News for January 2010

50 more children enroll at Volunteer Society Nepal charitable school

It was a day of celebration at the Career Building International Academy last week as the community came together in honour of the Hindu Goddess of Education, Saraswati. Nick, one of our teaching volunteers from England writes about the event that saw another 50 pupils enrol at the Volunteer Society Nepal funded school…

We had known about the up coming celebration for some time and had been looking forward to it. All the Hindu festivals are a treat for any visiting volunteer to Nepal with bright colours, smiling faces and always some delicious local food! The 20th January was the celebration of the Goddess Saraswati. She is recognised as the Hindu goddess of spiritual enlightenment; encompassing learning, wisdom and fine arts. It is customary to begin a child’s education on this day and the CBIA organised a special worship of Saraswati.

The most significant aspect of this day is that Hindu children are taught reading and writing their first word – as it is considered an auspicious day to begin a child’s education. Goddess Saraswati being pure and white and representing learning, no animal sacrifices are made to her. Everyone has a vegetarian meal on this day. While the preparations on the new basketball court were underway, at the back of the playground the VSN language trainer Beesal was hard at work making Prashad in a huge cauldron over a wood fire. This was a mix of ground wheat and rice meal, sugar and dried fruits topped off with apples and tangerines. It was delicious and fed all the assembled after they received a blessing from the Brahmin. Standing with the families of the children you have been teaching witnessing the ancient rituals was an incredible experience. The school seems to be going from strength to strength with new classrooms, a new basketball court and an expanding library all donated by the funds of VSN volunteers.

We only have one week left at the school after 3 months volunteering here and it’s going to be strange to say goodbye to the children. It makes you want to come back and see how everyone in the community is getting on. All I can say is that I can fully recommend coming to volunteer as a teacher here. There is something new everyday and the kids surprise you with what they want to learn about. The pride they have in their country and their ambition is humbling and to be able to help as a volunteer even in a small is a great way to spend your time as a volunteer.

To find out more about volunteering as a teacher with Vounteer Society Nepal you can explore the Placement Pages:

• Volunteering in Schools
• Teacher Training and Subject Specific Teaching
  
• Teaching in Monasteries

Edited: January 30th, 2010

Helping overcome disability boundaries as a volunteer in Nepal; Irene’s story

At Volunteer Society Nepal we always try to ensure we get the most from our volunteers. We believe everyone has unique skills they can bring to help when they volunteer in Nepal. Few people bring as unique a skill as one of our most recent volunteers from France, Irene. As a trained sign language teacher she has come to volunteer in a deaf school in the ancient city of Bhaktapur.

Having been here for only a week she has already settled into life with her new host family and her new posting. We went to see how she was getting on and found her in front of a classroom of 7 highly focused deaf children signing back and forth to one another. The challenges of this for Irene are significant. She has had to learn to speak Nepali, sign Nepali and also help to teach the children to communicate correctly in English sign language. However, she seemed to be excelling in her new volunteering position. The children also seemed very grateful and were eager to engage with their new teacher.

The opportunity for the deaf children to see someone who has the same hearing difficulties as them, but is able to travel the world, be highly independent and respected is an inspiration. All too often, people with disability issues are not given any opportunity to learn in Nepal. Having a volunteer in Nepal like Irene is of huge importance as it gives these youngsters an idea of what they can achieve and brings them a huge step closer to them achieving their dreams.

Find out more about volunteering at Deaf and Disabled schools throughout Nepal

Edited: January 30th, 2010

Two volunteers donate much more than just their time to our children

Some of our volunteers from abroad donate more than just their time in Nepal. Through hard work and generosity people bring bags of clothes, teaching equipment and money they have raised from their schools, companies or friends. Two volunteers from Australia, Jan and Misty, recently arrived in Kathmandu with some great resources to donate to Volunteer Society Nepal. These were specifically to support 2 of VSN’s own projects here in Nepal: The New Life Children’s Home orphanage and the charitable school the Career Building International Academy. What they managed to bring with them on their volunteering experience hugely contributed to the effectiveness of their stay and well being of our community.

The below account was written by Jan about how they managed to raise money and donations for our projects.

Donations for the New Life Children’s Home

• Clothing: Firstly, we bought loads of second hand clothes that our friends had generously donated. We ended up with so many clothes that I wrote an email to Singapore Airlines, and they generously gave us 60 kilo’s of free luggage to Kathmandu. The joy in the children’s faces was a moment in time that was  irreplaceable. Even more rewarding was the joy in our hearts, when we arrived  the next day to take them on an excursion and they were so proudly dressed in their new clothes

• Learning Materials: We bought numerous stationary items which included: colouring books, pencils, texta’s, educational wall charts and most popular, the growth chart. Misty uses these resources for quiet time in the morning sun.

