FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

1. To be a volunteer with Relief India Trust what do I need to do?

Get in touch with our Volunteer Actions Coordinators based in your city or the city closest to you. Share with us your interest areas and contact details.

• Email / Write to us
• Call us

We would be happy to invite you to our Volunteer orientation meetings held at regular intervals. It will give you an idea of who we are, what we do and what YOU can do as a Relief India Trust volunteer.

2. Can I teach children or spend time with them? What does volunteering in Relief India Trust involve?

While planning out an activity we ask ourselves three questions

Will my action help:
1. in bringing about permanent change in the lives of children
2. address the root cause behind child rights violation
3. in making the state accountable towards children and their rights

Share your ideas and together we will arrive at the “RIGHT CHOICE” that will bring about permanent and positive change in the lives of children.

3. Will my single / individual voice help the countless others to build pressure for change?
How can we bring about permanent change in children’s lives?
Will campaigning make a difference to children in a permanent way?
Yes YOUR VOICE counts!
We believe that we must try to enable a situation where rights for all children are ensured in a permanent way. This means impacting and influencing the body that can reach out to all the children in our country – viz. the government. YOUR opinion has the power to influence the government and Campaigning is a powerful way to build public opinion.
For instance:

• You find out that children in your locality are out of school as there are no teachers in it.
• You share this information with more people to lend more voice to your demand for the recruitment of teachers
• You ALL knock the doors of the relevant government authority demanding the recruitment of teachers
• You ALL have made a difference by getting the entire system to work
• You ALL have, by ensuring that the system works, enabled children beyond your locality as well to have access to quality education.
• You ALL have touched the lives of so many children

It might take time but the change that it brings about is permanent and positive.

4. Are these group efforts or individual efforts that volunteers get involved in?
Volunteer campaigns are all group efforts and nothing is done in isolation. In fact, all our campaigns somewhere merge under a common umbrella of themes for which we all advocate. But yes, that doesn’t do away with flexibility of work in terms of time and the way you would like to be involved.

5. How much time do I have to give?
Volunteerism in Relief India Trust is flexible in nature i.e. there are no fixed hours of working. However, it is a long term engagement. Once you join/ start a campaign, it becomes YOUR campaign and you can give it as much time as you like to make it effective and impactful.

6. How many times a week does one need to volunteer? / Can I volunteer part time?
Most volunteer activities take place on the weekends, and many allow for work to be done in your own time (research/ studies/ networking online/ updating the volunteer group etc). Most of our volunteers are full time employees or students who manage their volunteer action during as per their convenience.

7. Can professionals be involved in campaigns?
Yes – provided there is a willingness to engage and contribute to the campaign positively. E.g. If you are a creative professional such as photographer, film maker, dancer, musician, you could use your skills to mobilize similar talents around you and use this skill to advocate for children and their cause with Relief India Trust’s support.

8. Can I work from home?
You could chose a volunteering option that allows you to work from home, though many of our volunteers also do field work in order to stay in touch with ground realities8.

9. Will I get a certificate?
We sincerely believe that volunteers at Relief India Trust work due to their sheer interest and conviction to bring about a positive change in the lives of the children. Hence their commitment is not dependent on certificates. However, usually after at least a year long active engagement as a committed volunteer, we provide one with a certificate or a letter of acknowledgement from Relief India Trust if required.

10. Will I be paid if I become a volunteer?
No. However, work related expenses like photocopying, conveyance and other expenses incurred can be reimbursed.

11. Will I get an identity card?
We don’t issue identity cards. If there is any specific work/assignment that requires your identity proof of being a Relief India Trust volunteer, an authorization letter is given, which is valid for a certain time period.