International Volunteer HQ’s partner NGO in Nepal requires volunteers NOW! IVHQ has a wide range of volunteering opportunities available in teaching English, orphanage work, medical elective and remote health post work in both urban and rural Nepal.
LOCATION OF NEPAL VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
IVHQ’s program partner in Nepal offers volunteering placements in three main areas within Nepal – Kathmandu, Chitwan and Pokhara. Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal, and your placement can be within the city itself or in an urban or rural placement just out of the city. Chitwan is about 150km from Kathmandu and in the middle of Terrai, a flat fertile plain that borders India and stretches right across Southern Nepal. Finally, Pokhara, a popular tourist destination renowned for its amazing mountain views is in mid-western Nepal and can be reached by a five hour bus journey.
START AND DURATION OF NEPAL VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
Placements begin on the 1st and 15th of each month. Volunteers can choose to volunteer for periods of one week to five months.
NEPAL VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS
Volunteers must be over 18 years of age at the beginning of the program and have at least a high school education. Volunteers participating in the MEDICAL ELCTIVE or REMOTE HEALTH POST must have appropriate training and certification (to be presented to IVHQ partner staff on arrival in Nepal)
NEPAL VOLUNTEER PLACEMENT DESCRIPTIONS
TEACHING ENGLISH
More than 80% of the children from Nepal’s villages and cities are unable to access a good educational system. This is due to a lack of financial and physical resources as well as the remote mountain geography of the country. Volunteers participating in the Nepal Teaching English program will teach English at a Nepali public or private school, depending on the need for volunteers when you are in the country. Volunteers can also assist with creating low-cost teaching materials for the school and help organize health check-ups for students. Teaching English volunteers are more than welcome to participate in other school activities such as sports or sanitation programs while they work at the school. Many volunteers teach English in the mornings before arranging sports, drama and song in the afternoon.
N.B. Volunteers DO NOT need to be a qualified or experienced teacher.
IVHQ Placement: Vinayak English School - Located in Chabel, Kathmandu this school has over 350 children ranging in age from 3 - 15. Volunteers here will teach mainly English but also assist with a variety of other subjects. (Please Note - This is just one of many schools on our program and not necessarily the one you will be teaching at).
ORPHANAGE WORK
In lesser developed countries such as Nepal, thousands upon thousands of children are orphans, with no real home, no family and no opportunity to get an education. Through the IVHQ Nepal orphanage work program, volunteers will be placed in an orphanage/care house where they will assist children in their day to day routine. The general role of the volunteer will be to act as an older sibling to the children. What volunteers do specifically in each orphanage varies depending on where they are placed and the requirements at the time of the placement. However examples of work include; helping teach the children and assisting with tuition of general life skills through participating in administrative chores, health education, games, and by drawing and painting with the children. By volunteering for IVHQ’s orphanage work program, volunteers help to mold and shape the young minds of talented, charming and grateful children.
IVHQ Placement: Namaste House - Located in central Kathmandu, this orphanage is very typical of many on our program with many children and not enough staff and resources. (Please Note - This is just one of many orphanages on our program and not necessarily the one you will be working at).
MEDICAL ELECTIVE
Volunteers can do their medical elective at a hospital in Kathmandu or Bhaktapur where they will have hands on clinical experience in a field of operations relevant to their expertise. IVHQ’s medical elective program is invaluable for a career in medicine. Volunteers will experience first hand the stark contrast between Western medical practice and the realities of medicine in developing countries. Key requirements for a volunteer on the Nepal medical elective program are initiative, enthusiasm, and readiness to work in unfamiliar circumstances such as surgeries with minimal resources and understaffed hospitals. N.B. For the MEDICAL ELECTIVE, volunteers need to be training or qualified in a relevant medical field. Therefore, volunteers are required to present a copy of their qualifications and certificates to our program partner on arrival in Nepal.
