Laura’s Experience

Halfway between Delhi and Jodhpur, I began to wonder: What if no one comes to the airport to pick me up? What if I'm not useful to the organization I'm volunteering for? Worse yet, what if Sambhali Trust isn't what I think it is? These doubts echoed around my head in the voices of friends and loved ones, many of whom were concerned that I was heading off to a country I hadn't been to before volunteering for an NGO they knew nothing about.

I walked through all the reasons I was making this leap of faith: Sambhali Trust was a (1) grassroots NGO, focused on (2) women's empowerment, which encouraged (3) culturally appropriate interventions, (4) discouraged voluntourism, and (5) didn't charge suspect fees to participate. Volunteers had to stay with the organization for at least two months and function within the confines of Rajasthan's longstanding cultural traditions. The power to create and sustain positive change was in the hands of local communities, not foreigners.

Closer to my heart, I also remembered that something about Sambhali clicked with me: it reminded me of my grandparents. One of Sambhali's primary initiatives was teaching women how to sew as a mechanism to achieve financial independence. My Ukrainian grandparents, liberated from Germany's labor camps, started their lives anew when they arrived in the United States and bought their first sewing machine. As tailors by trade, this investment meant starting a business and providing for a family. Both stories seemed to be stitched in the same quilt; empowerment through self-reliance with a sewing machine tossed in the middle.

These musings bolstered my confidence as the plane descended, and I started to feel the first flutters of butterflies. I had arrived!

It would be impossible to adequately summarize my three months at Sambhali Trust in a few short paragraphs. Instead, I'd like to reflect on the following:

Work: When I first contacted Govind Singh Rathore, Sambhali Trust's Founder, he responded almost immediately. I was going to be the Trust's first volunteer from the United States! I couldn't believe everything was coming together so quickly. As an administrative volunteer, I was planning to focus on connecting Sambhali Trust with an American audience. However, as with many plans made in India, I had to be flexible upon arrival. After settling in, I soon discovered a greater need for writing, editing, and volunteer coordination. It was my pleasure to switch gears and create Sambhali Trust's first volunteer handbook! It was a fabulous opportunity to gather feedback from volunteers and step in as the ipso facto volunteer coordinator. Also, I created English language workshops, edited grant proposals, and redesigned the graphics for Sambhali Boutique.

During my time in Jodhpur, I was also allowed to contextualize my work through involvement with a handful of Empowerment Centers and No Bad Touch workshops. Interacting with the extraordinary women and girls of Sambhali, listening to their stories, and seeing them grab hold of their destinies was humbling and inspiring. Each morning I walked into the office, I took a moment to remind myself of why this work was imperative and of the tremendous progress Sambhali had achieved in supporting these courageous women.

Volunteering at Sambhali Trust was a unique, hands-on experience. Every day, I heard the laughter of women in their safe spaces and witnessed young girls' plight overcoming barriers to their independence. Despite the hierarchical nature of Indian society, I also felt that I had access to information and staff members at every organizational level. Though I ultimately wished I had more time to give, I felt that I had a genuine and sustainable impact on the organization through my administrative work.

Travel: Now, imagine all of this on the most incredible backdrop; a tapestry of golden desert hues, sunset saris, and the striking blue of Jodhpur's Old City in the shadow of towering Mehrangarh Fort. Streets teeming with traffic, errant cows, ancient temples, and dust swirling beneath your every step, Rajasthan is alive and bursting with color, despite the stark and unforgiving landscape of the Thar Desert. Life there is elevated in intensity, with some of the hottest temperatures recorded on the planet, blindingly bright colors, and the spiciest food India has to offer. This assault on the senses warrants a period of adjustment but rewards travelers and locals with sights unseen.

A typical workweek at Sambhali is Monday through Friday, but volunteers are free to explore Jodhpur and the vast expanses of Rajasthan on the weekends. I was lucky enough to celebrate Diwali in Jaipur, attend a Udaipur wedding, camp in Jaisalmer, and experience the world's largest camel fair in Pushkar. These excursions made the experience of volunteering a shade richer and provided opportunities to learn more about the rest of Rajasthan and its unique cultures and traditions. Indeed, these trips also made every night at Durag Niwas (the guest house where most volunteers stay) seem a little sweeter, a home away from home.

People: At its core, the Sambhali experience is about people, the people you work with, the people you empower, and the overwhelmingly dense population of Jodhpur. Misanthropes and introverts may struggle in Rajasthan, where privacy takes a backseat, and there is no stigma associated with staring. Every day is a whirlwind of incredible characters and culture juxtaposed with the confluence of India's rapid urbanization and wealth disparity. To work with Sambhali is to confront the most magnificent and terrifying aspects of the shared human experience.

And yet, Sambhali staff members offered a grounding and stabilizing force to volunteers who found themselves adapting to wildly different circumstances. Their enduring generosity and warmth made it easy to settle in and get to work. Also, international volunteers of all ages and backgrounds fostered an undeniable sense of community and belonging. Shared dinners, weekend excursions, and rickshaw rides to Sardar Market offered instant grounds for delightful discourse and lifelong friendships.

Above all, Indian hospitality is genuinely unrivaled in its ability to create common ground between two people. I can't count the number of times I sat for hours conversing with a shopkeeper or watching girls from the Empowerment Centers adorn my hands and arms with intricate mehndi. I certainly gained weight in gifted sweets and cherished lingering chai chats. Though meetings are rarely punctual in India, everyone seemed to have sufficient time for the unplanned moments between the song of sewing machines and the relentless rumble of rickshaws.

On the last day at Durag Niwas, I ran around the guest house, grabbing my laundry from the clothesline, returning books to the guest house library, and stuffing entirely too many kurtas into my backpack. I had come to Sambhali alone but suddenly felt like I was leaving my world behind. As I descended into the main courtyard, wrapped up in travel logistics, I was surprised to find a small crowd waiting for me. Ever stoic, I steeled myself for a final farewell and then immediately bawled my eyes out, walking through the front door.

I didn't know it at the time, but Sambhali was going to impact my career path significantly. Before departing the United States, I had pursued a career in archaeology. Upon returning, I immediately started planning my pivot into international development and nonprofit work. Ultimately, I obtained a Master's Degree in Public Administration, focused on nonprofit management, and accepted a position with the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI). When the President of Sambhali U.S.' Board contacted a fellow volunteer and me to help found Sambhali U.S., it seemed as if all was meant to be.

Sambhali Trust transformed my perception of life, culture, and feminism. As a temporary character in this larger story, I must accept that I likely took more than I gave. Yet, I feel empowered knowing that I could play an ethically responsible role in supporting an incredible cast of women in their unwavering fight for gender equality. My time at Sambhali Trust challenged me to become a more patient and empathic person and demonstrated the value of perseverance in the face of adversity. Inspired by the extraordinary women and girls of Rajasthan, and in the memory of my grandparents, it is my honor to continue this line of work as a Board Member of Sambhali U.S.