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Volunteer Service of Miss Emily Kime, from the UK who volunteered with IRDC for part of her Gap Year (June-August 2009)
Lady lynn Joyful Home for Childern, Gandharvakottai, Pudukottai Dt.Tamil Nadu, South India.
Background :


I became aware of the Lady Lynn Joyful Home through a family friend and I asked if it might be possible to spend two months of my Gap Year as a volunteer working with Integrated Rural Development Center (IRDC) – particularly with the children, as I love children and had experience of childcare. It was agreed that my family would cover all my travel and insurance costs and that IRDC would provide my food and accommodation in return for which I would volunteer in any area of the charity’s work where I could be of most help.
  
My Stay :


I arrived at Lady Lynn Joyful Home for Children (LLJH) on the 10th of June 2009 and stayed for two months, and I loved it. Unfortunately, I arrived with an injured foot from a holiday in Thailand, so my first two weeks involved going to and fro from hospital. It was frustrating for me not to be able to start teaching or to be able to play with the children; however the girls often came up into my bedroom and would sing, dance and paint my nails. I only got to really know the boys later when I could move around.

I stayed within the orphanage itself, in two joined rooms at the end of the corridor of the girls’ dormitory and shared the room with an Anglo-Indian girl called Miranda, who went on to become a very close friend and rock.
The staff here are also lovely, each and every one of them. They would constantly ask me whether I was happy and whether there was anything they could do for me. If there is one thing I can stress, it is that I was well taken care of..
Teaching :

IRDC is working on a literacy project with a US charity and when I arrived, representatives of a US Foundation and one of the Trustees of the literacy charity were visiting and had produced a programme for tutoring English at the LLJH. The programme covered how to teach the children English through games, songs, and puzzles as well as books.

My injury meant that I needed to stay in my room and I initially gave five one-hour long tutorials in English five days a week (two children at a time) but, when I was able to move about, I was able to give proper lessons to entire year groups during school hours.  After school I took those who were weak in reading for individual reading sessions in the orphanage’s new library.  I became aware that it was very important for the children to learn spoken English, as they had been taught how to read and write but were not able to speak. It soon became obvious that one of the benefits of having an English speaker available is that they could hear and learn correct pronunciation.
  

Playing :

Outside lesson time I would play and speak to the children as much as possible. I loved spending time with them - they are wonderful children and have such a brilliant sense of humour, despite coming from troubled backgrounds. They are all so beautiful with huge dark eyes that make you melt on the spot. There are 30 boys and 20 girls. The boys are jokers, everything they do would make me laugh - they were constantly climbing, jumping and being silly, the girls were much more sophisticated, and they sang entrancingly and played orderly games. During playtime, just walking past the garden in between lessons I would hear a chorus of 50 voices saying "hello mam" "good morning mam" "maaaaam look at this" "maaaaaaam" "good afternoon mam". It was wonderful.

At the weekends, I played games with the children, organized group activities - races, musical chairs, Fire in the Mountain - and, as winners received prizes, this was lots of fun and motivating. Moreover I set up a competition for the children and they chose in groups to either sing, act, dance or read/give a speech which they had a week to prepare and then perform in public. Helping them practice for the competition showed me how keen they were to learn as long as the method is fun!
  
  

Daily Exploring  : 
             
During my stay I was able to explore the surroundings and visit the nearest villages and towns. The biggest town nearest to the Lady Lynn Joyful Home is Trichy, which lies an hour away from Ghandarvakottai, the orphanage and the neighbouring village. There I could go shopping and get more or less anything I needed, which wasn’t much, everything was provided. I visited the main temples in Thanjavur, and Rockfort in Trichy and Mr. Pitchairaj (IRDC’s Director), Miranda, and I visited Velankani, which is a beautiful town, with a magnificent church. When I was away for that weekend, I missed the children terribly, and so brought them back souvenirs, keychains with messages inscribed on them.

I have been lucky enough to familiarize myself with the workings of IRDC, which organizes self-help groups in the villages, provides needy families with cows providing not only much needed nutrition through milk, but also a monthly income through the sale of excess milk, and many other beneficial reforms in the communities. I was able to see the plans, procedures and benefits enjoyed by the village populations. Going around the villages has taught me so much about Indian culture and the socio economic struggles in rural India and I was privileged to be invited into people’s homes and humbled by their generosity. 
  
  

Recommendation  :

This experience has been so enriching, and has taught me so much, I can't think of a better way to have spent part of my gap year and I would thoroughly recommend it to other students considering a charity to support with their time. The children and staff of Lady Lynn Joyful Home will stay with me forever, and as soon as funds allow me to return, I shall be on the next flight.

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