Volunteering by Students in Higher Education: An Inter-cultural and Participatory Development Experience from Northeast India

Abstract: The article is based on a field experience of a student volunteer programme that Assam Don Bosco University (ADBU), India and University College Dublin Volunteers Overseas (UCDVO), Ireland organise in Northeast India. The programme adopts principles and practice of participatory development approaches and places the volunteer directly into the community, thus providing challenges and opportunities to work with and involve the community people in the development process. The approach provides a platform for mutual learning experience; while the volunteers are able to understand the community in its wholeness with its dynamics, cultures, traditions, practices and meaning systems that interplay with each other, the community members benefit from the volunteers who come from academic backgrounds and possess ability to critically analyse pertinent issues in the community. The article argues for a participatory approach for sustainable community development within volunteering programmes grounded in field experience. The experience has proven to be effective and the positive outcomes outweigh the challenges