INFO Nepal - Monthly Newsletter
January 2009

Well, Last year went very successfully with three big new projects, Gadgai Children's Resource Center, Sitamai School and Crocodile Conservation project. The Crocodile conversation project is going on now rapidly as we already have applyed a request letter with the Community forest of Belshahar to conserve and develop the area of Sitamai.

Sam’s Report

The following is a report on my six week volunteer placement in Nepal through INFO Nepal detailing the actions taken by Info Nepal from my arrival in Nepal to the end of my placement and further on, as well as the of the actual placement itself where I taught English in a volunteer run resource center and at a Government primary school in the village of Thulakhet, approximately an hour outside of Pokhara.

I arrived in Kathmandu on the 6^th December 2008. At the airport we, myself and another Australian volunteer Tegan Burnet, where greeted by a friendly INFO Nepal staff member (Bicky) who was easily identifiable and was welcoming and helpful in organizing our departure from the airport and into Kathmandu. At no time during this transition did I feel unsure or worried about what I was about to do as the INFO Nepal staff member was very professional as well as friendly informing us about what we where going to be doing and making us feel very comfortable. From the airport we where driven by taxi to Happy Home. Happy Home is a beautiful house, which is very clean, comfortable and welcoming and Asim and his wonderfully amazing family are extremely welcoming, friendly and understanding and make your first night in Nepal very easy and comfortable providing a great introduction into Nepalese culture and life.

For the first three days of my placement I was based at the Happy Home with two other volunteers from Australia. On our first morning we where escorted from the Happy Home to the INFO Nepal office in Thamel by an INFO Nepal staff member (Asmita), on our second and third mornings we elected to walk from the Happy Home into Thamel however this was only be choice and a taxi could have been arranged otherwise. On our first visit to the INFO Nepal office, which is well placed very close to the center of Thamel only a short distance from the Happy Home by Taxi, we where welcomed by the other staff members and briefed again on what we where going to doing for the next few days and what was going to be happening next with regards to out travel to Pokhara and then our placement, after this we received language and culture classes in the office from an INFO Nepal staff member (Bicky) who was well trained and a very good language teacher. After language class we had a break to explore Thamel for ourselves during lunch and where then taken sight seeing by an INFO Nepal staff member (Ti Jitz) to the monkey temple ( I cannot recall the actual name) by taxi. During the sight seeing the INFO Nepal staff member acted as an excellent guide adding to the experience you would receive as a tourist on your own. On our second and third days whilst based at Happy Home in Kathmandu we also received language classes in the morning and went sight seeing in the afternoon seeing Pasthpunathi (not sure of spelling) and the Bouddanath Stupa and where again provided with a taxi ride and guidance during our time sight seeing. At nights in the Happy Home during our stay in Kathmandu all volunteers were well looked after and the food was great, and was a good chance to get used to, as well as learn Nepali customs and cultures which was good preparation for our placement.

After three days in Kathmandu at Happy Home we caught a bus to Sanga village in between Baktipur and Banepa an hour our of Kathmandu to help prepare us for our placement by putting us in a true village where we could learn and become use to living conditions outside of Kathmandu and Happy Home. The trip to Sanga village we were escorted by an INFO Nepal staff member (Sangita) who also lived in the area only five minutes away from our training placements which provided comfort that help was not to far away. The family I stayed with was friendly and helpful in providing me an opportunity to learn and adjust to village life in a comfortable situation. During the day we received language classes from an INFO Nepal staff member who traveled from Kathmandu everyday during our three-day stay. In the afternoons we where taken sight seeing by either an INFO Nepal staff member (Sangita) or an associate of the company who we where introduced to by the INFO Nepal staff member. The village offered great views of the Himalayas and provided a great opportunity to prepare you for village life as well as an opportunity to have a go at village life an discover whether or not you are going to be more comfortable in a city or village placement.

