Volunteer in Nepal, Teach children, Assist Orphan, Medical Internship, stay with local family, volunteer Asia, volunteer program nepal, volunteer organization, volunteer job, orphanage work nepal, teaching english nepal, health and sanitation internship, environment campaign

Our children are now used to with Chitwan village life. Mimgma loves village setting and felt like her village. Tengin is very happy to be in Chitwan then Kathmandu. Kathmandu water is very cold but here is not cold said Tengin.

Sarita is very happy to have many new friends in Ganganagar Happy Home. Sanjaya think he is very lucky to come to Happy Home and see his future bright. I have never thought to continue my study staying at my home as all of my 3 brother and sister could not continue their study because of the economy situation of my parents but now I can study said Sanjaya. Sanjaya is at our Happy home with his little sister. Sanjaya is brother of Sanjita whom we had 3 years before at happy home in Kathmandu. At le`ast two of my brother and sister are getting good education in my family said Sanjita with her lovely smile.

As Tengin had an accident by school bus and he has lost his Toy but now he is getting batter. A lot of thanks go to our volunteer Melita who is fully taking care of Tengin in Chitwan Happy Home.

We have very good news for this month as we have moved to our new happy home in Kathmandu. It was a bit sad to say good bye to old happy home as we had a lot of good memory with this house. But now we are very happy to move to our own home and felt like we are at home and safe.

My German visit went very successful as we had a partner Organization who is sending more volunteers to us. It was very knowledgeable to see Berlin city and try to feel about the quick development in the city. The memorial Church can tell how the 2nd world war was. It also tells you that how developed was Germany before 2^nd world war. Accept my loosing bag every things was great experience for me to visit Germany.

I would like to thanks to Silvia who was supporting for me to get Visa. We are looking forward for Bicky’s visit to Holland in March 2008 and out comes from his visit.

I arrived in Nepal knowing that my time here would at times be very challenging. I also hoped it would be very rewarding. It has been both.

After my weeks training, I had 7 weeks volunteering. I started in Syabru Besi (one of its many different spellings) in the Langtang Region but was not sure if I'd spend my full time there.

The town is at the end of the bus route so although it's in the mountains, it's not completely remote. There is also an internet café there but if you go there be prepared for it to be very slow and expensive.

When I first started there was another volunteer already there, which was a big help. I had no real teaching experience and it was nice to get an idea of what was going on and get eased into it gently before being left on my own.

Our main role there was to teach English in the library at the entrance to the town. We had a really good group of 4-7 kids aged around 12 that came before school. Their English was already pretty good and we were able to do some really good activities with them. There was meant to be an adult lesson during the day and up until the day before I arrived Mary had been teaching a couple of women and a man but during my time there I only ever had Ammar come. He was a soldier and I think was mostly self-taught so although his knowledge of the language was pretty good he needed conversation practice. For this it was good that there was just the one of him.

In the afternoon there was a mixed and varied crowd of kids. Apparently the week before I arrived there were a lot less. I'm not sure if word had spread that a new volunteer was coming or if it was just coincidence but my first day there were lots of kids that Mary had never seen before and they just kept on coming. Their English was very poor and I couldn’t even work out if they spoke Nepali or Tamang. It was very hard to keep them occupied for long and it was a great relief there were two of us.

As well as the teaching in the library there is a secondary school across the river that has had computers for just over a year. I was asked to help with the lessons but what I found was the loosest use of the work 'lesson' I have ever seen. The kids would run in and sit down in front of the machines then just do whatever they wanted. They were pretty much allowed to do anything apart from play games so during my first proper session I went round with the Windows CD and uninstalled the games but made sure Paint was installed. There was a typing tutor program to use or they used Word or Paint. If they didn’t feel like using these they would just randomly click on anything they found. So you would have lots of unwanted files, icons, shortcuts, copies of shortcuts etc. Between lessons I'd go round and tidy up the desktops. They did have a teacher but the only thing I ever saw her actually show them how to do was draw a house in Paint (not exactly a useful lifeskill). It also didn't help that her English wasn't very good so I found it hard to communicate with her. I'd spend most morning at the school then head back at their 1pm break fro the adult lesson at 2.

It would be a great help if someone had the time, knowledge and commitment to actually start proper lessons in the school. It would need to be properly planned with both the headmaster and the computer teacher being involved.

They have a great resource there that is currently being wasted.

After Mary left, things got more hectic in the afternoon classes, even though I had spent a lot of time planning (I really didn't dare to venture into these classes unprepared). The first week I was on my own was a real struggle. The group continued to get more varied with more of the very local children coming. There English was better as some of them went to the better primary school. Numbers still fluctuated.

I didn't know if I'd last the full 7 weeks up there but I was determined to not just quit when things got difficult. I'm glad I stuck it out for as long as I did. After nearly 2 weeks on my own Andrew arrived to join me.

Things were ok, carrying on as they had been, while there were two of us but, knowing we were having another volunteer come to join us and they would be left on there own, we decided to split the afternoon group into 2 classes. This worked surprisingly well on the first day but then numbers started dropping a lot and we sort of unofficially made it one group again. I think the numbers changing were partly due to exams coming up.

I decided that although I'd enjoyed my time there I'd like a change of scenery and get away from pure teaching. So I headed back to Kathandu at the same time as Andrew to move to the orphanage in Pokhara.

I came back from the mountains and after spending a couple of nights back in Kathmandu I went to Pokhara to work in one of the cities many orphanages. There are about 28 children there, with ages ranging from 4-13 (I think). 8 of these children go to school, including the 4 girls. There is a couple who live there with them and another woman that comes to cook for them.

The day I arrived was the first day of an English lesson for teenagers that was being started in the orphanage so I got stuck in and tried to establish what sort of level we would need to teach at.

As well as these teaching sessions at 4pm every day the routine consisted of teaching the children that aren't sponsored to go to school. They have a lesson at 10.10 and then another at 11.45, with a Nepali lesson in between. Then we were free from 12.30 while they had science and maths lessons.

My most enjoyable and rewarding time spent at the orphanage was outside of these classes. There were a few English story books there and I tried to get some of them reading them. With only classes in big groups and at very different levels, the children are not getting a lot of reading help. We also played out in the yard and generally gave the kids the affection they are not getting from other adults.

The orphanage has not been up and running for very long but hopefully we will continue to see improvements, both in the behavior and English of the kids, and in the property itself. The rooms get quite damp and the roof leaks and also makes the rooms very hot in the sun.

I wish I had had more time to really try to make a difference there but I'm also quite glad in a way that I 'm not there long term. It was hard enough leaving and having to say goodbye to the kids after only 2 weeks. I'm sure it would be a lot harder after a few months. They really are a great bunch.

Naomi and Damunda - Australia
27th Oct 2007

Our volunteer period of three weeks began with three days of Nepali language classes, about 3 hours a day. The language classes were informative, and Krishna our teacher was excellent and endlessly patient. Realistically however three days of classes in no way prepares you to converse in Nepali and assist in teaching English. During this time, we also spent two days at a village just outside Kathmandu. This gave us a solid introduction into village life, and it was interesting to have our language lessons in the village and being able to use the Nepali – no matter if our host family could not understand a word we said due to our poor pronunciation!|

From here, we were on the bus to Pokhara to our permanent placement in Nirmil Pokhari, a village about one – two hours (depending on conditions) bus rides from Pokhara. In Pokhara, due to the remoteness of the village, we had to wait about 4 hours for a bus to the village and finally arrived at about 7pm at night. It was a grueling 13 hours of travel and waiting around, but our family welcomed us with kindness and a hot meal.

Nirmil Pokhari is a beautiful village situated above the Pokhara valley. Our day consisted of waking up at about 6.00am to be at the resource center, about a ten-minute walk up a steep hill, at 7.00am. We taught between 5 – 20 kids, ageing from about two to eleven years old, for an hour and half. This was often a challenging experience, especially since we have had no prior teaching experience, and we were often grateful that there were two of us, since controlling and teaching children of varied ages and capabilities would have been otherwise impossible. Some children were responsive and genuinely interested in learning, while others were just there to play around. Although we came to teach English, we found in many cases it was a difficult task because we could not speak enough Nepali to properly instruct or convey what we meant in terms of activities and tasks. Nevertheless, we found the children were enthusiastic about the centre and loved coming there, which made opening the centre every morning worthwhile, especially when there would be kids waiting every morning without fail at the top of the hill for us.

During the day, we spent our time teaching English at the local government secondary school. Teaching at the school was an impossible task - the children were not at all interested in anything we had to say, and generally, if the teachers did not feel like teaching they would send us to their class. Often they would ask us to teach subjects such as Social Science; even though we explained numerous times that, we were unable to speak Nepali. Making the task harder was the outdated English textbooks, which contained numerous spelling and grammatical errors, and inaccurate information about different countries. Something INFO could consider is providing this school with more appropriate textbooks (we found some really interesting and colorful textbooks for about 65 Indian Rupees). We often left the school feeling frustrated because we were achieving little to nothing there and as were not provided with anything else to do during the day it was our only option to return there each day.

Our afternoons were spent 5 – 6.30pm at the Resource center again. This was by far the most productive part of our day. Only three students came each session, but they had excellent English skills, and this ability to properly communicate meant that we were able to teach them about more complex and advanced topics. The kids that attended this session were also two of the children from next door. Jeevan and Pradip made our experience in the village - they provided us with so much information, company, fun, and a real desire to learn and we will never ever forget them.

Our host family was also very kind, Laxman was always willing to help, and Sita provided us with delicious Dahl baht constantly.

One thing we would suggest if you go to this placement is take a mosquito net and maybe insect spray because we had a few problems with the world's largest spiders.

Overall, the placement in Nirmil Pokhari has its ups and downs. Leaving the resource centre, which will now stay closed until another volunteer arrives is disappointing, as the children do not have any continuity in their learning. The centre is well stocked with books – however they are aimed at kids with a far more advanced grasp of English. A great benefit would be to provide some simple children's books that would help them develop their English.

Natalia Pratt - USA
15th Oct 2007

Wow! What an experience. I arrived in Katmandu, and instantly started exploring the city-which is busy with cars, motorcycles, people, cows, bicycles, and horns. Katmandu never sleeps it seems. One of the first nights, all the volunteers were welcomed into Happy Home, where we ate Dal Bhaat for the first time, eating it traditionally, forming balls of rice and dal with our hands, and scooping it into our mouths. A little awkward for someone who has grown up being told not to eat with your hands-right? We all danced and had fun getting to know each other, and also got some insight on what the program, which we had signed up with to volunteer for, was really about. Everyone was so warm and welcoming.

We spent the first week learning all the Nepali that we could in the class with Rama, and practicing all that we could in the streets and at restaurants with the locals. It was so fun to be able to say even just one sentence correctly in a restaurant, at a roadside shop, or in our hotel at Cosmic. After this week, we were off to training in Dhulikhel.

Dhulikhel was amazing! INFO arranged us to meet up with a young man named Pashupati -what a character! He warmly welcomed us to his village, showed us around, and inquired about our lives. My buddy and I stayed in different houses, getting to experience 2 families. My family was great-so open to getting to know you, teach you about their culture and let you witness their everyday lives. I had 2 sisters, 1 brother, and a mom and dad. We all sat in one room and ate Dal Bhaat on the dirt floors, and then I shared pictures of my home and family with them, all while trying my best to use the Nepali I had learned. They really appreciate when try to speak their language-even if it is not perfect-and even if you only remember 2 words. Training left a great impression on me, and I was ready to be placed in a village to do my volunteering and to meet some more amazing people.

I was placed for one month in Shyabrubensi, which is north of Kathmandu, in the Lang Tang region. The bus ride out there was killer, but once we got there and met our family, everything was great. We volunteered in a children's resource center, where kids came before school and after school to learn English and to play. We had the older kids in the mornings from 7-9am, and the younger kids in the evening from 4-6pm. We learned that we could do educational activities in the morning, which the older kids enjoyed and understood. However, in the evenings, there was too wide of a range in ages and abilities to have a "formal" educational lesson be successful. With this group, we adopted a more casual way of teaching and had a lot of fun teaching them things through activities and games. The kids are great, so alive and full of energy, eager to learn and show you their progress. It is crazy to think that these kids get up, at their own will, 3 hours before they have to go to school, just to get an extra 2 hour a day to learn something more. What dedication and respect they have for their education. I will definitely never forget what I felt while I was in Shyabrubensi, nor what I learned from this experience.

The people who I met in the streets, at restaurants, in the village, at the resource center, on a hike, or just those who I exchanged a warm "Namaste!" with, will leave a print on my heart forever.

My Volunteer Experience.

Sarah Cooke, Australia.

