The Volunteering Solutions program in Delhi, India is highly unethical and I strongly advise against  working with the organization.

By Heather Newgen

I considered myself to be an experienced volunteer. I had one successful international volunteering trip under my belt, so why wouldn’t I know what I was doing? I was a “pro” now, so I didn’t really need to do much research on organizations since they were all the same and have good intentions.

It honestly never occurred to me that anyone would be unethical when interacting with volunteers, or create scams to sucker us into a program that was unprofessional. I once naively thought this, which is utterly embarrassing. I learned I was completely wrong when I signed up with Volunteering Solutions in 2009, and it was a hard lesson, but one worth knowing.

I actually had an uneasy feeling about them from the start. My gut tried to warn me, but I pushed the red flags aside telling myself I was overreacting. Unlike the previous year when I went to Morocco with Cross Cultural Solutions who prepped us well, Volunteering Solutions was difficult to get in touch with. I had a million questions, but no one would email me back.

Finally, around 1:00 a.m. one night, I received a phone call from out of nowhere. It was someone at Volunteering Solutions, and they said they’d talk to me about concerns I had. I thought it was odd, but I was happy to talk to someone from the organization. I reluctantly paid the program fee, but I wasn’t overly excited like I thought I would be. I again dismissed any weird feelings and left for New Delhi.

Someone from the organization picked me up, although really late after I arrived, and took me to the volunteer house, which was the cockroach infested, dirty basement of the country director’s beautiful and luxurious home. There was about 20 girls sweating to death in a small space. People were sleeping on the floors trying to cool down and many were breaking out into heat rashes because there was no ventilation or windows to open.

I know some people right now are probably thinking I’m a spoiled Westerner who thought I was going to stay at a Four Seasons type of resort, but that truly isn’t the case. I’d sleep in a tent on the ground if I thought my money was going towards a good cause.

I was horrified by the accommodations, but tried to not pass judgment just yet, however, several other girls expressed their concerns when I arrived. American dollars/Euros go a long way in India, and clearly, the money didn’t go towards our housing, so people were questioning where the program fee was going.

I barely slept that night because it was so suffocating, but I woke up the next morning looking forward to the next few weeks. For breakfast, we went into the country director’s house and sat down at the table. We were given a piece of white toast, with a little butter and some yogurt.

Again, I’m not trying to come across as a high maintenance person, but now I was starting to wonder where our money was going. It’s not so much what food we were given or what the volunteering housing looked like, I was more confused as to what we paid for.

I was still hopeful that the money was given to the school in the slums we’d be going to, but I soon discovered that wasn’t the case. I moved out of the basement after the first night, as did a few other girls. It was too uncomfortable, miserable and filthy. We checked into a hotel down the street, which we were happier at.

I was also eating at the hotel instead of the volunteer house because the food was better and more nutritious. Needless to say I didn’t get a refund for the accommodations or meals from Volunteering Solutions, but it was my decision to leave, so I didn’t ask for my money back and I wasn’t expecting to get it back.

The first week of the program was orientation, so every day we walked to the volunteer house, which we realized quickly was a waste of time. I wished we were volunteering instead of learning about Indian bread. It was frustrating.

While I wasn’t enjoying Volunteering Solutions, I did love meeting the other volunteers and getting to the know Delhi, the culture and local people. Some of the girls who left the housing with me were so distraught that they changed their flights and went home early. They were over the entire situation and had enough of the program.

I didn’t blame them one bit, but I was determined to volunteer. I made it this far into the trip and I was going to work with street kids in the slums no matter what.

The first day of volunteering, we went to one of New Delhi’s roughest neighborhoods. In an area full of rubble and debris was an alley where kids gathered on a cement floor to interact with us.

The country director drove us in his car and dropped us off. There was no introduction to the children or the adults in charge, there was no guidance on what we were supposed to do, and there was no schedule. I guess we could stay there as long as we wanted and then take an auto-rickshaw back. The situation was totally uncomfortable and I felt like we weren’t wanted there.