Returning from the village we elected to have a day off in Kathmandu where we went sight seeing and ended up being escorted and showed around by one of the friendly staff members (Sangita) even though it was their holiday.

After a day off we traveled to Pokhara to begin our placements. We where again escorted by one of the INFO Nepal staff members (Sangita) and the transport to the bus was arranged and we where met in Pokhara by another INFO Nepal staff member who was to be our Pokhara contact. We where then taken to the Lakeside INFO Nepal house which is in a beautiful location on the edge of lakeside overlooking the lake. The Monday we where meant to start our placement a strike postponed this and the INFO Nepal staff members in Pokhara where very happy and helpful to take us sight seeing around the lakeside area and to the world peace pagoda again providing excellent local knowledge and was a nice chance to build up our friendships with the staff to whom I can know all call my friends. The next day I was sent to my placement which was originally in an orphanage in Pokhara city. After the afternoon their I was already feeling uncomfortable and unhappy with my placement and after sending a message to Asim letting him know how I was feeling he responded by calling me back immediately. He was very easy to talk to and within five minutes we had organized that I would be picked up a moved to another placement the next day. I was picked up personally by Asim and three other INFO Nepal staff members and after a short discussion on why I was already unhappy with this placement helped me pack my gear and go back to the Lakeside house so I could leave to go to a new placement the next day which had already been arranged. The whole issue was dealtwith with fantastic speed and very professional and I need to thank Asim and the other staff members for helping me to find a placement where I was very happy.

My placement in Thulakhet was amazing and was the perfect experience I had hoped to receive whilst volunteering in Nepal. The small village was only approximately an hour outside of Lakeside by bus and was remarkably beautiful. My family was very welcoming and well adapted to having a volunteer living in their house. My host father Dhurba was an amazing individual, who spoke very good English, which was very helpful, and was very friendly and I am thankful for being able to form a friendship which I hope will last a very long time. By the time I arrived in Thulakhet and began my placement I had just under five weeks due of actual placement due to language classes, sight seeing, training village however these where all worthwhile and I have no regret for not having a full six weeks of placement and found that the training was extremely helpful for preparing me an allowing my placement to be very enjoyable.

In the village I taught English in the local resource center, which had been established by my host father Dhurba with the help of INFO Nepal, in the morning from 7-9 and then I taught in the Government school from 10 –1. A typical day for me would start at 6.30am with a cup of freshly brewed tea before heading to the resource center at 7 to take a younger class ranging from 2-9 year olds, attempting to teach basic English as well as have fun and provide a educational environment for the local children based in English. At 8 I would take another class of older students from 10-13 who where much more capable and I was able to teach grammar, science, and play games again in an educational environment based in English. The classes had mixed levels of student and as much as anything else was very good fun to interact and play around with the local children. After the resource center I would return to my house which was two minute walk away to eat Dhal Bhat which was very good, fresh and really tasty. At 10 I would then go up to the Government Primary school, which is 5 minutes walk in the other direction. The school is very challenging, however the kids are great and you will feel very rewarded with the experience as the school has very little resources and only three teachers for five classes so you help will be well received. In the afternoons, I took the opportunity to walk around and visit surrounding villages as well as take short hikes up the surrounding valleys. The area is stunning and it was very easy to spend the afternoons wandering and enjoying everything around. If I didn’t feel like walking the house is a very comfortable place to sit around and read or write. I would then eat dhal again for dinner and sleep. The placement was awesome and Asim and other INFO Nepal staff members were very good at keeping up contact with me and making sure that everything was going well and if I had any requests that they would deal with them immediately and this was very comforting.

On Fridays I would return to Lakeside to meet up with the other volunteers and stay the night at the lakeside house which was very good to have available and a fun chance to have a break and meet up with friends. The house was very handy to have as an escape or a haven if you were feeling unwell. Krishna the INFO Nepal Pokhara staff member was also very helpful, friendly and good to have around.