Nirmal Pokhari

15th Nov 2007

My experience in Nepal with INFO has been absolutely amazing. I arrived by myself but four other volunteers arrived at the same time so we became friends and met often during my time in Nepal. We started with sight seeing around Kathmandu and a Nepali language course. Rama, my Nepali teacher, was fantastic. Not only did she teach us some basic Nepali she also gave us some much needed cultural knowledge. We then spent one night at a training village. I stayed with a very poor family so it was confronting and eye opening, a once in a lifetime experience. I then headed to Pokhara with the other volunteers. We had some free time there to relax and explore. Unfortunately, Saskia, the volunteer I was paired up with, and I became ill with food poisoning. We visited a great doctor, received anti-biotics and soon recovered. We then headed to our placement at Nirmal Pokhari. Nirmal Pokhari is a stunningly beautiful village at the top of a mountain. It has breathtaking views on the Pokhara valley and the Himalaya. The villagers are all very welcoming and respectful; we were greeted with cheerful 'namaste!'s wherever we ventured. The host family there were hospitable and loving. Sita, the host mother, is a fantastic cook and she makes sure you do not go hungry! There were approximately 25 students who frequented the resource centre for our lessons. They were energetic and enthusiastic! Saskia and I also taught at the local secondary school for a few hours most days. The teachers are very grateful to have volunteers come to help with their own, and the students, English pronunciation. The students were very curious and sometimes we felt like animals in the zoo, always observed with great interest. Overall the experience was fantastic. I recommend INFO Nepal to all travelers who have a passion for new, and sometimes challenging, experiences. What I have learnt and experienced here will stay with me forever.

THE NEW CHITWAN HAPPY HOME IS UP AND RUNNING!!

We have some very good news regarding our new Happy Home in Chitwan. It is finally up and running! On September 6^th, after having moved in all the materials, four INFO Nepal volunteers and one Nepali staff member welcomed the 13 children to the New Happy Home. The children are 6 to 9 years old. They attend an English Medium School every day, from nursery through class 2. Three of the children are from the Happy Home in Kathmandu, four are from Sauraha, and six were brought from the Goljung region of Langtang.

Thanks to our volunteer and staff, everything seems to be running quite smoothly at the Happy Home. The lice and scabies from the children’s hair and arms are gone (thanks in great part to Helen Henderson’s nursing skills!), and the children have adjusted to their new environment.

At the new Happy Home, we have built nine rooms – one kitchen, one dining room, one large study hall, two rooms for volunteers, and four rooms for the children. There is, additionally, a beautiful garden and playground in the backyard, a library of 500 books, some games (including the much-loved Caram Board), a fridge/freezer, and even a TV/DVD!

Past volunteers may remember Tenjing, Mingma, and Sarita from the Happy Home in Kathmandu. To update you on what they think of their new lives in Ganganagar, Chitwan: Tenjing is very happy to be in Chitwan Happy Home but he is missing Nawarash. Mingma is enjoying the rural setting, as she is able to go to the Rapatip River on the weekends for fishing. She is also being a very good help to Mumy as well as the other children. Sarita was a little worried about the heat of Chitwan at first, but has now realized that when winter arrives she will still be able to take hot showers, so now she is quite happy! All three children, being very experienced in the running of Happy Home, have now taken on leadership roles in Chitwan.

We would like to thank Colm McKeown, Helen Henderson, Annelen Schartner, and Roland Trauer for their help in the first month of operation at the Happy Home. Without their help and input, such a smooth start to our Happy Home would not have been possible.

F.Y.I. We will be sending our children back to their villages for the Dashain Festival. When they return, we will make a two-year plan for each child. If you are hoping to sponsor a child, please contact us and we will send you the children’s details after Dashain, when the children have returned from their villages.

Thanks to our volunteer, Spela Sebjanic, we have started a new placement in the Solokhumbu area of Nepal.

Spela traveled independently to this region, wanting to make contact with a more remote, and just as direly in need, place. Upon her return, Spela couldn’t say enough good things about her school and host family. This peaked the attention of another volunteer, Andrea Fall. She promptly dropped her plan to go to Pokhara, and instead journeyed the 11 hour bus ride and 5 day walk to get to Mude. She will be there for 6 weeks teaching English at the local school.

Because of the initiative of these two volunteers, INFO has decided to expand the placement in this area of Nepal. We have now made contact with three remote hillside schools in Solokhumbu, all a 1-hour walk from one another. Roughly 200km East of Kathmandu, and home of Mount Everest, Solokhumbu is now our most remote placement.

One of the three schools with whom we have made contact has now received two volunteers, but the other schools have never had a volunteer and they are very eager to receive help from our future volunteers. For those with English skills and teaching confidence, do not hesitate to experience the unique and wonderfully friendly culture of the Solokhumbu area while helping to improve the quality of teaching in this remote area of Nepal.

To hear more about our volunteers’ experiences in this placement, contact them at:

To receive more details about the three placements we have established in the Solokhumbu area, contact Brittany or Asim at infonepal@mail.com.np

September marked the end of Mr. Ryan Betters' time at INFO Nepal. He had worked as our Volunteer Coordinator for 10 months, being a reliable and helpful figure for the staff and volunteers. We were very sad to see him go and we will miss him terribly.

The good news, however, is that in his place we have found a fantastic replacement. Brittany Sears started as the new Volunteer Coordinator at the end of August and has quickly learned the ropes here at INFO Nepal. Please direct any future queries to her.

Arriving at Kathmandu airport was a bewildering experience, with about thirty taxi drivers all trying to grab my bags and lead me to their car. Somehow, I managed to meet up with another Info volunteer and we were soon on our way to the guesthouse for the first night. The traffic was incredible to watch, and we had our first accident (a minor bump) within 10 minutes! Bicky took us out to dinner and made us feel very welcome, and the next day we moved to the Happy Home orphanage.

All the children had been moved from Happy Home as the new orphanage in Chitwan was about to open, so there were only volunteers staying in Kathmandu. I had a few days of sightseeing, cultural training and language lessons, which were very useful for bartering in the shops of Thamel! I was able to practice the language more at the training village where I spent one night with a host family to get a taste of Nepali life. The family was very hospitable and made me feel welcome with a huge plate of dhal baat and a comfortable room.

My placement was at a resource centre in the village of Thulakhet, about an hour's bus journey from Pokhara. It made for a relaxing and very welcome change from the noise and pollution of Kathmandu. The host family was again very welcoming, and made me feel like part of the family. I was allowed to help with a few household tasks such as cutting grass for the buffalo, but they were very concerned about me getting too tired and often refused to let me help! The village is in a beautiful location, at the end of the Pokhara valley, with the lake and city just visible. There is a perfectly clear river that is great for swimming, and you can see the Annapurna peaks on a clear day. The room was quite basic, with a very healthy complement of rats, spiders and cockroaches, and a mattress made of wood, but I soon became accustomed to it and eventually found it quite cosy!

A typical day at the placement involved getting up at about 6am, teaching one class from 7-8am, and another from 8-9am. The first class had anything from 3 to 15 children in it, aged around 2-5 years old, and it was hard to teach them anything more advanced than the alphabet, so this lesson usually descended into chaos and plenty of clapping, running and jumping games! The second lesson had children aged from 7 to 10, and was much more relaxed. I was able to teach a range of different things, from the months of the year, past and future tense, geography, different musical instruments, animals and likes and dislikes. The standard of English was variable, and some students struggled. The more advanced children would often finish their own work and then take over from the weaker children, simply writing in their books. There seems to be an attitude that as long as the work is completed, it does not matter who wrote or understood it. I made some headway in changing this.

After my morning classes at the centre, I volunteered at the nearby primary school, which was a bit of a shock. The school had five classes and only four teachers. However, the teachers spent the majority of the day chatting in the staff room, so usually at least three classes were without supervision. Teaching here was a challenge, as the children would copy things from the board without trying to comprehend what I was saying. I observed this behaviour in Nepali, history and maths classes as well, and the teachers accepted it as unchangeable. The teacher's level of English was quite poor, and they admitted that they sometimes had difficulty with the textbook! I had to point out to them where England was on a map. The school had no resources to speak of, and it was not a good advertisement for government education. It did show that the resource centre was working well, as the children that attended had a much better understanding of English than those that relied solely on the school!

In the evening, I would teach another class of slightly older students at the resource centre, most of them attending the nearby secondary school. It seems that the standard of education improves dramatically at secondary level in Thulakhet, as the English spoken in this class covered similar topics to the morning, but at much faster pace and in more depth. All the students had confidence and ability with both spoken and written English, and look forward to the classes immensely. They were very unhappy when Saturday arrived and no lessons took place!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Thulakhet and Nepal. As well as teaching, I managed to spend a weekend in the Chitwan jungle, and take a 5-day trek around Pokhara. Unfortunately visiting during the monsoon meant that the clouds obscured the mountains and the leeches were out in force, but this did not distract from the experience. I would certainly recommend spending time in beautiful Thulakhet with the wonderful host family. I am certain that the volunteers, resource centre and InfoNepal are making a truly positive impact on the children of the village.

Rising at the crack of dawn to walk for an average of 7 hours a day, hauling yourself uphill backpack in tow, struggling not to slip in 6 inches of snow and a serious lack of hot showers may not seem like everyone’s ideal way to spend 4 days – but put yourself in the stunning surroundings of the Annapurna mountain range, with breathe-taking views, fresh air, and isolation from the commotion of city life, and you may have one of the most unforgettable and amazing experiences of your life.

When I was initially planning my gap year travelling, I knew Nepal had to be one of my stops: not only to absorb the culture of such a fascinating and diverse nation, but also to experience the enormity of natural beauty it had to offer. It was my first time doing serious trekking, so naturally I was concerned at my ability to do it, but the team at INFO was ever- obliging and great in reassuring me, especially Bicky, who accompanied us as our very entertaining and good-humored guide.

Though tough at times, the overall experience of the trek was fantastic – I don’t think I have ever done anything as physically challenging that left me with such a sense of accomplishment at the end. The diverse landscape also meant you were constantly taking in a range of views of the vast terrain: from lush green covered hills, to blankets of fresh snow and muddy woodland.

Even though The Royal Trek is one of the easier treks, there were some grueling parts (especially since I am not the epitome of fitness): at one point, we had to climb 3,300 steps up to Ulleri, the village where we spent our first night. After what felt like a never ending experience, especially as the sun had disappeared, and being extremely sweaty from the mornings stretch, all I wanted to do was have a nice hot shower, and not climb thousands of steps uphill. Getting to the top was tremendously fulfilling though, as well as a great relief, and it was exciting to see our first bits of snow. Having some snow on the trek definitely turned out to be a lot of fun – the boys certainly enjoyed attempting to play various sports using snow, including heading a ‘football’ and using a stick as a make-shift baseball bat. It also added to the picturesque surroundings, which were so tranquil and beautiful – at times, I felt like I was walking through the forests in Narnia. I remember a moment when we got to the top of a snow-topped peak, we were greeted with the most amazing 360 degree view of the mountain range – it was brilliant! But sometimes, it became less visually appealing, and posed as an additional obstacle…

Walking downhill in the snow turned out to be a more arduous and difficult task than it first appeared, and after slipping and falling more than a few times, I found myself wishing for a pair of ski’s – it would’ve been faster and probably a lot easier! The boys were slightly more adventurous than me going down the big slopes – they just slid down on their bums! Something I refused to do at first, because let’s face it; frost bite on your behind is never a good thing. I must admit at one point, I became increasingly infuriated at my lack of pace compared to them and attempted to crouch and slide down a hill. But whilst I tried not to get too close to the edge (as there was a considerable drop down), I managed to flip myself over onto my side and crashed into the guys. Not so good, but very entertaining for the rest of the group…

Climbing Poon Hill to see the sunrise was an incredible highlight – though getting up at 5am and then going out into the bitter cold and total darkness of the early hours, aided by only a torch to climb 400m was not my idea of the perfect Sunday morning. Nevertheless, making it to the top in time to see the luminous hue of orange creeping into the sapphire blue skyline, casting its warm rays onto the snow capped mountains whilst sipping on hot chocolate was absolutely sumptuous. What came to follow the spectacle of the sunrise, however, was possibly the hardest thing I have done – I think I pushed every bone, muscle, ligament, and all my other body parts to the maximum. We knew we had a good 8-9 hour walk ahead of us, so we set off early, walking 5 hours straight. After the first few hours, the sun had gone away, and the surfaces seemed more slippery than usual. I was beginning to think, “Why am I doing this to myself?” - I was cold, tired, and hungry, my feet were wet, and it felt like our destination was miles away. Regardless, after a quick stop for lunch, we carried on another 3 hours to Ghandruk, our resting place for the night. I’ve never been happier to see a trekker’s lodge than I was at that moment. I remember hugging Bicky and saying, “We did it!” – 10 ½ hours of walking, finishing in one day what most people take a day and a half to do.

