Volunteer Nepal: Kathmandu

Kathmandu is Travel to Teach's base in Nepal and all volunteers initially arrive in Kathmandu for their induction before moving on to their placement. The capital of Nepal, and the countries only major city, Kathmandu is a fascinating place. Set in the Kathmandu Valley, with the Himalayas rising to the north and the gentler slopes of the Mahabharat Range to the south, Kathmandu is in places as crowded, dirty and bustling as virtually any developing world city. Other areas are architecturally stunning and home to numerous notable Hindi and Buddhist temples and ancient buildings.

Kathmandu, and particularly the tourist area Thamel, has a large variety of Western food, shopping, guest houses and Internet cafes, however even this can have an old world feel with its labyrinth of small restaurants and shops. A feeling that increases when the area is plunged into darkness by scheduled daily power outages.

The amount of time volunteers spend in Kathmandu will depend upon the length of their placements however all volunteers will start their stay with 2 days training and sightseeing in the center of the city, before moving onto stay onto the Kathmandu Happy Home for further training. You will then move onto one of our two training villages in the Kathmandu valley for further cultural and language introductions and initiation into Nepali life before leaving for your placement.

As well as our training villages, Dhulikhel and Sanga, we place volunteers in other villages around the Kathmandu valley and also within the city of Kathmandu itself. All of the villages are located within one and a half hour's bus ride from Kathmandu’s center and most have a well developed infrastructure, with water readily available, and reliable roads. In addition to a local tea house most of the villages have a few shops where you can purchase bottled water, biscuits, and stationery. International phone calls are usually possible however Internet access is less widely available.

Photo Gallery: Around Kathmandu

Sadhus (Hindu Holy Men) in Kathmandu

A typical Kathmandu street

Street stalls in the Thamel district

Inside the Sayambhunath Temple

The climb to the top of Swayambhunath Temple

Possibly the most famous shot in Kathmandu - the main stupa within Swayambhunath

Swayambhunath is also commonly known as the Monkey Temple due to the gangs of monkeys that surround the temple

Temple buildings within Swayambhunath

Stall selling Budhist souvenirs inside Swayambhunath

Swayambhunath is home to around 50 monks

Novice monk playing football

Buddhist prayer flags and the view across to the Swayambhunath stupa

Stupas and street life below Swayambhunath Temple

Street stall selling Buddhist art

Buddhist prayer wheels

Hindu Shrine where people make daily offerings

The Trailokya Mohan Naraysan Temple in Durbar square

Durbar (Palace) Square was home to Nepali kings from the 15th to the early 20th century with each king constructing new temples.

Lohan Chowk temple within Durbar Square.

A Sidhu in Durbar Square

Hindu temple in the Basantapur district

Newari religious ceremony in Durbar square

Clay pots for sale in near Durbar Square

Street vendor making clay pots

Street stall in Thamel

Street weaver in the Indra chowk shopping district

Thamel - the main tourist district of Kathmandu

Cafe in the Thamel district

Street trader in Durbar Square

Selling spices in the Thamel district

Typical Kathmandu side street

Old Man Cycling

More Around Kathmandu images.

Volunteer Projects in Kathmandu

Travel to Teach place volunteers in orphanages and at local schools in Kathmandu and the valley. Our work in schools is based around English teaching although work can also involve teaching life skills such as personnel hygiene. As well as helping to care for the children our orphanage volunteers work to educate staff, improve conditions around the orphanages and help the children with their studies. Our main projects are listed below.

Happy Home Children's Care House
Setup in February 2005 by Asim and Namrata our partners in Nepal and run by them with the help of volunteers, the Happy Home aims to provide a caring home environment and education for up to 12 children. Most of the children here are orphans, or from very poor landless families and have been rescued from child labour. All of our volunteers visit the Happy Home at some point during their stay and it is used as part of our training programs for new volunteers and also as a kind of second home for volunteers staying in or visiting Kathmandu.

As well as looking after the children and helping about around the home volunteers also help the children with their homework and teach English and personal hygiene (brushing their teeth, personal care, etc) and arranging events for the children. Such has been the success of the Happy Home that second and third Happy Home's are being built in Kathmandu and kathmandu_volunteering.

Pabitra Orphanage Home
The Pabitra Orphanage Home is situated in Jorpati within the main city of Kathmandu. The home houses 55 children aged between 1 and 14. The majority of these children are orphans although some have been placed in the home by parents who are unable to feed them.

The home currently has 8 staff looking after 8 bedrooms and a kitchen and is financed by donations and from various charities and private donors. The home also provides funds to send around 30 of the children who are old enough to the nearby Eyelens English School, paying there tuition fees and providing books and stationery. We have previously sent 5 volunteers to the home, who help out in the children's daily routine in various ways including teaching basic hygiene and assisting them with their studies.

Sanga
A small village around one hour from Kathmandu Sanga is used as a training village and with volunteers staying here during there first week in Nepal whilst receiving there language and culture lessons and becoming acclimatized to Nepali life.

