Nina Chapman - Norway - Dec - 2008 We planned the classes the day before. The kids were very eager to learn, especially the second class. The teaching at the primary school seemed much needed, as they lacked teachers and as the kids really benefited from having English speaking people around. They were so eager to learn! I would recommend any volunteers going to Thulakhet to consider teaching at the primary school.
Sarah Looney - England - 23rd November 2008 I arrived in Sauraha in the afternoon after a relatively uneventful bus journey – it was only about an hour late! The previous volunteer was staying with the host family till the next day so I spent the night in a 'tower' in the jungle which was great! We were woken up in the middle of the night as there was a rhino mother and baby grazing underneath the tower!
Drac Garcia Palacios - Catalonia, Spain - 28 of June So, yes, my wish is been fulfilled, I did have the opportunity to travel, go inside of the culture, meet a lot of people, and do something meaningful like teaching English, which I think is really important for them, because gives the opportunity to read more, discover new worlds, travel, get better education, better jobs, and hopefully better lives. So I have to give many, many thanks to Info-Nepal for the big opportunity that they gave me. They are doing a really good job.
Anna Drutschinin - Australia - : February 6th 2008 - I would love to go back to Nirmal Pokhari as I formed so many close relationships there and it really is a beautiful village. Now that I know what its like, I would go back more prepared so that I could make more of a difference - I feel that I spent my time there learning about the culture of Nepal and the issues it faces more than actually doing quality teaching.
Anne-Marie Parry - England - 30th June 2008 We did full medical checks at the school and at the orphanage a total of one hundred children, the local doctor at a near by health post came also to prescribe any medication the children needed. We also took some of the children from the orphanage to the dentist in Narangard.
I was very sad to leave my placement as the people there and the children were so welcoming and helpful it really felt like home. I do hope in the future I will return here and see how the school has progressed and how the children have grown up.
Danielle Soya - USA - 27 April 2008 Last year I left Gatlang at the end of winter determined to return the next year. It may be a few months later than I'd hoped, but I did return this year to spend the month of May teaching at Gatlang Library and school. I had suggested last year that INFO give Tamang language training to Gatlang volunteers since they don't speak Nepali. When I arrived, I was happy to find out that Durga (the Gatlang host father) was in Kathmandu to give me just that. It was difficult, but the even the few words I remembered helped control the kids and helped me relate better to their very curious parents.
Nina Chapman - Norway - Dec - 2008 Got up at 6.30 and had tea. First class at the RC at 7 am with the little kids, second class at 8 am with the older kids. Went back to the house for dhal bhat at 9.30. Taught at the primary school from 10am-1pm. After 1 pm: free time. Went hiking or visited the next village. 6-7 pm had dhal bhaat.
Edward Macey - England - 12th May 2008 At the library where we were given as much freedom as we wanted, we based the lessons usually around a topic such as time, weather, family etc and would then use various methods to teach it. The most popular method was drawing and some students managed to fill their books with drawings within a few weeks. Other popular methods included games such as hangman and pictionary. A methods which I tried to use only when necessary included writing on the board and they would simply copy as this is often employed at school and is not much fun or effective way of teaching for you or the students.
INFO Nepal - Newsletter 2010
A
group of 15 volunteers were to arrive on 1st and 2nd
of January, 2010. 15 students from Deakin University of Australia. The
groups were welcomed by Kshitiz and Asim. There was a strike on 1st of
January so the volunteers had to be transferred to Thamel (the tourist
place) in a tourist bus under the protection of Police. That was
somewhat uncomfortable but a valuable experience to have for the
volunteers. They were accommodated at Hotel Cosmic. After a brief
touring of Thamel, we went for dinner where we got to know the
volunteers better and get along with them very well. The volunteer were
young and very friendly. All of them were Australian but with different
national background. Some of them were from Turkey, India, Italian and
Ghanaian. There was a lot to learn about the different cultures and way
of living.
The next few days were busy in Language Orientation where the volunteers
were given the insight of the Nepali language and the culture. The
culture was quiet new to them but they were curious to experience it.