Sometimes the best part of trekking was reaching your destination triumphantly, the trekkers lodge, at the end of a day’s walk. With cold, often wet feet, exhausted, and in need of a hearty meal, it was almost decadent warming myself by a nice fire with a hot cup of tea, accompanied by other trekkers from all over the world. The lodges, though basic, boasted a lively, spirited atmosphere - with only our banter to keep us entertained, we sat around the fire exchanging life and travel stories. It was also great being able eating copious amounts of food as this was probably one of the only times that I could eat so many carbs without wanting to kill myself! Finally, the evenings would end with people dropping into their beds one by one at shamefully early hours (I think 7:30pm was the most disgraceful of my bed times…).

At the end of the trek, I was left with blistered feet, bruised toe nails and aching muscles – but I also had the most amazing and cherished memories of a fantastic expedition that rounded up my experience in Nepal perfectly – all thanks to the brilliant team at INFO Nepal. I’m already planning when I can return to try a more challenging trek!

I have to admit, being the first stop in our travels, and our first placement, the thought of staying here for a month was a bit daunting – but at the same time, exciting, because I knew I would learn so much from it. I had decided that I wanted to volunteer in an orphanage rather than teach because I wanted to really give something back to children who weren’t as fortunate as me to have a stable family growing up.

Having stayed at the Happy Home for the first two weeks, any daunting thoughts were firmly expelled – the warm, welcoming atmosphere created by Asim and his family really made me and Menisha feel at home. He had warned us though that the orphanage we would be placed at wouldn’t be as comfortable as the Happy Home, which was described as the ‘Club Med’ of orphanages. But I had gone in with no preconceptions, and the beautiful, beaming smiles from the innocent faces of the children was enough to settle us in. They were what I can only describe as amazing – full of life, energetic, and always polite and courteous. I often found myself thinking back to how children in the UK had lost these basic childhood traits. All the children we had met in Nepal had been absolute gems, and the children at the orphanage were no exception. I was deeply touched by how cheerful and content they were with what little they had, and how much love they showed us: they were always singing and dancing with us, making us gifts, and above all, smiling. I wondered if I would have anything to offer them, and whether I could make a long-lasting difference.

We mainly helped with the daily runnings of the orphanage. At only 22 years old, Ram looks after all the children at the orphanage, as well as his own two young boys. He’s the same age as me, but you’d never guess it. He does so much more than just running the orphanage; he is like a father figure, or at least an older brother, to all the children. It’s quite remarkable how selfless this young man is – there is so much genuine love from his heart to every one of these children. During the week we would help get the children ready for school, getting them their breakfast and making sure they were washed and that their homework was done. The evenings would involve us helping them with their homework, playing with them, and serving them dinner, before seeing them off to bed. It’s emotionally and physically draining work looking after 31 kids, especially when you consider the extremely tragic and heartbreaking circumstances of most the children, their ages ranging from 3 to 15. You can understand why they crave the love and attention. It’s incredible to think Ram normally does this single-handedly.

His hospitality to us was unbelievable; he was always looking out for us and making sure we were comfortable and happy. He often took us out to explore the charming village of Dhapasi whilst the children were at school, and took great care of us. It was rewarding to show him our appreciation for his kindness by helping him with his English - he had such a determination to learn, and it was a pleasure to help him, as well as the children with their studies. There were some real bright sparks amongst the children - their English is surprisingly good, better than I would have thought, really putting my knowledge of two sentences of Nepali to shame!

It was difficult at times as my energy levels tended to wane, but I had to keep remembering why I was there and what I was doing. It was heart-warming seeing them after they got home from school or after we returned from a days’ outings, watching them pour onto the balcony from below, waving and shouts of ‘Hello Anisha sister’. Sometimes, your presence means so much to them: just being there for them and giving them support whilst teaching them a few basic life skills along the way was appreciated so much. William, the previous volunteer, had taught the children valuable lessons, such as always washing their hands before and after a meal, and they took great pride in holding their soap scented hands to our noses to show that they had remembered.

Our last day there was particularly memorable – we had bought the children a new football to play with, and some sweets and chocolates. It was fantastic seeing the children sitting patiently waiting for us to hand them their treats, as opposed to crowding around us chaotically as we’d experienced when we first arrived. We had showed them how to be orderly, patient and wait their turn. They also had a lovely leaving ceremony for us, where we were completely showered with flowers, hugs and kisses, and had more red powder thrown at us, after having just removed the last remains from Holi. It was so sad leaving them and saying our goodbyes – as our cab pulled away they once again poured onto the balcony waving, faces still beaming.

One of the young girls whispered to me as I left, “Never forget us” – and I never will. Nor will they forget us. It was an absolutely brilliant and worthwhile experience, and I learnt that although you might not change their world completely, you can still give them hope for a better future.

Well where can I start, this has been the most amazing and unique experience of my life. When I first arrived in Kathmandu. I was incredibly nervous but those nerves soon went away after meeting other volunteers. I had so much fun meeting everyone else in my group and sightseeing. We spent a few days getting used to the culture and the food, learning Nepali was helpful with my placement. The training village was a major cultural shock on the first night and I barely slept but the next few days went by too quickly. I really enjoyed hiking up to see what Pashupati called 'heaven' and it really was. The views were spectacular and what amazed me even more was how a single rock kept five volunteers and three kids amused for almost two hours. Life at the training village was difficult at times, (We didn’t shower for two days) but it’s the families that make your stay memorable.

After returning from Dhulikhel (and after a much needed hot shower) we went for dinner (…and drinks) at happy home. We were out until two in the morning knowing we had a 6 o'clock start the next day. We spent the next two days rafting and camping. It was a challenge trying to sleep in a hot tent with scorpions around us but we managed a good two hours. Chitwan was a lot more luxurious (…we had a bed to sleep on). I will never forget riding the elephant into the river and bathing it.

After all the activities, I arrived at my placement in Pokhara only to be down and out with flu. Ramesh my host father was a great help in looking after me for the next few days. I spent just under three weeks at my placement at the orphanage. The kids were brilliant and I wish I were there another month. I was excited when Asim gave us money to decorate the classroom and it now looks like a place where children can learn. The kids despite their naughty outbursts were very cute and I did contemplate sneaking one into my suitcase. We laughed, we played, we had so much fun being creative with the resources we had. On my last day I had a mixture of emotions, I was extremely sad to leave but I was happy knowing that I had contributed to the orphanage in some way.

It has been difficult to say bye to Nepal. I have shared some unforgettable moments with amazing people and I hope I can return someday very soon.

We spent nearly 2 weeks at the Nimal Pokhari placement. It is about an hour bus ride from Pokhara in a hilly jungle area. It is a lush area, they grow bananas, coffee, pineapples and oranges. We helped plant rice when we were there. We stayed with a lovely family who cooked really great food everyday and invited us to a family wedding.

The placement in the resource library was fun and very popular with the children. Lots of the older children can already speak quite good English due to private school education and especially loved the games we played at the library. The younger children really seemed to benefit from the extra English.

We also visited the orphanage in Pokhara for street kids. It is a new project that Info Nepal is beginning to support and seems to be very worthwhile.

After a quick training in Kathmandu, including excellent Nepali lessons from Rama and a memorable visit to the training village of Dhulikhel , I was quickly off to Pokhara to work at a new orphanage for street children for a 14 day placement.

James – my co-volunteer – and I taught English in the mornings to about 22 children ranging from 5 – 14 yrs.. We also took them off to play football, and had visits for splashing and washing at a local "waterfall", and generally got totally involved with life at the orphanage.

I had brought musical instruments with me - bells, claves, triangles, drums, a guiro, a slidewhistle, a gazoo – also lots of scarves ( wish I had brought more) - and my lessons were almost totally music based – singing, playing. using scarves and dancing – but teaching them English through this medium. I had the most enormous fun doing this – and the kids responded with enormous enthusiasm.

This has been the most magical 3 weeks for me – meeting so many wonderful, friendly Nepali people, living in Pokhara with probably the most hospitable family(Ramesh and Deeta ) you could ever meet, and really experiencing Nepali life - and food!The children, who had nothing but the clothes they stood up in, gave out so much love and friendship and fun – I will never forget them.

Due to the daily rain, the work at the new Happy Home in Kathmandu is going slowly. The stairs and plastering outside will soon be finished.

The compound around the home is finished and the water supply and electricity also finished. The door and windows are waiting for the glass to be fixed in.

We have very happy news for this month - we are heading to Chitwan with 10 Orphanage children very soon to accommodate them at our Happy Home in Chitwan, Ganganagar. In my last visit there, I found a good school where all of our children can go and this is just 15 minutes walking distance from Happy Home. I have found a woman who can provide care for our children and we are looking for another woman who can help with the cooking and cleaning. We will be hiring a girl from the village who can teach the children in the morning and evening and make sure that they are well dressed for school with all the right books and homework completed. The girl will also help the children with morning exercise, teaching songs, dance and making them more sociable.

We are also looking for long term volunteers (a couple would be good), to look after all the administration and act as parents for these children. We would like to give a big thanks to those who have donated money towards this project. There is an attachment on this newsletter with all the details of expenses for the new Happy Home at Ganganagar, Chitwan.

Thanks to Jim ji and Jenny Frink from UK, Alan from USA, and Nicky, John, Antja, Merly and Affica from Ireland who have contributed to this project.

All the INFO Nepal staff would like to thank Nick and Brian, the volunteers who have just finished with us. They have helped us manage our accounts, our incoming volunteers, the host families and the placements. Nick ji we will miss your support at the office and Brian ji we will miss your friendliness and your help taking volunteers out to show them the Nepali way. It was really a great help from Nick and Brian in July as we had 40 new volunteers coming at that time.

To celebrate INFO Nepal's 7th Anniversary, some of our past volunteers from the UK are going to organise an INFO Nepal Reunion Day on the 22nd September in London. We are looking at meeting in Oxford to take advantage of the inexpensive housing during summer break. Ryan Betters, who has come to join INFO Nepal 7 times, is going to lead this event. If you are interested in attending this event then please contact Ryan at rdb2114@columbia.edu. If you want to buy something from Nepal (pashmina, etc) then please write us an email at infonepal@mail.com.np so that we can send the stuff from here - the profit of these sales will go towards our Happy Home children's recreation activities in Chitwan.

From this July, we are starting a new project in Pokhara that is "Street Children Education support" . So far we now have four projects in Pokhara where we can place 8 volunteers and group volunteers will be the best way forward for these placements. We have placed volunteers at the Street Children Shelter home in Pokhara and they have supported children with their homework and given extra teaching. Last week we donated blankets and beds for the children. Soon we are heading there with bunk beds and to set up a classroom inside the home. There are 27 children aged 7 to 13 years old. We need volunteers who can teach extra activities, songs, dance and some physical activities.

Donation for New Happy Home in Chitwan - Marie McIvor, Ireland

Where to begin?! I have had the most amazing time in Nepal and INFO has been brilliant! This was our (myself and Aifric, my traveling buddy) first volunteering experience and I am already planning when I will be able to come back!

Firstly we had training and sightseeing in Kathmandu, the language training was great fun and Rama, our teacher,S also told us a bit about the culture and people as well. Everything was taken care of by INFO and the organization was great! I love this city, so much to do and so alive, everyone should come to Nepal, it’s like nowhere else! We had also raised extra money for the charity and it was great that we were able to have a say in where it went. It went to a new Happy home for 20 children. With the money we raised we were able to practically finish the building!

Our training village was Dhulikhel and the family we stayed with were wonderful. The mountains were a breathtaking sight (especially for us islanders who have no national mountains to speak of!). There were several families living together, lots of children, and right from the beginning we were made to feel at home. They welcomed us and we were soon part of the family! We even got treated as daughters of the house during a festival and were immersed in the family spirit!

While sightseeing in the area we got stuck on our way home. It was pouring rain and due to a landslide we couldn’t walk home, we were forced to take a local bus. Not to be outdone by the weather Aifric, Pashurpati (our charismatic guide) and I climbed onto the roof of the bus and held on as we hurtled down the mountainside taking hairpin bends at great speed and feeling the pelting rain on our faces. It was over too soon, but it is something I will never forget.

Our placement was in Sauraha, Chitwan. We lived in the orphanage with the children and I’m at a loss as to how to describe what our time there was like. There are 14 children in all, ranging in age from 11 to 19 years. They have created a family for themselves and I have never seen anything like the familial bond they have with each other. They showed us around, taught us about the area, entertained us and we in turn helped with homework, held competitions, corrected English and generally helped wile away their summer holidays. We also bought things for the orphanage with the money we had raised and took them on as many outings as we could think of! Aamaa took such great care of us and the food was wonderful, we even tried to help with the cooking! The children appreciated everything we did for them and were so loving, it was easy to forget that we were not all related; I left with 14 new siblings.

