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Happy Home

India Teenagers Children Education Social work Teenagers Children +2 Permanent

About the project

Happy Home

📝 Detailed information

🏢 About the local organisation

Do you like to help SMILE NGO to bring a smile to the most neglected children living on the street of kolkata ,India.This project is all about bringing smile to all underprivileged refugee kids.Providing informal basic education like english teaching ,hygiene,basics,playing, organising entertainment program ,food distribution for these children of this downtrodden community would be the main target of the volunteers in thi project.SMILE Society ( Situational Management & Inter Learning Establishment Society) is a registered Non profit working for these underprivileged communities around the state of West Bengal since 2003 . On August 31, 2003, a team of family and friends leaded by Mr. Debabrata Chakraborty, voluntarily formed SMILE Society to fight against this injustice and bring a smile to these cute faces.Since then SMILE brought hundreds of children from the street to the normal society . SMILE mission is to provide volunteers with a customised program (workcamp, medium term, long term) that will enable them to make an important contribution to these poor and needy kids from refugee families. Our foremost goal is to "Bring Smile around" We ensure that all volunteers are provided with a safe and enriching experience. Our flexible approach means that you will be given a placement to suit your needs and time scale. All international students are also welcome to take part in our Programme. Our unique placements could become the trip of a lifetime.

💼 What the programme involves

Target Group for these project:- Helping Children (3-8 yrs, mostly refugees) of India to get basic education and hygienic training etc. Daily more than 120 families receives support at our different centres around. Project Back ground :- India having uncountable numbers of street and slum dwellers . There are thousands of poor refugees coming every year from nearby countries and from different small towns and villages to the big cities and most of these families are living in a very poorly condition at slums or on street corners like insects. Normal societies are so busy to deal with their personal daily problems, so have little time for these unfortunate people. Often these families bring their children to help them in begging ,household work ,rag picking activities, even some girls been forcibly thrown to the dark life of prostitution. So it is really a shame of the so called civilised societies. We have got our few projects for these unfortunate street children at the different locations of big cities. Now there are opportunities available to help and support these unfortunate girls and mothers of the street children in and around Kolkata (ccu) city.our target to bring smile on every children.Kolkata ,the city of joy was known before as Calcutta since the colonial time. This ancient city was used to be the capital of British colonial period. This city has full of heart ,people are basically belongs to the middle class . There are also rich and poor people all around . City Kolkata is know for its busy traffic ,huge population ,warm welcome and poverty around the street corners! It is a great place to visit for every tourist coming to India. Work & Activities :- Most important target of the project is to bring smile among these children and provide confidence and moral support to their mother .Volunteer would use different way of informal education technique to present a unique and attractive way of education programs for these kids .Most of these kids speaks local Bengali /Hindi language but they are very smart and intelligent.so teaching them with the support of local coordinator would not be so difficult ,just little bit of patience and involvement can solve this problem easily. All volunteers would go through orientation on arrival and two local language session during this camp. There would also be a workshop every evening when volunteers would prepare the next day lesson plan of action . Volunteers would also help local coordinator in other activities like giving food distribution, organising drama,story telling and entertainment games for the children.whole camp would be run under the supervision of very experienced local project coordinator. Saturday and Sunday would be free days when volunteers can take rest or tour around the city or near by places.More over if anyone get a chance to live with the local host family then that brings extra bonus to any traveller .It helps to learn the culture ,tradition,language while staying within the normal people of the society.Living on any hotel can never give any traveller such wide scope to know the society and communities as a whole. SMILE society always tries to give international volunteers a big scope to know about the local communities and understand the family environment. Smile Society (ngo) had started their activities since 2003 ! Example Daily Schedule: Wake up early morning: 6 am Breakfast: 6:10 am ( self service) Work : 3-4 hours during week days,Exact work schedule would be delivered with infosheet. late afternoon:3pm - 6pm workshop, Language course, Dinner : 7 pm ( volunteers required help themselves in serving ,washing ) After 8 pm exit door would be closed.No one allowed to go out or come in the accommodation after 8 pm everyday including weekends. 9:30 bed time ** Please remember that programme schedule or project site can be changed or altered by the Project In-charge if required and all volunteers are requested to cooperate with our local members and partners. All schedule should be followed and mandatory for everyone to participate and contribute **

