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News Letter July & August 2007 - Real Nepal
We already had
altogether German Volunteer, Austrian Volunteer, Finish
Volunteer, Finland Volunteer, Spanish Volunteer, Spain
Volunteer, French Volunteer, France Volunteer, Hong Kong
Volunteer, Singapore Volunteer, Norway Volunteer, Portugal
Volunteer, Canadian Volunteer, to volunteer in Nepal at our
orphanage, Orphans, Homeless children British Volunteer in
Nepal, Switzerland, Swiss Volunteer in Nepal, English teaching,
Irish Volunteer in Nepal, Dutch Volunteer in Nepal, German
Volunteer, Austrian, Finish Volunteer in Nepal, Spanish
Volunteer in Nepal, French Volunteer in Nepal, Canadian
Volunteer in Nepal, Volunteer Nepal, Volunteer Abroad, Volunteer
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study in Nepal, exchange program in Nepal, volunteer placements,
gap year, year out, cultural exchange, voluntary work,
volunteer, orphans, volunteering in Nepal, educational courses,
work experience, study abroad, gap year in Nepal, careers
advice, working overseas, career break, university fees,
conservation, US, American Volunteer in Nepal, , Volunteer
Services, volunteer Center, Volunteer Service, Job and
Employment, Project support, Monitoring, Study Abroad, Catholic,
Fund Raiser, Friends, Global Volunteers, Nepal Program,
volunteer opportunities, volunteer program, volunteer
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courses, work experience, study abroad, gap year information,
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orphanages in Nepal, volunteer abroad in Nepal, volunteer work
in Nepal, charity work in Nepal, Non Profit organization,
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management in Nepal, International Volunteer, volunteer work,
Donate, Donation, homeless children, HIV, AIDS, Organization,
International Volunteer in Nepal, Youth Volunteer in Nepal,
Volunteering in Nepal, Volunteer Organization, Volunteer
Services in Nepal, volunteer Center in Nepal, Volunteer Service,
Job and Employment in Nepal, Project support, Monitoring, Study
Abroad in Nepal, Catholic in Nepal, Fund Raiser, Friends, Global
Volunteers, Nepal Program, volunteer nepal, internship nepal,
teaching nepal, job nepal, travel nepal, university fees,
conservation, US, American Volunteer, British Volunteer,
Switzerland, Swiss Volunteer, Ireland, Irish Volunteer, Holland,
The Netherlands, Dutch Volunteer, Germany, Finish Volunteer,
Finland, Spanish Volunteer, Spain, French Volunteer, France,
Hong Kong, Singapore, Norway, Portugal, Canadian Volunteer,
Canada, Nepal volunteer, orphanage, Orphans, Homeless, Canadian
Volunteer in Nepal, Volunteer, Volunteer Abroad, Volunteer
Program, Volunteer Management, Non Profit, volunteer
Opportunities, International Volunteer, Volunteer Work,
Organization, International Volunteer, Youth Volunteer,
Volunteering, Volunteer Organization, Volunteer Services,
volunteer Center, Volunteer Service, Job and Employment, Project
support, Monitoring, Donation, homeless children, HIV, AIDS,
International Volunteer in Nepal, Youth Volunteer in Nepal,
Volunteering in, Nepal, Volunteer Services in Nepal, volunteer
Center in Nepal, Job and Employment in Nepal, Project support
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Experience of working at the
Monastery, Kathmandu
During my stay in Nepal, I have
had the chance to do a lot more traveling around than I
originally thought I would be able to! For the first few days in
Kathmandu I stayed in a hotel and was taken to do some
sightseeing around the area and learned some Nepali. This was
really good, because it gave me the chance to find my feet and
get a taste for the city and culture. It also gave me time to
decide where I wanted to go for my placement. After seeing
Boudha and the Monkey Temple, a curiosity in Buddhism had been
aroused in me, and so I decided that I would do my placement in
a monastery. After so much traveling to Chitwan for a jungle
safari and then in Pokhara for a trek, I was ready to finally
settle down somewhere!
When I arrived at the monastery, I
was first taken to the dinner hall where I met the manager of
the monastery and the lama who looks after the children. Though
neither speak very good English, they both instantly came across
as being warm and welcoming, and said that if I should ever have
any problems, I should not hesitate to tell them.
