by Jailel Barr
Volunteer job at Lha: English Teacher and news writer for Contact
My four months working with this organisation has been the best part about visiting India for my first time. I started my volunteer quest in December 2018 joining the global engagement program: Omprakash, which allows people from all over the world to connect through their platform in the efforts to partner with NGOs from all over the world.I was sceptical whether I’d be accepted into a programme after being denied from a few others, but Lha Charitable Trust welcomed me with open arms. It was a difficult start getting used to the culture of India but the Lha office was like a haven where I could ask for any help and use as workspace when I had no idea where to go.

All the staff is like a family and even treat its many volunteers as long distant relatives. The positive energy and work that circulates in this organisation attracts the kind of volunteers that easily connect with each other and create a small family in themselves. It’s a debate whether I’ve grown more attached to students or the staff.

When I was asked to teach beginners’ English, I was very nervous as I had never taught anything and didn’t know what to expect or how to prepare myself. The students that attend these language classes are some of the most dedicated and eager people I’ve encountered. Their intent to learn put my anxious heart at ease after the first day. I came into my first day sweaty-palmed and soft spoken. I was second guessing myself whether I was doing any good and helping them improve their English. One student asked me for extra help by tutoring for one hour a day and my only thought was “YES!”. Intimidated because he was a monk, I did not want to let him down, so I took his offer as his trusted tutor very seriously. To my surprise he’s quite the comedian like most of my students. Our sessions began strictly working through the book, answering any questions, and writing out conversation to evoke better speech. Eventually he became more comfortable with his speech and we moved away from the book and that’s when the jokes came. What he couldn’t verbally say, he said with his facial expressions and I understood very well. “We should find a reason to laugh everyday otherwise what’s the point,” he told me a few times. All the students I had the pleasure of tutoring grew a funny bone as they became more comfortable speaking English.
No matter what I had planned throughout the week, the most anticipated part was seeing them and learning more about their lives, personalities, and improvement of language skill. My intention was to only write for the magazine as journalism was my study at my college in the US. But I truly loved teaching more than writing this summer. I’ve found a community here in Mcleod Ganj that I am eager to return to.