After my placement was finished Krishna, was very good at organizing my trek in the Annapurna region and then was able to organize my return to Kathmandu after finishing trekking. The contacts which INFO Nepal supplies through doing your placement with the agency are priceless and help to make any subsequent traveling in Nepal you plan do in Nepal after or during your placement easy.

Asim, throughout my placement acted as not only a great organizer and contact but also as a great friend and it has been nice to have someone do such a good job at looking after you and making sure that your stay in Nepal is perfect and very enjoyable and I would like to thank him for everything he has been able to do for me throughout my placement and also after my placement warmly opening the Happy Home to me on my return to Kathmandu whilst I continued to travel around Nepal. Asim and all the INFO Nepal staff members are a great group of people who have made my trip in Nepal extremely enjoyable and I am thankful to be able to have met them and formed good friendships which I hope will last, and I look forward to my return to Nepal.

Volunteer report 

PETER LEE

Teaching in Nirmal Pokhari                                

Arrival

I arrived in Nepal from London on Monday 6 October, after a connection in Delhi. When I arrived, I was met by a man holding a sign with my name for INFO  Nepal, who took my bags along with another man and showed me to the car that was to take me to my accommodation in Kathmandu.

First week and Dasain

It turned out that I had arrived in Nepal in the middle of Dasain – the country's biggest religious festival. As a result, the majority of Info Nepal staff were away visiting family, so I stayed at Asim's (the project director) house in Kathmandu for 6 days with his family and a couple of other volunteers.

Asim and his wife were extremely hospitable, and were excellent in introducing me to Nepali culture (and cuisine!), ensuring that I got the most out of my time in Kathmandu, which due to the festival was significantly longer than I otherwise would have had, but was a good opportunity to acclimatize and learn as much as possible, including from the language lessons with Krishna, who was wonderfully patient and helpful.

Royal Chitwan National Park

On the Sunday after I arrived (12^th October) I took the 7 hour tourist bus down to the sub-tropical environment of Chitwan for a two day safari, which wasn't part of my original package, but since there were other volunteers going, I asked if I could tag along.  

The trip consisted of a stay in a simple but fairly comfortable lodge, one of a host packed together in Sauraha on the edge of the National Park. While there, we had a great time taking a ride down the river in a dugout canoe, seeing a host of birds, as well as a gharial and a marsh mugger crocodile, visiting the elephant stable and going on an elephant safari, where we saw five single-horned rhino, which was fantastic.

Nirmal Pokhari

Once the adventure in Chitwan was over, it was time for another 7-hour bus ride to Pokhara, in the shadow of the Annapurnas range. Pokhara itself turned out to be much more relaxed than the manic streets of Kathmandu and Thamel, with wider streets, significantly less traffic, and a generally more chilled out atmosphere.

Not that there was much time to soak it up, as I was met by another volunteer and we went down the road to Birautata to get the local bus up to Nirmal Pokhari, where I was going to be teaching for the next five weeks.

The bus rides to and from the village were one of the most memorable experiences of my time here. The 'road' was, from the bottom of the hill, simply dirt and rocks, and extremely steep, so the journey, which lasted just over an hour, was by far the bumpiest I've ever experienced, but remained enjoyable in a strange way. And I soon figured out that life was far more interesting, and the journey more pleasant, riding on the roof – once you get used to the fact that the bus comes very close to the edge of sheer drops down into thick jungle! All part of the fun.

On arriving at the village, and negotiating my way down a lengthy rock staircase (which I was to come to know very well over the next month) in the dark with my increasingly heavy rucksack, I was welcomed by my host family.

The host family – Laxman, his wife Sita and a host of others – in many ways made my stay in Nepal what it was. They were extremely kind, considerate and helpful, and made every effort to ensure that I was comfortable and happy. Also, the effort I had put into learning as much Nepali as possible really paid off, since the level of English in the village was limited (although Laxman's was fairly good, along with one or two others around). While the accommodation was unsurprisingly basic, and there was (as expected) no shower or flushing toilet, I think had those things been there then I might have felt that I wasn't getting the true experience of living a Nepali lifestyle with a Nepali family. As it is, I am leaving after my six week stay with a real sense of having genuinely lived amongst locals, never seeing another foreign face, except when taking my weekly trip into Pokhara for using the internet, making phone calls, and seeking out sustenance in the form of something other than daal bhaat (although there's no doubt that Sita is a fantastic cook!).