Volunteers are also given long term placements in Sanga where we work to improve the health and sanitation in the village, and to also teach the villagers environmental awareness. Ongoing projects here include building toilet facilities, building an enclosed shower, and water filtration systems. Volunteers can also work in the library, which has been established with the Tulsimeher Youth Club.

Dhulikhel
Dhulikhel is our second training village use to acclimatize volunteers during their first week in Nepal. Approximately one and a half hours from Kathmandu the area known for its views of the Himalayas. In Dhulikel we work in a local government school where volunteers teach English with local teachers and help students with their academics. The school also has some very basic computer teaching facilities.

Manibaya Children’s Orphanage, Kathmandu:
The Manibaya orphanage is based in Maharajgung in Kathmandu. It currently houses 41 children, aged between 4 –14. The orphanage is extremely basic with the children sharing 3 bedrooms, with many to a bed. We are working hard to improve these conditions and have so far sent 5 volunteers to the home where we have work to teach administrators better management and hygiene skills. We have also worked to eradicate various infestations (bed, body, hair lice etc) that the children suffer from, and improve their lives.

Through donations and the work of volunteers the orphanage is slowly becoming better equipped with new furniture and proper blankets and bed sheets and study equipment for all the children there. Donations are also used to pay the children tuition fees. Everyone at the home is thrilled with the changes that have been made so far.

Birendra Peace Children Welfare Center
This small children's home is in the region of Balaju, a rural suburb a few km north of Kathmandu. There are 13 children in the home, ranging in age from 3 to 13. They live in four rooms of a shared house, and share a backyard with the other families who live there. This is a new project where we have only recently begun sending volunteers and donations. The first volunteer worked to improve hygiene, teach English, and encouraged play activities and donations have been used to by school uniforms for the students and improve a previously bare room designated as the school room, with the addition of carpets and posters for the walls.

Photo Gallery: Volunteering in Kathmandu

Staff volunteers and orphans on the balcony of the Happy Home Kathmandu

Asim and Namrata, our partners in Kathmandu who live in and run the Happy Home

T2T's Jessica in the Happy Home

Dinner time in the Happy Home

The standard food in Nepal is Dal Bhat which most people eat daily

The kitchen in the Happy Home. Most volunteers will stay in the Happy Home during their induction

Volunteers bedroom in the Happy Home

Asim eating his Dal Bhat. He may eat it every day but this doesn't mean he enjoys it any less!

The original Happy Home has been so successful that Happy Home's 2 and 3 are being built in Kathmandu and Chitwan.

The new Kathmandu Happy Home should be in use by the summer of 2007.

Nepali school children

As well as teaching in orphanages our volunteers also work in government schools in Kathmandu and around the valley

A typical Nepali classroom. Virtually government schools lack all but the most basic of facilities.

Making food in one of the childrens homes we work with in Kathmandu

Orphans in Kathmandu

Washing hands before eating. Encouraging basic hygiene is an important part of work in orphanages.

Eating popcorn

Play time

More Volunteering in Kathmandu images.

General Kathmandu Info

Where Will I Stay?

Volunteers in the Kathmandu area either home stay with local families or if working in an orphanage they often stay in the orphanage. Nepali people are extremely hospitable and volunteers will be well looked after however the accommodation will be typically Nepali and therefore basic by Western standards. Toilets and showers are usually Nepali style and the electricity supply in Kathmandu is unreliable with scheduled 3 hour power outages for much of the year. We have four different home stay families in the area all of whom have lots of previous experience with looking after volunteers. Volunteers staying in orphanages are given their own room within the orphanage.

Food

The staple food for most Nepali families and in orphanages is "Dal Bhat" which consists of rice (Bhat), lentil soup (dal) and vegetables in curry (Tarkari) and/or meat (Masu) and a small amount of pickle /sauce (Achar), other popular Nepali foods are either Indian or Tibetan influenced with lots of curries, breads and potato based dishes. There is a massive selection of international food in Kathmandu although most of this is around the Thamel area.

Volunteers can either eat with their host family or go out to eat, although the variety of locally available food will depend greatly on where in the area they are located and their proximity to Thamel. Volunteers from other areas of Kathmandu usually travel into Thamel on weekends to socialize with other volunteers and eat Western food. A typical meal in Kathmandu will cost anywhere from 50 – 300 rupees ($1-$5).

Weather

Weather in the Kathmandu valley is some of the most moderate in Nepal. In summer (May to September) the temperature rarely rises much above 30 degrees, the monsoon season (June to September) is less dramatic than most areas and winter temperatures (December to February) are usually above 10 degrees during the day with snow being extremely rare. It can get quite cold at night especially in the higher elevations around Kathmandu.

Free Time

There are numerous things to see and do around Kathmandu. Among the highlights are the Three Goddesses Temple, Durbar Square, Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple), Mahakala Temple, Pasupatinath and Bodhnath and shopping and bargaining around the touristy Thamel area.

Where Is?/ Getting To Kathmandu

A number of international airlines fly to Nepal, usually you will have to connect in India. Airlines flying to Kathmandu include Jet Airways, Indian Airlines, Thai Airways, Qatar Airways and Ethiad Airways.

Volunteers will be met at the international airport in Kathmandu by our in country coordinators.