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Working in a Nepalese children's home

Work in a Nepalese children's home
Volunteer Sarah Geffen writes...

'Six months ago I could not have pictured myself actually jumping on that flight to Nepal; in fact even when I was on the flight it still hadn’t quite sunk in that I was going. Now sitting here and looking back I can’t quite believe I did it! A completely surreal experience you could say.

I spent three months working at Siphal Child Protection home in Kathmandu. It is a home set up and supported by the government for children whose parents are in prison. There are roughly 60 children living there, and they are the most fantastic children I have met in my life. They are forever happy and cheerful, always excited to see us, and willing to join in any activity we organised, from dancing to Greased Lightening to playing football. We took them on picnics, walks, sang songs with them, and even took a group of them back to our hotel for the day! (The sight of their faces when we appeared with chocolate ice cream was brilliant.)

I had an absolute ball both with the children and experiencing Nepali culture. It is the most beautiful country with the most genuine people. Not only did I learn a lot about a different culture and way of life, I also learnt the skills of painting and plastering as we took on the task of redecorating their dining room. It is now a beautiful shade of mint green, covered in drawings and photos of the children.

We even had time to go on a few trips to see the rest of the country. We got the chance to go white-water rafting, bathe with elephants at Chitwan National Park and see the beautiful sunset over the Annapurna region (your name doesn’t have to be Michael Palin to go on that kind of adventure!).

I will never ever forget my time in Nepal: taking a gap year was the best decision I ever made!'

With i-to-i, you could work at one of Nepal’s many children’s homes, which care for orphans and children who would otherwise live in jail with a convicted parent. Located in quiet neighborhoods so children can visit their families, the homes give them a safe community and protect them from abuse, drugs and crime. You could help in any number of ways, from getting the children ready for school, to helping with homework, to organizing arts and crafts activities. The homes are quiet during the day because the children are at school, so you will have the opportunity to do some teaching in local schools as well.




Name: i-to-i
Address: Woodside House, 261 Low Lane, Horsforth, LS18 5NY
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Tel: 0845 344 7592