Volunteering in an Orphanage in Nepal gives children desperately needed love and hope
The high mortality rate for mothers during childbirth, as well as the short life expectancy in Nepal, leaves thousands of children without parents each year. As a result, most of these needy children are deprived of education and find work as child labourers in restaurants, factories, hotels, slaves, and as trash collectors. Orphanages in Nepal provide these kids with daily meals, a bed, and some hope. The children are mostly between the ages of four and fifteen and have a basic understanding of English.
How do volunteers help?
The general role of the volunteer will be to act as an older sibling: to care for, look after and encourage the children. Volunteers will teach the children general life skills, including health and sanitation, as well as arts, crafts and music. They may also help the children with their schoolwork. As a volunteer at an orphanage in Nepal, you may also organize tours, games, drawing classes, singing, dancing, painting and other activities that the children enjoy.
Do I need any specific qualifications or skills for this placement?
Volunteers do not need any qualifications to help in an orphanage in Nepal, but it will be a more enjoyable experience if you are enthusiastic and approachable
Detailed information on 3 of our orphanages:
If you would like to get a more detailed look at some of our affiliated orphanages then we have 3 interviews with the carers and orphanage managers. Just go to our Volunteer in an orphanage in Nepal Case Study Page.
A day in the life of an orphanage volunteer:
Previous volunteers’ experiences:
Stijn and Sofie, Belgium
Volunteering together in the same orphanage in Nepal
After graduating as social workers we decided to do volunteer workin Nepal. Now we just completed our 2-month volunteering experience. As we have so many things it’s very difficult to write in a summary because every day in Nepal was a different adventure! The first few days were a big culture shock! The traffic attacks all your senses, the culture is completely different and the language is hard to understand. Also the poverty which you can see everywhere was hard to take. But, VSN provided enough support with Nepali language and cultural classes, sight seeing, work orientation. All those supports compelled us to take every easily and started loving Nepal and Nepali people. We found Nepali people appreciate it very much when you just say some Nepali words. Everywhere where we went, people treated us as “living gods”: they are so friendly and social! As Western people, we should take an example of this.
Our host family was great: a nice warm family who gives enough space to do the things that you want. All the people are very flexible and open, and they want you to be happy! When we start working in an orphanage with 42 children we felt very uncomfortable because the children didn’t know us, didn’t speak English and we didn’t know what to do with them. So we just find our way observing and playing and one week later it felt like we knew them for months! At the end of this volunteer work the contact with the kids is so warm that they ask us to stay…the baby’s even cried when we said good bye in the evening. Sometimes we go home with mixed feelings because you see that they don’t have much toys, not much food, dirty clothes, no heat, … so we tried, together with VSN, to solve as many problems as we can and give the children a nice home. For example: we provided fruits and vegetables twice a week, we painted all the dorms and the classroom, we put down some warm carpet and decorated the rooms. We saw that the kids love it and that gives so much satisfaction!
Janette Helleu, France
Turning around an orphanage in Kathmandu
I am from Holland but living in Paris. This summer I went off to Nepal on my own and had the most amazing experience.Working in the art world and not having my children for a month, I thought I would go and do something else and give a helping hand somewhere in this world.
I went on the net, onto Google, and stated “giving English lessons at an orphanage in Nepal”. Several names came up, but VSN Nepal was the most efficient and welcoming answer. So off I went in July, got picked up at the airport, placed within a family and had an experience of a life time. An experience never to forget ! I did not end up giving a lot of English lessons as we discovered another orphanage 20 min away, now also under supervision of VSN Nepal, where there was so much to do that I volunteered there, and it was great. It was more than fantastic in fact! Also difficult moments to find out that the children had been sleeping in “wet” mattresses for the past 18 months, the kitchen had been placed outside, one working toilet for 30 children, animals all over, that they wear the same clothes everyday, don’t have enough food and most had never seen underwear before….. ? Here is still really a lot to do but within a month and with the help of some great volunteers, the place was turned upside down and running as never before. Seeing and experiencing this, was also very good, as to see where VSN Nepal has probably come from, and to see where they are today. What a great step ahead
Throughout the whole of Nepal, with these incredibly nice people, and where the people are much poorer than we think, there is so much to do. With Tej and Segunda of VSN Nepal, we are sure that they are really there to help the children, to help them evolve, to give and assure them a safe and loving home. The school that they have just started is full of hope and with their enthusiasm and the help of all the others that go there to help, I am sure they will achieve their goal. They really know what they are doing.They have both had years of experience with the International Red Cross and have now started their own project. It demands a lot of their energy, but what a great achievement already. I will def be going back as soon as I can
Also check out our Volunteer Community Page where you can find email addresses to contact past volunteers and join our Facebook group to post any more questions you may have about coming here.
Generally, if you are volunteering in an orphanage you will not be living in the building itself. In our experience volunteers need a break from their work and living elsewhere provides the structure for this. However, you will be placed in a homestay with a local Nepali family. By living with a family you will gain a greater insight and understanding of Nepali culture. The standard of lodging will depend on whether you are in a rural or urban area. In a rural area the facilities will be basic with minimal running water and a squat toilet. However, in an urban placement you will most likely have a flushing Western style toilet and a shower. All of your food will be provided for you at your homestay and you will never be more than 30 minutes from your place of work. The only exception to this is that if you work in Pokhara you can choose to actually live at the orphanage if you would prefer.
There are lots of orphanages throughout Nepal who are looking for volunteers to come and help them. The founders of VSN even manage their own for 12 children in Kathmandu called the New Life Children’s Home. Through the spread of the internet it is now possible to find many of these recruiting online. In our experience, while any volunteering is worthwhile, often the experience volunteers have with smaller organisations is not as good. Why it is better to volunteer at an orphanage through Volunteer Society Nepal?
6 years of experience of dealing with requirements of international volunteering
Fee includes collection from airport, cultural induction, language course of sightseeing
Some orphanages advertising for volunteers are poorly managed and so your fee is not put to best use
Check out our Locations page to find the area that is perfect for you.
As a result, most of these needy children are deprived of education and find work as child labourers in restaurants, factories, hotels, slaves, and as trash collectors. Orphanages in Nepal provide these kids with daily meals, a bed, and some hope. The children are mostly between the ages of four and fifteen and have a basic understanding of English.
Previous volunteers’ experiences:
Stijn and Sofie, Belgium
Generally, if you are volunteering in an orphanage you will not be living in the building itself. In our experience volunteers need a break from their work and living elsewhere provides the structure for this. However, you will be placed in a homestay with a local Nepali family. By living with a family you will gain a greater insight and understanding of Nepali culture. The standard of lodging will depend on whether you are in a rural or urban area. In a rural area the facilities will be basic with minimal running water and a squat toilet. However, in an urban placement you will most likely have a flushing Western style toilet and a shower. All of your food will be provided for you at your homestay and you will never be more than 30 minutes from your place of work. The only exception to this is that if you work in Pokhara you can choose to actually live at the orphanage if you would prefer. 
