Volunteer in Nepal!

The Global Volunteer Network currently has volunteer opportunities available through our partner organization in the beautiful Kingdom of Nepal. The Nepalese are globally renowned for their friendliness and have always heartily welcomed volunteers as part of the family. Volunteers have the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational and community aid programs. This will give you a chance to make an important contribution to the people of Nepal and while doing so gain an in depth experience of the country and its culture, that will stay with you the rest of your life.

The Program

The volunteer opportunities are in areas such as Teaching English, Environmental Awareness, Health and Sanitation issues/Primary Health Care and a Home Stay Programme/Cultural Exchange. Your placement will be tailored according to your individual needs and interests.

Teaching English

Volunteers will be provided with training about how to teach in Nepal. The system of teaching is different in Nepal so volunteers will be taught their teaching methodology. Volunteers will stay with a Nepali family near the school. Volunteers will teach for about 2 to 3 hours each day for six days a week (Saturday is the day off). They will also be involved in teaching in youth clubs or a women's group for informal education for 1 to 2 hours a day. School children will be 10 to 14 years of age and have basic level of English. Volunteers for this program will also be engaged to let the teachers of the school know about teaching practices and conversational English to enable them to teach English in the future.

Environmental Awareness

Training will be provided to the volunteer about how to teach Environmental Education. Volunteers will stay with a Nepali family near the school. The volunteers will teach Environmental Education for about 2 to 3 hours each day for six days a week (Saturday is the day off). Volunteers will also be involved in sharing their ideas, skills and knowledge with local NGO's about Environmental issues. Volunteers will form a group among the students that will work in the environmental area inside and outside of the school. This will include activities such as creating green clubs, making a flower garden, planting trees, garbage management, paper recycling, making smokeless stove, making toilet pit using available local materials etc.

Health and Sanitation issues/Primary Health Care

Training will be provided to volunteers about the situation of Health and Sanitation in Nepal. Volunteers will stay with a Nepali family near the Health Post. They will be involved in a Health Post in the morning and evening. Volunteers will teach Health Education to school children in a school for about 1 to 2 hours each day for six days (Saturday is the day off). They will also be involved in working with the youth clubs or a women's group in the community about Health and Sanitation. You will also provide First Aid information in the local villages to the local people. We prefer medical students for this program, however we do accept others with a real interest in this area.

Home Stay Programme/Cultural Exchange

Volunteers stay in a village with a Nepali Family. During their stay, volunteers will learn the Nepali Language for 2 hours in the morning and in the afternoon. They will visit the local village and will go to the local school during the day. The home stay program is a good opportunity for volunteers to learn about the Nepali culture, lifestyle, language, and people. We can arrange home stay programs in most parts of Nepal. During this period volunteers will have the opportunity to participate in local festivals and get the opportunity to exchange their culture.

Training

Training takes place during the first two weeks of the volunteers' arrival in Nepal. It will be divided into two phases,each part being one week (for long-term volunteers, training will extend over three weeks. For very short-term volunteers, training will take place over a few days). N. B. The training period is designed according to the length of volunteering period.

Phase One - The first week will be spent with other volunteers in a hotel in Kathmandu area. During this week volunteers will be provided with six hours of training per day. The training will include:

• Basic Nepali language classes - 3hrs, morning.


• An abridged TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course -2 hrs, afternoon.


• Nepali cultural orientation/general cultural exchange - 1hr, evening.

Phase Two - The second week is an orientation into Nepali village life to prepare volunteers for the period of their village placement. The volunteer group will move to a local village where they will be divided into pairs. While continuing their Nepali language classes, volunteers will live with local families, eating traditional Nepalese food, observing the village culture and getting a general feel for the village lifestyle. During this time volunteers will practice teaching in the school and prepare for their community placement.

When volunteers return from their break they will be sent in pairs to their placement.

Placements

In a typical placement volunteers stay in a family where they get Nepali food twice a day (around 9 o' clock in the morning and 7 o' clock in the evening.) Tea is served in the morning and in the afternoon. Volunteers will have the opportunity to get together with other volunteers and share their experience. You will be able to travel to nearby towns to purchase things for daily use and could travel to other areas on longer vacation. Besides your project work, volunteers can utilize their spare time in organizing the youth and women's groups of the community to do some worthwhile activities like building a smokeless stove, toilet by using local materials, making a soak pit, kitchen gardening, making a solar dryer, garbage management or paper recycling.

Program Area

The volunteer program is presently located in the following places.

1. Kathmandu :- In the rural areas surrounding Kathmandu.

2. Bhaktapur:- Rural areas around Bhaktapur municipality.

3. Kabhre:- This district is about 30 Kms. to the east of Kathmandu.

4. Chitwan:- It is situated about 160 Kms. to the south of Kathmandu and famous for its wild life sanctuary. Thousands of tourist visit this place every year. It is in the Terai region.

5. Nawalparasi :- This district lies to the west of Chitwan district.

6. Kaski :- Rural areas of Pokhara which are famous as tourist locations.

7. Tanahu & Lamjung :- It is situated about 200 Kms. from Kathmandu towards the west. It is in the hills and a series of Himalayan ranges fall in this region.

8. Rasuwa: It is situated about 70 Kms. north of Kathmandu.

To see a Map of Nepal .

Program Schedule

The volunteer program starts on the 1st or the 15th of each month. You can volunteer anywhere from 2 weeks to 5 months.

Program Cost

The cost of the program are as follows:

Global Volunteer Network - Application Fee: US $250.00 Dollars. The application fee covers administration, marketing, program information and communication.

Nepal Program Fee:

• Cost for 2 weeks will be US $150.00.
• Cost for 1 month will be US $225.00.
• Cost for 6 weeks will be US $300.00.
• Cost for 2 months will be US $365.00.
• Cost for 10 weeks will be US $420.00. 
• Cost for 3 months will be US $465.00.
• Cost for 4 months will be US $525.00.
• Cost for 5 months will be US $600.00.

The program fee covers administrative charge, training, accommodation and meals during training and placement, transportation for volunteers and supervision. (This fee is paid directly to our partner organization when you arrive in Nepal).

The other costs you will need to meet are:

Your flights, Visa (US$50 for every two months), shots, travel insurance and corresponding airport departure taxes. Also you will need a weekly budget of up to US$30 to cater for all your other expenses like bottled water, personal items, beverages and entertainment.

Frequently Asked Questions

We have put together the following page, which answers the majority of questions people have.

Application Process

All, applicants will be notified by email as to whether their application has been successful.

(1) Complete the Application Form: Fill out the application form, which is below. Upon receipt of the form we will contact our volunteer partner in Nepal to assess the availability of the program you have chosen.

(3) Decision Point: Once you have read through the letter of acceptance, and we have answered any questions or concerns that you might have, it is time to pay your application fee to secure your place on the program.

(4) Payment of Application Fee US $250.00 Dollars: Your application fee secures your place on the program. Please note that we will refund your application fee in full if you decide not to go.

(5) Confirmation: Once the application fee is paid, our volunteer partner will contact you to ensure everything is organized. We will also send you our information pack on Nepal which, as well as having detailed country information, it provides advice on preparation before you leave.

(6) Communication & Support: Through out volunteer placement, we communicate with you as needed to help you through any problems that may arise.

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