They went to different places for sightseeing like Monkey Temple
(Swayambhunath), Boudhanath, Pashupatinath and Durbar Square. After 3
days of orientation the volunteers went off to Pokhara. The group stayed
in Grand Holiday Hotel overnight. The group was divided into 2 groups of
8 and 7 which were further divided into 3 and 4 sub-groups. One of the
group stayed in the city doing orphanage and teaching placement while
the other group went into the villages where
the construction project was scheduled. The construction project
consisted of 2 basketball courts in two schools of two villages..
The groups were planned to swap the placement at the end of 2 weeks.
There were two villages where the 8 volunteers were divided - 4 in each
village and 2 in each host family. It was quiet difficult to find them
the host family but thanks to the people in Pame village and Thulakhet
village. The villages were 40 minutes walk from each other. The people
there were excited and happy to have the foreign people in their houses
living like a family. The people in the village always showed interest
to help the volunteers in every way possible. Volunteers say they felt
the place like a 'home away from home'.
The volunteers in city were placed in 3 different orphanages: Street
Children Home(3 volunteers), Destitute Children Home(2 volunteers) and
Innocent Children Home(2 volunteers). They were placed in 3 different
host families near the main city. The job of the volunteers was to teach
the children English and help them learn new things. They would play
with the kids. Everyone has their own way of approach to the children.
Our volunteers coped well with the children and were attached to them.
They were happy to be there. But in some of the orphanages, there was
not enough work to do as the examination of the children were near,
children were busy doing there preparation. Two volunteers wished to be
moved to village after 1 weeks as there was not enough work for them to
do there. And we decided to move them to the village. They moved to Pame
village to join the 4 volunteers who were already there.
At the same time in the village, the volunteers were feeling happy and
were excited about the construction of the basketball court in a school
in Thulakhet. The culture of Nepal being
completely different than the culture in the western countries, the
volunteers needed sometime to cope with the new culture but they were
fast to learn and adapt to the new culture and dissolve in it. They
enjoyed the new culture and traditions. They were in the host families
who introduced them to the experience which they found rewarding. “Its
completely new experience and I would love to learn more about it. It’s
amazing how different the way of living can be!” - one of the volunteers
remarked. They started off with the
construction with limited tools and a German volunteer who is an
engineer. The construction included levelling of the ground, digging,
peaking and shovelling. Volunteers had fun doing what they did. It was
hard work with no machineries available. We had to get on with our hand
as the modern machines were almost an impossibility in the village away
from the facilities of the city. They had some
problems about the tools as they are not used to Nepali way of
construction. No wheel barrow, no machines and limited tools. But that
was some experience to be had at least once in a lifetime. The way of
working was completely different! But nevertheless the project went
smooth. Volunteers laughed over the problems.The
first week was spent on levelling the ground which was 28m long and 15m
wide. At the weekend, we went to the city and got together with the
other volunteers from the city.
We stayed in Grand Holiday Hotel, went for dinner and shared our
experiences. Volunteers placed in village seemed more happier than the
city ones. 2 of the volunteers wished to change the placement earlier
than planned which after talking to the organization was carried out the
next day. The 2 volunteers in orphanage moved to Pame village where they
taught in a local English school in the morning and help in the
construction project in the afternoon. Some volunteers went paragliding
and we also went for rafting! Sunday 17th Jan, there was a local strike
which was carried out only in the way from the city to the village. The
public bus was not allowed operate. So some volunteers took a taxi to
the village and some stayed back in the city. The same day, the
basketball pole was to be delivered to the construction site. So we took
a hike in the delivery truck to the village. That was some adventure of
its own! So there we were, 4 volunteers and myself under the poles on
the bumpy road. But nevertheless, we enjoyed the ride. "If any of my
friend back home had told me I would be travelling like this at some
point in my life, I would never have believed him!" said one of the
volunteer who shared the epic trip to the village.
The next week in the village, we put on some gravel on the ground to
make it ready to lay the concrete on top of it. Everything went smooth
except for the problem about the tools. There were not enough tools. But
we bought some new tools from the city and everything was alright again.