During our last week in Sauraha we also helped out in the local resource centre and library close by. We taught 5 classes a day, to children ranging from 4 to 17 years. The children were so eager to come in and learn, it was a joy to see them everyday. We were also lucky enough to be there for national teacher’s day (Guru Puja). One of the older classes made us traditional festival food and we were given tika by the class, talk about feeling appreciated!

In all my traveling I have never been so sad to leave a place. Our last night was such fun, we threw a party and despite a power cut at the beginning, had food, presents for all, music and dancing and a big chat about everything we learned, did and would miss about our time in Nepal. The stars were out in force and my most fond memory of my month here is looking up at the clear Chitwan sky, surrounded by children, and marveling at all I’ve experienced.

Thank you to everyone at INFO! It has been the most eye opening, fulfilling month of my life. My only regret is that I will not be able to describe my experiences well enough to truly show how much the children and my whole experience has meant to me

I had the chance to work with many different children during my 2 months volunteering with INFO Nepal, and stayed with three different families. My first placement in Sauraha, Chitwan, I stayed for 1 month and was received with true warmth and welcome. My host family was absolutely amazing, spoiling me with attention and kindness. It was there that I was fortunate enough to witness firsthand the generosity of the local people. I worked in the resource centre there 6 days a week, teaching English and playing games. In all three of my placements, I was met with groups of amazing children who were eager to learn, play, sing, dance, and share their knowledge. My experience here was vastly memorable and full of many surprises and hardships, and I am already looking forward to my return in the future. INFO Nepal is a wonderful organization that allows volunteers to really be a part of a community and family while providing many important services throughout Nepal to those most in need. The staff offer various level of support and guidance throughout your visit, and were an amazing group to be a part of for a short while. I wish them all the best, and am ever grateful to my family in Magartole who let me be a part of their life.

I was born in Hong Kong and have been living there for 19 years, brought up in a traditional Chinese family, breathing the air of Chinese culture. It was not until two years ago when I decided to go to the UK to study medicine that I had my first glimpse of the world outside. There are so many things to learn from other countries that I started to switch my mind to focus more on international issues. In medical school, there are a lot of volunteering opportunities to offer help to people in the third world countries by offering medical services. Most of my colleagues have done quite a lot of volunteer work before but I did not have any experience in this field and because of the heavy workload in medical school, I could not spare extra time doing those services. To do something to make this world a better place has always been the reason why I chose medicine as my career. However, I felt that I lack the skills and the experience to do this.

Finally in this summer 2007, I decided to come to Nepal to do some volunteering work, gain some new skills and learn more about my weakness. I went to Ganganagar in Chitwan to work for a local health post in Patihani VDC. The health post is sort of like primary health care clinic, mainly dealing with some general health problems such as cut wounds, eye irritation, fever, inflammation etc. It also deals with specific diseases such as eczema, fungal infection, TB etc. You may find the place a bit empty on your first impression as it only has basic medical equipments in place, and the interior setting of the clinic is a bit disorganized. However, the health post plays a crucial role in taking care of the health of the people in the village. During my two weeks' stay there, I learnt a lot of things from there, including getting to know how the health care system works in the area, the public health data of the area, the local health knowledge and health believes of the people, and the treatment approaches used by the local health care workers. It was a good opportunity to compare the local health care system with that of the western world. My observation skills and my critical thinking skills were strengthened when I thought of the changes and improvements that could be done to the clinic. The people working in the clinic are nice and friendly, I felt to be welcomed and I had a memorable time working with them. The Sitamai area, which is 15 minutes away from my host family by bike, is a poor area of the village. The hygiene condition is not appreciating in the area, with people having lots of health problems; however, they do not have money to go to see the doctor. I offered help to them by taking some of the children to the health post to get treatment and medication.

In my spare time, I spent most of my time with my host family and the people living nearby. I helped out with rice grain planting and harvesting, corn harvesting etc. That was my first time being in a village and I had a good taste of the village life and was totally immersed into the culture by doing daily routine activities with the people. The village life of Nepal is simple yet happening. The village people there were very close with each other and it was fascinating to see heaps of things happening in a small place in two weeks' time. I love the kids most, they are very free-spirited and it was fulfilling to spend time with them.

Volunteering is absolutely fulfilling and rewarding. All you need to do is to open up your hearts to everyone and allow yourself to interact with people freely and openly. It was a great experience that I would never ever forget. demonstrate.

Post Placement Report- Devi's Falls Resource Center, July 5th – July 20th 2007

We spent several weeks in Devi's Falls working at the resource centre. We taught English lessons mixed with a little geography and social studies and we tried to make it fun as much as possible by incorporating games into the lessons. The kids were great and very enthusiastic about learning but some very firm discipline was necessary to maintain order. If given the opportunity, some of the kids would quarrel, steal and be dishonest so we had to keep a sharp eye on their behavior. The majority of the kids however, were a pleasure to work with and once the rules were understood there was productive learning for everyone there.

The classes were broken up by age group and in the morning at 6:45 we began with kids aged 11-13 of which about ten kids usually showed up. At 7:30, the 8-10 year old group came in which was about the same amount. We taught almost identical lessons to these two groups because many of the younger kids were more capable in English than the kids in the older group. Over the course of our time there we taught lessons on the use of plurals, apostrophes, contractions and basic world geography. We had them practise writing sentences in their copy books using the things they had learned from the English lessons. The geography was limited to continents, oceans, a few key countries in Asia and where volunteers came from since the kids were always curious about our homes. If everyone cooperated and finished their assignments quickly we would often finish with a short game. They absolutely loved the games. Every game we played was enjoyed by the kids.

In the evening at 5:30, we had 5-7 year olds come in for half an hour. This group was usually less than half a dozen kids and they spoke almost no English. We tried to get them to speak as much as possible with lessons on basic greetings, how to ask for things, and some vocabulary like foods, animals and common objects. The lessons were brief and we always rewarded their efforts with games, songs or coloring.

At 6 pm we let all ages of kids come in for a fun activity. Sometimes as many as fifty kids would show up and it was always chaotic. We would organize trivia games, charades, and bingo. Sometimes we handed out crossword puzzles or word searches with concepts from the morning lessons. These were great because the kids would all be fairly quiet and focused for the whole time instead. Bingo was one of the most chaotic but also the game most requested by the kids.

The lessons seemed to be pretty successful for the most part but there were always a few kids who had not learned as much English as the others and they struggled to follow the activities. We felt that it would be better if we could have developed a routine way of evaluating each child's English level and then placing them in groups according these results instead of grouping them by age. However this would require more time than we had so we just did our best to give extra attention to the kids who needed it in order for them to understand what was going on.

As for ourselves, our accommodations were quite comfortable and the dahl baat was excellent. Since we only spent about 3 hours a day working with the kids, we had plenty of free time to explore the local area which was beautiful. It was about a ten minute walk down to the river where we could swim and go hiking in the country. In 20 minutes we could take the local bus into Lakeside and swim in the lake or go shopping for whatever we wanted. It was really a great place to be and the overall experience was wonderful. We would do it again and we recommend it to others.

My time in Nepal has been absolutely amazing. Every day has been unpredictable, new and exciting and a big adventure. I taught English at a resource centre near Pokhara. The kids were so full of energy, and so much fun to teach, I fell in in love with every one of them! There was a river in the village where we went swimming, the kids eagerly showing us the best diving spots! We played a massive game of red rover in the village, with all of the kids; Nepali kids are so much more violent and tough than kids back home; it made for a very interesting game!

It takes a while to get used to the constant staring from the Nepali locals, but they are so welcoming and warm and don’t mean anything by it, it's all just good banter! Haggling in Thamel can actually be a lot of fun; I spent a very nice 30 minutes haggling over a pashmina with a cup of tea and friendly, though false, chit-chat!

My highlight would have to be doing the bungee jump with the last resort. I still can't believe I did it, but it was so much fun, definitely worth doing! We went trekking but saw very little of the views due to the clouds. Still it was good fun being so high that we were actually walking in clouds! I'd say don’t come in monsoon season, I will definitely be back in spring one of these days to see Nepal at its best.

Pokhara is my favorite place that I've been to. The views across the lake are beautiful and it's so much more peaceful than Kathmandu.

Sharing my room with cockroaches, spiders and rats was… an experience, and eating only dhal baat everyday for 2 weeks a challenge. These are probably the only 2 things I will be happy to leave behind.

I arrived in Nepal at the beginning of July 2007. The first week in Nepal consisted of mainly training and sightseeing. All volunteers had to undergo Nepal language lessons to assist in the language barrier and culture difference. This also included spending two days in a village called Dhulikhel, which is located just outside Kathmandu (also known as the "training village"). I stayed with a local "host family" in Dhulikhel and was treated with the greatest kindness. The time I spent in Dhulikhel (although it was only two days) was memorable by the kindness of all the people that lived in the village. I was welcomed with open arms and made part of the village community as soon as I arrived. The children in the village were adorable.

The second week in Nepal was spent on two different activities. The first activity was a visit to Chitwan Jungle Safari for three days. This meant a long 5-hour bus ride from Kathmandu to Chitwan. The second activity was four days trekking in Pokhara, again, a long 5-hour bus journey from Chitwan to Pokhara. Both activities were worthwhile.

In terms of placement, I did not have a preference in location. As a result, I was placed at a Resource Centre (alternatively known as a Library/Community Centre) in Parbatipur, Chitwan. This is where I spent the remainder of my time in Nepal. I stayed with a host family located right next door to the Resource Centre! The host family were very kind and welcoming. I spent a considerable amount of time playing cards with the children at the host family and managed to teach them a few new games to remember!

The Resource Centre is simply a place where the children can go before and after school as they wish. It is not compulsory and extremely laid back! I was able to teach them more or less anything I wanted! This is because the Resource Centre is not a school, hence there was no need to follow a rigid curriculum.

The Resource Centre was open from 7-9am and 4-6pm everyday (except Saturday). Since my placement was in July, the majority of the children were off on school holidays, hence the Resource Centre was open longer each day. I also wanted to teach English at a local school, but due to the school holidays, this was not possible. The children that attended the Resource Centre aged from as little as 3 years old to 13 years old. Some children even came twice each day! Activities in the Resource Centre included reading, drawing, coloring, playing number and word games, singing and playing outside.

Overall, the placement in Parbatipur was a great experience. In addition, the two days spent in Dhulikhel was a memorable experience. I am very grateful for the warm welcome I received from both host families and will always remember the people I met.

Alan Heaton’s Everest Report

A couple of years ago I spent two months volunteering in an orphanage in Thankot, Kathmandu. The experience was an overwhelming mix of emotions. I was instantly taken back by the children's smiles and kindness. Many people after visiting label the people of Nepal as 'emotional millionaires'. The poverty within Nepal and the horrendous living conditions the orphan children have to endure on a daily basis left me feeling helpless. Knowing my time in Nepal was very short lived and the support I gave to the children only barely scraped the surface, I realized that I wanted to help far more. I wanted to give the children a more sustainable future, a chance to improve their community and live a happier life. With this thought in mind I decided to start my own charity to raise money to go towards sponsoring children at the Happy Home in Chitwan, with the goal of all the money donated reaching the cause it was intended for. I decided that my first fundraising endeavors was to be running the Everest Marathon on May the 29th 2007. The Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon is considered by many high-altitude running lovers as the ultimate race or the ultimate challenge of this form of extreme sport . Runners endure the harsh weather and even digest altitude sickness to participate in this Highest Marathon Racing.

I landed in Nepal early in May after training hard and raising over $4000 back home. I spent several days reviewing the construction work on the New Orphanage in Chitwan and met several INFO Nepal volunteers and staff in Kathmandu. I was impressed with the outstanding work they were doing for the children of Nepal. All that was left was to complete my first marathon. I remember waking up at Base Camp on the day of the event, shivering and waiting for the sun to rise above the ridge, with Everest towering in the background. I knew even with the endless hours I put into training in South America and England, this was going to be the hardest run I have ever done. Starting on a moving glacier, running over boulders, down cliffs, over rivers, across suspension bridges and then back up a mountain finishing in Namche Bazaar. The event was a great personal achievement and one of my proudest moments to date. I collapsed over the finishing line in 6 hours, 6 minutes and 15 seconds, finishing second in the foreign category. The biggest winners, however, are the children, and I look to carry on fundraising for Happy Homes for many years to come.

For more information please visit my official website at www.starfishpromise.com

IMPORTANT NOTICE!

We are organizing a reunion on the 22^nd of September around London for previous INFO volunteers. Please contact us here at INFO if you would be interested in attending, the festivities will not be something to be missed.

Balaju Children Home -

After getting admission all the children of Birendra Peace home are very happy. We would like to give a big thanks to David and Margaret's friends who have been sponsoring these 13 children for their Education. Our friend Lisa is here now staying with the children who been supporting for lodging and food for the children. A big thanks goes to Lisa arranging a good house for these children.

