VolunTravel Program

VolunTravel = Volunteering + Travel

I, Vyankatesh Kharage, a Gandhi Fellow currently working with Piramal Foundation as a Block Transformation Manager (Education) in Jaisalmer District, Rajasthan. In 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chairman of NITI Aayog (Think Tank of Govt. of India) launched Aspirational Districts Program in the country. There are 115 aspirational districts which are the most backward districts in the country, Jaisalmer being one of them. NITI Aayog appointed Piramal Foundation to work in 25 of these districts on Education & Health indicators across UP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Assam.

Jaisalmer district is one of the biggest districts in the country spread across 38,401 sq km, which is as big as the state of Kerala! I am currently working with the Education Department to improve transition rate, infrastructure and most importantly the student learning outcomes in the government schools in the district. There are a total 1176 schools.

The VolunTravel Program aims at targeting the tourists & travellers who visit the district every year and connect them to the betterment of the communities in Jaisalmer. The Program was launched by me on 2nd October on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. Volunteers would come here for a week and work at a school in the district. They would work on a curriculum designed by us and would work with the schools Head Master and Teachers in improving the student learning outcomes in Maths & Language. There is a severe shortage of teachers in the government schools and the volunteers would fill this gap. The students will be exposed to people from various parts of the country and their culture. Along with this they would be exposed to varied career options. I have already have volunteers registered whose professions range from lawyers, chefs, hotel management graduates, marketing & finance professionals.We are currently running a pilot project in 2 schools from November to December, and have the first set of volunteers coming from 19th November. The funds raised in this campaign would be used for providing accommodation for the volunteers and supplies required for the program. We have a total of 11 volunteers who have confirmed their slots.

It would be great help if you could contribute to this cause which would impact children directly. Once this pilot project is successfully, we would be launching a district wide program with the help of the District Collector.

I would appreciate your donations for this program and cause. Request you to share this with your friends & family who can help us reach our fundraising goal.

Thank you.