So whilst I was there, I taught
for 4 hours per day, Monday to Friday. The monks will wake up at
5.30am and begin chanting in Tibetan until 7am. Breakfast was at
7.30am and then my first class started at 8am. This was the
junior class, whose English is quite basic. The class had all
ages, as they were just grouped according to their English
ability. The children were so sweet and well behaved, and very
eager to work. The class finished at 9.30am, and then I took the
senior class from 10am-11.30. This was my favourite class! With
that little extra knowledge of English that they had, you could
really get to know them well and have a lot of fun. They were
cheekier than the younger monks and liked to have a joke around,
but once the work was set they got on and did it. I found that
their basic knowledge of English was good, but that their
grammar and conversational skills needed a lot of work.
After these 2 classes we had lunch
at 11.30am (the best daal bhat I have tasted in Nepal!) and then
in the afternoon we just had another 1hour class with the senior
class between 1 and 2pm. For the rest of the afternoon and
evening I could do what I wanted. I usually went outside to play
games with the children in between of the rest of their Tibetan
and other subject lessons. There are not really any cafes nearby
(unless you are willing to walk up to Kopan monastery) as the
area is not at all touristy, but there are little shops where
you can buy the essentials like water, snacks and toiletries.
Boudha is about a half hour walk away though, and so if you
fancy shopping this is probably the best place to go.
Though the monastery itself looks
like a palace from the outside, on the inside the facilities are
fairly basic. It is about a half hour taxi ride from Thamel, in
a place called Ramhiti and on the top of a hill over-looking the
city. In our room, we had a balcony (!) with a wonderful view,
but inside was just a bed and cupboard. The toilets were in a
separate block downstairs, and were Nepali style ones, and there
was no hot water in the showers unfortunately! But if you ask to
be shown the meditation room, you will be blown away! It is very
very beautiful, and I am sure the lama would be willing to let
you spend time in there to meditate if you wanted to. They have
plans to build a library there with computers and internet etc
for the future, though I have no idea when that will be ready.
In terms of what the children
need, I would say that aside from English, teaching them about
hygiene is probably the most valuable thing you could offer
them. Because they have no “mother-figure” as such to tell them
to bathe etc, they tend to do it at their own will. As far as I
know they do not use soap, and tend just to wash their faces and
arms most of them time. Also, things like brushing their teeth
is something they forget to do. They have access to healthcare
whenever they need it, so getting treatment for any skin
problems is not difficult. It is just the prevention that is a
problem.
But as for the children, I feel so
lucky to have been able to spend a month with them! They were
such wonderful kids, all so lively and entertaining. I had the
idea in my head that being monks, they would all be very very
quiet and perhaps would not like to play games etc so much. But
one thing I have learned from being there is that children are
the same the world over. They all love to play games and have
fun, and every child has their quirks and personalities which
you get to know with time. The most rewarding part was seeing
even the quieter children begin to come out of their shells as
they started to feel comfortable around you. Leaving them was
very difficult, but I am taking so many good memories.
Working at the Street Children
Home – Diana
I arrived in Kathmandu on the 30th
June. We were taken to Thamel, were we started our language
training on the 1st of July. After 3 days of language
training, we went on safari to Chitwan for 2 nights and then
went on to Pokara for a 4day trek. After the trek me and Aimee
stayed behind to start placement, which had already been already
arranged back in Kathmandu.
Our placement was working at a
newly established orphanage which had taken children off the
street. At the time of the placement there were about 30
children, but this number fluctuated daily as some ran away or
returned to their families. At first the teaching was hard,
there were 2 staff there, a paid nepali teacher (male) and an
admin worker who also assisted in the teaching. At first we
received no help in controlling or teaching the class and were
pretty much left to our own devices!
The children were hard to control
and as we were the first volunteers at that particular orphanage
there did not appear to be a set routine that we had to follow.
They all had textbooks of a very basic level, in nepali, English
and maths, but trying to teach English from it was quite
difficult so we improvised with our own lesson plans.
We developed more of a schedule
and arrived at the orphanage for just after 10, started English
lessons at 11, then the nepali teacher would take neapli for an
hour till 1 then we would teach maths in English at 1. Then the
children would have lunch at 2 and we would then be free to play
with the children in the afternoon.
The orphanage itself is on very
small premises and very confined. There are 3 small bedrooms and
a really small classroom along with a kitchen area and small
dining room. About 6 children sleep in each bedroom and the
majority sleep in the classroom. There are few mattresses and
blankets. Its located about a 20 minute walk from lakeside and
about a 5 minute walk away from my host family.
The host family we stayed with
were very welcoming and I really enjoyed my stay there. We
received dal bhat twice a day, just before we left for the
orphanage at 9.30 and in the evening at about 8, but it was
usually quite flexible!
