Here at HMWS we dedicate our time and efforts to empowering the poorest communities through education and medical assistance regardless of race, creed, colour, religion, beliefs, circumstance or environment!

Our organisation here in Gorubathan, Darjeeling is a small community based charity, registered under the government of West Bengal, INDIA. Through the hard work and commitment of our volunteers we can continue to provide a better life for those most needing within our district.

Ethical Volunteering with HMWS

"No Program Fees... just a magical experience!"

Here at HMWS we don’t require you to have any formal qualifications as we believe everybody can bring something positive to our organisation. Desirable qualities are spoken English, teaching experience, but more importantly a kind heart and the willingness to make a positive difference in our deprived area.

Unlike many volunteering organisations around the world WE DO NOT TAKE ANY CHARGES, FEES OR COMMISSION to be a part of our team. We believe the life experiences, education and most of all love that our volunteers bring is the most valuable asset to the children and communities of Gorubathan (Darjeeling) India. Our programs are desirable and needy and will try and accommodate our volunteers as best as possible to make your stay with us efficient and rewarding.
SHOULD YOU NEED A PLACE TO STAY:

We can accommodate up to 4 - 6 people or Group at any time, although arrangement for further persons (Group Volunteers) could be arranged upon request. All our previous volunteers have opted to utilise the homestay we can offer, please contact us for your booking of accommodation and food. Using Homestays ensures you have great value for money and puts all proceeds back into the local community. If you choose to stay within a homestay you will have all local facilities and internet access also and we can also arrange local pick-up and drop-off if you let us know your arrangements. Any further questions please get in touch to discuss this option.

The costs are US $ 98 a week per person - This money gives you three home cooked meals as well as Tea every day and accommodation.

Airport pick up and drop off is $ 100 only.

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Inti Runakunaq Wasin or "The house of the people of the sun" is an educational house for all children and adolescents of the streets that find themselves in high-risk situations, physical or emotional.  The project began in 1999, started by a group of professional social workers concerned with the situation of abandoned and at-risk children and adolescents living on streets of Cusco.

Inti Runakunaq Wasin is dedicated to helping poor children before and after school by providing them with a safe place, a warm meal, help with their homework, and teaches them new skills. The organization is small with virtually no overhead with 75 children attending. That means every dollar donated really does go to the children.

The population IRW work with is primarily comprised of children and adolescents that come from families living in extreme poverty.  Most of the families have migrated from small villages in the countryside surrounding Cusco.  The children find in the streets of Cusco their primary space for personal development.  The population of children we work with participate in various activities.  They are the kids of the streets, the beggars and the workers.

The house is open every day from 10am to 1 pm and from 3pm to 7pm, Monday through Saturday.  The house is run by a staff of professional social workers and it is important to note that the children come to the house voluntarily.  The children participate in different actives each day: formative, educational, artistic, musical, manual, occupational, etc.  At the end of each session a snack is provided.  Three days a week we offer a healthy snack, and three days provide something sweet with bread (e.g., chocolate, oat meal, milk, etc.).
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In this early stage of life, the children are learning the importance of values and self-respect.  At IRW, they develop habits of personal cleanliness and learn about social values and norms.  They participate in educational activities, workshops, and help to prepare food.  Also important is how those children have described IRW as a place where they are accepted and appreciated, where they seem important and are stimulated. 

RUDEC works to identify opportunities, locate resources and establish appropriate partnerships to provide solutions to communities. RUDEC operates an ‘intake process’ whereby communities identify local needs and consult RUDEC on solutions and strategies for addressing needs. It is understood that local people know their community’s best and success is greatest when they are empowered.
 
International volunteers have become an integral part of RUDEC as an organization. Their time, talent, and resources have helped RUDEC expand in ways unimaginable since its inception in 2006. We have worked with over one-hundred volunteers since then who changed Belo and were changed themselves through their experience with the people and country of Cameroon. We are accepting applications for volunteers who wish to help us with a wide variety of current projects that can be seen on our projects page. We warmly invite you to bring your time and talents to Belo to further help us improve our community!
 
RUDEC is currently helping its local communities through a number of projects:

BELO BEAUTIFUL

Our main goal is to support the income-generating activities of local women by providing small loans. In addition to that, we want to provide an environment in which these women could work together on their own accord to design the framework for their own development. Our hope is that these efforts will work to build the capacity of women—specifically single mothers—to become more economically independent and in better positions to provide for their children.
 
