General Quote: “The fundamental principle of Veerayatan is to ‘uplift and empower humanity through the three jewels of humanitarianism, education and inner development.’”

Monika Arora:

“As I walked onto the site, a swarm of kids surrounded me like bees often surround a flower.  I felt so special.  Some of the other kids stood back and smiled warmly, too shy to express their need for attention and love.  Their innocent brown eyes spilling with curiosity looked up at me asking me a hundred questions without a spoken word…. I knew immediately that I would love it here.”

“I went to India with a desire to help and really make a difference.  I thought I would be teaching the kids of the school/orphanage what I know about life and what I have learned through my education and experiences.  Little did I know that they would be the ones making a difference in my life by opening my eyes to the world.  Their unconditional love and appreciation for the simple things in life are lessons within themselves. These are traits often lost in the fast paced, materialistic world we immerse ourselves in.” 

“I got the opportunity to start a hygiene project to promote awareness of basic hygiene to the kids of the Natwas Colony - a local slum surrounding Veerayatan.  We set aside one day as ‘hygiene day’ and taught about 50 kids how to brush their teeth, properly wash their hands, and we cleaned and cut their nails.”

“Never will I forget the experiences I had or lessons I learned during my short stay at Veerayatan this past winter break.  I encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zone and experience life from an entirely different perspective.  The insight gained and the satisfaction reaped from such an experience is insurmountable.”

Vishal Jhaveri:

“The project I chose to conduct in was preparing a video brochure for Veerayatan to send to potential donors.  The assignment involved writing an updated script from the previous video brochure, interviewing volunteers, children, and workers, and filming the video with a local agency.”

“Along with the projects, we were given the opportunity to tour Kachchh and play with the children.  While playing with the children, we would also teach them games, nursery rhymes and poems we had grown up with.  When traveling Kachchh, we visited the beach, other Veerayatan sites and went to the trenches near the India-Pakistan border.”

“When thinking back about my trip, I am happy I went because not only did I learn a lot from the people of Bhuj, but I was able to teach a bit to the children as well.  I would recommend this trip to anyone who is thinking about going next year.”

Dimple Chheda:

“Oh!  Those kids are so adorable!  And they are so nice too!  Even if you just smile at them, they'll come running to hug and talk to you.  We felt very welcomed there!  I learned a lot from those kids.  A lot of them don't even have a single parent and they are so young.  They wanted affection so much they would tell you anything.  It was nice but I didn't want to leave them.”

“One major thing that came out of this was some field work that was done…A few of the volunteers went to talk about health and they stopped at this one house.  The daughter (we think she's 12 or 13) was apparently being sexually abused…and her parents beat her and don't feed her properly…So we're in the processing of letting Veerayatan take her in.”

“Volunteering for Veerayatan gave me a different aspect on life and how things are…These kids are so strong, so much has happened to them in such a short lifetime but their spirits are still high. All you have to do is smile at a kid and they'll come running up to you and laugh with you and hug you and talk to you. They are very open children. It makes you realize that there's more to life than just studying and books in college…”

“…I never knew what I was missing…I've never seen a sky at night filled with so many stars and how bright the moon looks without all the street lights. I never felt how strong family bonds can be or how dangerous they could be. I've never seen such naturally beautiful children. I've never seen such talented and patient children before.”

Jinesh Mehta:

“…at 7.30 [pm]  we had Prarthana (prayer) and speech competition…On that day we had participants from vocational training center, who never went to the school and now during age group of 15-18 years, they are achieving some basic language and professional skills to run their life. I was surprised looking at their performance and the positive attitude filled in their words.”

“As I completed my bachelors in Civil Engineering, she [Shilapiji] asked me to handle the project and compensate the delay by accelerating the work. It was a big challenging task but I accepted it because this school they are building for economically backward children coming from the families where no body is literate. So this will give a new direction to their backward life.”

“[For the] first time in my career I was handing some project on my own. I gained lots of confidence because of their trust and cooperative nature. People from other associated agencies were also quite supportive and they provided all kind of help when they found that being a volunteer I was working very hard…We did groundbreaking ceremony and Puja on 30^th  December.  All the staff members and kids of Rudrani School, who are currently studying in a temporary school all came to attend the ceremony…I was feeling very much excited when I was giving a start to my first project. This was one of the most memorable moments of my life.”

“On the 1^st of January we decided to celebrate Fun fair 2003…I felt that in the fair there wasn’t any activity which involved all the kids. So I arranged a greeting card competition and provided material for the same. I asked all the kids to prepare greeting card of their own choice using their own ideas and declared first three prizes and participation prizes.”

“I was about to cry when I was addressing the kids during last night. Few girls played a small funny drama for us and made the sad moment lighter. After that I went to all the hostel took photos with kids and promised them for coming once again to meet and play with them. Their force and love made me think once again for staying for 1-2 more days.”

Kartik Goyani:

“My work with Veerayatan for these few days was truly a wonderful and unique experience. Given an opportunity I would definitely love to go back to Veerayatan or if possible try and help in the good cause that they are into.”

“…someone at Veerayatan told me – ‘In the survey that we have done of the area surrounding this village [Rudrani], we found out that out of the 2000 children only 2 kids have ever gone to school. The other kids have not even seen a school setting.’  [A mile from Rudrani is the village where the entire shooting of “Lagaan” was done.]”

“Everything said and done, Veerayatan was a life changing experience for me…Thanks to YJA…for giving us such a wonderful opportunity.”