Volunteer Society Nepal : The best experience for volunteers, the best value for Nepal.
Yingkar is our first volunteer from the country of Kazakhstan. She dreamed of volunteering and trekking in Nepal. Finally her dream came true and with our partnering organization Travel Society Nepal she went to Everest Basecamp. After that she volunteered at a monastery. Below you will read her story.
Located in between China and India, I found that I knew little about this mysterious country except that is has the Himalayan mountain range. With a wish to know more about its people and culture, I decided to devote my time and energy in monastery volunteering during my winter break.
My flights to Kathmandu and to Lukla (for trekking) were either delayed or canceled several times due to weather conditions and I felt somehow disappointed for that. However, the staff from VSN were very patient and professional. They waited outside the airport for several hours! Their company made me feel comfortable from the first minute of arrival in Nepal.
That was ideal! During my one-month stay in Nepal, I got to know not only urban culture in Kathmandu but also how people live in mountainous villages. These two lifestyles are very different. At the same time, this has also been a good combination of work and rest. Trekking in the mountain trails, eating authentic Sherpa food, and immersing myself into beautiful nature were the best relaxation I had. I would strongly recommend this to everyone!
I enjoyed my volunteering task in monastery very much. Those little monks can speak English at a better level than I expected. They are willing to learn the English language as well as about anything else in the world. Also, we’d play games or watch movies together in the afternoon, which was a lot of fun! Beside this, I also enjoyed my homestays: the parents and kids never made me feel as a stranger but as a part of the Nepali family.
Talking about the challenges, I must point out the weather! I was informed about the winter in Nepal, but I didn’t take it very seriously because I’m from a place where winter temperature can drop to -35 degrees celcius. However, upon my arrival, I realized that a house without central heating and insulation is much colder than I expected! During the trek, I was sitting near the furnace in the lodge till I went to bed. When I was in Kathmandu, I couldn’t help myself covering two layers of blankets and wearing lots of warm clothes in the evening. No constant hot shower water challenged me even more. Surprisingly, with time, I got used to all this!
I’m very passionate about the Quality of Education Goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, because I believe “Ignorance deprives people of freedom if they don’t know what alternatives they have.” My volunteering in the monastery is proof of this as the little monks broadened their horizons while learning English. We didn’t only go through English vocabulary and speaking, but also learned different geographies and cultures during the class. Their eyes were shining when they absorbed new knowledge!
Therefore, I would recommend future volunteers to do their best in their projects and make a real impact on the lives of the people involved.
Interestingly, my best friends were the two kids in my home stay: Agapi and Jonathan. We spent most evenings together playing different games. Despites the fact that they are just 5 and 10 years old, they’re very open to foreign volunteers and their English is quite good. We had a lot of fun together, and they made my stay in Nepal special and pleasant.