Many times, the hard work of Cameroonian women goes unnoticed. Women are arguably the backbone of Cameroon’s agricultural economy, yet hit the glass ceiling of gender-discrimination and societal expectations in many areas of their lives. Much of the reason for women’s struggle to gain income in this agricultural economy has to do with their acute lack of credit and inability to raise enough money to engage in lucrative business. Our vision is make the rural town of Belo a safe-haven of economic opportunity and empowerment for women by highlighting the vital role that women play in society and providing women with access to economic opportunity. It is also our hope that the Belo Beautiful initiative elevates the voices of the hard-working women of Belo and provides them with the tools to activate change in their own lives and community.
 
Update:
 
RUDEC’s micro-credit program has had 33 different participants since 2012 and currently has 19 active participants that is 58% of all participants, who are either on their second or third loan cycle. None of the current participants are late with payments.
 
There are 7 participants that is 21% of all participants, who have finished their second or third cycle and are eligible for another loan cycle if they choose so. That means that 4 out of 5 participants of the project have completed more than one loan cycle and are eligible for more credit.
 
Out of the 33 participants, 7 have defaulted after the first loan cycle. That is 21% of all participants, meaning one in five participants only takes part of one loan cycle, whereas all others are either still active or have just finished a loan cycle.
 
There has been no participants who have failed to pay back the loan in its entirety, making the success rate of repayments 100%. However, 2 participants have failed to pay back all of the interest they owed, making up 6% of all participants who have failed to deliver on interest.
There has been no participants who have failed to pay back the loan in its entirety, making the success rate of repayments 100%. However, 2 participants have failed to pay back all of the interest they owed, making up 6% of all participants who have failed to deliver on interest.
All up, an amount of 1 720 000 FCFA has been given out from 2012 until now. Although there has been 33 individual participants in 4 groups, 71 loans have been given out during 3 cycles. That makes the average loan amount 24 200 FCFA.

Computer Classes

RUDEC is expanding its value of building the capacity of our people through our new computer training program. Anto Tang, a recent RUDEC volunteer, has successfully trained and certified three people in our village, including our very own employee, Shella. Trainees have mastered typing, Microsoft Office, and learned other practical skills that can be applied to professional settings.

 With her new knowledge, Shella is now training three other students in hopes that they, too, will become computer certified in several weeks.
 We are accepting more trainees in the village who are interested in learning these invaluable skills at an affordable cost. We hope that these skills open up doors of opportunity as technology expands to developing areas!

Helping Orphans

The Orphan Project started in 2008 when RUDEC realized that there were many orphans on the street with little education and even less financial support. As with many rural Cameroonian areas, Belo suffers from a large number of orphaned children whose parents have died prematurely due to illnesses such as malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS. In addition, many children do not have full support of parents who suffer from disabilities or mental illness.

According to local Kom tradition, these children are cared for by relatives, who often cannot afford to meet their educational and health care needs. As their guardians are often elderly grandparents who survive by subsistence farming; their ability to support these children is negligible.

RUDEC has been paying for tuition costs, providing school supplies, paying health expenses, and distributing clothing and other essentials. Nowadays, RUDEC supports 57 children in the Belo area. We do not run an orphanage. The children that we support live with their extended families in Belo and outlying villages. We think that it is extremely important for children to grow up surrounded by their families in a traditional way if possible. It is RUDEC’s goal to provide educational, food, and medical support to these children and extended families. We also take on the responsibility to restore hope in the street children.

The aim of the program is to give children a basic level of support throughout whichever educational route they choose. This can be traditional school, vocational training, or an apprenticeship. This most aptly enables them to reach their personal aspirations.

When a child is supported through an apprenticeship to learn a trade they will be able to reciprocate and pass on their skills to other children in the program. Children graduate from the program when they leave full-time education with some basic start up tools.

Bee Farming

RUDEC historically has been able to function primarily through donations. These donations and contributions have mostly come following the invitation of volunteers to Cameroon to further our cause. These volunteers and their families have given their time, expertise, and money to RUDEC to help it flourish. Despite this, relying on donations has had its setbacks. Besides the sporadic nature of donations, past volunteers have created websites and set up bank accounts that RUDEC relies on that later they abandoned leaving RUDEC struggling to continue functioning. Because of this, RUDEC has developed the Bee Project to give us a sustainable means of income going forward through the sale of honey.