All in all I have really enjoyed
my stay here and met some great people. The highlight of my stay
definitely been placement, and the children of the orphanage who
I’ll never forget.
Living with local family in a
group
We traveled as a group of five to
Nepal to undergo voluntary work for a month. When we arrived in
Nepal, however, we were informed that it would be possible to
experience different activities during our stay. As a large
group it was often difficult to accommodate the five of us but
Asim and his staffs, were able to make arrangements that allowed
us to stay together for the duration of our stay.
Our placement was in Bhaktupur
which is about a 40 minute drive from Kathmandu. We stayed in a
village called Katumje where we were placed in two schools: Om
Secondary and Surya Deep Secondary. Both of these were private
English schools with children ranging from four to 16. Whilst on
placement we were given the opportunity to teach a variety of
subjects to many of the classes, although this was not what we
were expecting to be doing during our placement, it taught us a
lot about education in Nepal. At the time of our placement, both
schools were undergoing examinations which enabled us to observe
the Nepali exam process. Both schools made us feel welcome and
appeared to appreciate our time and efforts in their schools.
 The
host family which we were placed with had not previously hosted
volunteers but this did not affect our stay, we have since
learnt that future volunteers will also be placed with them.
Living with the host family provided us with a chance to
experience the culture and way of life of Nepali families. They
warmly welcomed us and were made to feel part of the family;
they were also kind enough to take us sightseeing around local
places of interest. At the end of our stay with our host family
we were all disappointed to have to leave them and say goodbye.
In addition to our placement we
were given the opportunity to visit places of interest in and
around Kathmandu. During our stay we spent some time at Chitwan
National Park where we were took an elephant safari and shower,
stayed in an observation tower in the jungle and were able to
take guided safari walks. In preparation for our placement we
went to an Ashram just outside Kathmandu, here we were able to
spend a couple of days learning some basic yoga and meditation
as well as having additional Nepali language lessons. We also
put some time aside at the end of our stay to attempt a mountain
flight around the Himalayas. Unfortunately due to the time of
year (monsoon season!) our flight was unsuccessful and cancelled
all five times we attempted it!
Although we found it great to
experience this as a group, we were always surrounded by other
volunteers from different organizations, this means that even
those traveling on their own will have the chance to meet many
new people. The evenings were well organized and involved all
the volunteers meeting up for an evening meal enabling us to
meet a large number of other volunteers.
The overall experience of
volunteering in Nepal was amazing and one that we will never
forget. Thanks.
Experience Real
Nepal
By Esther Nimmo.
It has been an
interesting and busy few weeks for everyone at Experience Real
Nepal. July has been our busiest month ever with twenty
volunteers arriving this month, and many more expected in August
and September. In the first few days of July we welcomed eight
volunteers (all from the UK) into our new office in Thamel,
Kathmandu. After five days of cultural and language training
and sightseeing in Kathmandu, five of the volunteers headed of
to Chitwan to take part in a jungle safari and then to Pokhara
for four days trekking through the Annapurna mountain range.
James, Abigail and Jessica headed in a different direction
though. They are currently halfway through the Everest Base
Camp Trek and we wish them all the best. Sabrina and Jennifer
headed back to Kathmandu a few days ago to begin their placement
teaching to young Monks in the Buddhist Monastery at Kopan.
Yesterday, Mary embarked on her ten hour bus journey to Langtang
to teach for a few weeks in our Resource Centre at Sybrubensi.
Aimee and Dana stayed in Pokhara after their trekking and are
also teaching in one of our Resource Centres.
Holly, Helen (twin
sisters), Alice, Annie (sisters), and Harry (their mate) arrived
to Kathmandu on the 3rd July from Winchester in
England. After completing their training in Kathmandu they all
headed to an Ashram in Dhulikhel to continue their training
whilst participating in meditation and yoga – lucky them! They
settled nicely into their placement in one room (yes, all five
in one room) in Bhaktapur, ready to take on teaching English and
monitoring examinations at two of the local colleges for the
next week or two.
Diana and Henry left
for Chitwan today to take part in a jungle safari and elephant
ride. Henry will stay in Sauraha to teach at the Resource
Centre there while Diana will head back to Kathmandu to teach in
an International English Medium School in Baneshwor.
After a few days break we are
expecting a whole new influx of volunteer towards the end of
July. We look forward to meeting all our new volunteers
and wish good luck to all our current volunteers across Nepal.
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