Now volunteering work in India made easy

15 March, 2013

Ms. Saloni Behl working as a Consultant for a pharmaeautical firm in Chicago, in the US, during one of he annual visits to Mumbai, wanted to do some volunteering work. She found that most NGOs had their own website, but there was no proper directory for volunteers to find the right place to offer their services.

While in Chicago, Ms. Behl works with autistic children and senior citizens on weekends but during her visit to Mumbai she could not get a proper portal for a volunteering job. The existing gap on this issue was well understood by Ms. Behl. Along with her sister, Ruchi who works for an MNC in San Francisco, in the US. got together and floated the website www.volunteermumbai.org, the website they call "one search closer to your cause", two months ago.

The search for volunteer jobs in Mumbai has now become easier whether it is to tend to an elderly or baby-sitting a kitten. The website has partnered with nine NGOs in fields such as education, animal care, environmental conservation and assistance for senior citizens.

Ms. Behl, while talking to the media added, "Some NGOs screen volunteers. But that job is already done by us when we get people who show interest in the posts on our site. NGOs tell us we are making their job easier." Behl explained that they have got a questionnaire to fill. In case some answers are found to be vague, the appliant is asked for more information.

Efforts put in by these two sisters is getting praise. Dhwani Shah, an assistant school leader with Akanksha says, "We worked wih them for two events. The response is good.

More and more such efforts are needed for other cities in India where there are large number of NGOs in operation all of which had got opened primarily to make a nice difference to the society. It could be possible due to lack of dedicated and motivated volunteers, some of these NGOs may not be able to operate much efficiently.

Therefore, the above website (portal), which is now focussing on Mumbai can be extended to many other cities in India. Hoping concerned quarters and others who are interested in making some good contributions to the society can help to strngthen the above website and also to extend its reach for more cities and towns in the country. More and more similar website should also come up, after getting due encouragement from concerned quarters, to cover wider areas in the country.