The project description on VS’ website stated volunteers would help prepare meals, create a fun environment for the kids through new activities and games, and teach English, which I had never done before, nor was I prepared to do. It was never explained what we would actually be doing, and yes, I absolutely should have been more clear and asked questions. I take responsibility for that. I really just didn’t know better, which is mortifying looking back.

So I went with colored chalk, pens, toys and games for the kids, but I was yelled at when I arrived saying I must teach. Teach what? There were no supplies, no lesson plan, and no instructions. There was just an older woman sitting in the middle of the different aged kids reciting the A,B,C’s over and over to them.

Heather Newgen at school in New Delhi slums

I was unskilled, untrained and had no business being there. I was embarrassed for the program and myself. They didn’t have the kid’s interest at heart. They just wanted to send people there to make it seem like volunteers were needed, but I don’t think we were.

I didn’t know what to do, so I took out the chalk I brought, put some of the older children in a group, and taught a few math problems. My being there did not make a difference and I certainly didn’t have the impact I thought I would.

I didn’t want to go back. I was ashamed. In addition, I didn’t feel safe going to the slums alone. After we were taken once, we were expected to go on our own. Not sure how anyone was supposed to remember how to get there without a map or directions…
To make matters worse, we later found out the NGO of the school hadn’t received any of the money he was promised from the program manager. A volunteer with VS, who is now a life-long friend, told her family about our experience. They lived nearby and her mom went to the school with us the next day to find out what was going on.

It was then we knew we were being lied to. Volunteering Solutions was a total scam—at least in India. I can’t speak for the other countries they are in. I confronted the country director and instead of addressing my concerns and trying to be helpful, he and his wife started screaming at me. I asked repeatedly where my money was going and wanted to see a breakdown of how they spent volunteer’s program fee. Reasonable things I thought, but apparently not.

They kept side stepping the question by turning things around on me. I asked why our money wasn’t partly going to the NGO as he had said and I was met with more hostility.
I didn’t back down and continued to ask questions, but they refused to do anything but yell. His wife kept saying, “I can’t believe you would ask us these types of questions in our own home,” and acted as if I was trying to get inappropriate information out of them. Crazy doesn’t even begin to describe the situation.

Another volunteer witnessed the contentious argument and was outraged by their behavior. It was unbelievable. I’m not sure if the country director is still there today, but this happened in 2009 and I know just a couple of years ago he was still working for Volunteering Solutions, which is shocking.

I went back to volunteer a couple of times, but felt it was pointless. So I checked out of the hotel, stayed with new friends I made and vowed to spread the word about Volunteering Solutions.

I don’t ever want another person to go through the nightmare that I did. When I got home I started doing research and found a slew of negative reviews all mirroring my similar experience. I also started a group on Facebook called ‘Beware of Volunteering Solutions” where others told me they had written bad reviews of the organization and were threatened to be sued by the program if they weren’t taken down.

I was taken aback that they would go that far. I’m sorry that I didn’t do my homework ahead of time, and it’s my fault that I was so ignorant about voluntourism, but here’s what I have learned:

–Listen to your instincts. You get bad vibes for a reason.

–Do your research. I can’t stress this enough. Do not sign up with a program before you’re 100% sure they’re professional and legit. Don’t just read the reviews on the organization’s website. Who knows if they’re actually real or not?

–Don’t work with kids if you’re unskilled or untrained, especially if you’re just volunteering short-term.

–Know exactly what your volunteer assignment is going to be ahead of time. Also, find out if you’re expected to go to your project alone.

–There are positive experiences to be had volunteering abroad and domestically. It’s unfortunate that there are corrupt organizations out there, but it’s your responsibility as a volunteer to educate yourself and be aware of the issues with volunteering so you can avoid them. I strongly support voluntourism, however, it needs to be done in an ethical manner.