🏠 Accommodation on site

Accommodation: Dormitory basis in host family as per available on arrival ( on cot with mattress/on floor with mattress, 4-30 volunteers in one room) shared accommodation (normally male & female separate room). You will get accommodation till 6 pm on the last day of your camp.We are unable to provide you any accommodation before or after these dates. Please arrange your own accommodation in case of early arrival or late departure .You are requested to meet our representative at the meeting place on exact time given above. If you arrive early then you can have your stay in any of the different hotels available nearby Airport, within 2 -3 km .on the road popularly called as V.I.P road. You are requested to take any cab to check in any of these hotels. If you arrive at earlier night then you are requested to stay inside the airport terminal and meet at the next morning with our representative at 12 noon. Food: You will get 3 times local food from host family as per available on arrival. Please do not expect any kind of special dishes (veg/non veg) or cold drinks or special living room or air conditioned room during your term. You are requested to get ready for a simple and challenging life.

📍 About the location

An amazing country with full of culture and tradition .Interesting people ! Explore the country with exciting diversity .Kolkata ,the city of joy was known before as Calcutta since the colonial time. This ancient city was used to be the capital of British colonial period. This city has full of heart ,people are basically belongs to the middle class . There are also rich and poor people all around . City Kolkata is know for its busy traffic ,huge population ,warm welcome and poverty around the street corners! It is a great place to visit for every tourist coming to India. More over if anyone get a chance to live with the local host family then that brings extra bonus to any traveller .It helps to learn the culture ,tradition,language while staying within the normal people of the society.Living on any hotel can never give any traveller such wide scope to know the society and communities as a whole. Kolkata( itself is a great tourist place with its historical value ) is well connected with many famous and attractive tourist places during weekends ... Darjeeling ( most famous hill station,Toy Train, Tea Garden in India ) *kalimpong ( famous Buddhist place and hill station) *kurshiang ( lash green tea garden) *Sikkim ( hill station with beautiful valley ) *puri ( the famous Hindu religious place and sea beach ) *Digha ( sea beach )*Bodh Gaya ( Famous Buddhist temple ) *varanashi ( famous Hindu temple and Ganges ) *shantiniketan ( one of the university established by great Nobel laureate Sri Rabindranath Tagor) *Bishnupur ( ancient Bengali history, tera cotta ( clay made item ) ,sari etc. Any of these places can be covered during weekends by train by self organise !! ********************* organised Package trip at the end of the camp can be organised by professionals...... * Taj Mahal ,Jaipur,Delhi etc. trip can also organise for the interested groups against extra cost ( minimum 2 person) * weekends exciting city ( kolkata ) and around trip can also be organised against extra cost.

⚠️ Requirements

Requirements: *Passport copy *VISA copy *Photograph( recent colour copy) *Parents permission letter if you are below 18 years. *Living cost for MTV projects :- INR 21000( Euro 300 approx) for minimum  4 weeks ,every extra weeks INR 4200 (Euro 60 approx)/head/week. Living cost for LTV projects :- INR 54500 (Euro 780 approx) for minimum  12 weeks ,every extra weeks INR 3500 (Euro 50 approx ) /head/week. Cost includes:- 3 times local food, shared dorm room at local host family,public transportation (train/bus ) to and fro Project if required ,Airport pickup on arrival, drinking water ,2 days orientation, limited wifi connectivity, , training if required( Mon-Fri) , Pre departure orientation , emergency support ,local language training on arrival .  Cost excluded :- Flight ticket, visa,medical cost if any personal cost ,weekends trip,special trip at the end of the camp ,gift,any special food / drinks ). What to bring: You can follow traditional packing lists, but here are several items that would be particularly helpful for this volunteer experience: A bed sheet malaria medication flashlight umbrella mosquito repellent with DEET sunscreen alarm clock OR watch with alarm clock journal sleeping bag Any games or craft items like Origami would be great for the kids Rain coat Snacks from your country Music/ dress / special souvenir from your country Medicine and first aid supplies for emergency personal use Any special games or study material for kindergarten standard kids Clothing: - fibrous (ex: linen or cotton or anything that is COOL and dries fast in natural sun) - for women, bring conservative clothing that covers the shoulders (ex: shirts with capped sleeves) NO shorts, bikinis, sleeveless clothes outside your own bed room (strictly). Indian cloth like salwar,sarees would a perfect choice for girls during their stay at SMILE. sandals head covering (bandanas, hat) towel that dries FAST.

