- Smita Joshi, Volunteer, Reading Class Program, (DSS PUNE)

“I volunteered at Door Step School, Pune for two months during which I worked at the office to prepare a database of funding sources to support DSS to communicate with its donors and raise money. Besides the administrative work, I also spent some time with the children giving English lessons and playing games with them. That experience was great and I can confidently say that the organization does wonderful work for the education of children in Pune. The staff at Door Step School was very helpful and patient with me .Working at DSS not only taught me about India and education but it also taught me much about human nature, an invaluable life lesson!”

- Marie Bollard, Volunteer, Office, (DSS PUNE)

"I came to Doorstep School (DSS) in the winter of 2009/10 as a tourist with the intention of working as a volunteer English teacher for two months. I study education in Australia and wanted to broaden my studies, and also experience a foreign culture, by embarking on this adventure in India. I found myself extremely well received by the organization, with very friendly and accommodating staff. The work was very challenging and rewarding, which tested my abilities as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher. The task was made especially difficult as I didn’t know the local language, Marathi. However, the children were always eager to listen, learn and participate in English based activities and follow instruction to the best of their ability.

I found DSS to be a very worthy humanitarian cause. The dedication of the staff was an inspiration, as I witnessed their commitment to provide more opportunities to children who would otherwise have very little options in a city booming with economic prosperity for the rich and financial hardship for the poor. Indeed, the program found flexible solutions to the barriers facing the education of children of labouring families. DSS continues to be THE reason that many children succeed in school and continue to higher education, enabling them a life which would not have been possible otherwise.

My time at DSS far exceeded my expectations and is an experience that I value highly. As a man who aspires to be an international ESL teacher, DSS has given me skills and knowledge that could not have been acquired in a western environment. It has complemented the education that I receive in Australia and has made me more desirable both as an ESL teacher and as a teacher of the humanities disciplines. I highly recommend the program for anyone studying to be a teacher who is interested in foreign cultures. For me, it was one of the most memorable travel experiences of my life."

-Tim Ackers, Student of Education, QUT, Brisbane, Australia. Volunteer (DSS Pune)

"I knew very little about Door Step School before arriving at their offices in Mumbai as a volunteer. I had been travelling around India through December and January and had made the initial contact with Bina back in August. Consequently, everything felt rather far away and I was little apprehensive that all may not be as it seemed, or far more likely, that I would not be able to contribute anything worthwhile to the project in such a short space of time.

It should go without saying that I had nothing to fear on the former account. I was immediately welcomed by Bina and Arnavaz who gave me a complete picture of the charity as a whole. I found it really impressive that an organisation that had begun with the idea of mobile education twenty years ago with ten employees was now one of the city’s most formidable NGO’s with a workforce of 150 strong. This is down to its adaptability. With a city that’s changing as fast as Mumbai, new education related problems present them selves all the time, and Bina and Arnavaz strive continuously to tackle these from every angle with the sensitive touch that’s needed to deal with the parties on either side of any issue.

As for my own misgivings about what I had to offer, I found that with a little application I could find a niche for myself. Since Doorstep has no formal volunteer programme, it’s very much up to you to bring what you have to offer to the table, and then work with them in seeing how to tailor that to one of their programmes in the most productive way. With my background in drama, it wasn’t long before I was down in CLC dramatising storybooks with groups of kids. Despite the language barrier between me and the children and indeed some of the teachers, we soon established a framework of understanding through a few actions and some basic words in Hindi. In addition I spent one day a week teaching an art lesson on one of the classroom buses that give the charity its name and gave a one-off master class for the teachers themselves, in the hope of leaving a small legacy of dramatic story telling techniques behind me.

It’s difficult to measure exactly what difference my contributions made over the month, but it certainly felt personally rewarding, and if I managed to leave an impression, however small, then I’m happy. I would strongly recommend anyone to get involved with Doorstep Schools in any way they can, either in person or by making a donation. If you’re fortunate enough to spend some time with the utterly dedicated team here, you’ll see very quickly the importance of the work and the impact being made."

- Piers Harrisson, Volunteer from UK, (DSS Mumbai)