Insight Nepal: Volunteering in Nepal

As a couple in our early 50's, we volunteered with Insight Nepal from January to April, 2002. Our placement was with a school in Pokhara. We did not have previous teaching experience, but we were greeted warmly by both teachers and students. We found that we enjoyed working with grades 3 - 5 best; the children had enough English to understand us, but were still young enough that we were able to design suitable classes without difficulty.
The Insight Nepal program is well designed, including some basic language lessons and cultural orientation, as well as a very enjoyable trek in the mountains and trip to Chitwan National Park. During our orientation week, we stayed with a local family, and then moved in with the family of one of the school's teachers while we were doing our teaching placement.
Although the English of most members of our host family was limited, we found that we were able to communicate quite well. We spent some time working on our Nepali, using a book originally written for members of the Peace Corps. It was very satisfying to be able to speak to people in their own language, even though our knowledge of the language was quite basic. Both our host families were very welcoming, and we still keep in contact with them.
In 2008, we returned to Nepal and visited with Naresh and his wife, the families we had lived with, and the school where we had volunteered. It was a wonderful reunion.
Naresh and his staff are warm, supportive and knowledgeable, and we recommend the Insight Nepal program to anyone who is interested in a educational and enjoyable volunteer experience in Nepal.

I completed this programme in 2009. I hadn't travelled very much outside of Europe before, so I was a little nervous, but I felt so safe and taken care of for the entire trip. I travelled alone to Nepal, and was met at the airport in Kathmandu, and escorted to my very friendly hotel in the centre, where Naresh phoned to ensure I had arrived safely. I had a few days to explore the city, which was so different to any place I had been before, and I met other volunteers and sampled the local restaurants and Ayurvedic treatments.

I had a long bus journey to Pokhara then, and could really enjoy the landscape. I was met off the bus by Naresh, who was very welcoming and friendly. We travelled to his home where I stayed a few days, having Nepali lessons and being fed extremely well by his lovely wife. I was then introduced to my host family, who became my own family for the next two months. I will always remember their kindness, welcome and good humour, and think of them so often. Day to day I went to Children Nepal, a local NGO, where I taught English to preschool children, and helped with marketing for their women's crafts group. In the evenings I would sometimes go to Lakeside to have a coffee and chat with some other tourists and volunteers. Other times I would go back to my family, help around the house, watch Indian soaps on TV with my host-Mum, wander down to the markets or sit and look at the breath-taking mountains in the distance. The food was fantastic, and I learned to cook a few specialty dishes, and taught my host Mum to make pizza and cookies!

I made some lovely friends through my host family who took me to see their Ashram, painted my hands for Mendhi, and took me trekking to see the dawn over the mountains. I was dressed in a sari for a cousin's wedding! Another highlight was the 5 day trek through the Annapurna mountains, this was spectacular, with a cheerful and trustworthy guide, and another lovely volunteer. I don't think I've ever been so happy as diving in under a cool waterfall after a long, hot day's trek.

I highly recommend this programme, especially for lone travellers - you will feel safe, cared for, and will learn so much about this beautiful country.