About
The purpose of this Seva trip is to experience YGB’s projects and meet fund recipients. This incredibly intimate trip will give participants a life changing insight into YGB’s work and its impact on more than 3,000 women and children supported by the global community.
To join this truly special Seva Trip, here is what you need to know:
1. We ask participants to raise minimum of $ 3,500 as donation to YGB programs in India
2. Travel cost, most meals and accommodations within India will be additional $1,500 for two-week trip
3. International Airfare, visa, insurance are not included
Please feel free to email us with any questions : yoga@juleeyoga.com
Trip Details
Our Seva trips are service-orientated trips, created for committed global ambassadors & supporters, to witness the impact of our projects in India, firsthand.
The intention of the trip:
♥ To give participants an intimate and life changing insight into YGB’s work
♥ To understand the enormity and challenges faced by our partners and recipients & share the joys of each success story of our recipients.
During your time in India, you will also enjoy the sights off the beaten track and visit YGB’s projects in rural villages.
This is a unique experience that is inspiring, thought provoking and eye opening. You will experience a full range of emotions from the many stories you will hear during the trip, and be blown away by the tenacity, tenderness, kindness and generosity of the people you will meet.
You will also get an intimate insight into heart of the organization through the founder of YGB, Kayoko Mitsumatsu, who will accompany the entire trip.
It is difficult to capture the entire essence of the trip in a narrative but do have a look at the sample itinerary as well as some feedback from past participants.
Qualification
Qualification:
♦ Raise or donate minimum of $ 3,500, prior to the trip date.
♦ The total funds has to be deposited, one month prior to the trip date.
♦ You can run fundraisers through our Network For Good crowdfunding page or through your preferred pathway.
We will support your efforts in any way we can.
Cost
There is an estimated domestic trip cost of about $ 1,500 per person in India.
This includes:
Accommodation
• All your accommodation based on twin share
• Single rooms available at hotels at
additional cost
• Accommodation during this trip is a mixture of hotels & NGO's simple guest houses
Food
• Some food is included (please see detail on itinerary)
• Whilst at the guesthouse, you will enjoy homemade meals cooked by our host
Transport
• All ground transfers whilst in India
Domestic air transfer in India
• We will take care of tips and porter fees
• Final trip cost will depend on your accommodation choice: single or shared room
Some exclusions
• Flights to and from India
• Airport transfers (but we will help you arrange these)
• Insurance
• Some meals
• Anything else not included (visa, vaccination, etc.)
- Arrivals, pick up and check in to a hotel
- Single supplement available
- Welcome dinner with YGB Founder Kayoko
- Breakfast included at the hotel.
- Lunch at your leisure
- Good opportunity to pop into nearby shopping centre if you wish to grab a kurti or two or just explore a little
- Uber (super cheap) is everywhere in India!
- After lunch, we will visit Guruprasad, one of YGB’s former key recipients & SHE graduates in the city
- Dinner at local restaurant on our way back to the hotel with YGB India members hosted by YGB
- Breakfast included at the hotel
- After breakfast, we will take a 5-hour drive to Deenabandhu.
- Along the way we will visit Jayashree, Guruprasad’s mother whom we met in 2007.
- Her small microloan enabled her son Guru to continue his education.
- Check into Deenabandhu Trust guest house* and stay for 3 nights
- *Shared accommodation only
- All meals here are prepared by house mothers & included (amazing stuff!)
- *This guest house is basic, shower from the bucket, flushing toilet, mosquito net type accommodation. Everyone should bring mosquito repellent.
- Option to join children’s meditation at 6am in the hall (totally recommended!)
- Breakfast with Professor Jayadev and manager Prajna who runs Deenabandhu home and all YGB programs, including SHE Scholarship for Higher Education.
- Full day visiting SHE scholarship students’ homes and Deenabandhu girls’ home.
- Lunch and dinner will be cooked for us during our visits.
- The children will also put on a dance performance for us! A real treat!
- Option to join meditation with children
- Breakfast
- Yoga class with children by all Ambassadors
<?p>Meeting with all SHE students - Visit the Women’s Training Centre
- Visit the Science Park, Project Shaale school
- Spiritual discussion with Deenbandhu Founder Prof Jayadev about YOGA and his Gandhian life mission
- Meals included
- Option to join meditation with children
- Breakfast
- Travel 1 hour to Mysore
- Along the way, visit the Shaktidharma girls & women’s shelter project where YGB funds 75 rescued young girls. Deenabandhu’s Prof Jayadev, who also runs this program, will accompany us.
- Check into Royal Orchid Metropole Mysore
- *Single supplement available
- Your own dinner
- Breakfast included in the hotel
- A free day in Mysore
- Suggestions to visit the Mysore Palace, enjoy an Ayurvedic Massage or attend a yoga class.
- We can assist these options.
- Your own meals at your leisure
- Breakfast included
- 4-hour drive to Bangalore
- 2 ½ hour flight to Kolkatta
- 1 hour drive to hotel
- Full day out:-
- Visit the NISHTHA headquarters where we will meet with the Director, Mina Das and staff.
- Lunch provided by NISHTHA women
- Rickshaw travel into villages to visit Sister Aid fund recipient mothers & daughters in rural villages.
- Your own dinner
- Full day out – Visit to NISHTHA Sister Aid families, SHE students and The Pad Project in rural villages.
- Lunch provided by NISHTHA women in a village
- ** These 2 days are very special, intense, emotional & long days
- Your own dinner
- Visit SHE scholarship high school girls
- Lunch provided by NISHTHA women in a village
- Final dinner as a group hosted by YGB
- Depart from Kolkotta or Option to stay for cultural experience
- These days will be at your leisure and option departure dates.
- We suggest you stay an extra 2 nights if you decide to continue here.
- There’s the option here to visit Mother Teresa’s home, Yogananada’s Ashram, Vivikananda Musuem, Ramakrishna Mission Headquarters by boat, Kali Temple of the Ganges River, Victoria Memorial or stroll around the shops.
- We will assist you for these options.
- Kayoko will stay here for these additional visit and highly recommend you take advantage of this historic and spiritual spots only Kolkata can offer.
- We will be arranging your domestic flights so when you have booked your international flight, please let us know your departure point. Equally, please let us know if you are continuing your travel in India.
- Departures from Kolkata or Bangalore to be individually arranged.
Facilitators
Kayoko Mitsumatsu, YGB Founder
As an avid yoga practitioner in Los Angles, Kayoko founded Yoga Gives Back in 2007, a non-profit organization whose mission is twofold: first, to mobilize the global yoga community with gratitude and second, to empower women and children in India to build sustainable livelihoods. In its 17th year, YGB provides more than 3,000 underserved mothers and children with micro loans and educational funds. YGB’s global campaign has reached many US cities and thirty countries worldwide with its mantra, “For the cost of one yoga class, you can change a life.”
Prior to moving to the USA in 1992, Kayoko was a producer/director for NHK Japan’s National Public Broadcaster, working on primetime current affairs and documentary television programs; and cultural attaché at the Embassy of Japan in London. Her passion for documentary filmmaking is rooted in the perspective gained from years of living abroad including Australia, Brazil, United Kingdom and USA. Kayoko now uses her skills to film and produce YGB FILMS to share YGB’s fund recipients’ real stories with the global yoga community.
Kayoko is looking forward to sharing this truly original journey with the participants as she has gained incredible inspiration from these trips to India to grow Yoga Gives Back. She will be filming this trip.Julee Yew-Crijins, YGB Seva Trip Coordinator
Julee is an E-RYT instructor based in the UK & Malaysia. She is the Creative Director at Ebb & Flow Yoga in Surrey, UK and a teacher in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. She has been a teacher since 2007 and a supporter of YGB since 2009, and was in fact YGB’s first ambassador outside of the US.
In 2016, she started a conversation with Kayoko about the idea of facilitating a Seva Trip and in 2018, this idea was realized when she created and coordinated the trip. In the inaugural trip, YGB took 6 ambassadors. The impact and success of the first trip led to our second trip, where we welcomed 8 ambassadors. These campaigns have raised over $25,000, helping to empower more than 2400 women and children that YGB supports.
She is the go to person for all your questions about the trip.
The Fine Print
- Travel dates are subject to change due to the unforeseeable reasons impacting traveling to India. Dates to be confirmed 90-days prior.
- All attendees must have travel insurance and submit proof 30 days before arrival to India.
- All attendees must have a valid Visa to enter India and submit this documentation at least 30 days prior to travel.
- All attendees must pay for and coordinate their own international travel.
- Donations cannot be transferred to a future trip.