• Sports Equipment: Another $100.00 that was donated, was spent on a heavy duty food processor, 6 school bags, skipping ropes, cricket bat and balls also, ping pong sets. The sporting equipment is generally bought out in the afternoon at either the basketball court or the field. Another work colleague also gave me AUD$20.00 to spend on the children. This purchased even more pieces of sporting equipment which included: shuttlecocks and basketballs. Which have bought much joy (and lessons on sharing). Judging by the number of children who join us in games,  I think our children are the best equipped kids on the block.

• Socks: Two of the orphan boys from the Bhaktapur region,  who are sponsored to go to this school, came to pick up the left-over larger clothes. Their socks were tattered so  we were able to purchase a supply  of socks all  children who are sponsored to go to the school. AUD$7.50 purchased 20 pairs of socks.

• A photo album of memories: Another memento that I am leaving behind is a photo album. I have taken many photos during this stay and am collating them and putting them into a photo album so that the children have some documentation of their lives.

CBIA school:

• The school in Australia where I work also fund-raised and this money is going to be spent refurbishing the four new school rooms. We will be buying items such as carpet, whiteboards, educational materials, baby gym equipment and we have already purchased the basketball poles and hoops for the courtyard. VSN sponsors this school that the twelve children attend. Altogether, forty under-privileged children are sponsored to attend this school.

The farewell from the children was the greatest message of thanks that Volunteer Society Nepal could give, but we thankyou again Jan and Misty for all you did during your time here. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

If you would like to ask anything about her experiences in Nepal with VSN then please feel free to Contact Jan

Edited: January 22nd, 2010

A musical momo feast for volunteers and children alike at VSN’s orphanage

Last Friday was both an exciting and a sad day in Pepsi-Cola Kathmandu. It was Jan and Misty’s last day volunteering in Nepal with us and we will miss their energy and enthusiasm greatly. But to say goodbye they organised a party at the New Life Children’s home (Volunteer Society Nepal’s orphanage), which was a great way to spend a Friday night and rarely have we seen an orphanage feel so much like a family gathering!

All the VSN staff, their kids and the volunteers squeezed into the orphanage at 5pm where a house full of very excited children were getting themselves dressed up for the concert and munching on some sweet treats. Whilst the kids did their last dress rehearsal we all helped to help make momo in the kitchen. With over 20 hungry mouths to feed a big team effort was important! Beesal mixed the buff meat with the secret blend of spices, Gelu mixed up the hot sauce, Nick rolled the dough and the rest of us tried our best to stuff the mixture into the dough in vaguely momo like shapes. This is not as easy as it looks when the Nepali’s do it! If there is a knack then it will take another few months of volunteering to get it.

Once the momo were steamed and ready to eat, the whole house fell silent for half an hour of filling bellies with delicious food. I think about 50 each was the average number consumed, quite a feat given that some of the children are just 5 years old. The hot sauce was no barrier either with the call of  pani, pani! (water) being echoed throughout as the children flapped their hands in front of their mouths.

After the feasting came the entertainment. Misty had prepared some dancing for the kids and they each took it in turns to sing a song of their choice – a nice mix of Nepali and English classics that found the rest of us humming away. The volunteers were also called up for an impromtu singsong of their own, which lead Nick to get all 20 of us to do the hokey-cokey bringing on much hysteria from the kids.

Finally it was time to try and calm the children down and say goodbye. The New Life Children’s Home presented the volunteers leaving the next day with beautiful and very touching hand made cards to say thank you for all their love and support. A few tears later and we all headed off to bed, the adults as exhausted as the kids, but all with the warm feeling of love and laughter! It was incredible finish to the time as a volunteer in Nepal and a wonderful memory to take away back home.

Edited: January 21st, 2010

Two American volunteers make a big difference in Kathmandu with their environmental program

We have new volunteers coming through the Volunteer Society Nepal office the whole time. Read recent volunteer Jan”s account of life in Pepsi-Cola and the environmental project two American volunteers have just completed…

There is never a dull moment here at the Volunteer Society Nepal’s head office in Pepsi Cola, Kathmandu. It is always a hive of activity with all volunteers sharing experiences of their individual projects, supporting new arrivals and also recounting their most recent adventures. My daughter Misty and I have been here for 4 weeks now and have just returned from an 8 day break from Kathmandu where we went to Chitwan National Park for the “safari experience”. Then we headed to Pokhara to do the Ghorepani Trek. The trek was arranged by VSNs tour guide Gelu Sherpa and was fantastic with magnificent vistas of the Annapurna mountains as our backdrop.

Within moments of being back at the office we met the new, larger than life, Irish recruit Andrew who is heading off to Salleri, in the Everest region, to work in the monastery. We also met the two new volunteers from America, Antoinette and Humsini. In their two weeks here they have exceeded all expectations with a great contribution in a short period of time.

