Updated: 16.09.2017

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mahatma Gandhi


Thank you for your interest in volunteering for Sambhali Trust! There are volunteering options within both the URBAN and RURAL projects of Sambhali Trust.

Volunteering at Sambhali Trust gives you the wonderful opportunity to do important and valuable work, empowering the underprivileged women and children of Rajasthan. Not only will you help change the lives of hundreds of women and girls, you will also get an insight into the intricacies of Indian culture, and develop an understanding of how a grass-roots non-profit charitable organisation operates. Our projects deal with a wide variety of women from some of the most deprived sections of Indian society.

We prefer volunteers who are able to stay for a minimum of two months (but it's not mandatory) and would like to contribute towards the growth of our organisation. Our previous volunteers have ranged from 16 to 76 years old, demonstrating that anyone can volunteer and make a difference to our Trust, regardless of age, skill-set or background. The only requirements are a satisfactory level of English, an eagerness to work, an understanding and alignment with our objectives, and a level of flexibility, essential for the changeable nature of work in India. If you have experience and/or skills in sewing, dress-making or tailoring this would be advantageous.

Sambhali Trust will be in charge of your accomodation and food although, as we are a small grass-roots NGO, this will not be free of charge. Any exception (wanting to stay elsewhere) needs to be discussed with Sambhali Trust prior to your arrival. For more information on what you will be doing as a volunteer while at Sambhali Trust, where you stay while volunteering and the accomodation costs, please click on the relevant URBAN and RURAL projects pages.

Working hours are 9.00am until 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.

Sambhali Trust is a non-profit, non-governmental, charitable organisation that continues to provide support to the women and girls of Rajasthan as a result of the generous support of its well wishers and supporters, who spread awareness of our work and help us secure funding. This assistance is vital for the development of the projects operated by the Trust. We would like to encourage volunteers where possible to engage in fundraising before, during and after their volunteering and also become our international ambassadors, as it is through you that we can spread the word, about the work that we do, find potential markets for our products and sponsors for our projects.

We need 15 - 20 volunteers at any time to ensure the smooth running of our projects.
Before applying, please carefully read the available volunteering information included on this page and information included on our social networking pages including Facebook, Twitter and Blog. You may wish to become a fan of these pages as well.

Volunteers looking to return to Sambhali Trust for an additional time, need to discuss the duration of their stay with Mr. Govind Singh Rathore (Founder and Managing Trustee) by an e-mail or phone.

Prospective volunteers are asked to obtain information regarding getting a suitable visa for volunteering in India from the Indian Embassy in your own country (each country varies on its visa rules and regulations).

All foreigners (including foreigners of Indian origin) visiting India for more than 180 days on a Student Visa, Medical Visa, Research Visa and Employment Visa are required to register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO)/Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) within 14 days of arrival (we will help you register in Jodhpur). Before you leave Jodhpur, it is important to remember to go back to the office and de-register/sign off. If you do not do this, you may not be allowed to leave the country.

It is important that if you would like to combine travelling in India with volunteering at Sambhali Trust you discuss this with the Indian Embassy in your country first. India has very strict regulations about not being able to travel on a Volunteer/Employment Visa for any length of time; however, a volunteer is allowed to take short holidays, but if their visa stipulates that they need to register with the FRO in Jodhpur, then they also need to inform the FRO of holiday plans before they go away and check-in when they return (as well as registering with a police station at their destination).

Due to possible changes in visa regulations or other reasons it is highly recommended to contract a travel cancellation insurance for your flight ticket.

What can I contribute? How can I be useful? If you are thinking of volunteering in India and especially at Sambhali Trust, we hope you have asked yourself these questions.

If you are interested in volunteering for Sambhali Trust and have read and agreed to all of the above requirements of a volunteer at Sambhali Trust, please email your resume and motivation letter to Mr. Govind Rathore at volunteer@sambhali-trust.org, with information detailing why you want to volunteer for Sambhali Trust, your interests and skills. After receiving your email, Mr. Rathore will contact you with further details and contracts. An introductory phone call or skype conversation with Mr. Rathore needs to be done.

Please download the following two documents. Send a signed copy to Mr. Rathore and bring the original with you.
Behavioural protocols for Sambhali staff [108 KB]
Sambhali Volunteer Work Contract [82 KB]

India - what to expect [43 KB]

Please do also take notice of:
Health Information for Travellers to India