Asim’s Report - My 2nd visit to UK - June 2007

It was not that much of a cultural shock for me this time while visiting the UK. After having a good rest for two days I started having meetings with our friends and volunteers. A couple of meetings went very well with our partner organizations and we are looking forward to having more volunteers in the coming days. The 2^nd week I spent in the UK was the most memorable time in my life. Going to Lancashire and learning all about English history was amazing – it was hard for me at first to understand the development that took place hundreds of years ago. I have only ever heard and read about the Industrial Revolution in England but after seeing all the technology and engineering I understood everything much better.

The countryside I like the most. The people were very friendly, co-operative and helpful and I can say I felt as thought I were home in my village. Thanks a lot to Jim-ji for making me feel at home. The waterfalls at Worcestershire National Park was not as big as ones I’ve seen in Nepal but people look at them the same way, to make themselves happy and find a good mood. The people were also very serious and give a lot more time and energy to save the environment and to preserve the animals of the National Park. All in all it was lovely to visit the National Park although I was disappointed not to see any one-horn rhinoceroses or tigers!

Maggie and her friends drove me to Scotland to go sailing. The drive from Yorkshire to Glasgow was fantastic and the scenery was a gift. The city was very beautiful and I did not find it that hard to understand the accent. This was the first time that I have seen a sea and gone sailing. The weather was not very happy with us at the start of our sailing expedition but later on in the late afternoon it was fantastic and sunny and I was able to come out and see all the blue sea for the first time in my life, long and long, far and far, just water….The first night we stayed in a small See luck of Mull Island which was a great experience for me.

The 2^nd night we stayed in Iona which was very exciting. It was a very peaceful village and full of greenery. The house made out of coloured stones was a very new thing for me. This is a place that you really need to visit once in your life. The 3^rd day sailing from Iona to Toreador was another big challenge for us as the wind was not blowing in a good direction. We had to sail around 60 miles on that day and after everything we made it. The maximum speed of our sailing was 9.05 miles per hours on that day and this was while I was driving the ship. I was lucky to have seen the see for first time in my life and also to have learned how to sail a ship. It is very hard work but a lot of fun too. All the ropes, cables and the challenge of nature made for quite an adventure. Anyway, I was very happy that I didn’t get seasick.

Going to Lamington Spa and meeting Margaret and David's family was very important as we had discuss a lot about our organization and our sponsorship program. Thanks a lot for David and Margaret's friends contributing to the education of Nepali children. Now Birendra Peace Home's children have regular educational support. The meeting with Dan and Cheryl in Worcester was a great time and I am waiting to see a picture of their boat when it is ready so I can move there.

Again, I have never seen a sea and to see the tide was a huge surprise for me. Anna's home is just in front of the see in West Cliff. Meeting Emily and Anna's family made me feel like I was at Happy Home with our volunteers.

I would like to give a big thanks to all of our volunteers that supported me for being wonderful hosts and making me feel at home. I am looking forward to my next trip with my wife Namrata in the future.

Melinda’s Report – Devis Falls

I arrived in Kathmandu on the 14^th of May for my volunteer project with INFO Nepal.

Despite having a few issues getting here due to delayed flights, INFO head office were totally understanding and very flexible with my arrival date. So, when I finally arrived in Kathmandu I was greeted at the airport by Bicky – a welcomed sight at such a chaotic airport. A great guy who works tirelessly to ensure that all new volunteers are comfortable and well looked after (along with everyone else in the office I might add).

The first week of training far exceeded my expectations. The language classes were comprehensive, the cultural training very informative and the sightseeing was an added bonus! Staying at the Happy Home gave all the volunteers and opportunity to get to know each other and makes you feel less like a tourist and more like a volunteer. After returning from my 2 day stay at the training village (in Dhulikhel) I chose to head straight to my placement in Devis Falls, Pokhara.

Arriving at Pokhara bus station was an experience. Mobbed by taxi drivers before you even get off the bus! My bus had arrived late so ‘Uncle’ from my host family wasn’t there to pick me up as planned. After a phone call to Bicky it was all sorted. I just had to fend off the 20 or so taxi drivers that decided to set up camp around me until Uncle got there. Eventually I was on my way to my host family. As a suggestion, perhaps a brief ‘fact sheet’ including phone numbers and addresses could be created so that if a volunteer is stranded, they can get themselves to the host family as phone service isn’t always available to call the INFO office for help. (editor’s note: a fact sheet has since been created, and all new volunteers receive a list of crucial contact numbers, instructions and placement specific directions to help in the event of a mishap or an emergency).

Arriving at the host family home was both a relief and a bit unnerving. Unlike most of the dilapidated houses in the area, the house was a newer brick house with clean modern facilities. Unfortunately Uncle didn’t speak much English at all and my Nepali wasn’t the best, so he wasn’t able to tell me much about the resource centre, or where Aama and Buba were. I felt like a fish out of water…. I was hoping that someone at some stage would be able to shed some light for me as I hadn’t been given any information on the resource centre and what to expect. That night, I met Buba, Aama and their two sons. The family was so welcoming and the food was amazing. One of Aama’s sons who spoke English gave me a bit of information about the resource centre or the ‘school’ as the locals had named it. The school had been closed for a week since the departure of the last volunteers so he’d have to put the word out that it was re-opening.

My first class at the school was a bit of a shock. Kids between the ages of 5 and 13 came, some who knew how to speak English and others who couldn’t speak a word. It was going to be hard to tailor classes to deal with such varying degrees of language skills. Luckily a few of the previous volunteers had kept a classroom register with notes on what they had taught which made it a lot easier to determine what to teach, what the kids liked and how to structure the classes. Something like this should be maintained to help all future volunteers who arrive, especially if they are on their own. Anyway, the kids were wild! They’d all bustle into the classroom – almost spilling out the doors there were so many children.

A few days later, Kate, one of the previous volunteers returned as her second placement was cancelled due to teacher strikes in her area. Her arrival was such a relief. With as many as 50 children or more attending some of the classes, the extra pair of hands was really needed. Also, as Kate had taught at this school previously, she was able to do a bit of an induction which was really helpful.

The local community at Devis Falls didn’t appear to be as poor as some of the more remote locations of Nepal that I had seen on my journey to the area, however, the social and cultural issues in the community were still very real. Drugs, abuse and alcoholism are devastating this community and the resource centre in this area provides a safe haven for the children to come to instead of playing in the streets. The local families were certainly appreciative of our work there and would often come and sit outside to watch us teach the kids.

To say that my time at the placement was smooth running from the start would be a lie. Sure, at times we had hurdles to jump but these were equaled if not exceeded by triumphs. Being here with these children isn’t just about teaching them English… it’s more than that. From showing them that discipline doesn’t necessary come in the form of a stick, teaching them about respecting the property of the school and of each other, and encouraging them to follow their dreams and more, in the short 4 weeks I was there I could see all our hard work paying off.

Well, sadly my time here in Nepal has come to an end. I look forward to returning some day to see all the great work INFO Nepal has done and the positive results they have managed to achieve. Volunteering with INFO Nepal has been an absolute pleasure – a professional organization with such a bright future ahead of it. INFO Nepal gives the opportunity for both volunteers to touch the lives of those less fortunate, and for those less fortunate to touch our lives in return.

Alex’s Report – Prabatipur

When I first got to the library in Prabatipur, the first thing I had to do was clear out the birds-nest perched in one of the windows. Over the next two weeks I would have a running battle with my sparrow nemesis, but I did not yet know that.

After the sparrows came the children, in what appeared to my untutored eye to be hundreds, but was in fact only about 20.

My time at the library consisted of two shifts. One in the morning before the kids went to school and one in the afternoon once they'd finished. In the mornings it was mostly the younger kids, and the afternoon the older ones. The time was filled up with reading, games, conversational classes, and (to the disgust of some) grammar classes with the older ones. Although the classes were occasionally tiring on their own, it was more the heat that was killing me, I walked around most of the time looking like I'd just got out the bath.

The schedule left my days free for…well…free for reading really. Here I tip my mental hat to those past volunteers that who kindly left behind their novels. The novel section will soon rival the more educational sections of the library!

I also started taking some more formal English classes at the local schools (one government and one private). As someone who has never done any teaching before it was quite an experience, and while it's perhaps not something I would like to do for a living, it's definitely something that I enjoyed for the time that I was there.

Throughout the time my host family was fantastic giving the experience a feeling of stability that I wouldn't associate with travel normally. All in all it was a great experience. Good food, great family, great students (most of the time)

Jon and Rachel’s Report – Gatlang

After a busy first week of training which included sightseeing in Kathmandu, language classes, staying in Happy Home, a short stay in Dhulikhel and a Nepali wedding we found out we would be placed in Gatlang village in the Langtang region. We met Durga Tamang the INFO host father from Gatlang who we took the bus with as far as Bon Dada (10-11 hours) before the road turns off to Goljung, then a two hour walk and we were at Gatlang village and Durga’s house, where we met the rest of our family; Saki, Durga’s wife, and Rasila and Pemba, their 2 small children.

The school building was undergoing some construction work, which meant there was no fixed abode for the INFO Nepal library and for the first while we would carry books, paper and pens from the house to school and back. The classrooms are not locked and are used as a general play area out of school hours so nothing could be left there. We worked in the library from 7-9am then at the school from 10 until about 1pm then at the library again from 4-6pm.

Being surrounded by such beautiful scenery is constantly inspiring and Gatlang feels like a very special place up in the mountains. Looking out at Langtang everyday made us want to trek so we decided to go with Durga (who is a trekking guide) on a hike to Gosaikund, then Langtang, and down via the Heritage Trail. It was awesome and we had perfect weather. All the time we were trekking there was no school as the teachers were on strike.

The school principal gave us a lock for one of the old classrooms to keep the library in and soon we had a regular group turning up (10-30 children at a time). Lots of the children coming to the library sessions are quite young and mostly speak Tamang but they still managed to pick up new English vocab. The children loved the chance to do some drawing and colouring and soon our room was decorated with their art work. We tried to vary the ages by making a time table but the same children kept coming which was sometimes a little chaotic. At school the teaching was a lot more structured for us as we taught the older classes every day and saw some real improvement.

Overall our placement in Gatlang was a great experience. Gatlang is a Tamang community, mostly Buddhist and Christian with lots of interesting traditional dress. The area and culture are fascinating and our family were lovely.

Asim’s Report - From London

It is great again to come to the UK and meet all of our past volunteers and partner Organizations. After talking about our past relations and work, we had now a better idea of how to improve our program in the future. Sailing in Scotland was a great experience for me to see more about the culture and the nature. Thanks a lot to Maggie for arranging this opportunity for me. The Iona is beautiful and the people are lovely. All the Mull Islands were very beautiful. After 3 days sailing I went to visit our Scottish co-ordinator, Liam ji. Visiting Jim ji’s place in Lancashire was another great lesson for me in learning about the British development over the past 200 years ago. The canals were a great idea. I was a bit surprised to see the Boat coming from the low level up to the high level. In the country side the people are very friendly and open. We are hoping to have more volunteers coming to INFO Nepal in the coming days.

Ryan Betters – Acting Director INFO-Nepal.

While Asim has been away in the UK, Ryan Betters (long-term volunteer with INFO-Nepal), has contributed his time and efforts to running the INFO-Nepal office in Kathmandu – and he has been doing a fantastic job. Besides responding to volunteer’s emails and coordinating volunteer’s placements, Mr. Betters has brought new meaning to the term “sightseeing” in Kathmandu. Wining, dining and dancing in Thamel has been a welcome relief for new volunteers nervous to begin their programs and old volunteers eager to complete their time in Nepal with a bang. Ryan is in Monaco at the moment but will be back in about one week’s time to keep offering his much appreciated assistance and friendly face for a few more months…Ryan, we hope you enjoy your trip and we’ll be seeing you soon!

Alan Heaton and new Happy Home in Chitwan.

Alan first traveled to Nepal in 2006. His volunteering experience then was a true eye opener; working in squalid conditions with children who received little to no attention - medical or otherwise - from the organization supposedly protecting them. On his return in 2007, Alan ran the Everest Marathon to raise money for charity, and bumped into several INFO Nepal volunteers at Base Camp. Impressed by their accounts and experiences, Alan traveled back with them to Kathmandu. On arrival he met up with the INFO staff and volunteers at Happy Home, soon becoming a part of the family. Alan was unable to stay with us in Nepal for more than a few days, owing to further overseas commitments, but as a token of his appreciation donated 100,000 rupees towards the construction of further INFO Nepal projects. This is a tremendous gift, and the kids moving into our new Happy Home in Chitwan could hardly express their thanks. We are all very grateful for Alan’s support, and wish him the best of luck in his travels and adventures.

Carl’s Report.