The girls have initiated a clean-up of the local sports field. The field is the central meeting place for the whole Pepsi-Cola community, where the locals and children play sport and sun themselves. But it is covered with litter and rocks. With the help of Sugandha, the girls have painted 8 brightly coloured garbage bins to be placed around the park and VSN is going to pay for the clearing of the bins. It is hoped this simple environmental project will have a big community impact and begin to lay the foundations of an awareness of the social responsibility of rubbish collection. Currently all rubbish is simply thrown on the floor.

The day they were put out saw children from the VSN supported New Life Children’s Home and school working side by side with volunteers clearing up the rubbish by hand. Talking to the onlookers reminded us how long a journey it is until garbage bins are used regularly, but it was a very visible start to the process with a huge pile of rubbish cleared within just a few hours.

Edited: January 21st, 2010

Volunteer in Nepal with a local company and avoid sky high fees

International volunteering in Nepal is not a new idea. People have been coming here for decades to offer their help and support in any way they can. However, as is often the way when opportunities like this develop, there are lots of people who tend to take a cut of the money involved. What makes Volunteer Society Nepal different is that we are a local Nepali company and so you can be 100% confident that when you volunteer in Nepal your money is going to the country itself, not to pay for advertising and office space abroad.

International vs. local agencies

There are many placement agencies located throughout the developed world. You will see large adverts in magazines and newspapers from companies in the US, UK and Australasia offering volunteer packages throughout Nepal and the rest of the world. However, what a lot of people don’t realize is that these large agencies then use local agencies like VSN to manage the placements in Nepal. Despite the difference in cost, the experience you have on the ground is no different, and in fact they are often a lot less flexible than if you arrange to volunteer direct.

International fees are often 2 to 3 times more expensive:

To give you an idea of the huge range in volunteer fees, here is a list of some of the leading organizations worldwide and what they charge for a 6 week program:

I to I	$2,256.00
Global Volunteer Initiative	$1,661.00
Global Volunteer Network	$1,385.00
Global Crossroads	$1,335.00
Volunteer Society Nepal	$700.

All of these programs offer very similar inclusions. None of them include flights. Volunteer Society Nepal is far better value at between half and a third of the cost.

Affordable volunteer fees do not mean less contribution to local projects:

?Looking at global volunteer agency websites, you read about funding for multiple offices around the world and the ever increasing costs of getting listed high up on search engines. However, you very rarely read clear information about what % of your fee goes to the project. The simple reason being… it’s very little. Once they have paid for all their running costs only a minimal amount goes to the organization you are working with. However, we know if you volunteer in Nepal you want to know exactly where your money is going. That is why we give you a clear breakdown on our website according to your length of stay.  Click here. On average it is over 30% of your total fee, far higher than international agencies.

But how do I trust the quality of VSN?

Talk to our previous volunteers. We have placed hundreds of people since we started work in 2004. On our site you can find email addresses of past volunteers who are happy to answer any questions, or you can contact people through our Facebook community group. There is no better recommendation than those people who have come before you. Volunteer Community

We hope you can come and join us to volunteer in Nepal and make sure every bit of your hard earned volunteer fee goes to the right place.

Edited: January 18th, 2010

Volunteer in Nepal whether you are 17 or 70 years old

Who says GAP years are just when you leave school?

One of the common misconceptions about volunteering abroad is that you will be in a group of very young people. It is true that many of the large volunteering organizations target the ‘GAP year’ pool of school and university leavers. However, at Volunteer Society Nepal we have placed volunteers from the age of 17 to 76!

Make the most of your time after the kids have left home

We often find that when people retire or their children leave home they are suddenly left with lots of time to spare. This is the ideal time to come volunteering in Nepal. We find that the varied experiences some of our older volunteers bring with them not only helps hugely with their interactions with Nepalis, but also allows them to share it with our younger volunteers.

Older volunteers bring valuable life experience

Many of our more senior volunteers bring with them real world business experience, first hand child care experience, teaching expertise and often top medical knowledge as well. In the past we have also had parents coming with their adult or young families. By all accounts the bonding of working in a different environment such as Nepal is a memorable bonding experience.

Read about Michelle’s experience below:

So why not Volunteer in Nepal?

Whether you are a grandparent, have just retired, or want to do something special with your family, you will be warmly welcomed in by Volunteer Society Nepal. If you would like to speak to some of our older volunteers then you can contact them through the volunteer community:

• Michelle – Volunteering at an orphanage in Pokhara and building a new vegetable garden
  
• Maureen – Fundraising support in Kathmandu
• Mark – His family volunteered on a construction project in Kathmandu

Edited: January 13th, 2010