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What the fuss is about

I have decided to carry out a voluntary service to commit to a solidary and socially valuable cause. Starting August 2017, I will spend twelve months in Bangalore, India to work in a Camphill-Project that has created a safe environment for mentally disabled people. With my service, I will make a concrete contribution to the inclusion of the handicapped of Bangalore. I will also get to know Indian culture closely and unsugarcoatedly. Meeting people who are at home over 7000 km away from Germany will put me in touch with a reality which is undoubtedly different from anything I have experienced so far and pose an exciting challenge. 

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India is a culturally rich country associated with colourful festivals and decorated palaces, but its 1.1 billion inhabitants also struggle with a feeble economy and insufficient infrastructure – half of the Indian households doesn’t have access to electricity. The chronic lack of medical education often leads to the exclusion of handicapped children. The appropriate therapeutic institutions rely on non-governmental funding and the support of volunteers to be able to offer proper treatment to patients of all financial backgrounds. I will become part of one of them. Friends of Camphill India is offering a fulfilling life to ca. 25 disabled people since its establishment in 1999. In a family-like community together with volunteers and employees, they learn to deal with the challenges of daily life, contribute to the community by working in different handicraft workshops and are given the space and opportunity to lead a life according to their abilities. The respect and mutual support of one another enables each member of the community to flourish. 

Check out their website for a firsthand impression:  www.friendsofcamphillindia.in

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The non-profit association Freunde der Erziehungskunst Rudolf Steiners is supporting me before, during and after my year in India. I will be one among 400 volunteers outgoing to international anthroposophic institutions in the framework of the governmental voluntary service for developing countries „weltwärts”. This means that the German state grants a significant share of the 10.000 € that my stay will cost. However, it is my responsibility to drum up contributors to support me with part of the costs of the journey, insurances, seminars, pedagogues, accommodation etc. My donation goal is to contribute 3.300 € to a solidary fund of my sending organisation which is going to render the delegation of the volunteers of 2017/18 possible. I bid you for your support to enable the service of hundreds of young volunteers this year!  Donators from 50 € receive a charitable donation certificate for tax deduction.

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I am deploying a year of my life for a charitable project and ask you sincerely for a contribution of your estimation to strengthen the international community in an exchange of peaceful support. Let’s make for a world filled with cultural understanding, generosity and unity!