Teaching

The day after I arrived, I woke at 6am and was taken by the other volunteer staying with us – which was great, as it ensured I had someone who spoke English to show me around, and help me get to know the ins and outs of village life – to the Library in Maidan, which was back up the aforementioned rock staircase (I use the term 'staircase' in the loosest possible sense – suffice it to say that I didn't feel the need to do any other trekking while I was in Nepal).

The Library was where we taught the local children in the village, from around 6:45-8am every morning. The children were a lot of fun, even if at times some of them could become extremely attention seeking, but patience and a good sense of humour allow you to endure some of the more trying moments and really get a great deal out of teaching them and sharing your experience.

The facilities were pretty limited, but sufficient for our needs, and most of the children seemed to get something out of the lessons. However, the ages and ability of each varied enormously, so it was sometimes difficult to judge how to pitch different lessons. This was particularly true because the children that attended the private school in the village tended to have much better English than those attending the public school, which created an even greater imbalance. We soon determined that whatever happened, it was important to try and keep the lessons fun, the children occupied and involved, and not to try to do anything too difficult. In particular, it was extremely useful to have more than one volunteer teaching, since this made it much easier to keep the children amused and occupied, and provide additional help and attention to those that needed it. And sometimes, classes could be as much an exercise in crowd control as in teaching! But the children were great fun to be around.

In the evenings, we would also open the library for around an hour and a half, from about 4-4:15pm, just to let the children play and draw, since they were taught in the Library in the morning, and then had school all day, so we felt it was important to allow the children at least some down time in the day, which they otherwise might not have had. This generally worked well, although there was an extent to which some children would only come in the evenings to play, and not to the morning class, but it was difficult to determine the extent to which the various festivals that happened during my stay were the cause of varied attendance. Still, I tried a few different methods of trying to boost morning attendance, which to a greater or lesser degree seemed to work.

I also spent some time, outside festival periods, teaching in the public school about a half hour walk from the house where I was staying. Again, this was a lot of fun, but at times very difficult. On several occasions I was simply shown into a classroom and told to teach English. However, the level of English of many of the pupils was quite poor, and the teachers were trying to teach them some concepts that were almost certainly above the level of many of them, not helped by the fact that the English teacher's own English was far from perfect. In addition, the children in the school, as with those anywhere else, were extremely reticent and it often took attempts with several different methods of teaching to find one that elicited a response. Once again, the best thing that I found was to be enthusiastic, enjoy yourself, get a few laughs from the children and ensure that you taught them by writing on the board a lot, rather than just speaking, as they found reading and writing English easier than just talking.

Summary

Overall, I had a fantastic time in Nepal. While I had come here not intending to teach, I really enjoyed the experience and found the people here extremely friendly, helpful and honest, and the children a great deal of fun.

While above I have tried to point out some of the more difficult aspects of the placement, this is simply to give other volunteers an idea about what to expect, and allow them to think about how they might overcome such pitfalls.

But there is no doubt that my experience was overwhelmingly positive, in particular given that I was staying away from all the tourist places, living a genuine Nepali lifestyle with a wonderful family and in a beautiful village, where the views of the mountains were always stunning and never tiresome!

