November 7,2006

Serving in an alien land may sound a distant thought for many, but for this bunch of foreigners it is their mission here in India.

One can find them painting school walls, making desks and benches for schools, gardening, teaching the children English and other foreign languages while others work with mentally and physically challenged children, and even save turtles near the beaches of Kundapur.

I found them here on one of my regular visits to my hometown Kundapur. My last visit however was rather interesting. I encountered a number of foreigners strolling down the streets of Kundapur. Seeing such a high number of foreigners, which was rather unusual, I became inquisitive.

On further enquiry I found that the foreigners were working in Kundapur as volunteers for a non-governmental organization called Field Service and inter-culture Learning (FSL).

Kundapur, at present, is home to 52 foreigners coming from all corners of the world - Russia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, France, Finland, Holland, England, America and Austria, to name a few.

FSL was founded in Kundapur in 2003. Since then innumerable volunteers have been visiting the town frequently. They organize work camps and cultural exchange programmes. In Kundapur, the FSL volunteers have executed various projects spanning three broad categories of social, environmental and teaching areas.

The visit to Kundapur has been an enriching experience for most of them. “It has been one-and-a-half year since I came to Kundapur. Before staying here I had visited various other places in India and had a severe culture shock. However, Kundapur has been a great place to live in. I love this place, more so as it is not a big city. The people of this place have been extremely hospitable,” says Roxi, from Romania.

The people of Kundapur too have enjoyed playing host to their foreign friends in their homes. Many families here act as host families for these foreigners. They provide them with basic boarding and lodging facilities. Above all they provide them with a family atmosphere and treat them as a family member. They constantly interact with them and exchange their cultural values. It becomes a home away from home for most of them.

“We had various misconceptions about people outside India before they came. Now we have a better understanding of their habits, traditions and values,” says Victoria D’ Souza, a member of a host family.

Most volunteers choose to go to countries like India and Africa as they have an opportunity to learn a lot here. Inter-cultural exchange too is of great value for them. They have participated in various festivities at Kundapur and learnt a lot about the Indian culture. The moment they arrive they are given an orientation on how to stay at Kundapur. They slowly start imbibing the culture and practices of the local people.

So the next time you make a trip to Kundapur don’t be surprised to find foreigners dressed in bright Indian clothes eating idli vada, speaking in Kannada and greeting you with a ‘namaste’.

It’s all a part of their FSL programme. They are as much a part of Kundapur now as is any other native member.

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