Project summary

Volunteer with Nepali and Tibetan children in the beautiful Himalayan mountain city of Pokhara.

You can work in local primary schools teaching English, sports, music, art and other subjects or you can work in child care centres & nurseries joining in with the day to day running of the centres and helping to improve the quality of life of the children and the care givers. Our placements are based in the city of Pokhara.

A typical day

A typical work week is five days for about four to six hours per day.  However, bear in mind that this is Nepal, and there are over 3 million gods in the Hindu religion to worship as well as political instability leading to strikes, school closures and other disturbances!

Teaching volunteers will be required to prepare their own lessons for their classes within the school curriculum and the focus of these lessons will be primarily English. Teaching volunteers will also teach other lessons such as sports, music, art and sometimes other academic subjects such as math. Much depends on your personal drive and skill set. If you have a particular interest, you can make it happen.  Local teachers are encouraged to participate in the volunteer classes so that they can help and learn, but this is often not the case, so volunteers should be prepared to handle a class on their own.

Child care volunteers will join in the day to day activities of the centre.  This will normally include games and activities, tutoring, teaching some lessons and helping with homework as well as helping out with general childcare, cleaning and meal times. Day care centres and nurseries will have volunteers joining in with day to day activities such as playing, singing songs, reading stories, preparing arts & crafts as well as helping with general childcare, cleaning and preparing meals. At some of our placements the children go to school through the day leaving the most valuable times for volunteers to help very early in the morning before school and again in the evening after school.

The location

Pokhara is a beautiful mountain city in the Himalayas. It is defined by the dramatic snow capped peaks of the Annapurna Range and the Fishtail Mountain overlooking the city. The Southern side of the city is bounded by a beautiful lake that reflects the peaks. Volunteers live in the area of Lakeside and work all over Pokhara.

How you can make a difference

Volunteering in Nepal will open your eyes to a new culture and a very different life to that back home. Many volunteers describe their time working with children in Pokhara as 'life changing'. This is a chance to work with some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the world.

The children that you will work with are full of fun and always delighted when volunteers work with them. You can show them that people do care and you can bring a little more love and fun into their lives.

You can also help them towards a position where they can get work by developing their confidence in communicating in English. Pokhara is a city that relies on the tourist trade so if a local person has a better grasp of English, they will be in a stronger position to work in tourism and bring benefit to the community. Knowledge of English also opens up the internet, empowers people to learn for themselves and creates new areas of potential.

What's included

• A information pack and support prior to departure
• Travel advice and assistance
  
• Airport pick up and hotel night in Kathmandu
• Bus transfer to Pokhara
• Accommodation in Pokhara throughout
• Cultural introduction to Pokhara
• Ongoing support, help and advice from our local team
  

What else to budget for

The following items are not included and estimates are given as a guide for your budgeting: flights (£550-£750), visa (£20), travel insurance, personal spending / living costs (£150-£250 per month).

Other projects you might also be interested in....

* Orphanage in Cambodia

* Child care and Teaching in Peru

* Orphanage in Thailand

* Street children and orphan schools in Vietnam

* Teaching in Tanzania

* Teaching in Thailand

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More details

Background information about the project

The Work Place - schools

We work with a combination of Private English Medium Schools and Local Government Schools.  English Medium schools are taught 100% English; however, the standard of English even among the teachers and administrators can be very poor, and often you may not realise that you are being spoken to in English at all. Although some are “private” schools, conditions are often basic and many lack the simple resources or qualified teachers that you would expect at a school. Government schools provide the most rewarding experience and true need for volunteers; however, this can be a very challenging environment with extremely limited English and lack of support from teachers.

The children at both types of schools are generally very excited to have volunteers working with them and with a little effort and perspective, you should find the volunteering extremely rewarding.

The Work Place – child care centres / nurseries

The child care centres and nurseries we work with are generally caring for a large cross section of Nepal’s society.  Some centres may care for the most disadvantaged members of society as well as children from low-middle class families who need a place for their children in order to be able to make a living.  Not all children in such centres are true parentless “orphans”.  We believe that it is important to help people at all stages of their development.  Providing a single mother with a safe day care centre so that she can earn a living and feed her child is a valuable contribution to society, and although such a mother may be considered middle class, we value the participation of volunteers in such a setting.  Simply acting as a good example, being a big brother or sister and helping in anyway we can is valued at any level in a country such as Nepal.

Volunteer accommodation and food

Volunteers live at Bindu's Hotel which is a family run B&B in Lakeside (the part of town that most travellers stay). The top floor of Bindu's is a self contained apartment with living room and roof top terrace with great views over Lakeside and the lake.

You'll get to know Bindu's family and they are always around to help you out. Accommodation is basic but comfortable with electricity and running water - though these can be unreliable in Pokhara. In the dry season electricity can drop to just 8 hours in every 24!

It's very inexpensive to eat out and you will often also be able to eat main meals at your placement though this will be basic Nepali food.

Accommodation is also an option in some schools and child care centres. This would be a private room normally in the school building. This option gives you a real immersion in the local community but can be more challenging as you will not be in the traveller’s part of town so you will find it more difficult to go out and meet people in the evenings. Some volunteers choose to live at the placement during the week and come back to Bindu's at the weekends.

Freetime and travel opportunities

Bindu's is within a short distance of the main street on Lakeside which is the place most travellers stay and go out in the evenings. There is a wide range of bars and restaurants in Lakeside and it is an enjoyable and safe place for a night out.

Pokhara is the start point for some of the most popular treks in the Himalayas and the place where travellers come to relax and absorb the culture and atmosphere of Nepal. 

Challenges

If you are the type of person who can walk in to a room full of children and want to start playing or teaching then this will suit you. If you are someone who just wants to take photos of the children to show friends at home what you've done, then this may not be for you.

Some volunteers have found placements challenging because they can be smelly, or because they have had to travel on a crowded local bus to get there. The children can also be excitable and unruly at times. You may also find life in Nepal frustrating because of the unexpected cancellations of work because of a sudden religious holiday or because of a fuel strike.

Placements such as these may be an emotional experience and you are unlikely to view poverty and disadvantage in the same way after the placement.

Where does your money go

PoD is run as a non-profit organisation and does not receive any external funding. We charge a fee for all our placements to cover the overseas costs of volunteering and the costs of running our organisation in the UK. 

For this project approximately 60% of the fee you pay is passed to Nepal and supports our ongoing work there.

Volunteer reviews

Click here to read volunteer reviews for our Nepal child care and teaching volunteer projects.