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

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:

Volunteering in an orphanage as carer and gardener

My name is Michelle. I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I’m 60 and retired from teaching 3 years ago. Every year or so, I have a special volunteer project. 2009 brought me to volunteer inn Nepal. I arrived Oct. 1st and stayed for 2 months.

First I was welcomed by Sughanda Bai at the airport and found my new home in Kathmandu. I then had a crash course in Nepali in the mornings and visited Kathmandu in the afternoon. I had asked for manual work and enjoyed painting at the orphanage and school with another volunteer. My short stay with Sughanda Bai and his family was reassuring, convivial, (the best dhal bat ever!!!) and rewarding. Tej Bai was also of great help with communications between the Orphanage in Pokhara and Kathmandu. They always knew where I was and made my security their priority. Although I didn’t feel insecure in this new environment, their supervision showed the professionalism of VSN.

After 10 days in Kathmandu, I went to volunteer in Pokhara in another orphanage and worked for a month starting a vegetable garden from scratch. I also took care of the children when it was too hot to dig!!!!. I enjoyed every minute of this posting. Great scenery,charming people, great trekking, and my hosts were as thoughfull as the Shresta family!!! Simple living, but grandiose people!!!

I returned to Kathmandu a week before leaving, and indulged myself in a last trekking to Langtang with Gelu Sherpa. He works for Volunteer Society Nepal as a language teacher but is also a trekking guide. It was the ultimate trekking!!!

To sum up my stay is almost impossible. No words can express my learning, my sensations, my gratitude to these people and their land.

I can only recommend Volunteer Society Nepal if you want to volunteer in Nepal. It is a very good option! Please be free to ask any questions on this Email

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

We have always felt that the best recommendation we can give to you about VSN is from the people who have already been here and experienced it for themselves. This is why we have launched our community pages.

On these pages you can find email addresses to contact people from all around the world who have worked on a variety of our projects. And if you have a Facebook account you can also join our Facebook group – ‘Volunteer Society Nepal: Official Facebook Group’. This is an easy way for people to upload photos, share stories and post questions they may have about VSN.

We hope you enjoy having a look round and it gives you an ever better feel of what VSN is like for our volunteers.