Volunteer at an orphanage in the Himalayas
| country: | Nepal |
| location: | Annapurna |
| departures: | Start dates are flexible and are available throughout the year |
| price: | From £545 (3 weeks) - £795 (12 weeks) excluding flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Volunteer with Nepali and Tibetan children in the beautiful mountain city of Pokhara.
You can work in orphanages joining in with the day to day running of the home and helping to improve the quality of life of the children, or work in local primary schools teaching English, sports, music, art and other subjects. The orphanages we work with are generally caring for the most disadvantaged members of society and are very short of money. It is because of this that we work with them to provide support, and show that people do care. However it does mean that it can be an emotional experience and you are unlikely to view poverty and disadvantage in the same way after the placement.
The schools that we work with are known as English Medium schools which mean that all lessons are in English. However the standard of English even among the teachers can be very poor and often you may not realise that you are being spoken to in English. Although they are private schools conditions are often basic and many lack the simple resources that you would expect at a school. The children however are generally very excited to have volunteers working with them and you will find the volunteering extremely rewarding. Placements include a detailed information pack, travel assistance, airport pick up, accommodation, introductions and support. Volunteers are responsible for their flights, visas and food throughout.
Pokhara is a beautiful mountain city in the Himalayas. It is defined by the dramatic snow capped peaks of the Annapurna Range and the Fishtail Mountain overlooking the city. It is the start point for some of the greatest treks in the world from challenging treks to one or two day treks in the lower mountains. There is also world class white water rafting accessible from Pokhara. The Southern side of the city is bounded by a beautiful lake where on a calm day you get perfect reflections of Annapurna and the Fishtail Mountain. It’s a relaxed area where many travellers stay and volunteers live and work in the area of Lakeside.
You can work in orphanages joining in with the day to day running of the home and helping to improve the quality of life of the children, or work in local primary schools teaching English, sports, music, art and other subjects. The orphanages we work with are generally caring for the most disadvantaged members of society and are very short of money. It is because of this that we work with them to provide support, and show that people do care. However it does mean that it can be an emotional experience and you are unlikely to view poverty and disadvantage in the same way after the placement.
The schools that we work with are known as English Medium schools which mean that all lessons are in English. However the standard of English even among the teachers can be very poor and often you may not realise that you are being spoken to in English. Although they are private schools conditions are often basic and many lack the simple resources that you would expect at a school. The children however are generally very excited to have volunteers working with them and you will find the volunteering extremely rewarding. Placements include a detailed information pack, travel assistance, airport pick up, accommodation, introductions and support. Volunteers are responsible for their flights, visas and food throughout.
a day in the life of a volunteer
Orphanage volunteers will join in the day to day activities of the orphanage. This would normally include games and activities, teaching some lessons or helping with homework as well as helping out with meal times. Teaching volunteers will normally have their own lessons within the school curriculum and the focus of these lessons is English teaching. Teaching volunteers will also teach other lessons such as sports, music, art and sometimes other academic subjects. Much depends on your personal drive and skill set. If you have a particular interest, you can make it happen. You will normally work for four to six hours per day with 1-2 days free per week. Pokhara is a beautiful mountain city in the Himalayas. It is defined by the dramatic snow capped peaks of the Annapurna Range and the Fishtail Mountain overlooking the city. It is the start point for some of the greatest treks in the world from challenging treks to one or two day treks in the lower mountains. There is also world class white water rafting accessible from Pokhara. The Southern side of the city is bounded by a beautiful lake where on a calm day you get perfect reflections of Annapurna and the Fishtail Mountain. It’s a relaxed area where many travellers stay and volunteers live and work in the area of Lakeside.
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you are looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Through your work you will be helping to improve the quality of life of Nepali and Tibetan children and helping to enable a better future for them by equipping them with skills and showing that people do care.
In addition to this direct benefit, we try to ensure: Environmental responsibility – one of the main negative impacts of our volunteers travelling is the carbon dioxide created from flights. We work with an Amazon research centre to preserve and study an area of rainforest as the most direct way of rebalancing this carbon debt. While our volunteers and customers are overseas, we identify and encourage simple steps to minimise their impact on the local environment. Social responsibility - before volunteers depart we provide them with a detailed information pack on the area they will be visiting. On arrival we provide cultural introductions. We try to educate and encourage our volunteers to understand and respect the local cultures and customs and get involved with local communities. Economic responsibility – a significant proportion of the fee (generally about 50%) is spent in Nepal. We always work with locally owned Nepali businesses and we employ Nepali staff to support our volunteers. While volunteers are in-country, we encourage them to buy locally and support local businesses. Volunteers will either live on site at the orphanage or school, or they can choose a hotel/homestay option.  The hotel is run and staffed by local Nepalis and sources all its consumables locally to support the local economy. Water in the hotel is solar heated which helps to reduce its environmental impact. This trip is all about bringing benefit to the local people and making a difference to the lives of some of the most disadvantaged. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |