Nepal: Volunteer Care/Orphanage work in Asia

Nepal: Volunteer Care-Work with Children and Adults

There is a real need for assistance at the many orphanages and centres for children with special needs in Nepal. The centres that Projects Abroad work with often suffer from a chronic lack of resources, so your work as a volunteer will be challenging. You may find that some of the children are malnourished or have been victims of domestic violence. Our Care placements enable you to get involved and really make a difference to the quality of life experienced by these children.

By volunteering on a Care project in Nepal you will make a real difference to the lives of children in the developing world. You do not need qualifications or previous experience to join a work experience placement, and we believe all volunteers have something to contribute.

So whether you are on your holidays, a gap year or a career break you will have a role to play. These Care projects benefit the local community and make a difference to the lives of not only the children but also the many other people you meet along the way.

Voluntary Community Development and Orphanage work with Projects Abroad

There are thought to be about 5,000 street children in Nepal, and the majority are concentrated in and around the ancient capital of Kathmandu, where Projects Abroad Nepal is based, so this is a key group that we try to help.

You could help with general, or more specialised, care work at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre, which was set up to provide a stable and nurturing environment for impoverished children suffering from varying degrees of malnutrition.

The Saathi Drop-in Centre offers basic education, food and shelter to boys from the streets, from age 5 to 17. Here you could help organise activities and even assist with giving vocational training.

The Life Development Centre is dedicated to providing the best available teaching and general care to children with mental disabilities. On this placement volunteers are encouraged to use any artistic and musical talents they may have, to play games with the children and to teach some basic English.

Whichever volunteer Care project you find yourself working on, you need to be ready for a challenge. Many of the children will have health or behavioural problems, or may require extra attention due to mental or physical disabilities.

Volunteering abroad on a Care Project in Nepal

Many of the orphanages in Nepal have facilities such as a football pitches or basketball courts, so they are great for those who are keen to get involved with sports. Previous volunteers working in orphanages have also spent some time helping with conversational English classes at the schools the children attend. You do not need to have any sort of qualification to get involved in teaching; just a good level of spoken English.

Volunteers at the Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children work with children who have physical disabilities. In order to receive corrective surgery, children have to spend extensive periods at the Centre, away from their homes and family. They really appreciate the interaction and support our volunteers provide on a day-to-day basis. You will also find yourself working with children who have been shunned from society as a result of their disfigured limbs, and by befriending the children you can work towards raising their self-esteem. The centre is set on a hill overlooking a quaint village outside Kathmandu - with a magnificent view of the Himalayas.

Volunteering on a Care project in Nepal is a chance to make a real difference to these children, not merely through the development of their social and life-skills, but also through exposing them to new ideas and cultures. Your assistance will also support the dedicated, but overstretched, staff who will always appreciate having you there to help.

This project is available for two weeks if you don't have time to join us for a month or more. This project has been selected by our local colleagues as being suitable for short term volunteering for both the host community and the volunteer. Although you will gain a valuable cultural insight and work intensely within the local community please be aware that you may not be able to make the same impact as someone volunteering for a longer period.