Jaya

United States
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Profile information

Travel information
I am currently
At home
Activities i am interested in:
Health care, mentorship, farming, education,
My next destination:
India - from Oct 2023 until Apr 2024
View all
Description
Equal access to adequate health services and care is what motivates me the most! I am a recent graduate from the University of Miami with a Bachelors in Health Sciences and minors in public health, biology, chemistry, psychology, and religious studies. I have worked in research at the medical school during my undergraduate years, but I am looking to be immersed and around people! I love to being able to help face to face. I am looking to take time and devote my life to service to my culture and people.
Interests
Photography
Hiking
Charity work
Mountain
Sustainability
Fitness
Camping
Gardening
Plant care
Events & social
Cooking & food
Performing arts
Vegetarian or vegan
Yoga / Wellness
Politics / Social justice
Nature
Farming
Culture
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Intermediate
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Life at a Farmstay
Some knowledge of:
Charity Work
Art Projects
Being an elderly companion
Teaching
Babysitting and creative play
Able to teach about:
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Helping around the house
Helping with Computers/ Internet
General Maintenance
More details about your skills
I have had years of technical training as a student researcher at my universities medical school and the Pennsylvania biotechnology center. Within the research studies I have assisted in, I have helped in marketing and recruitment efforts. However, I have been grateful enough also to gain more personal experience with NGOs, as I helped start a non-profit in South Florida meant to provide mentorship to high school students from lower-income and overlooked areas.
Age
22
What else ...
I am an incredibly hard worker and am just seeking a dedicated NGO that I can put all of my efforts in to.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements

Feedback

18 Feb 2024

Left by host (Experienced teachers and/or ...) for Workawayer (Jaya)

Jaya volunteered with us for over 5 months in both our school and Hospital at Your Door and other various activities inside of the campus. Her main role throughout her stay was as the lead teacher of English for the Rushikumar’s who arrived from Manipur state where there has been communal violence. She prepared lesson plans to suit learning… read more styles, levels, and abilities, and ensured that the lessons were fun and engaging between the children grades 3-8. Later on, she taught science classes and introduced these Rushikumar's to the school curriculum, as well as offered them assistance and support in and outside the classroom and being one of the appointed volunteers to ensure that their classes were always taken care of. Jaya has helped with 1:1 support with reading in the library, and showing them constant support and encouragement during their free time and extracurricular activities.

Jaya has at short notice always covered for absent teachers and substituted as and when required throughout her stay with us. She has helped with invigilating classes in the main school (grades KG-11) in both Science and English. During out-of-formal school hours, Jaya has helped with continual conversations with the hostel boys to help them practice their English, watching movies, discussions, indoor/outdoor games, evening prayers with the students, and nightly study hour assistance.
She made a huge contribution to the day trip to Pariej wetland, where she had planned a nature scavenger hunt, which the children greatly enjoyed whilst learning about different birds and migration.

In the afternoons after school Jaya has shadowed and joined our Hospital at Your Door Service in the community which provides primary health care to surrounding 35 villages. Learning and observing the functions of the hospital, prescribed medications, and common ailments of locals in surrounding villages and schools visited local schools and provided conversation and enjoyment to the village children.

Jaya has contributed to a lot of our community, campus, and school events as well as actively taking part in all the festivals. She has spent the last five months here engaged with the children as well as spending time; serving food to local hospitals with a smile, making pizza for the students, packing biscuits, jacket distributions to kindergarten children, taking part in Ganesh Utsav, pottery making, Navratri, Sharad Purnima, Diwali, Cooking without Fire, Sports Day, Kite festival, Shri Ram Prana Pratishtha, Republic Day, the Mass Marriage and celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Vadtal Swaminaryan Mandir, as well as many Poojas.

Jaya has been a very committed, modest, humble and instrumental member of the school and campus team for over 5 months. Because of her extensive time spent here, she has made new volunteers feel welcome and helped them settle into their new environment, school, and culture. The Rushikumar boys, students, teachers, kitchen staff, and all the campus staff will hugely miss Jaya and we hope she returns to see the progress of her children very soon.

(Excellent )

18 Feb 2024

Left by Workawayer (Jaya) for host (Experienced teachers and/or ...)

I will utterly cherish the time I spent here forever. I was lucky enough to have spent five beautiful months on this campus, and my experience was nothing short of amazing.

I recently graduated from University with my bachelor's in Health Science, so the opportunity to work in the school and hospital at your door service was unmatched.
The… read more students at the school are so lovely and so curious; it is a privilege to be able to teach and form bonds with them. Within my first week of arrival here, the school had unexpectedly received 50 children from Manipur who fled their state due to civil unrest. My assigned task was to focus on these students and catch them up to speed as they will be integrated with the other children in the upcoming school year. These kids are indeed special; I feel honored to have met them, taught them, and spent time with them both in and out of the classroom. I leave here truly having formed such deep and emotional bonds, and I cannot wait to return and see them again. I was first assigned to teach these students in English, and it was delightful to see their capabilities grow. After the first four months, I was instructed to transition their teaching to science courses, which I was overjoyed to do as my educational background directly applies to this subject. I could genuinely see the interest in the students grow as the weeks passed.
Along with these students, I was also appointed to daily classes in the main school, which was also a joy, and the children were always incredibly excited to work alongside a volunteer. I felt like a welcomed staff member, and I wouldn't trade my time here for anything else. Spending additional time with the hostel students here during meals, movies, and study hours was lovely. There was an abundance of opportunities to help and form bonds; it made it almost impossible not to love this school and everyone inside of it.
It was a terrific experience to also work with the doctors at the hospital at your door service. They have a mobile hospital that serves the surrounding villages with extremely low-cost medical care. Because of my background and intentions to obtain my medical degree, this was an indispensable experience for me. It was great to see the surrounding villages, and the doctors were very kind to me, always translating what the patient was saying and explaining why certain medications were prescribed and the medical history behind those who would come in. For anyone interested in the medical field, this is a perfect opportunity to learn more and be immersed in the medical processes of a different country. While I do not currently have my MD, so I could not actively contribute, I learned so much about the extensive number of ailments and diseases that plague India and its people. I now have a much deeper understanding of what doctors here must undergo.
In addition to the children, the staff and teachers were so amicable and welcoming. Always available to assist in times of need, with a warm smile on their face, and always willing and excited to communicate and learn more. I felt so comfortable on this beautiful campus and knew I would always be taken care of if there was any issue. I was also lucky enough to serve my time here in conjunction with the volunteer coordinator, who was so fantastic and kindhearted. I really enjoyed the time I spent with her and the other volunteers.
The accomodations were exsiquite and I felt so grateful and fortunate. It is an immaculate and gorgeous campus, and the rooms are great. I was lucky enough to have a room by myself for the vast majority of my stay, as I was also studying for my MCAT in my free time, and it was a perfect place to stay. The guest house is lovely and an excellent place for all the volunteers to gather- and the new facility for guests I have seen them building over the last months looks superb! I am so excited to see how the building turns out, but it looks amazing. The rooms were also cleaned for you, which was so kind, and laundry could be done if you would like it cleaned and pressed. This organization truly knows what it means to go far above and beyond for their volunteers, and they exemplify marvelous hospitality.
The food is also provided on campus, with three meals a day and a snack if you would like. The food is delicious, and an on-site mineral plant supplies the clean water, so you know everything is of the utmost quality and care. It was also so much fun to sit with the students and talk with them during meals; it was a very enjoyable bonding activity over various foods!
The volunteers would also be taken out for weekend outings and participate in every festival or celebration that happened inside and outside of campus. It was very gracious of the staff to accommodate the volunteer's wishes to site-see/shop, and they would accompany us on our trips to ensure the safety of all members. I also came at the perfect time to witness all of the biggest festivals in India (September- February), and I was always involved in every activity with the school; I felt so honored to be a part of the celebrations and events on campus, and I always felt very welcomed, comfortable, and taken care of.
Overall, my experience was astounding, and I am more than grateful for my experience at this organization. It was a privilege to serve as a volunteer here. I will miss all of the students and staff so dearly, and I hope to be back very soon.

(Excellent )