My Placement: A story of struggle, perseverance, failure, redemption, and joy. By Carl Cramer

It all began on a beautiful day in late May. I left the warm muggy jungle of Sauraha, and hopped on a bus bound for the warm, muggy city of Bharatpur. After dodging many wires that overhung the road, we finally arrived. As I dismounted the vehicle, I was approached by a youth, perhaps in his middle teens. I was asked if my name was Josh. "No" I replied.
"What is your name?"
"Carl".
He nodded his head and motioned for me to follow him. This puzzled me. He seemed to have been looking for a Josh, and my name was definitely not Josh. Nevertheless, I decided to trust the youth. He told me to put my bag in one of those man drawn carriages and hop in. He hopped on his bicycle and began to head off into the distance. The man drawn carriage kicked into gear and was in hot pursuit. We wound through the city, nipping at his heels, but never quite able to overtake him. Eventually we came to a house, where he hopped off of his bike. Rather than continue to flee from us, he helped me with my bag, and opened a gate. Now, this opening created by said gate was a little taller than 1 meter. What is this, a gate for ants? No, it was a gate for me. Reluctantly I made an effort to squeeze through the small gate, breathing a huge sigh of relief as I emerged on the other side. Here I was, at the Pantha residence.

Now the Pantha residence was much nicer than I had anticipated. I was shown to my room, which was upstairs. After exiting my room and proceeding to the downstairs area, I was greeted by a kind woman and offered tea. They guided me into a bedroom, motioned for me to sit on the bed. They flipped on a TV, which had a large variety of channels, including ESPN! How joyous. I managed to watch a few NBA playoff games during my stay there. I made an effort to learn the names of my host family. Two boys were Abhishek (age 18) and Aabushan (age 16-he was the boy who met me at the bus stop). Their mother's name was Muna, and their father's name was Keshab. There was a girl there named Sangita, and I thought that she was their sister for the whole time, until I learned that she was not related to them. She was staying with them, and they were paying for her to go to school. I spent the rest of my first day hanging out with the guys. They asked if I wanted to go to the hospital at all during my stay there. "Yea, I think I better go" I replied.

So for the next four days, I spent the first part of my day at the hospital. I would have loved to help out at the hospital; however, I lack two important skills for helping out at a Nepali hospital. One is a vast understanding of medicine. I have a minimal knowledge, like I know how to take blood pressure and how to identify if a patient is in shock, or having heat stroke. Not the sort of skills necessary. I also lack a mastery of the Nepali language. However, I would not at all say that my experience was a wasted one, as I was able to stay in the emergency ward and observe the way that the hospital works. So, my experience in the hospital was valuable in an educational sense, if not a volunteer sense.

When I was not in the hospital, I spent most of my time with Aabushan, either playing cricket, going out to buy lychee, or talking about whatever. I worked on my Nepali, and he worked on his English. Walking around the town was quite interesting, as I believe I was the only guire in Bharatpur. I got a lot of stares from the locals, who were very surprised to see a Guire in their city. The stares did not indicate hostility. They were all very friendly, it was just that they were surprised. I concluded my stay with a deep farewell, and was guided to the bus stop by my new friend Abishek. As I boarded the bus, I waved good bye, sad to leave my new friends, but not sad to leave that sauna of a city. I traveled to Pokhara, where my journey continued, turning the page of my life, and beginning a new chapter of my trip to Nepal. I smiled as I rode the bus, thinking of the joy that I had, and realizing the value of making friends. I was invited back to stay at their house. If I ever have the courage to go back there and risk drowning in the air, I would love to stay at their house. They are very kind people.

Tim’s Report – Nirmal Pokhari.

This placement is based in the hamlet/village of Maidan which is at the top of one of the Pokhara hills. The journey getting to the placement was, to say the least, hazardous, but eagerly awaiting our arrival was what appeared to be more than half the village. The host family was very accommodating for the duration of the placement and we were made to feel as part of the family straight away. The library was fairly basic and being in such a rural area, the children ranged in ages and abilities. However, Ben and I taught in a fairly relaxed “open class” for two hours in the morning and two hours after school. Unfortunately, the school was on strike whilst we were there; however, we would have taken the opportunity to teach if not for the strike as this would have helped to fill our spare time in the village. No complaints though, and I’ll definitely be back in the coming years.

Nick’s Report – Kapan Monastery

Although I’ve never been one to fall for the clutches of spiritual materialism, there is certainly something appealing about staying in a monastery. Every second night the children (aged between 5 and 17) meditate and chant for hours into the darkness. During the day, the courtyard is dead quiet, and the confines of the monastery grounds provide ample opportunity for solitary reflection, or relaxation with a good book in hand.

Our placement at the monastery, which is roughly an hour away from Kathmandu, involves teaching English to two groups of monks – junior and senior – for several hours in the morning, and occasionally giving follow up classes in the evening. The monks are attentive students, and while a few of the rag-tag crew will throw their robes around, the majority were hanging off my every word. Which is a considerable responsibility. I was unprepared. The monastery would be an ideal placement for volunteers with significant experience in TEFL, or in the teaching profession.

Nevertheless, despite my lack of educational expertise, the monks relished the chance to interact. Being a kid at heart I was soon singing, dancing and making a fool of myself to their great amusement. The monks responded with mock kung-fu showdowns, running races and displays of agility, as they slid for metres along the monastery’s well-polished marble floors.

On a more serious note, during my stay I communicated frequently with the INFO office with regards to the health of the monks; more than a few had mild skin conditions such as scabies (easily passed around in such close quarters) and several were most likely suffering from chest infections. Back in Kathmandu, we are currently arranging for a stock of medical supplies to be sent to the monastery with our next volunteer (Jo) towards the end of June.

All in all, I was only at the monastery for two weeks, which is far too short a time to truly get a feel for the place; but I had a ball. The monks still managed to learn some new words (I’ve never heard anyone say ‘good morning’ with such gusto!) and we all had a lot of fun. I’ve not reached enlightenment, though, so there’s no doubt I’ll be back at some point in the future.

Thulakhet and Chorepatan – Two Resource Centres in Pokhara.

A Report by Esther Nimmo.

Pokhara sits at the base of the Annapurna mountain range, between 5-7 hours bus drive from Kathmandu depending on which bus you choose to take. Option 1: Tourist bus – a few hundred rupee, minutely more spacious than other options, seven hours instead of five, and, thought to be the safest choice…hmm…safe compared to what? The local bus perhaps? Option 2: Local bus - cheaper for a reason, cosier than the former and best suited to those who value the extra hundred rupees it costs to take the tourist bus more than their life.

Our recent volunteers, Kate and Pia from England, travelled to Chorepatan in Pokhara to set-up one of INFOs newest Resource Centres. To read more about Kate and Pia’s experience click on the link below. Chorepatan is located about ten minutes bus or taxi ride from Lakeside in Pokhara and just a few minutes from Devis Falls a waterfall made famous by a man named Devis who fell into it hundreds of years ago, so, when the signs advise you not to cross the barriers, I advise that you obey them. Teaching at the Chorepatan Resource Centre allows volunteers the opportunity to visit Lakeside on the weekends or in between classes. Aaah…sweet Lakeside. After two and half months in Kathmandu living alongside cranky dogs and pregnant cows, it warms my heart to think back to the noticeably dog-free streets and peace and quiet of beautiful lakeside.

Jamie Burke from Dublin, Ireland recently returned from a few weeks volunteering in the Chorepatan Resource Centre and was thoroughly impressed by the hospitality of his host family, the Thapas. The family’s two sons were extremely informative and apparently the food was amazing.

The Resource Centre in Thulakhet is a little further from Lakeside, but if you travel by motorbike, the time will fly by as will the lakeside on your left and mountains on your right (you may also pass the time by wondering why in the world you are hurtling 80 kilometres down a dirt track without any head protection). The Resource Centre resides next door to the local school and on arrival in Thulakhet you are likely to be greeted with the enthusiastic hellos and competent English skills of the more confident students, the shy kids no less curious, choosing to gawk from a distance.

Both of these Resource Centres are currently running with two volunteers in each library. It is so important to maintain the Centres and not allow for too long a lull between volunteers in any given Centre. So, huge thanks go out to all the volunteers who have helped in both locations recently and presently!

Kate Collins – England

Chorepatan Resource Centre, Pokhara.

For our placement Pia and I were placed in a lovely home in Pokhara with the Gurung (?) family. By taxi, or the more economical option of the bus, it was about ten minutes to Lakeside, which was so convenient for us. We set up the new INFO Nepal Resource Centre in Chorepatan, a district of Pokhara. The first couple of days were spent laying carpet (!) and sticking up posters, just generally organising the room. We started at 6 o’clock every morning, waking a lot earlier to hoards of happily screaming children outside the Resource Centre, clamouring to get in as soon as possible! Our room was almost right next to the schoolroom, so all we heard for an hour before we started teaching was, 'miss, miss, come out miss'. Especially from Bishal! Luckily host mother brought us tea and spicy eggs first thing in the morning, which both Pia and I absolutely loved. We taught from 6 to roughly 9 each day, and we had the rest of the day free until 5, when our next classes started. Dinesh, one of the sons in our host family, took us for a picnic to the World Peace Pagoda and around central Pokhara. We really enjoyed our time here, and on the last day when all the children pleaded with us to come back again, it merely confirmed to us that we would definitely come back! Thanks really goes to INFO for the whole experience (not forgetting rafting and Chitwan with Pratik!) and our time in the Happy Home in Kathmandu. I would certainly recommend it to anyone.

Pia Mathews- England

Chorepatan Resource Centre, Pokhara.

I have very much enjoyed my time spent volunteering with Info Nepal. When I first arrived I spent several days at the Happy Home doing language classes, sightseeing and just generally exploring Thamel and getting used to everything. These days were a good introduction to Nepal. We were told what to expect and what was and what wasn't acceptable and the sightseeing was so much more enjoyable as it was all organised for us. After this, our group of volunteers decided to go rafting and then to the Chitwan Nation Park before beginning our teaching placements. Both these activities were also completely organised by Info Nepal for us and both were lots of fun. My placement was in an area on the outskirts of Pokhara called Chorepatan. This area was much less rural than I had expected, however, as myself and Kate, another volunteer, were setting up a brand new resource centre here, it was still very challenging. Our proximity to Lakeside also had its benefits as we could always easily pop out for chocolate brownies and ice cream in between our morning and evening classes. When we first began teaching classes at the resource centre it was very daunting. As we were the first volunteers at our placement all the children still had to be split into different groups (there were lots of them-probably about 80!), after some consideration we split our children into 4 different groups. Classes started at 6.30am with the older children aged 10-12 years old. After this we had 8-10 year olds until 8.30 and then we taught the younger children from 5 until 7 in the evening. Teaching the children was great but also quite difficult. They were all very enthusiastic but the amount of children who were turning up made things challenging. However, I think this was a sign of how much the children enjoyed coming and how much the parents and community appreciated us doing something for their children. We had many invites from parents to come to their houses for tea or dhal/bhat. In the classes with the older children we taught more advanced English such as tenses, daily routine and writing activities, whereas with the younger children we did basic vocabulary and drawing-which they absolutely loved! When we weren't teaching we had free time in the day to do as we pleased. The family we were staying with was really lovely and one of the sons, Dinesh, took us out to see the sights around Pokhara, he even bought us a picnic when we went to the World Peace Pagoda! The Mother and Father of the family were also very nice; although they didn't really speak any English we managed to communicate through just smiling and laughing. Our accommodation and food was fantastic too. When we came to the end of placement we were both very sad to leave the children and our host family and have decided to definitely return.