REMOTE HEALTH POST WORK
Remote health clinics in Nepal struggle to attract qualified doctors and medically trained personnel let alone sufficient resources such as equipment and medicine. Volunteers working at village health clinics will assist local health staff in performing day to day tasks such as dressing wounds, administering vaccinations, drawing blood, screening and organizing patients, collecting medicines and generally helping in whatever capacity they are required. There is also the need to conduct seminars to motivate and educate local villagers on health initiatives. N.B. For the REMOTE HEALTH POST WORK, volunteers need to be training or qualified in a relevant medical field. Therefore, volunteers are required to present a copy of their qualifications and certificates to our program partner on arrival in Nepal.
NEPAL PROGRAM COSTS
One of the strengths of IVHQ is our extremely affordable fees. CLICK HERE to see the program cost to volunteer in Nepal-Premier and what you receive in exchange for your fees.
ACCOMMODATION AND MEALS
The majority of IVHQ volunteers are placed in a home stay situation while volunteering on the Nepal program, however some orphanage volunteers may choose to live on site with the children at the orphanage. Living conditions are not luxurious and will vary depending on where you are placed although the large majority of our home stays do have electricity and running water. Host families are educated, well respected in society and experienced in hosting international volunteers. Meals are traditional Nepali fare.
ORIENTATION
Orientation will begin on the morning of the 1st or 15th of the month (dependent on your booking) and you will be picked up from your accommodation and taken to the orientation. Orientation will be conducted by the team in Kathmandu and cover everything you need to know for your volunteering placement in Nepal – Introduction to Nepal, Nepalese Customs, Kathmandu City Tour, Nepalese Language Training, Rules and Expectations, Safety, Travel Opportunities in Nepal, Introduction to your project and placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socializing. Once orientation is complete, volunteers will be taken back to their home stay and introduced to all relevant parties – home stay family members and program placement staff.
VOLUNTEER WEEK
First Day: On the first day of the volunteering placement, the volunteers will be escorted to the project by either a member of the local staff and introduced to the staff at the project you will be working with.
Weekdays: While our programs are flexible and can be fitted to your requirements, a typical day is as follows.
- 7.30AM Breakfast with the host family
- 8.00AM Volunteer leaves home and is dropped (or walks) to the project;
The volunteer joins with the local staff. You will be given a duty roster and a plan for your work. There is usually a tea break and a lunch break. Work and hours is dependent on the project and location that the volunteer is participating in. - 2.00PM-5.00PM Work at the project usually ends. The volunteer at this point is free to visit and see places or do shopping. Usually we will have a guide to take you around. You may also want to hang out with the kids up to around 6.00PM.
- 8.30PM Dinner with the host family.
Weekends: During the weekend, volunteers have spare time and usually just relax or take the opportunity to explore other parts of their local town, Kathmandu and Nepal. Long weekends can be taken to travel further afield and engage in tourist activities such as trekking, jungle safaris and visits to temples. If volunteers wish to volunteer over the weekends they can join local teams and visit other orphanages (or other children helping organizations) to spend time simply playing with and entertaining the children.
WHAT PAST VOLUNTEERS SAY ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
Although IVHQ is a young volunteering placement organisation (we were formed in early 2007), we are getting tremendous feedback from our first volunteers who are finishing programs. Here are just a few small snippets of what volunteer's are saying about our programs.
"After my final class on my final day the school had organised a surprise ceremony in the courtyard to say thank you for me. They sang and danced for me, made speeches, gave me gifts and took turns in putting tilka on my face. A truly humbling and unforgettable experience" - Matthew Goodyer, 22, Sydney - Australia, Teaching Program, December 2007.
"Things are going really well. My classes at school are hard work but satisfying." - JP Akinyemi, 19, Holland, Teaching and Orpahange Program, October 2007 - January 2008
"A really good experience....... things are going great" - Gregory Reeb, 20, Madison - United States, Rural Medical Program, November/December 2007.
NEPAL INFORMATION
Capital: Kathmandu
Population: July 2005 estimate: 27,133,000
Official language: Nepali
Currency: Rupee (NRs.)
Time zone: NPT (UTC+5:45)