Northern India - 2007

In 2007, a group of three volunteers traveled to Kanda, a rural village in the mountains of Uttarakhand, where they worked for the Rural Organisation for Social Elevation (ROSE). The Director of this local grassroots NGO, Mr. Jeevan Lal Verma, welcomed the volunteers into his family. During their six-week collaboration with ROSE, volunteers taught English at a local elementary school and offered tutoring sessions to students in need of individual attention. BWV volunteers also designed lessons on environmental sustainability and conducted a school and street cleanup with the students. One of the volunteers also conducted administrative tasks to help increase the visibility of ROSE, writing articles, communicating with potential volunteers, and compiling reports.

In addition to working in the local school, the volunteers contributed to the construction of a Community Farm Shop, where basic commodities at reduced price are to be sold to local families in financial need. This was a key economic development project for Borderless World Volunteers. By altering the supply chain and eliminating middlemen, essential goods were able to be purchased by the villagers of Kanda at a significantly lower costs. This allowed for increased savings and the ability to pay for essential services including higher quality health and education that were previously unattainable. ROSE continues to be a key partner organization for Borderless World Volunteers .