Joshua was a beekeeper by trade before he started RUDEC. He currently has a handful of hives to support himself personally. Because of this we have a solid expertise and potential way to support ourselves with a lesser reliance on outside donations. This will allow us to support the large amount of expenses we incur for our orphans and mothers without having to wonder month by month if we will be support them. This project was started some time ago however it was stunted by lack of funding. We have recently revitalised this project and are in the process of searching for land.

After running calculations we found that 40 hives would allow us, after all hives are colonised, to support all of our current yearly orphan expenses plus a bit more. To buy the land (1/2 hectare) and build the hives we will need $2,000. The land purchased will expand into a total of 100 hives in the future which would make us all but self-supporting. In the future we will use the revenues to buy more farms to produce even more honey. From here we graciously ask for your support to make this project into a reality. Any donation helps as $2,000 is all we need to sustainable support our classes, mothers, and children.

Organic Farming
 
The overall objective of the organic project is to improve food security in the rural households by creating a sustainable environmental and friendly approach to agriculture and health.

The restoration of soil fertility and soil structure by collecting and applying animal droppings and compost to the field crops. Training farmers and families in organic technologies so that they acquire new skills. Train and encourage farmers on crop diversification and backyard gardens.
Exchange visit by all who are interested in organic farming. RUDEC advocates organic farming because this is better for the environment, and also easier for the community to achieve, than more intensive farming methods. People and groups who practice organic farming do not have to buy chemical pesticides and fertilizers to help grow their crops, leaving precious funds available to buy basic necessities.

RUDEC also promotes organic farming practices because these reduce pollution in the environment, as well as in the community. RUDEC is encouraging the use of organic manure from animals by giving guinea pigs to families, so that farmers can use droppings from the guinea pigs, and their other animals, as natural fertilizers. Furthermore, RUDEC encourages farmers to plant agro-forestry trees that will provide nutrients for crops and litter manure to the soil. RUDEC also supports the use of natural plant-based insecticides. In addition to the above initiatives, RUDEC is promoting the cultivation of medicinal plants for the treatment of endemic diseases that are problematic in Cameroon. It is hoped that this will encourage people to look for natural medicinal plants in their backyards to cure some common illnesses.

RUDEC demonstrates organic farming techniques in its own practical garden, to serve as a model for the community to emulate. Information about practices is also spread through group sensitization meetings and training events. RUDEC needs volunteers who have knowledge on organic farming, natural plants insecticide production and medicinal plants, who can help the organization achieve these objectives. Honey is known to be an effective natural medicine, used as a traditional remedy in the treatment of a wide range of illnesses. However, in many rural areas, including Belo, very few people produce honey despite the abundance of available space in which to build hives.

Bee Keeping
 
RUDEC’s beekeeping program aims to:

Build the capacity of communities in modern bee farming techniques and in production of bee by-products

Train rural people on the practice of modern beekeeping and apiculture techniques to increase honey production

Solve the problems encountered by bee farmers with respect to hive transfer, colonization, colony division, harvesting, apiary designing, processing of honey, hive equipment and hive by-products

RUDEC provides Internships on Practical Beekeeping in Africa; More than 200 beekeepers have already benefited from RUDEC’s beekeeping program, from Banyang-Mbo in the South Wet Province, to Baicham in Belo Subdivision. You can help through volunteering by learning about beekeeping and participating in this project, or by sharing your knowledge of beekeeping with RUDEC and the rural community to improve this venture.

Eco-Tourism

CAMAST (www.camast.org) was founded by Joshua Chiamba, director of RUDEC, in 2008 with the aim of generating income for RUDEC’s social projects and to create opportunities for the local population. All the benefit from the tourism project is going towards the social projects and therefore directly to the orphans, destitute and other unprivileged people in the Belo area.

CAMAST generates income by providing touristic tours to visitors from all around the world. It offers day-trips as well as more-day-trips. Tours include accommodation, transport, food and guidance and can be flexibly adapted to the customer’s individual needs.

Since the beginning, Joshua worked together with international volunteers and interns to establish the project.

Since 1992 a marine turtle conservation and monitoring project has been conducted on the beaches of Northern Cyprus. Here the endangered green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles nest. This is a very well established project conducting excellent research and providing invaluable experience for under-graduate students (www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/projects/cyprus and www.cyprusturtles.org). Each year self-funded volunteers work on this project. This project is carried out in the northern part of the island inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. They are an incredibly friendly nation and it is an extremely safe place to stay.
 