ℹ️ Additional information

Project Type: Permanent Duration : 4-11 weeks ( MTV), 12-20 weeks( LTV) Living cost for MTV projects :- INR 21000( Euro 300 approx) for minimum  4 weeks ,every extra weeks INR 4200 (Euro 60 approx)/head/week. Living cost for LTV projects :- INR 54500 (Euro 780 approx) for minimum  12 weeks ,every extra weeks INR 3500 (Euro 50 approx ) /head/week. Cost includes:- 3 times local food, shared dorm room at local host family,public transportation (train/bus ) to and fro Project if required ,Airport pickup on arrival, drinking water ,2 days orientation, limited wifi connectivity, , training if required( Mon-Fri) , Pre departure orientation , emergency support ,local language training on arrival .  Cost excluded :- Flight ticket, visa,medical cost if any personal cost ,weekends trip,special trip at the end of the camp ,gift,any special food / drinks ). Starting Date:- Anytime Laundry and water: you can use water for washing once in a day .Drinking water and 2 hours/day wifi available ( maximum 4 person at a time) are available in house. Please cooperate with the local members. Medical : All volunteers are requested to look after their own medical expenses and other personal expenses(transportation, medical cost, medicine cost, communicational cost, gift, toilet papers, laundry, drinks or anything that are not mentioned in the living cost section will be volunteers’ own responsibility) . Volunteers are also requested to carry your own medical and travel insurances. Water: Please do not waste water / electricity. Weekends : Free, You are welcome to travel nearby places but you are requested to join the Monday morning project on time. Weekends attraction: Darjeeling, Bodh gaya, Puri, Sundarban, Digha etc. Hospitals: There are many good hospitals available near center kolkata ie: Woodlands [24567075-89]; Bell vue Nursing Home[Ph: 2472321]. Tourist Information centre: 22289898. Railway Booking centre: Foreigner Reservation Counter at Fairlie place near BBD Bag,very near from Esplanade area,Ph: 22206811 ; Airport : Netaji Suvash Chandra International Airport ,Kolkata[ 8 km away from SMILE office and your accommodation]. Weekend Trip: There are many weekend trips organized (against extra cost) by our travel partners. For more details please contact your camp In charge Ms. Kamala. Head Office location: It is located at Madhyamgram ,which is around 20 k.m away from the centre kolkata but just 8 km away from the Airport. Accommodation : Madhyamgram ( 20 km away from center kolkata). Nearest Rail Station: Madhyamgram Nearest Bus stand: Madhyamgram Nearest Market : Just 1.5 km away from the accommodation. There are some western type of markets also available ie: A.C Market, Forum, city centre , New Market around Esplanade and park street etc. Tourist places: Museum, Victoria Memorial Hall, Kali ghat [ Goddess kali temple],Maidan, Howrah Bridge, Ganges River[ Most pious river among Hindus] etc. Internet & Phone : There are many internet café and phone booth at city centre.. Introduction: When you are volunteering with SMILE, you are joining a family of fellow volunteers and NGO staff. Everyone is considered equal, and we are all committed to helping each other and most importantly, helping children. Cleaning room,toilet,dining place,living building are mandatory for every volunteer. Transportation : You will have to use the local available group transportation organised for the camp during your term. Airport transfer would be available as per information. Emergency Contact :- 00919830150249, [email protected] Orientation: Soon after the Volunteer arrive , they will be taken to host family place for orientation and to get refresh and take bit of rest before the orientation meeting take place. After the brief Orientation meeting volunteer will be transferred to their room. There would be 2 days of orientation.

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📅 Available sessions

SMILE MLTV 01

01/10/2017 → 31/12/2018

Closed
Volunteers registered 0 / 20
♂ 0/5 ♀ 0/15

ℹ️ Key information

Age required

15–45 years old

Solidarity donation

21000.00 INR ≈ 201 EUR

French tax residents may be eligible for a tax reduction of up to 66% of their costs (membership, plane tickets, solidarity donation).

📍 Location

Madhyamgram, Kolkata, West Bengal 700129, India

India

🌍 Location info

Local currency

India Rupee (INR / ₹)

Exchange rate

1 INR = 0.009550 EUR

Rate as of 31/05/2026

Timezone

India Standard Time

Local time: 20:54 (12/11/2026)

✅ Features

🗣️ Languages spoken

English Hindi