Celebrate the new year by helping others with a humanitarian-aid jeep adventure in Rajasthan

Following up on the success of its inaugural January 2009 trip, Relief Workers International (RWI) will offer a dozen travelers the opportunity to join its second humanitarian aid adventure in the Raj

Following up on the success of its inaugural January 2009 trip, Relief Workers International (RWI) will offer a dozen travelers the opportunity to join its second humanitarian aid adventure in the Rajasthan desert โ€” just in time for the 2010 New Year.

The trip, which runs from December 22, 2009 to January 2, 2010, will allow participants to visit remote desert villages in the stunning, geographically-unique, salt-pan region known as the Little Rann of The Kutch. From their base camp, the garden oasis of Rann Riders Resort in Dasada, participants will travel each day to different villages where they will distribute school supplies to children and assist RWIโ€™s team of doctors to provide medicine and critical health care for needy villagers.

According to Alexander Souri, executive director of RWI, trip participants can create an enormous difference in the lives of the villagers they visit. โ€œAt the heart of every RWI excursion is the very meaningful interaction between trip participants and local residents,โ€ Souri said. โ€œNo matter what life experiences theyโ€™ve had or what skills they possess, each trip participant performs a pivotal, integral role in our aid efforts. As a result, both villagersโ€™ and participantsโ€™ lives are improved.โ€

Among the most important aid efforts that RWI conducts are mobile eye camps, which allow villagers blinded by cataracts – a widespread problem in this sun-scorched region – to undergo simple surgery and regain their sight. Participants during the January 2010 trip will set up a mobile eye camp in the village of Patdi, where they will help RWIโ€™s medical team to do check-ups, organize triage, and distribute medical supplies for aftercare.

Trip participants will also have the opportunity to visit with and provide books and supplies for schoolchildren at Patdi and other villages and will attend seminars designed to educate and enrich them about local culture and its place in the world. Trip members will get to meet with Ganthar, a non-governmental organization that created โ€œFloating Desert Schools,” which help educate the regionโ€™s semi-nomadic children. Participants will also travel to the Rannโ€™s salt pans to meet salt workers, who form the foundation of the local economy; attend an interactive seminar about global climate change; and meet with the honorary secretary of the Indian Red Crossโ€™ Gujarat state branch in Ahmedabad.

The January trip itinerary also allows plenty of opportunities for participants to explore the regionโ€™s dazzling landscapes and landmarks and to immerse themselves in the local culture with daily yoga practice and freshly-prepared local meals.

โ€œItโ€™s important that, alongside the crucial work we do, we take time to appreciate the beautiful terrain, fascinating wildlife, historic monuments, and cultural traditions that surround us,โ€ Souri said. โ€œThis is an integral part of the RWI experience.โ€

An offshoot of Relief Riders International (RRI), an aid organization which has provided humanitarian relief to Rajasthani villagers via horseback since 2004, RWI seeks to address the same issues as its sister organization: providing general and pediatric medical care; treating blindness; and donating livestock, books, and school supplies to villagers. In the five years since its inception, RRI has provided aid to some 15,000 villagers, half of them children.

โ€œAfter four years of offering unique voluntourism expeditions on horseback, we were delighted to create a whole new humanitarian travel experience for those not interested in riding,โ€ said Souri. โ€œThe aims are the same and our success should be as well.โ€

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...