Volunteering in Nepal
It’s been a month since I arrived in Nepal, and I’m settling into all my volunteering placements. I’m working at two schools and an orphanage. I arranged this trip through World Youth International, which offers volunteering opportunities in Kenya, Uganda, and Nepal.
Despite its beauty, Nepal is one of the least developed countries in the world. Nepali people face high disease prevalence, low adult literacy rates, natural disasters, food security and high rates of child malnutrition.
Nepal is ranked 133rd out of 198 countries in life expectancy. Diseases such as diarrhoea, gastrointestinal disorders, intestinal parasites, leprosy and tuberculosis are more common than in other South Asian countries.
Only 59% of people over 15 meet literacy standards, and public expenditure on education is just 4.7% of Nepal’s GDP.
I am so grateful to be playing even a small part in helping improve the situation for the children here. If you can go volunteering in Nepal, grab the opportunity with both hands!
The orphanage
There are about 35 children at the orphanage, ranging from kindergarten through class 7, about age 4 to 13.
Every time I walk in, the children come running towards me. I can’t move because they hang on to my legs and arms. They’re so happy to know a foreigner and proudly walk me down the street every Saturday to buy mangos and bananas from the local fruit stall.
I teach the younger ones English. They teach me how to dance like a Nepali. The older ones know English well as all their classes are in English. I help them with their homework, and they teach me Nepali games.
They’re all adorable, but I’ve fallen in love with two of the youngest, Laxmi and Puja. They have no family and rely on the orphanage for food, shelter and education. Some of the others have family in really remote places. Their family can’t afford to look after them, and they’re too far away from schools, so they come to the orphanage for school terms and return during holidays.
On Saturday, they had some visitors, including a Nepali couple with two bags of chocolates. I have never seen so many children rush into the same spot simultaneously. We had to rescue some crying ‘littlens’, take some chocolates and hand them out separately.
Cleanup at the orphanage
From day 1, I noticed some of the children had a medical issue. It looked like scabies, but I wasn’t sure. Luckily, we met some medical students from America who came out to visit. They confirmed it was scabies and returned last week with medicine for everyone.
We had a massive cleanup day, washing and drying their mattresses in the sun, spraying them with Dettol and mopping all the rooms down. We took all their clothes (in 2 batches) to the laundry and cleaned them in hot water for the first time. All the kids took their medicine, and the results have been spectacular. Only one child still has symptoms, but she is getting better daily.
On behalf of the orphanage, a huge thanks to James and Dina for all their work.
At the schools
I’m teaching at 2 schools. At one, I’m teaching English to class 5 and computer studies to classes 3 and 5. I’m also getting to read to the smaller children in classes 1 and 2, which I’m really enjoying.
At the other school, I’m a relief teacher. It’s far more difficult, as I have no warning or chance to prepare. Yesterday, I taught Nepali geography to grade 8; it was interesting, given that the children know more than I do. I’m learning to deal with situations like this, and I am proud that I managed to control the classroom. I split them into groups, had them present to me on different parts of Nepal, and gave them feedback on whether I understood them.
It makes it easier when the view from the school buildings is like this. See the World Youth International School site for more information on the school, which is developed and supported by Australians.
