Himalayan Education Lifeline Programme (Nepal)

I volunteered through this program to teach English as a second language for three months in Shikha, a small village in Nepal. It was a very rewarding experience. The students are eager to learn. Although sometimes it can be a challenge to teach English to a bunch of rambunctious grade school students (some student traits are universal), the results are gratifying. The experience also allowed me to immerse myself in the Nepalese culture, and spend some time trekking in the Himalayas.
HELP is an excellent organization. Its goals are clearly stated. There is not a big superfluous infrastructure. I felt that almost all of the time and money I donated went toward its program goals. HELP is an organization that I can trust. Although I did not need much logistical support, I felt that HELP would have provided such support if I had needed it. They did provide very good preparation for my trip there. HELP is the real deal.

This is to far to much to describe. I have never had such a great experience as this, all because of the love the children give me. Although I was there for a short term, it felt that I know the children in the village and the school for years. It good to spend a lot of time with the children, playing football, volleyball and frisbee before school and during break time. I never said no when someone asked me to walk to another village, and the people are happy to point at animals, plants, villages and houses, telling me about their names in Nepali, and which students live where.

I chose to volunteer at a school a few miles outside of Kalimpong in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal and I feel it was a very good choice for me. I will be doing my own fundraising for the school I was volunteering at and returning to teach again. I found the staff at this school to be very good and better qualified than most teachers in similar sized schools and larger ones too. Eager to learn what they could and teach me about themselves,their language and their customs I felt very welcomed. The children ranging from nursery (approx 3 yrs) to class 5 were well behaved especially compared to their Western counter parts. The climate was very nice even during the monsoon, and I didn't see or hear of anyone getting malaria in that part of India.

The host family is was very accommodating and very much like the teachers. The principals wife cooked some of the most delicious food I have been so fortunate to have eaten. If I needed something in the market I couldn't find or somewhere they were very keen to help me. I made very good friends with the principal and his wife. I tried to be involved in the community by participating in pujas when I could and other such community gatherings ( I was invited to a wedding while there too). This I found help me deal with the culture shock and keep myself occupied.

I was done teaching by 2pm everyday and would walk back to the house for lunch at about noon. After I was finished teaching the day was mine. Dinner wasn't usually until 8 or 9. I would go to the market quite often to practice my Nepali. When I was teaching English I was amazed at how similar it is to English and is very easy to pick up. I wish I had hired a tutor while there. In July is a 2 week summer holiday and I didn't plan on going too far, so I asked the Executive Director at the time if there was any work that needed to be done in the area. It just so happened another school close by had applied to HELP for assistance but needed someone to go to conduct an initial survey, so I ended up doing so and visited many times as a result.

Highlights would be the people and community, the food, and the language. I found it very rewarding and as my first time traveling abroad and alone this place was a gentle transition to a country like that. I found the people to be a lot more liberal than in other parts of India especially with regards to women. Keep in mind there is an 'agitation' happening now in the District for a separate state of Gorkaland. Most people of the hill region are ethnically Nepali and are oppressed by the state government of the Bengali majority. Kalimpong is situated on a crest between two hills and each hill has a division of the Indian Army on it. There were many times in the market where soldiers would wander about with riot gear, assault rifles, grenade launchers, and tear gas launchers however I never felt threatened as it was very calm at the time.

How dependent you are on your work book was very difficult to deal with. The books are not usually very quality and come on a first come first serve basis for the private schools in this area. When teaching you have to keep in mind that when you leave they do have exams and that their mark ultimately depends on that number grade. The teachers need to be able to test what you have taught too.

The Program through HELP in Pokhara was a great experience due to the staff of Help. The Social Public School does forget sometimes about the education of the children and sometimes more about the money that can gain from having such visitors as myself or others.

In my seven to eight week stay in Nepal, I taught at a kindergarten through fifth grade school. I was able to work with each class during my stay and felt that my presence was valued by both staff and students. My assignment was in a rural setting where some of the students walked over an hour each way to attend school. Many of the students were from other school districts, but their parents choose to send them to the school supported by the HELP program because it was far superior. The HELP program not only supplies occasional teacher volunteers, but also gives each student two pairs of pants, two shirts, two sweaters, and school supplieseach year. HELP also provides school supplies to the school teachers. These teachers spoke little English, but were open to new ideas and teaching techniques, which is what makes them a superior school, thanks to HELP!