The next week, when the swapping of placement was to be done, the
volunteers in the village showed a keen desire to stay in the village as
they feared the construction would not be finished in time with the lack
in manpower. So it was at the end that the two villages had to
accommodate 16 volunteers between them - 10 in Thulakhet and 6 in Pame.
All
the volunteers got into the construction with all their efforts while
experiencing the village life at the same time. One would never be able to think that the people from
western countries - where every facilities are just inches away - would
love the experience in village – where everything is just the opposite
of the place they come from. No internet, no phones, no western toilets
(NO TOILET PAPERS!!), no TV, no big shops, not much vehicles, one bus
per hour, only 12 hours electricity per day. But that didn’t seem to
affect the affection the volunteers seemed to have for the village and
the people there. The volunteers completely loved the place! They stayed
in the family as the part of the families. They addressed their host
family as father, mother, sisters and brothers. They loved the way
everyone who passed them would greet them 'Namaste', and offer them
every help possible. The peoples’ friendliness stole the heart of the
volunteers. The week flew swiftly and smoothly as erected the basketball
poles and laid the concrete. The week was hard but most important. There
was no time for rest. In the free time, we would play Australian
football and soccer with the village kids and play cards in the evening
with our headlamp as there was seldom any electricity during the
evenings.
There was only less than a week for the another construction project to
finish which was another basketball court (less than half the size of
the other) in Pame village in Sunrise Preparatory School. The work was
not much there as the court would not be of concrete and there was only
one pole to be erected. So 4 of the volunteers in Thulakhet decided to
go to the city to experience the orphanage placement. We bought the
school two portable football posts in addition to the court. The ground
was levelled so all we had to do was pick out the small stones. After
having that done, we got some good dirt (soil) to smoothen the ground
and then compressed it so that the ball would bounce. The students and
the staff faculties helped a lot in the construction. After all that
done, the basketball ground was ready in 3 days. So the project was
finished by 3rd of February when the farewell program was organised by
both the schools where the volunteers were
honoured with the certificates and colours all over the face! Then we
bid the final goodbyes to all the villagers and the school. The
volunteers were sad to leave them but happy at the same time for they
made a lot of difference and they were going to be remembered forever.
They made a deep impression in the hearts of the people in the village
that will last forever.
The 4 volunteers
who left for the city for some new experience in the orphanage were
placed in Himalayan Child Care Home. Its a child care home run by a
Tibetan Lama, and has 36 children, not necessarily orphans. They are the
deprived children from the villages up in the mountains where good
education and good life is an impossibility. They are brought to the
orphanage in hope of finding themselves a good way of living. The
children there are very disciplined and attentive. They are keen to
learn new things and always listen what the volunteers or the others
have to say. The volunteers there had a fabulous time with the children
for which they couldn't stop thanking us. After being there for some
days, they left for Kathmandu.
We came back to
Kathmandu on 5th January and the volunteers were given the farewell
dinner.
Take lots of things to do and read, as in the mountains there are less people to talk with, and if there is no school the days can be long. Be prepared to take the initiative and get involved. And be prepared with lots of ideas and resources at all sorts of levels as the children vary from no English to pretty good basics.
Simon Altman - German - Aug - 2009 And so my placement comes to an end…
It was a tough experience and to say I enjoyed it wouldn't be the right words. The isolation, freezing cold and very simple way of life definitely takes a big adjustment, and really tests your strength of character. But despite this, it's was an experience I'm glad I had. It taught me some valuable lessons, and made my understanding of the world and myself a little deeper.
Danielle Soya - USA - 27 April 2008 Gatlang is a challenging place for a volunteer. The weather can be extreme, and the lifestyle is worlds away from home, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more welcoming community. I hope the increase in volunteers willing to travel out to Gatlang continues to grow. I know they are eagerly awaiting the next set that comes through.
Edward Macey - England - 12th May 2008 The main issue was obviously the language barrier, especially when teaching in the primary school as you were trying to teach them from the books they were given and the exercises were far too hard for them. The books were also outdated and often had mistakes in them, which the teachers would never realise, and therefore the teachers would have already drilled this into them.
