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.
Posted: January 21st, 2010 under Uncategorized.
Tags: affordable volunteering in Nepal, environmental project in Nepal, environmental volunteering, garbage collection, past volunteers, review of nepal volunteering, rubbish collection, volunteer in nepal, volunteer society nepal, volunteering in nepal
Comments
Comment from A. Venkatesh - January 22, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Any voluntary work is most satisfying. And the work done by Antoinette Siu and Humsini is, indeed, laudable. Environment plays such a vital role in our day-to-day living. Taking the lead in cleaning up the sportsfield, used by the Pepsi community and other locals, they have brought awareness among all those who use the place. I had the good fortune of receiving both the girls when they reached Delhi from Kathmandu, on their way to the United States. We had no time to discuss, in detail, about all their activities. I am sure not only these young maidens, but others from the US instiitutions, will join you in continuing the noble service. Best of luck to every one involved.
Comment from Meena Viswanath - January 23, 2010 at 4:12 am
My husband and I had the opportunity to visit all the centers run by the Volunteer Society of Nepal, met some wonderful volunteers who were full of praise for the dedicated service that Mr.Sugandha, Mr. Tej and Mr. Gelu do along with their spouses. They are very kind and very hospitable people who opened their houses and hearts to the volunteers!! These centers are very efficiently run, very clean and most of all they are loved and appreciated by the needy people they serve. Our experience was a true eye-opener to the needs of Nepali people. I am very happy to say the Humsini and Antoinette’s work was very appreciated and they have started a ‘Keep your local Area Clean’ awareness program which Nepal desperately needs. Hope the people will continue to use garbage bins for their trash and use any availabe empty land and this awareness will be emulated by other neighbourhoods in the area.
Comment from Volunteer Tourism - October 13, 2010 at 4:18 pm
We have all seen the charitable companies that submit doctors to underdeveloped countries. We know these doctors are an unbelievablefocal point in the communities wherein they work. They save lives every day, often with the aid of the easiest of things modern medicine has to offer. We admire the corporation that backs the volunteer projects and specially the people who donate their time and energy to those trips.
Comment from ellen Siu - January 22, 2010 at 5:07 am
how wonderful… keep up the good work!