Sankalp Volunteer Society India

I volunteered in the Jaipuri orphanage programme in a placement arranged by Sankalp. For background info: Sankalp is run by a couple, Pranay and Amita. I don’t recommend volunteering with them for the following reasons:

1. There is no transparency re volunteer fees and how they are spent.
The website says 50% of placement fees is spent on accommodation and food, the rest on the programmes. Examples cited are school supplies and diapers for the children. But in reality, the volunteers buy their own supplies, and there were no diapers in the orphanage. Not one. I asked for a breakdown of how our fees were used: Pranay was unable to give me one. Other reviewers on different sites have touched on this issue. These reviews are routinely labelled ‘fictitious’ by Pranay. Or, he sidesteps the very valid concerns people have raised. I find this kind of obfuscation dishonest. If he has nothing to hide, he would be transparent as to how volunteers’ fees are used in the orphanage. I can only conclude that these fees are pocketed by Pranay and Amita.

2. There is neglect bordering on abuse in the orphanage.
In particular, the disabled children are routinely left lying on the floor in soiled clothes. Some have open bedsores. The woman in charges shouts at the children and threatens them with a stick. Two towels are used to dry 30 children after bathing. The ones washed last are rubbed with a sopping wet towel. Now, the orphanage is state-run and therefore not Sankalp’s direct responsibility. However, there is a playroom painted with numbers in English and Hindi, with a sign thanking Pranay as patron. That suggests he has influence. Either, he has none and is powerless to improve conditions or he is aware of the neglect and is indifferent to it. When I was in the orphanage, the kids got a really bad lice infestation. I suggested they treat the children (as they were very uncomfortable) but Amita’s response was ‘why bother? It will come back’. In the end, me and a friend bought lice treatments and combs, and treated the children ourselves. They stayed lice-free at least until we left – two weeks later. My impression is that Pranay and Amita like the glory of being seen as benefactors but are careless of the children’s wellbeing.

3. They are careless re some aspects of volunteer safety.
On the plus side, the volunteer house feels very safe. But, some of the poor children we looked after had TB and hepatitis B and C. One Australian volunteer had never been vaccinated against TB (I was as a child, coming from the UK). Sankalp gave us no advice or provided no information on this point. I don’t think it’s right that volunteers are exposed to diseases outside the normal list for India and no-one mentions this.

As many people have commented: the volunteer house feels safe and the food is plentiful and tasty. The work and travel programme lets you explore , or you can arrange your own trips to Agra/wherever on the weekend. But, if you actually want to help children, find another programme. This is a pocket-lining exercise for a self-aggrandizing couple.