By Aliana Rodrigues
Volunteering in Goa is an extremely positive and humbling experience and makes a huge difference in the lives of the people you decide to help. It gives people the chance to connect with the less fortunate and more deserving. It gives an opportunity to also immerse oneself in community living. Besides something that you can add to your resume, volunteering lets you engage with local communities and maybe learn from them as well. Here is a list of a few places where you could volunteer to aid, assist or even have fun on the job!
1) Bookworm Trust Situated in Taleigao and started in 2014, Bookworm Trust is a charity organization that promotes the love for reading through its Library in Schools program and Mobile Outreach Program that takes reading and storytelling to local communities. Organizing heritage walks, baking classes and clay animation workshops, the organization welcomes volunteers to its organization. Volunteering at Bookworm involves teaching, crafts and reading out loud to children and conducting summer activities in a very flexible, open and cooperative environment. If you’re a bibliophile, literarian or logophile, this is for you! Find out more details here. 2) Sethu Beginning 1st June 2005, Sethu Trust works to promote the development of children and family guidance. According to its webpage, Sethu requires “helping hands to build its world village”, one can assist in making posters, fundraising and even with teaching aids. Sethu requires talented and trained people to work with children who have learning disabilities and autism. If you’re a psychology major or have an interest in counselling or working with children, give it a try!
3) Cooj As its title name suggests, COOJ or Cause of Our Joy is a non-profit set up in the year 2000. With an aim to provide psychosocial rehabilitation services, this organization aims to promote positive health and is located in Mapusa, Vasco and Saligao. Many programs such as suicide prevention and awareness programs aimed at the prevention of stress in schools and colleges. Volunteering work at COOJ involves fundraising, networking, taking distress calls, vocation assistance, marketing, assistance during awareness programs etc. If humanitarian causes are what you care about, volunteering at COOJ is something for you!
4) Bailancho Saad– If you’re passionate about women’s issues, legal subjects, domestic violence, and counselling, this veteran NGO in the Goa women’s movement can certainly use your help with social media skills, fundraising and lots more.
And finally, if you would like to volunteer with Blurb to market social causes, please contact us.