Centres of activities
The centre of Volontariat initial activities is situated in the middle of what was once a coconut grove, in Ouppalam, behind Pondicherry station, (on the road to Cuddalore). As the years went by and with the inexorable development of the town, the grove was to become a section of the town and is now developing into a residential area. Volontariat has also developed and diversified its range of activities and new programmes are being introduced to meet the new needs.
To date, activities are located in different parts of Pondicherry, or in the outskirts.
1.Selva Nilayam, Ouppalam,
was inaugurated in 1982. It has been reorganized and extended since then. It comprises the following activities:
Main administrative Office
Central kitchen
Dining hall where sponsored children and others have their midday meals
Amudham dining-room for the staff, voluntary workers and guests
Amaidhi Illam. home for the elderly
The dispensary and the dental clinic
Some rooms for godparents or visitors
2.Sakthi Vihar is
in the centre of Ouppalam where all the initial activities of Volontariat took place. It was inaugurated in 1995 and it is especially used for children and for apprenticeship and vocational training..
The following activities are located here:
Social workers’ office (reception desk and enquiries)
Creche and nursery school, a small dispensary
Classrooms for evening classes and extra-curricular activities, and a hall where milk and snacks are distributed before evening classes
Two rooms for beginners’ course and further study in computing
Liege workshop (carpentry and craft apprenticeship), Kalai art (cards and handicrafts, Minerva (costume jewelry made of glass pearls) Tarini (tailoring section)
Parrainage administrative office (children files, check up and translation of letters)
Meeting hall, library
Navin Centre: showroom of Volontariat’s hand- crafted goods
The Dome of Silence
3.The Community Centre, is the oldest centre. It is a permanent structure. It was inaugurated in 1968 and it has been remodelled since. It is now used for meetings and audio visual programmes. The room on the first floor is used as a marriage hall for people who live locally and cannot afford to rent a marriage hall in town.
4.Souriya centre, behind the Sacred Heart Church, was inaugurated in 2003 to house “street boys”. A crèche occupies part of the building. It also houses the training workshop Uyarvu that makes, among other things, exercise books for sponsored children.
5.Touttipakkam Farm, about 20 kms from Pondicherry, started in 1967. It is an agricultural farm growing rice, coconuts, mangoes, bananas, and vegetables. There is a small dairy farm and a poultry farm. Almost all of the needs of the Central kitchen of Volontariat and the Tripti Shop(for chickens) are met.
It also houses Nila Illam, a centre for children, under the supervision of foster mothers. It is similar to a children’s village.
Two new programmes have been developed since 2008:
Spirulina production, thanks to the contribution of a French company.
Start-up of a small unit of natural dyes for cotton threads that Atelier Shanti can use for its innovation of using organic dyes for the weaves.
6.Atelier Shanti,
Dubraypet, close to the sea and the lighthouse, started in 1966. The land had been given to Volontariat by the Mayor of Pondicherry. The first buildings, made of permanent structures were built at the end of the seventies and the current buildings in the nineties. They are allotted to the various activities connected with weaving, as well as ready made garments and embroidery. Several houses accommodate handicapped workers who work in the Atelier.
7.In front of Atelier Shanti, there are six small houses – Thendral Illam. They accommodate retired workers from Atelier Shanti.
8.Also, in front of Atelier Shanti,
OM Shanti, is located. It comprises a crèche, a nursery school, a dispensary and an office for the social workers.
9. Following the Tsunami, many new programmes came up along the East coast. Volontariat took up post-Tsunami rehabilitation work in Karaikal, 140 kms South of Pondicherry. Two social workers were involved in the different stages of the rehabilitation of the villages of Chinoorpet and Ammankoilpet The Tsunami rehabilitation programmes are expected to be completed, except for some buildings in Nagapattinam and a programme of follow up of the two rehabilitated villages. The housing at Karaikal was completed and the houses handed over to the owners by the end of 2008.