Project Staff: The project is a collaboration between the University of Exeter’s Marine Turtle Research group (MTRG) which has established and collaborated with numerous monitoring and research projects around the world, and the Society for the Protection of Turtles in Northern Cyprus (SPOT).
 
The project is led by Sophie Davey under the guidance of Dr Annette Broderick and Prof. Brendan Godley (MTRG) and Robin Snape, Dr Wayne Fuller, Dr Ozge Ozden and Kutlay Keço (SPOT).
 
Volunteers: Volunteers working on the project are actively involved in both research and conservation activities of the project. The project runs from early-May until late September. In May, June and July activities involve monitoring of beaches at night at our main base at Alagadi on the north coast of the island. Females are observed nesting, measured and tagged (with flipper, identichip and often satellite tags or data logging devices) and their behaviour recorded. Other beaches around the island are monitored during the day. An assessment is made of the previous night’s turtle activities and all nests are screened to reduce predation. During August and September at Alagadi, nests are monitored at night for signs of hatching. On the remaining beaches hatched nests are observed during the day and excavated to release any remaining hatchlings and assess the success of nests. In addition to this work, a large effort goes into education and increasing public awareness. At our main base we have an information centre, which is open to the public. Here we present information, and arrange small groups to accompany us to the beach at night to witness nesting and hatching.
 
We are looking for fit and healthy volunteers that do not mind sleeping in basic accommodation. You must be able to get on well with other people and also be prepared to cook and clean. You do not have to be a science student, however, all volunteers should have a basic knowledge of marine turtle biology and the research findings of the project by the time they come out to Cyprus (for a list of publications please see <http://www.cyprusturtles.org/publications.php>). In addition, knowledge of Turkish would be invaluable. It is important to stress that you must be fit to partake in this work. You should expect to be walking up to 10km a day/night in temperatures of 30-40 °C.
 
Medical questionnaire: If your application is successful and you are offered a place on the project you will also be required to fill out a medical questionnaire. This information is confidential and in no way affects your offer of a place. This information will only be available to the project staff listed above so that they are aware of any allergies or conditions you have prior to your arrival in Cyprus. Project staff may wish to discuss how you will cope with a medical condition when in Cyprus.
 
Dissertations/Research Projects: We only permit University of Exeter students (Cornwall campus) to undertake dissertations/honours projects in Cyprus under the supervision of Drs Broderick and Godley and as we limit the number of projects each year, priority is given to returning students that have already worked on this project. We appreciate that students from other universities would like to conduct research projects whilst in Cyprus, but managing such additional projects can compromise the main research activities. It is however possible for your time in Cyprus to count towards a student placement, but this must be discussed as soon as you are offered a place and must also require no additional activities whilst in Cyprus.
 
Costs: Volunteers are asked to contribute £650. This covers all costs for a 6-8 week stay; food, accommodation and transport in Cyprus. In addition, this money helps to finance the involvement of local students. This does NOT include travel to Cyprus or travel insurance, which must be arranged by each individual. Copies of insurance documents must be provided before arrival. You are welcome to attempt to raise your personal contribution from fund-raising events or sponsorship. It is also worth contacting your University to explore the possibility of Erasmus funding. Turkish Cypriot citizens will not be asked to contribute financially for their placement, but are welcome to make a contribution.
 
Timings: The project runs from May5th until October 5th. Please make it clear on your application form between which dates you are available. We have 70 positions available for 2017 and you will have a greater chance of being selected if you are available for periods including May to early June or from late September to early October.
 
Accommodation: Our accommodation consists of a field base, (two small houses, toilet blocks, an information room and a separate office and storage space) 250m from our main nesting beach at Alagadi, and has running water and electricity. You must be prepared to share a mixed sex dorm with up to 10 others. In addition we have a base on the west coast of the island where 3 to 7 personnel are rotated. This is rented accommodation and varies from year to year but is normally a small Cypriot house with running water and electricity.
 
Age restrictions: There is no upper age restriction. Volunteers travelling from overseas must be 18 or over. Volunteers from North Cyprus must be at least 16 years old but will require parents/guardians to complete a written consent form.
 
Applications are now invited for voluntary field assistants in the year 2017.
 
The closing date for applications is Friday December 16th 2016.