Volunteer Society Nepal : The best experience for volunteers, the best value for Nepal.
We came to meet with a lovely and courageous volunteer: Niki from Belgium. Niki is a student of occupational therapy. She is here because her college encouraged her to go abroad for an occupational therapy internship. Niki is doing her internship at one of our projects, the Center for Children with Intellectual Disabilities (CCID). She is in Nepal for 8 weeks. At the end of the internship she is planning to travel to Pokhara together with her other two friends Margo and Sheridan.
s“It’s totally different from what we do in Belgium. Sometimes it is difficult, even though I love to spend time with the kids. At the centre, I first diagnose the disabilities of children and give them some occupational therapy to make them more comfortable. I help them by giving various types of occupational therapy. I do this to make the children more independent.’’ says Niki. “The first few days of language lessons and touring helped a lot. I learned a bit of Nepali. And this also helps to communicate with the children.
One should have a lot of patience to deal with the children. We found Niki to have a good level of patience. She is teaching the children to sit comfortably, to put on clothes by themselves and to take a bath. She is also helping some of the smarted children in doing mathematics.
Examples of other activities that can make the children more independent are: making them able to lift up light to heavy things or hold pencils. She also organizes occupational therapy games that give the children some exercise.
We are very happy with Niki’s help and input. Here in Nepal there is a constant need for physical and occupational therapists. If you are thinking about coming to Nepal and volunteer, then we are happy to help you and match you with the right project.