"Dignity of Labour, camaraderie, sensitivity to the needs of our people, and the commitment with which the SPW volunteers worked in our community is commendable and has left a mark on all of us"

- Government Chief Executive -Vellore District

"Our school has a number of children who work as bonded labourers rolling Beedi's [local cigarettes. It has been a difficult task to get the children to school on a regular basis. Ever since the SPW volunteers have started to work in our school there has been a significant increase in the number of children attending school and we hope this trend will continue"

- Head Master of a Government Panchayat village School

"It has been great pleasure to have the volunteers among us. Their contribution far exceeds any accounting of rupees".

- Coordinator of VOYCE

"The enthusiasm and commitment of SPW volunteers has resulted in bringing together the Government and local NGOs and communities into joint social action".

- EXNORA GREEN CROSS- PRESIDENT (Mr Srinivasan)

Thoughts from SPW volunteers
"My counterpart is called Sasikala, she is the same age as me (21) and has a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. She calls me 'her right hand' but I feel that it is she who is my right hand, teaching me about her culture and introducing me to a whole new way of being. India is a very special place, impossible to describe, impossible to forget. I cried so much when I had to leave and say goodbye to some amazing friends, but it just makes me all the more sure that I want to go back as soon as I can.

- Rosie Bywaters, September 2002

Immersing yourself in Indian culture, "Nothing can quite prepare you for the experience that is India. A four-month stay is long enough to drive you mad but so short that you wonder where the time has gone and wish you could stay longer. Just living and working each day take you from immense frustration to elation. Sometimes you feel you're fighting against unbeatable odds then suddenly more than you dared hope for falls beautifully in place. Arrangements can be made in no time at all but 5 minutes always means one hour. The roads are crazy - traffic rules are might is right and sound your horn at all times - but somehow society keeps functioning and order emerges through the chaos. So often you have to give a baffled shrug and realize that 'This is India'. Anything can happen. Many writers romanticized the exotic sub continent; the reality is grimmer, harsher, more contradictory, more frustrating, deeper and more alive.

Being a volunteer for SPW gives you an incomparable chance to immerse yourself in Indian culture and get an insider glimpse of what village life is like in one part of India. People are incredibly hospitable. Where else is the standard greeting 'Have you eaten?' Life takes getting used to ….constantly dirty feet, hands that smell of curry, sweating all the time, but the very different pace of life becomes comfortable and priorities change. The programme gives a taste of the challenges and contradictions involved with development work. It's a real eye opener but with SPW you feel part of an organization with a strong sense of purpose and you can be sure that you are contributing to work that will be on going.

                                                                                                    - Anna Watterson, May 2003

"Sustainable development in Chollavaram Village, My time with SPW India has been an experience like no other. The insight it has given me into Indian life has been totally unique. Working with an organization like SPW that really cares about the sustainability of its projects has certainly made me feel that my work in the village has been worthwhile. The fact that SPW concentrates on the "Lessons of Life" (Health and Environmental Education) rather than just teaching English or Sport sets them apart from other volunteering organizations people join while on their GAP year or after university.

Living in a South Indian village revealed so much more than purely traveling ever could. There is no other option but to embrace the lifestyle of pumping water, washing with a bucket and eating with your hand. Or to get used to all the different traditions and festivals and to be part of them. That's not the only thing you become part of as you become immediately adopted by several families who constantly try and feed you or put flowers on your hair.

Despite all this the time you spend in India, will at times be hard work. You can feel like you are pushing against a system thats only priority is to hold you back. However you are constantly reminded of why you are here by all the smiling children who greet you in the morning with 'Good Evening' and in the evening with 'Good Morning' ".

                                                                                                                                                - Lauren Wyper, May 2003