Our two new Children's Resource Centers in Pokhara are going very well. Kate is teaching at the David's Falls Children's Resource Center and James is in Thulakhet. Every day 40 to 60 Children are attending our centers. Our staff member Bishal and office assistant volunteer Esther are heading to get all the information about the resource center and take some interviews with host family, children and community people. The Ganganagar Happy Home is progressing quickly and now we are working to put on the roof and plaster the walls. We hope by the end of May we will complete the building and start accepting the children from nearby the village. The new Happy Home in Kathmandu is almost finished. Now we are working on the painting both inside and outside along with some designs on the pillars.
We are very happy to see so many volunteers are coming through our Organization. In May we will have 20 volunteers. Currently we have 30 facilities with room for 50 volunteers at a time and our staff has gained lots of experience to handle that amount of volunteers at a one time.
Rama, our Language teacher, was marriage recently and all of us at INFO would like to give her a big CONGRATULATIONS!! and wish all the best for her life. I am heading to the UK this month and will be back on 6th June. While I am in the UK I will be having meetings with our partner Organizations and visiting our past volunteers there. While I am away, Ryan Betters (6th time volunteering with us) will be working for me at the Office. We already have 5 children sponsored for our Children's home and there are 8 people who has promised to sponsor our children at Happy Home. We are very happy to see all of our planning going very well and we are getting very positive response from our past volunteers about our new children's resource centers and Happy Home.
I will be happy to see our UK volunteers while I am there and I will be using my personal asim.naresh@gmail.com .
Best
Asim

Volunteer in Nepal - Teaching at Children's Resource Center
Julia Lindsay - UK - March to May - 2007
Only two weeks in Parbatipur but it doesn't take long to feel at home there. Host family were fantastic, wake up to fresh chiya and daal bhaat is on tap from about 9am to 9pm. With Rama, your 'ama' you can learn to cook and generally have a girlie gossip about the other villagers. She is extremely generous, especially with her rice portions so just keep saying 'Pugyo!'Anything you need is just a 45minute bus ride away in Narangat.
Riding top-deck with the luggage is pretty normal, top up your tan and avoid the goats and sweaty men coming back from the market. "Munchtime Café' is a friendly place to go get some lunch with some Other volunteers; bring along your own CDS to help them build up their music collection.
With the kids, do not worry about having no experience.they've been at school all day and they are not expecting a structured lesson on English grammar. The most important thing is that you divide the kids up, vaguely by ability. What worked well for us was 7am and 8am classes of about 10 children in each who are intermediate level. Then my 4 o' clock class were the ones with really limited English so that class tended to be more art based and 5pm are the practically fluent boys, a small group so we can race ahead.including my host brother, Sagar, 13 - very good English (very useful as an interpreter..he also brings you tea in bed in the morning so lots of reasons to get along with him.)
Amelia and I also threw a huge party for the kids on a Saturday. Making the food and the 'pinatas' took up a couple of classes and of course the kids love getting messy.papier mache, balloons, glue.all allowed as long as they clean up. We organized a sort of British style sports day with 'egg and spoon', 'sack', 'three-legged' races and had a fantastic day, divided into teams and taking over the local field. You also have the challenge of shopping for all the stuff in Narangat.try explaining brush cleaner, food colouring, blue tack, sack, even string.to a shopkeeper in broken Nepali. Bringing a sample and then asking 'Tyo chha??" generally was the best
method.
This was the scramble for the sweets that came out the 'pinata'.we weren't sure whether this game was fun or a little dangerous, but the amas and baas were quite happy to watch their kids wrestling eachother- in the style of their greatest heroes "Triple X", "John Cena" and "The Rock". Stock up on WWF stickers for prizes in class and you'll win a few hearts.
Lisa and Amelia must take credit for this fantastic sign that we painted with the older kids. Some of the adults gate crashed the painting sessions and we found a secret artistic talent in a deaf villager, Manoj, who became a great friend. Oh I do miss them all. It is a great place to be.a few words of warning: get used to going to bed early because the music shop starts pumping Nepali hits at 5 50am.also, beware of the switch in the shower (a little shock to wake you up in the morning). Lastly get your dancing shoes on as there's not one person in the village who won't ask you to dance for them.it seems to be the universal language.a personal favourite - "chiya barimaa"!
Enjoy and enjoy and any questions, queries please give me an email - giulialindsay@hotmail.com
Great success - mix up some salt dough
2 cups of flour (atta)
1 cup of salt (nune)
1 cup of water (pani)
Drop of food colouring (which I left in the cupboard in the room) Everyone loves it! And whatever happens on your placement, it's always a fun to get back to the
Happy Home kids, for more daal bhaat and a good dance with Bicky and the
boys.
Miss them all already!

REPORT OF PLACEMEN - VOLUNTEER IN NEPAL
Rob (UK) and Elena (Spain) – Goljung Children's Resource Center - 14th March – 14th April 2007
We got a very warm welcome the first day we arrived with a meal at a local restaurant. It was very nice to meet Asim’s wife and son and also to catch a few other volunteers who were just finishing their placements and were leaving Nepal. They gave us some useful tips on what to expect, what not to expect (!) and how to deal with everything.The next couple of days were sightseeing, with a few different members of the Info Nepal team, to various different places around Kathmandu. Pratik and Bicky were great with their knowledge of every little detail and we got a very good starter in understanding a lot of Nepali culture.After that the language classes started with Rama. She would meet us every day, normally in the mornings, for about 2 hours. We started off very basically with “hello’s”, “how are you’s” and basic introductions, but very rapidly over the 5 days of lessons, progressed to “how to barter for the best price”, “likes and dislikes”, “food and drink” and much much more.
During this time we visited our training village family for two nights which was a really good insight into what to expect from the actual placement. At first we both felt a little uncomfortable as our Nepalese was still a little shaky and the family’s English wasn’t that good. Also as they were such good hosts they would not let us help with any jobs and as this wasn’t our placement there was nothing for us to be getting on with immediately. However, the more we chatted and spent time with them, the more we felt at ease and welcomed and in the end we were very sad to be leaving so soon!
Next came the project in Goljung and our first real shock. By this time our Nepalese was coming on a little better and we were feeling more confident to get stuck into communication……only to find that in the village very few people spoke Nepalese! Goljung is a Tamang village and they have their own dialect. Our host family spoke Nepalese so this was not a problem but when we got to the library on the first day, we found that very few of the children understood our Nepalese or our English. We did find that some children spoke better Nepalese and English than the others and so they became our invaluable translators for all lessons.
We have thought about how this problem could have been avoided and have realized that it would have been impossible for the staff in Kathmandu to have taught us any Tamang as this isn’t their language. The only thing we can suggest is that future volunteers could be given a little more warning of the language difference and perhaps a small booklet with some basic Tamang expressions and useful phrases could be prepared for volunteers going to that placement.
Our work in the placement differed from what we had been expecting to do. Elena had been planning to spend most days working with a health centre in the village but found that it only opened one day while we were there, and I had planned to assist with some construction but found no projects/work to help with. Having said this we both had a fantastic time opening the library twice a day and teaching the children. We tried to impart some of our joint professional medical knowledge onto these lessons rather than just straight English. We introduced basics of self-hygiene, basic treatment of minor wounds, ideas about infection and cleanliness. These we felt went down very well and were absorbed by some of the children.
After our project and for a two days in the middle we took ourselves away to do some trekking in the local area and were rewarded by spectacular views and great mountain experiences.
On the whole we both feel strongly that Info Nepal is a fantastic organization and is doing a great job in trying to improve the quality of life of poorer people in Nepal. One thing we did notice was that there are very many villages which now have Info Nepal Libraries but these only open when Volunteers are present. This we feel can lead to a lack of continuity of learning for the children in those places. Two ideas we had of how to solve this problem were:
1) - A system of handover from one volunteer leaving a project to the next one arriving at the same place.
Ideally this could be done if they overlap their time at the project or meet in Kathmandu but obviously this will rarely happen. The best other way would be to start a formal handover book to detail, for example, times of opening of the library, lessons taught, levels of attentions and speed of learning of specific children etc etc. We detailed much of this is our report in the logbook already in the library in Goljung but perhaps it would be better to have a centrally held one in the office in Kathmandu so that observation can be made about progress in the different projects and comparisons made.
2) – A system of involvement of a local resident to open the library.
There a several obstacles to overcome with this idea. The local person must be trusted with a key and given responsibility for maintaining the library in a good condition. The local person would need to be paid for this. However, the benefits of allowing the children regular access to resources held in the libraries, even it were only for a piece of paper and a pen to write and practice English, would be great.
If we have any other ideas that come to us we will definitely get in contact with you to pass them on. We will also get on thew internet at some point in the near future and write some reports on the chat rooms etc about the work that Info Nepal does – in both English and Spanish!!!
Thanks again Info Nepal for giving us such a special experience. One that will stay with us for the rest of our lives…..or until we are next back again with you!!
Rob – jones_2k@hotmail.com
Elena elenagilz@hotmail.com

Amelia Carter - USA - Teaching at Children's Resource Center - April 15th 2007
Email : ameliamcarter@yahoo.com

Coming to has been a mind-blowing experience and absolutely incredible in every way shape and form. The people are the warmest I have ever met, the culture is the richest I have ever had the opportunity to observe, and the environment is more beautiful then I could have ever dreamed.
When I first arrived to I had a really rough start. The culture shock, among other unfortunate mishaps, hit me in ways that I could have never imagined. But I soon realized that this is to be expected when traveling to a developing country for the first time. I promise though, once you fully understand and embrace the Nepali saying, "Ke garne", everything will some how work itself out and you will be able to enjoy for the remarkable place it is.
To speak on the volunteer work, it was wonderful. I worked at the library in beautiful Parbatipur, Chitwan. The children were brilliant; they were so anxious to learn and frankly just excited to be in the library. My first four weeks I taught with another volunteer, Lisa. We mostly introduced new vocabulary words and played games. They LOVE board bingo and memory so, between the two, the 4 hour-long classes seemed to fly by.
The lack of teaching guidelines and my lack of teaching experience left me to improvise most of the classes and while the kids seemed content I was left a little unsatisfied with my teaching job. So Lisa's last week and Guilia's first (the new volunteer), we basically turned the library into an arts and crafts center and incorporated vocabulary with each new arts and crafts activity. Then I started two huge projects, which I would have never had the guts or ability to pull off without Guilia --she was an absolute savior (thank you Guilia, you are amazing!). The first was a mural/sign (which our host mother donated to us!) for the library that we had the kids co-design and Lisa drew a beautiful outline for. Guilia and I helped paint the poster with the older kids while the younger kids painted a watercolor version on a giant piece of paper. We completed this project while simultaneously planning for a huge party/field day for the kids. For the party we had the kids make decorations and four Pinata's (which was hilarious since Guilia and I barley knew what we were doing ourselves). Then Guilia and I made a huge feast for the kids to enjoy after they played racing games in a near by field. To make a long story short: one Pinata at a time for 40 kids is NOT a good idea, but no one seemed to mind so, in the end the whole thing was a huge success and the sign turned out beautifully! After the hectic (but fun) last week was finally finished it was harder then ever to say goodbye. As a result I left in true Nepali fashion: hysterically crying with many small children sobbing, "Best of luck sister!" as my bus pulled out of Parbatipur all too soon.

All of my host families (and all of their neighbors, friends and relatives I had the opportunity to meet along the way) were spectacular. They all took such good care of me and were so generous with anything that they were able to give. My host family in Dhulikhel was great-- I got very close to the Katri children. The family's kindness was immense. They gave me so much love and care and constantly went beyond their call of duty. A special thank you to Pashupati -- an exceptional tour guide and wonderful friend. My family in Parbatipur was also incredible. Rama was so funny and warm and her daughters, son, and niece were fabulous host relatives. They completely welcomed me into their home and were so gracious while Guilia and I destroyed their kitchen as we frantically cooked for 40 hungry kids-and their parents. By the end of my stay I truly felt that I had made two extended families in - whom I certainly will try to keep up a relationship with.

was an unbelievable learning and life experience. I made extremely close connections with people I would have never had the opportunity to even meet. And I most certainly experienced the real thanks to INFO. Volunteering and/or staying with local host families are, I feel, the only ways to truly soak up all that has to offer and I highly recommend it. In the end I can say that my time spent in was fabulous! And it's damn hard to leave it behind; that's why I must say "Pheri Bhetaula!" -- and to prospective volunteers remember the experience is what you make it.

PS.
I'd be more then happy to elaborate on my experiences or answer any questions.

ameliamcarter@yahoo.com

Dear Friends,

The Happy Home in Kathmandu is going very well. We are now plastering and finishing the electricity and plumbing. We are very happy to announce that we are now able to offer twenty children shelter at our new Happy Home in Chitwan. The Chitwan Happy Home will be finished by mid-May 2007, and we would like to ask you all if you know any children that are living in very poor conditions or are needier than others who you believe would benefit from living at the home. We are very happy to hear from our past volunteers and upcoming volunteers about their fundraising for the Chitwan Happy Home project. We are also pleased to see that the children of the village are happy to have more children at their Resource Centre.

Our aim is to provide children who have either lost their parents through death from illness or accident, have been abandoned, or are working in child labor situations, with a safe and caring environment; a "Happy Home". Given that INFO Nepal's priorities are equality, understanding and acceptance of people, we have, in the Happy Home, children from a broad range of religious, tribal and caste structures. Living together, working through differences, fostering a family atmosphere, getting a good education, and generally sharing life together is an important part of achieving this priority. We would like to ask our host families, friends and past volunteers if you have known any children in your placement or other areas that need help, to please us let us know. We are going to form a selecting committee who intend to visit the children at the end of April. If our past volunteers wish to recommend any child from their placement or host family we would like to have them at our new Happy Home. If you want to give us details of any children please contact Nicky Deasy at Email : nicky.deasy@ireland.com or phone her on Ph: + 977 9841420060 ( Nepal ). Sponsoring one of these children will cost you US$ 30 per month, per child.

