky. There are 6 classes: 1st Class air-con (1A), 2-tier air-con (2A), 3-tier air-con (3A), chair car (CC), Sleeper (SL) and Second (II). For short journeys second is adequate, unless it’s really hot then it’s well worth paying for chair car. For longer journeys sleeper offers a cheap option with the added bonus of being able to mingle with the Indian masses. When the majority of Indians travel long distances by train, sleeper is their class of choice. Much has been said and written about the pitfalls of travelling by sleeper, but in my experience, it is the best way to truly experience Indian rail travel. 1A, 2A and 3A are more comfortable, but significantly more expensive and you’re less likely to strike up conversation with ordinary Indians. Whatever class you decide to travel in, you will need to pop down to the train station and book yourself a ticket. I won’t go into to much detail, but suffice to say, it’s probably best to put half a day aside for this little errand. Ah, the many joys of India!
Travelling India by bus and coach can require an almost saintly forbearance and an extremely hard backside. Short journeys by bus are great (if a little hair-raising) but for longer distances I’d suggest you jump on a train or a plane. The journey from Leh to Manali will see you sat in a rickety old bus for 2 whole days negotiating some of the highest motorable passes in the world on roads that seem more suitable for mountain goats that mass transport. That being said it is a spectacular journey and is will leave you feeling that you have really travelled.
When travelling within a state, bus travel is fine. Buses serve all major cities and often stop off at small towns and villages (and at shops owned by friends of the driver) along the way. On long journeys you may well be charged around ten rupees for having your baggage stored inside the bus. Although this is a little cheeky and can be a little annoying (the charge seems to apply only to foreign travellers), it is important to remain polite and to remember that the baggage handlers on the buses have much less money than you do.
Many buses have a small shrine to their deity of choice perched precariously on the dashboard and often make stops at roadside temples to make offerings. If asked for a few rupees to help with the offering, my advice would be to dig deep and hand over a few coins; bus travel in India can be a dangerous business and it can’t hurt to have a little divine protection!
Travelling by tuk-tuks, cabs and rickshaws is a great way to travel around cities, although care must be taken. It is imperative that you agree on a price before you set off and don’t be afraid to haggle: if your driver says the price is 100 rupees, knock them down to about 70 and you’ll be getting a half decent foreigner-price. Travel by taxi is the most expensive, tuk-tuks are a little cheaper (but just as fast) and bicycle rickshaws are cheap and slow. Drivers will often try to take you to shops, hotels and restaurants where they receive a commission. Unless you really like the driver and don’t mind being over-charged, it’s best to refuse firmly but politely. When travelling in Mumbai, travel by taxi can be tricky. Taxi journeys are metered, but the meters are very out of date. Ensure that the meter is at zero when you start and make sure that the driver has an official tariff card in the car. When you arrive at your final destination, you’ll need to work out the price by comparing the price on the meter with the tariff card. It’s a pretty simple operation, but unscrupulous drivers often try to overcharge unsuspecting tourists and will insist that they don’t know what the tariff card is. As with all things in India, be polite and remain calm.
Lonely Planet are leaders in the travel guide sector and their website is a great source of travel information.
www.fco.gov.uk
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s website provides up-to-date political news, travel advice and information on visas.
State owned domestic airline which offers competitively priced flights to destinations across India.
300 daily flights to 44 destinations across the country. Also good for flights to Sri Lanka.
Good quality budget airline. Nice food on the flights too.
www.indianrail.gov.inTrain information, ticket reservation and general info for train travel in India. The reservation service saves a lot of time and hassle… when it works!
We work in partnership with hundreds of established projects that are run by local communities. The information on our website comes directly from the projects and we work with them to ensure this information is as accurate as possible. However, due to the very nature of the projects themselves the exact details of what happens on a daily basis can change with little or no notice. If you have travelled with us and have any updates to this information, please let us know.
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