Volunteering can be both fulfilling and fun. It leaves one with a warm glow inside. After all, what can be better than giving back to society, especially in a country like India with such distressing disparities. But while volunteering should certainly start with this altruistic impulse, say social workers that are in the business of nation building, it takes more than desire to stay the course. Therefore, signing on for Teach India in a flush of enthusiasm is one thing, running the full three-month marathon quite another.

Those in non-profit organisations say that being a volunteer is a bit like being a civil soldier-the conditions are not always pretty. Tents in slums and down-at-heel municipal classrooms are going to be where the action is, not air-conditioned offices in glass buildings. This could be a world quite removed from the comfortable home-to-office rut most of us move in. But if you don't allow these superficial downers to get under your skin, there couldn't be a better fit than you for the job.

C K Mathew of Dipalaya, a Delhi-based NGO in education, says, "Sometimes when young volunteers come face to face with poor working conditions-no airconditioning, no electricity and not even a chair to sit on, they simply drop out and stop coming from the next day itself."

Mathew hastens to add, however, that this is perfectly okay as long as the volunteers know what they want and don't expect the NGOs to be overly grateful to them for having spared time from their busy lives for poor kids.

NGOs are also wary of volunteers who come to them with a slightly more dubious motive-buffing their CVs so that they get into a posh US college or land a job with the NGO itself. "Some people come to us and say they want to volunteer, and later, they say they want to join us. So when we have a vacancy, they get the job and then go away to study abroad. That's been a pattern with many young volunteers," says Mathew.

Jerry Pinto, a Mumbai-based writer and child rights activist, says more than anything else volunteers should have a very clear purpose and motive. "While there may be spin-offs of volunteering like emotional satisfaction or perhaps blessings in the next life, they should understand that their primary purpose is to give back to society in whatever little way they can," says Pinto, who is a consultant to the NGO Butterflies. "Only someone who truly comes with that kind of motive can build a rapport with us and remain motivated in the long run."

At Dipalaya, Mathew intends to use volunteers for the personal contact programme-a sort of bridging school for children who are self-learning or are from the open school. However, he would also welcome specialist volunteers.

"Besides regular subjects, we would be glad if some of the volunteers can give their time to making life a little more colourful and fun for these kids by teaching music, dance or painting," says Mathew.

Shubhra Chatterji, director of Kolkata-based NGO Vikramshila, is particularly happy about the response from housewives. "A lot of them have signed up, which I think is a very positive thing. Housewives, usually don't have the time constraint that working people have and so they can be of immense help to any NGO."

NGOs are also hoping their relationship with the volunteers continues even after the Teach India programme and becomes a long-term one. "We are hopeful that after being sensitized to the problems of poor kids, at least a few will continue to give us their time and support," says Mathew. As Wesley, programme officer with Chennai-based NGO World Vision, says, "Interacting with professionals is hugely motivating for these kids and makes a huge difference to their lives."