Shweta Parmekar - USA - July 2009 I loved the variety that volunteering in different parts of Nepal offered. It exposed us to various health conditions and circumstances which gave us a wider perspective on healthcare here. It also allowed us to practice the clinical skills we've gained thus far and allowed us to see conditions that we may not normally see in the States.
Montserrat de Villasante Fuentes and Ricardo Borges Rutz - Spain / Brazil - July 2009 Children who used to come to the library had many different ages, from 2 years old till 20 years old, so we had to deal with this. Montse used to be with the little one, and Ricardo with the olders. The activities consisted on:
Playing nature memory in english, practicing numbers and names of animals, meals and other stuff…., playing with balloons, making jungle balls with balloons, for the olders the activities were: maths, geography, playing table tennis, and all the time using english language.
Rachel Reeves - USA - Nov 2009 Another
thing you should know -- the teachers' lack of motivation/organization will
likely frustrate you, but don't let it affect you. You just have to get used to
it. Though they don't seem to care about their students, you can care about the
students for them.
Tami Nudel - Israel - Sept 2008 The Langtang
area is very impressive, and waking up every morning with the view of the
massive mountains was wonderful.
The local food was very spicy, and I must admit that I will not eat rice for
the near future, because eating Dhal Baat for 7 days a week, 3-4 times a day was
a real challenge!
To sum it up, I had one of my greater experiences in my life, and I will never
forget it.
Shweta Parmekar - USA - July 2009 At
our health placements we did 2-3 health camps at each location and included
routine physicals, general checkups, and noting each patient's chief complaint.
The physician would then provide us with insight to the diagnosis and would then
prescribe appropriate medications. The biggest challenge by far was the language
barrier. It made it quite difficult to communicate directly with the patients
and establish any form of personal touch. Also occasionally the lack of medical
equipment made it difficult to perform adequate examinations.
Sarah Looney
- England - 23rd November 2008 Definitely, it
was a lot of fun and very rewarding the children were lovely and very motivated
and the host family was great- they made me feel really welcome in their home.
In addition Sauraha is a great place to visit.
Yes, I have had a great experience and everybody at INFO is always helpful and
accommodating and tries to make you experience as good as it can be. It was also
really good meeting all the other volunteers. I have had a fantastic time.
Nina Chapman - Norway - Dec - 2008 Try
to plan your classes ahead of time, but don’t expect to necessarily finish with
everything you planned. With the younger kids, it was very useful to split them
up in groups, with the older, more capable kids receiving more complicated
tasks. Also try to make them understand concepts, not just repeat them. The
older kids are quite capable and can do quite complicated tasks.
Kate and Llynlly Langdon - Australia Oct 2009 We made
posters, cards, poems, art, we did dictation, spelling and played games such as
hangman etc. They loved to colour in and also did dictation, spelling and
reading with those who were willing. The older children were great and had very
good English already to it was easy to teach them more.
Tami Nudel - Israel - Sept 2008 Working with
the children was great, because they were truly enthusiastic about me- the
western girl… Walking through the village made me fill like a celebrity-
everyone shouts "Namaste!", and all the children run towards me and jump on me.
Living up in the mountains, working in the fields, cleaning with the local women
was a real adventure. This is something that I would never to back in Israel,
and I am very glad that I got the opportunity to do so.
Sarah Looney - England - 23rd November 2008 Over the next
few weeks the routine continues teaching from 6-8.30 am and then having the days
to prepare and free time and then in the afternoons teaching from 4.30 – 6 pm.
One of the challenges we faced was the fact that their was no electricity so we
had to teach by candlelight at the beginning and end of the day which was an
experience! The teaching was great fun, the children were very motivated
to learn and loved playing games – they also often wanted to stay even after
their class had finished and sometimes a few of the older ones stayed to help
out with the younger ones, who at times could be very hard work.
Nina Chapman - Norway - Dec - 2008 Another
challenge was at the primary school, where they wanted us to teach the kids for
as long as 1 ½ hours at the time. This is too long to try to keep little
children's attention, but as long as we were clear about what we were doing, it
worked out fine. We ended up taking two 45 min classes each per day. They
primary school also had exams in the time that we were there, so for these days,
we couldn’t teach them.