iVolunteer Blog - everything about volunteering

We live in a world that constantly asks for explanations. Why do you like this, or what do you gain from it? How is this productive?Somewhere between growing up and fitting in, we start believing that even our happiness needs to justify itself. That joy must be logical. Useful. Impressive. But the truth is that […]

Almora is a very beautiful, peaceful, and soulful city situated in the middle Himalayas of Uttarakhand. It owns a rich history and glorious stories, and in that history live its old temples. The temple, whose walls protect its marvelous architecture and mythological stories that have kept alive the centuries-old identity of the region, the king, […]

Completing my Master’s degree was far from a linear journey. It unfolded through uncertainty, difficult decisions, and, most unexpectedly, deeply meaningful human connections. When I was selected for the SWAR Fellowship and preparing to leave for the induction in Pune, I encountered a practical dilemma. I had to fill out my Master’s examination form, yet […]

(Because Our Health Matters!) Lately, I’ve been noticing something about myself. I can spend hours planning sessions, travelling to villages, talking to people, finishing reports… but when it comes to my own health, I keep saying, “I’ll check later.” Later never really comes, right? The other day, one of the girls casually said, “Akka, my […]

Just about few days are left to complete my Swar Fellowship in the hilly regions of Uttarakhand. As I sit and reflect on this journey, I realize it has been a mix of both beautiful and difficult moments. It was beautiful because I met so many kind and warm people who made me feel at […]

In the quiet villages of Uttarakhand, there is a silence that wasn’t always there. It is not the peaceful silence of the hills, but one shaped by absence of young voices, of bustling activity, of lives that have slowly moved away. Migration has become a defining reality of the state, especially across regions like Kumaon […]

For the last nine to ten months, I have been living in a remote hilly region of Uttarakhand. When I first arrived here, many things surprised me. The people here are incredibly simple and welcoming. Life moves at a slower, calmer pace. There are no flashy markets, no crowded malls, and no constant rush like […]

When people think about working in the health sector, the focus is often on services, systems, and outcomes – counselling sessions conducted, visits completed, data recorded. What is less visible, however, is the emotional work that quietly runs alongside these tasks. During my initial field visits, I did not anticipate how much of this work […]

Watching a Company Lose and Learning What Numbers Really Mean Not every lesson in business comes wrapped in success. Some arrive through silence. Through tension. Through numbers that don’t add up. At X Chilly Agro Pvt. Ltd., I witnessed something that changed the way I look at entrepreneurship forever. I saw the company take a […]

Who Are Fellows? A Reflection from My Own Experience When I first became a fellow, I thought it was a learning opportunity, a space to grow, explore, and understand systems from the ground level. I believed a fellowship would be different from a typical job. It would be structured, guided, and designed for both impact […]