Thanks very much for the photos. They are much appreciated and I will see what I can do as far as getting sponsors for a few other children, but as I said before, I can't promise. I naturally hope to share my expriences with a lot of my family and friends in any case.

Thanks again, for making my stay in Nepal comfortable and worthwhile, as well as taking the time to take me around and visit the places on that last day. Please thank Pramila again, for me too, as well as the car drivers and people at the guest house as well. I really wish I could have stayed longer, but am hoping to get back next year, probably about the same time, as I mentioned before. I'm looking forward to a new adventure and trying to do a bit more, and hopefully learn a bit more Nepali.

I assume you are busy with the new volunteer and other projects. Don't work too hard, but keep up the good work, and the same for everyone else in VSSN and the schools.

All the best,

I volunteered with VSSN for two months, helping children with English at an orphanage in Kathmandu, then teaching at a school in a small, rural village called Puma. On arrival, the staff at VSSN made me feel completely comfortable - and this continued with regular contact through my placements. I had an absolutely amazing experience. Working in the orphanage involved helping the children with their homework and of course playing lots of games! I've never met such mature, hard-working, loving and respectful little people! I also made great friends with the staff there - it was a privilege to meet such wonderful, giving, loving people.

In Puma, I lived with a local family while teaching at the local primary school. My host family made me feel instantly at home - which was awesome because being in rural Nepal was very different from Kathmandu. This was my first experience with teaching and although it was a challenge, it was hugely rewarding. I recommend going with lots of games up your sleeve to keep the lessons interesting - I soon learnt that maths is boring old maths no matter where you're from and who's teaching it! I will also say that it can get very lonely in a small village - not many people spoke English so learning a little bit of Nepali proved invaluable for making friends with the local people, who were so much fun! Overall, it was an amazing experience - I got to provide much-needed help in teaching English, spend time in a part of Nepal tourists don't often see (with beautiful views of the Himalayas), meet some amazing people, learn Nepali (which helped when I travelled around Nepal later on), and experience and understand Nepali culture.

Thank you for the opportunity Matrika - what you do is truly inspiring. I've been gone nearly two weeks now but I miss Nepal and all the wonderful people I met so much. I really hope I have the opportunity to return sometime soon!

Hello Matrika! Well, Shelby and I made it safely back to California, and it's nice to be home. Nepal was the craziest, funniest, biggest adventure we've ever been exposed to! We have to admit we miss Nepal and we will always remember this experience. Thank you so much for everything, we really appreciate you coordinating our trips and placement into our host family. We also miss having philosophical conversations that make no sense with Ram, so you'll have to tell him hello for us. We miss the food so much! I wish I could just run down the street to Zaika's to get some Momo. When we think back on our time in Nepal we usually just laugh and tell people Nepal is Crazy (but in a good way)! Looking at our pictures and telling our family and friends about our experience makes us very thankful we were there.

Thank you so much for everything!

I knew VSSN program via Imaginative Traveller UK. I found the programme excellent, well organized and fulfilling. VSSN program exceeded our expectations. Working at the Health center and understanding their vital role in the community was my experience. Local family is really great, very welcoming and hospitable who provided us food and accommodation. The quality of food that we had at working site was excellent- rally testy and plenty of it. The local people in Chapagaun village are very friendly, always helpful. I definitely would suggest anyone to have an experience with VSSN.

VSSN programme is very rewarding and it was my great experience. Introduction with the local builders and people was my favorite activity. I was not used to eat so much food but it was always nice. Local people in the village are very friendly and staying with the family was very enjoyable and good experience. The programme met my expectations, I liked the way our leader was very relaxed and made everything flexible for us. The programme itinerary worked out very well. Thanks and please send email and photos of the finished wall!

The VSSN village build programme was excellent. My favorite activity in the programme was the physical side of the wall construction and living with local family. It is the best way of learning about different people and their culture. Food was excellent but unusual to western tastes. Village is very beautiful and people are very friendly and always smiling. I suggest for joining with VSSN and 'expect the unexpected'. Everything is 'awesome'. Thanks.

Hi Matrika,

I've also published a little part of my pics online so if anyone is interested here is the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/dakinib/Nepal
I was just watching Bill's pics, they're amazing, really good pics he has.
How are you any way? how are all your activities going? Hope all is well and I'll hear from you soon.
Best regards,

Hi, As promised i have written a small paragraph about my placement: I volunteered at a monastery near Pharping for one month directly through VSSN. The program was well organized and took care of any concerns about coming to a new country. The children in the Monastery and local school were very willing to learn and want to know about other cultures. VSSN through its other partners were also able to arrange visits to Pokhara and Chitwan during my placement. This program was a wonderful experience for me and I hope to be back in the future.

Hi Matrika.

Thanks again for finding a good place for me in Dhupu -- it was just what I was looking for. Right now I am back in the USA and will start classes tomorrow. I had an okay trip through India, but some things went unexpectedly. Fortunately it was nothing too bad. I hope business picks up for you again soon. I also put my photos from this trip to Nepal here if you are curious to see them. The book you lent to me -- your Nepali study book -- almost came back with me. But I realized that I still had it before I got out of the taxi to the airport, and the driver said he would do me a favor and give it back to you. I hope it made it back to the Millennium and is being used by a new volunteer now. Thanks again and stay in touch! The future is unknown, but I hope to work with you again!

I was searching for a volunteer program that helps improve the education in a developing Asian country and found the Teaching in Schools and Orphanages program of VSSN a big match with my original expectation. So came my 12-day visit to Nepal with my friend Nan in July 2009, which turned out to be a nice and unforgettable experience.

For the first two days we stayed in the Millennium Hotel in Kathmandu. We studied basic Nepalese in the morning and visited some famous touring sites in the afternoons, some of them being world heritage.

On the third day we were taken to a village called Chapagaun where we lived with a local family and taught in Emerald Secondary English School. Our host family was very hospitable and we had nice communications in simple Nepali and English. It was also fun to learn eating with our right hand rather than chopsticks in accordance with the Nepalese tradition. At school we taught students of class 5 and 6. Different from the students we saw in a government school, children in this school were very active and eager to learn. They were especially kean to know about other countries in the world, and to us they showed special interest on China. So we decided to teach them Chinese history and culture, which made interesting classes to them. Our topics ranged from the Great Wall, Terra Cotta Soldiers, to Confucius, Chinese medical treatment, Chinese characters, etc. While teaching them we also learnt the Nepalese cultures and traditions from them.

During breaks we talked with the principal, a nice and well-educated man. From him we learnt how hard it is to provide good education to kids in Nepal under the unstable political status and with disturbance from the government. It is good to see that there are some people making their hard effort in the hope of shaping the children a good future. In China there are also many poor kids who struggle for education, but at least the 9-year compulsory education policy generally makes an unchallengeable and nationally exercised guarantee for Chinese kids to receive basic education. It is only after our visit to Nepal had we realized how hard and crucial good education can be.

Time passed fast and we both felt not having stayed in Nepal enough at the end of our stay. It is a nice country with rich and mysterious religious culture and tradition, worth visiting for tour. But more importantly, it is a country that demands more international help. I'm looking forward to go there again for a hand.