Post-Placement Feedback Form

Please fill this out carefully and with as much detail as possible.  Your feedback not only helps our future volunteers gain insight into what awaits them in their placement, but it helps with the continuity and quality of the help they can provide.  When you have finished the form, please send it to infonepal@mail.com.np

Name: Robin Lohse

Country: Denmark

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Placement Location: Syabrubesi

Host Family’s Name: Tamang

Date the Placement Began: 5.11.08

Date the Placement Ended: 25.11.08

Please answer the following on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best) and follow it with any additional comments:

Bedroom Quality: 8

Bathroom Quality: 9

Food quality: 9

Host Family: 10

Co-workers at placement: 9

Contact with INFO: 9

Helpfulness of Training: 9

Overall Satisfaction: 9

Please answer the following questions about your placement with as much detail as possible:

1)      What was your average day like?

On my average day, I woke up at 7, got some tea, and went down to the library for the older kids. We would practice some grammar and geography. Afterwards I went back to my host family and got some breakfast. Then I went 200m up a hill to the primary school where I would teach English in grades 1 to 4 from 10:00 to 13:10. Then, I would go back to my gust family, have lunch and otherwise have the rest of the afternoon off. In the evening, I would go to the library again, this time for the younger kids from 16:00 to 18:00. Afterwards I would have dinner with my guest family and prepare myself for the next day of school and library.

2)      What did you do, in as much detail as possible, at your placement?

I worked as an English teacher at the local primary school and at the library on most days. In the weekends, I did some trekking in the area to see some of the fascinating countryside of Nepal.

3)      What are some of the issues or challenges you faced?

One of the challenges I faced was that there where no lesson plans for teaching at the school. Therefore, I had to improvise the first day, and prepare them myself for the rest of the time.

4)      Advice to the next volunteer going to your placement?

I would advice t allow some time to do some activities such as trekking and to see some other parts of the country.

5)      Would you volunteer at this placement again?  Why or why not?

Yes, I would. The host family was nice and it was a beautiful area.

6)      Would you volunteer with INFO again?  Why or why not?

Yes. They have many different placement opportunities and you get a good feel of the country and the culture both during preparatory classes and during your placement.

7)      Suggestions or problems?

I did not have much contact to INFO when I initially came back to Kathmandu after my placement. It would have been nice to know what would happen next.

8)      Additional comments?
 

Nepal! An extreme country. Extreme conditions, extremely diverse and extremely beautiful. Nevertheless, it is also an extremely poor country. I have had an amazing 4 weeks here with a lot of memories and experiences I still cannot fully comprehend.

When I arrived at the airport, there was someone from INFO already waiting for me. I was taken to my hotel immediately and had some time to relax from the flight. I arrived when there was a big festival in Nepal, so I did not have any real language classes the first two days but we did some sightseeing, which was very nice. On the third day the language and culture classes started. We had a great teacher and it was really fun. We did some more sightseeing as well.

After a few days of training, I went to my placement in Syabrubesi. The bus trip was not that comfortable but the scenery was great. I arrived in the evening and found my host family very quickly. The where really nice and made my stay very pleasant. One pleasant surprise I had was the hot shower, which I had not expected. The first day there was a holiday so I had some time to look around and clean up the library.

My first real day with teaching started the next day and this was how most days went. I opened the library for the older kids in the morning and we would practice some grammar and geography. Afterwards I went 200m up a hill to the primary school where I would teach English in grades 1 to 4. Grades 1 and 2 were a little bit hard to teach since they did not speak any English at all and I did not speak that much Nepali. Teaching grades 3 and 4, however, was really fun. Then, I went back to my guest family to have lunch and otherwise have the rest of the afternoon off. At around 4 pm, I would go to the library again, this time for the younger kids. In the evening, I would have dinner with my guest family and prepare myself for the next day of school and library. Another volunteer arrived three days after I had arrived on a Friday so we had the next day off. Together we did a one-day trek up to a viewpoint close bye. The following weeks just flew bye with the happy kids we taught every day and some small treks we did in the weekends. Our host father was a trekking guide and accompanied us on the treks. He was really nice and fun.

I got a really nice surprise on the last day I was there. When I was finished at school, all the children and the teachers gave me a scarf and put in a tika on my head to say goodbye. It was very touching. My host family did the same when I got back home. Throughout the afternoon and evening, some of the kids form the library came and gave me their goodbye letters. We had a really nice evening and I was very sad to leave the next morning.

I have had a wonderful time here in Nepal, which I will never forget. I hope I can come back some time to see everybody again.

Annie : annie_083@hotmail.com or

Naomi: nao0019@hotmail.com  - Canada

Arriving in Nepal, we had pick up at the airport which took us to the happy home.  We were very welcome, felt like home. For the next few days, it was the festival of lights, so we experience the festival with the family. We had three mornings of language training and other useful information about culture and safety.  We visited the three temples near by, with the help of a guide. Once we left Kathmandu, we headed for Chitwan for our jungle experience.  We were picked up at the bus stop and taken to our lodge, where we spend two days.  We got to experience elephant ride in the jungle, jungle walk and canoe ride, bird watching, elephant bath, and Tharu culture program (typical Tharu dances). We also had some free time to walk through the village as well; we got to experience the famous sunset by the river.  After Chitwan, we were taken again to the bus station, where we took a bus to Pokhara, our placement.  A guide picked us up at the station and brought us to the children home.  The children were very excited to see us, the family was very welcoming.  For the next few days, we taught them more English and enjoyed playing with them.  During our free time, we did some sight seeing, went paragliding, experienced the shopping district, and the last two days we went trekking (at Panchase). Trekking was a wonderful experience, even thought it was tough at times, not what Westerners call trekking!  All considering, we had a blast!  After trekking, we went back to Kathmandu, where we once again got welcomed at happy home. The next morning we experienced the Mount Everest flight, we really recommend this, well worth the money! This is our last day here, and we have arrangements to the airport. We will miss Nepal and the people, and we will never forget our stay here.  

Louella Pabualan -  England- 24 /F

What Louella Pabualan says.............

1)      What did your average day look like in your placement ? 

Worked on an average 5/6 hours a day (due to extreme heat in the afternoon) Milking, feeding the animals, ploughing and weeding, cleaning the toilet and back yard after breakfast and dinner. Preparing methane gas, making chia, washing plates and cups. Ploughing and weeding the front garden of our host family and the orphanage back yard.

Afternoon: sweeping the floor around the house and back yard.

Evening: finishing off ploughing and weeding the front garden of our host family and the orphanage back yard. Fertilizing and planting seeding. 

Additional: We went shopping with our host father buying seeds and supplies for the house and kitchen. You have to look for the work and once you do, you assist in everyway possible (planting, cutting grass, making chia etc).

2)      What are some of the issues or challenges you faced?

Waking up early and ploughing were the biggest challenges! It was fun and I got use to it

3)      Advice to the next volunteer going to your placement?

Bring some garden cloves (heavy duty material) and blister plasters. Bring bug spray. You have to look for the work as the family are too polite to say no, but you have to insist on helping (even sweeping the floor etc). It gets really hot in the afternoon (June to August ) so there isn’t much you can do as the family rest during the hot afternoon. in this case its best to talk to the family, improve your nepali language and exchange interests etc

4)      Would you volunteer at this placement again?  Why or why not?

Yes, though it was physically challenging it was fun and the host family is lovely.

5)      Would you volunteer with info Nepal again?  Why or why not?

Maybe. I like to volunteer in other locations that Nepal Nepal doesn’t offer such as Thulo Shyabru.

6)      Do you want to say some things about the sataff ?

Saroj is a wonderful tour guide!!! Asmita and the family are sweet and hospitable. I’ve pushed myself to achieve beyond satisfaction all the activities thrown to me, and as a person I have become stronger mentally and physically. INFO Nepal cultural education of Nepali life has been really useful and insightful. I’ve made quite a few good friends during my experience, some I know will be life long friends. My experience with INFO Nepal has been challenging yet fulfilling

Thanks for your time reading this.

INFO Nepal
FamilyINFO Nepal
Family