Here is a list of the benefits and facilities of our new Happy Home in Chitwan.

The village setting Living in a family environment with no more than 4 children per room Food, clothing and education at a local private school, Additional tuition, mornings and evenings with a local teacher, Combined study room and library
Celebration of festivals and access to Nepali cultural events, Sports & games, Large playground, Vegetable garden, Flower garden

Two table-tennis tables Volleyball court

Football ground, Basketball court, Big TV hall, Indoor playroom, 4 toilets and bathrooms, 24-hour water supply, Each children will be supplied with a bicycle to go to school, Living with overseas volunteer's who assist the children with school work and learning English, Two staff members to look after the children

New Happy Home construction in Ganganagar , Chitwan

Current Report - By Nicky Deasy - Ireland - 3 April 2007

Construction work is in full swing here in Ganganagar! We have up to 15 men on site at any one time, and every day the building visibly grows! The extension of the ground floor is almost complete. The walls have been built, and today the cement will be poured for the ceiling of the ground floor. Work will then commence on the first floor.

When complete, the ground floor will contain three bedrooms for the 20 children who will live here, along with a bedroom for the two ladies who will live here and look after the children. There will also be two bathrooms on the ground floor.

The first floor will contain the classroom so that we can continue teaching the local children, a volunteer’s room with bathroom, and the kitchen / living room.

Many children in poorer families in the villages around here live in tiny mud huts which are made of bamboo, plastered with mud, and have a thatched roof. In one small room, up to 10 people live, where they cook, eat and sleep in very impoverished conditions. When a problem hits the family, such as ill-health of a parent or child, there is no safety net, and many people cannot afford to go to a doctor or buy basic medications. Diseases such as scabies are very common, as a result of poor hygiene, dirty clothing and poor nutrition.

Many of these children never get an opportunity to go to school, as their families need them to mind younger children, or do hard physical work in order to earn a few rupees to support the family. As a result, they become trapped in a cycle of poverty which they cannot escape due to their lack of education. The children that will come to live here will be given a tremendous opportunity in life. They will eat good food, go to school every day, and live in a comfortable home, with the support of their families nearby. Volunteers will continue to live here to help the children with their English, and to teach English to the local community.

The construction project is also providing employment for up to 20 men, who otherwise would struggle to support their families.

There is great excitement here, and all the children call around every day to marvel at the high speed progress, before we start English class. The project has the full support of the local community, and we all look forward to opening in the next few months, and giving the poorer children in the district the kind of start in life that we would each wish for our own children at home.

Nicky Deasy
Email : nicky.deasy@ireland.com
Ph: + 977 9841420060 ( Nepal )

Health camp at the Monastery (Kapan)

On Saturday 17th March a group of volunteers and INFO Nepal staff visited the Kapan Monastery to distribute medicine and health advice to the young Buddhist Monks who live there. The Monastery is quite new and is very beautiful. We met with volunteer, Dawn (Wales) who was placed in the monastery helping with the children and with a wealth of health and sanitation knowledge from our volunteer’s Rob, Danielle and Morgan from the UK, John from Ireland, Elena from Spain and Esther from Australia we provided basic medication, vitamins and sanitation methods to the children and to the monastery’s staff. The day proved to be a real success, with many of the children’s health ailments diagnosed and treated on the day. Together our volunteers and staff provided assistance and education to ensure the maintenance of the young monks’ good health until our next visit later in the year.

Esther Nimmo - Aus - 2nd time volunteering

Email : kittykahn@hotmail.com

Phone : +977 9803348425 (Nepal )

Lisa Becker

Hobart House
18 Wandsworth Road
SW8 2JB,London

No.: 07901785417
Email: lisa_joanne_beck@yahoo.co.uk

Jan 07 to March 07 - Volunteered in three Children's Resource Centers.

To start with, my 3 months in Nepal have been amazing and I would like to thank INFO-Nepal for giving me this opportunity. I divided my time here into sections, so as to see more of the country and get to know the differences in culture between different parts of Nepal. After my first week in Kathmandu, which I spent learning basic Nepali, which is extremely helpful as helps to get to know the local people more easily as they appreciate it a lot if you speak a few words of their language (which a normal tourist would not bother with) I made the 10 hour trip to Langtang National Park where I would spent the next 6 weeks. The area is fantastic, so full of culture and waking up every morning to see the bright top of a snow-covered mountain makes you not want to leave. Compared with Chitwan where I spent my last 2 weeks, the people in Langtang are mostly Buddhists and are heavily influenced by the Tibetan culture. I was lucky enough to experience both Buddhist and Hindi festivals throughout my stay. For example “Losar”, the Tibetan\Tamang New Year which involves the change of the prayer flags and a heavy 2-day long pick nick with the whole village. The families in Langtang are brilliant! I spent 5 weeks with Gyurmi’s family in Shyabrubensi, the probably busiest of the 4 villages you can go to, as it is the main starting point for the Langtang trek, which I highly recommend you do if you get the chance. I got to know a good lot of people, family and friends, which made me feel less like a stranger and more like a friend. The children are eager to learn and you have the chance to teach at the nearby school which I strongly suggest to increase library attendance. The library is very nice and colourful but is in need of more storybooks and games for the kids.

I also went to Gatlang with Danny, who was going to be there for 4 weeks. Gatlang is the most remote and isolated village of the 4 and setting things up wasn’t all easy as it lacks a library room, but you are well stocked with books and games. Despite some problems with communication (as most of the people and children speak only Tamang, little Nepali and hardly any English) it was great fun to be around those people, watching them living their daily life and teaching the kids was greatly rewarding! Not to mention the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. Durga Tamang’s family has been so good to us and I will never forget their hospitality!

After spending 2 weeks in Pokhara as a holiday, I went to Parbatipur in Chitwan with Amelia. Chitwan is so different from Langtang, it’s not only flat like a pancake but also soaring hot (thank god we had a fan!!). The library is great, so colourful and very well stocked. The kids are very hyper but adorable and very creative.

During my short time there I managed to do an elephant safari (and actually see some rhinos too) and our host-family took us to Bikram Baba temple where we witnessed the gruesome sacrifice of goats and had a nice pick nick afterwards with loads of Nepali dances. The host-family is very nice and funny and cared well for us (all families make amazing food!). Special thanks to Rama who is a brilliant host-mother and person!

Thanks to all the people I met in this mysterious country, where plans change faster than you think!

If you have any questions about the Langtang placement or trek or anything else, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Good luck and enjoy your time!!

Danielle Soya (Danny)
20218 Peach Grove Ln
Dickerson, MD 20842
USA
Email: dcsoya@gmail.com

Teaching in Gatlang, Langtang - Feb- March 2007 ( 6 weeks )

Despite warnings that going alone could be difficult, I chose to be placed in Gatlang just outside of Langtang National Park. It was a very remote village with few Nepali speakers (they are mostly Tamang) and fewer broken English speakers. However, my goal for the trip was to live in the most remote mountain area I could find. Having just recently returned, I have no regrets.

The 10 hour bus ride was fine, with only one minor landslide delay, and I was welcomed in Syabru Bensi by the volunteer who had run the library there for 5 weeks, and her host family. She ended up changing her plans to return to Kathmandu and walked up Goljung Pass with me to help set up in Gatlang. The Pass was an experience in itself: 2 hours straight up the mountain, then 2 more hours along the road at the top to reach my home for the next 5 weeks. The view is awesome, and can’t be properly captured with words or photographs. From the host family’s house there is a perfect view of Langtang I and II, as well as the surrounding snow capped mountain ranges. It is impossible to be upset by anything when you wake up to that view every morning. It makes the cold bearable. And it was cold when I arrived. Snow was a frequent occurrence and quite some time was spent huddling with people around a fire. By the time I left, the warmer weather was coming, which I was grateful for, if only for the sake of the locals who wore sandals through it all.

I managed to set up a decent teaching schedule by the end of the first week. It had taken a while to organize because of the extra language barrier, and the school being out of session, but the effort was more entertaining for the village (and there is something to be said for that). After a brief break to celebrate the Tibetan New Year in Syabru Bensi, I began a daily schedule of class. From 7-8:15, I instructed the younger men of the village who were no longer in school. They could read it quite well, but with the highly accented and non-fluent teachers in the school, everyone had difficulty understanding spoken words without visual aids. At 8:15 until 9 I worked on vocabulary with the small children. They were exceedingly eager and very good mimics, though it took a lot of effort to get them to really comprehend the meaning of words. I ended up going back to assist the English teacher with regular classes because 3 of the 7 teachers never came out to Gatlang to teach. I would teach Class 5 on my own when they had no teacher, and I would work with the official English teacher in Classes 6, 7, and 8 until 1:30. The kids have very little contact with English speakers and would come up and request me in their classrooms before they realized I would be willingly sticking around to teach for a while.

In the afternoons I occasionally did hikes up to Pavari Kunda (a lake 45 min more up the mountain) or to Goljung the other volunteer village 2 hours away. Usually, I taught a few students privately on request until dinner time. There is never a shortage of students if you are eager to teach. The host family’s home is actually a guesthouse and the head master of the school stays there. The teacher’s would come to me with all sorts of question’s about the English language and other countries, all the while trying to improve their pronunciation. I wish more volunteers would visit the area as the long spaces between volunteers mean each one starts from scratch. Still, you never doubt that you are making a difference or that the change is welcome. Next time I go out there, I will try to get some Tamang training to improve communication with the parents in the village. But don’t worry, everyone is very nice, and I was so well cared for, I didn’t ever feel the need to get in contact with the outside world. Though, it is nice to know INFO would help out if there was a problem. I will definitely be returning to visit in the near future.

Jenny Taylor

9 Thornley Road, Moreton,
Wirral,
CH46 6HB
07834859188

E-mail: jennytaylor_keele@hotmail.com

20^th Jan – 19^th March 2007

Nirmal Pokhari and Chitwan Gangganagar
I can honestly say this has been the most inspiring and amazing 2 months of my life, Thank You to everyone at INFO Nepal you are all doing a fantastic job. From the minute I arrived in Nepal I knew I was going to have an unforgettable experience. Arriving at night during a power cut and one of the many strikes was possibly not the best time to arrive, but a good idea of what to expect. On arrival I was welcomed into the INFO Nepal family and paired with another volunteer Nicky, we stayed together for the 2 months of my placement. Language training and sightseeing began immediately, with so much to see and do I realized I had a challenging 2 months ahead of me.
Nicky and I were taken to our training village, Sanga to continue our language and cultural training. This was very enjoyable, even though I was rather hopeless at the language. Sanga was an excellent way to get used to village life, half way between Kathmandu and my placement. It gave me time to adjust to eating Dhal Bhat twice a day with my right hand, using an outside charpi and being a 45 minute uphill walk from the nearest small shop. I’ll never forget having language classes with Krishna (my Nepali guru) eating pop-corn while kid goats munched our clothes and head-butted us. Thank you to Pashupati who came round everyday to take us sightseeing to a different temple and was always singing to us.
After our training and staying at Happy Home we were taken to our placement in Nirmal-Pokari, we were immediately welcomed into the village and became part of the family. The children met us with loud cheering and my initial thought was oh my god how are we going to control over 20 small children? After around a week of the children and us getting to know each other we formed close bonds, especially with the two boys living next door to us. Teaching became fun, in the morning we taught the younger children at the library from 7am-8.45am. It was then home for Dhal Bhat and off to the local government primary school to teach from 10am-1pm. This was very useful as we gained useful knowledge on how to teach e.g. you can never go to slow when getting children to repeat out loud. Nirmal-Pokari is a very bumpy hour and a half bus ride uphill from Pokhara, the views are fantastic, though it was incredibly cold at times. Everyday water is taken from a spring at the bottom of the mountain, it is such hard work. There are children of 7years carrying pails of water that must weigh more than them up mountain stairs, making you realize just how easy we have it back in the U.K. I loved being there, when it came to saying bye I didn’t realize just how attached I had become to the children and the village it was a very emotional day.
A few days in Kathmandu and we were ready to leave, Nicky and I stayed together and moved placement to Ganganagar, Chitwan. Here Nicky will continue to help the construction of the new orphanage while teaching the local children in the library. I got the privilege of spending a week with the children of Gaganagar and continuing the good work of all the previous volunteers. Chitwan is a beautiful place with such kind and generous people, I was welcomed into a lovely family. The landscape is so totally different from Pokhara, it is almost like being in Africa at times and everyone has manual well pumps in the garden for water and showering. I had said goodbye to freezing in my lunge at the bottom of a mountain, trying to shower in the water tap with half the village watching.
I have made friends for life in Nepal and I will never forget this experience, Thank You to Asim and everyone working for INFO Nepal. If anyone is looking for a unique, challenging and rewarding experience then look no further. I am making plans to return to Nepal as soon as possible. Jenny