On my volunteering experience: My volunteering placement in Pharping (19 km from Kathmandu) was exactly what I was looking for: an opportunity to impact someone’s education and learn about Nepali and Tibetan cultures. Buddhist Learning Centre is a wonderful place for students aged 6-20 to grow and become responsible citizens, although it lacks for what concerns modern education. During my time in Pharping, I felt extremely motivated to leave a significant mark and I attempted to deliver lessons that could be both interesting and useful for students. The school cannot offer a structured education in science. Volunteers come and go, but only a few of them leave a that is truly effective. I attempted to maximize the contact with technology during classes and I created an archive of learning materials on the school’s computers that students (and future volunteers) will be able to access after my departure (even in the absence of internet connection). By doing this, I put my computing and scientific abilities at the service of the school, hoping that my good will may correspond to good results. Volunteers who wish to teach in Nepal will hardly find a better place than the Learning Centre: here your help is needed, appreciated and rewarded by the friendliness of monks and students alike. I really enjoyed the food in the monastery- it was varied throughout the week and had a wonderful mixture of Nepali and Tibetan aspects. The VSSN Staff were always friendly and welcoming—not only they found the volunteering placement that was most appropriate to my interests, but they also helped me making the most of my time in Nepal. VSSN Staff supported me acclimatizing in Kathmandu at first (a task that is not to be underestimated!), then reaching my school and eventually returning to my home country. They advised me on my visits to Annapurna and to Chitwan; it was very helpful to hear the opinions of experienced Nepali organizers whenever I wanted to explore the country.
July/Aug 2016

Hi Matrika, Just letting you know that I have arrived home safely and I would like to thank you for organizing my time in Nepal. I had really good time, both teaching and trekking, and it will surely be a trip that I remember for the rest of my life. Hopefully (maybe in a few years, once I've saved up some money!) I will be able to return to Nepal one day. If I do, I'll be sure to let you know. Finally, I would like to start making a monthly donation to the orphanage in Thecho. Can this be arranged? Best wishes,

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.

How are you? I was one of your volunteers with the VSSN program this past January. I was placed with a School in Thecho. I am just writing to touch base as I am planning to revisit Kathmandu through VSSN sometime in the future. I am also currently considering the option to send some children's books to the orphanage in Thecho (I found that reading resources were quite lacking, as you are well aware) via post. Would you recommend this or is the postal delivery system rather unreliable? Before I left Thamel, I did however drop off some books I had purchased for the orphanage with a Millennium Hotel staff member. I hope you had received them. Lastly, at the moment, I am preparing to enter a graduate program in Political Science at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I am wondering if it is in any way possible to receive a recommendation letter from you for this purpose. It would help me a great deal and I would appreciate it immensely. Please let me know. Thank you.

I spent three short but memorable weeks volunteering at Bal Ankur school at Thecho, a town about an hour and a half’s drive from Kathmandu — wonderful location, not too far from the conveniences of the capital and yet surrounded by beautiful mountains and rice fields and far from the din and pollution of the city, and I was lucky to have been hosted by the family of the headmaster of the school, which not only made my stay much easier but also gave me a more complete immersion into the Nepali life. Since I had little prior experience, teaching was a bit tough at first, and the children, especially the younger ones, were so exuberant that sometimes they just overran the class. But in the end I loved it and almost became friends with my students. I came to Nepal for teaching and it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. It has been a tremendously fulfilling experience, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves children and wants to make him or herself useful while exploring this wonderful country. The time and effort I gave only added to the depth of my experience of this culture. Besides teaching at the school I also had plenty of time to explore the surrounding area, to visit major cities and to hike in the Kathmandu valley, so time was always filled. It’s hard to say which part of the trip I’ve enjoyed the most, but I’m especially thankful for all the people I’ve met along the way, whether it be visitors like myself or kind, welcoming and joy-loving Nepalis some of whom I’ve become good friends with.

Email from Emma's father:
Hello Matrika, Thank you for taking care of Emma. Her placement at the monastery was a great fit for her. She fell in love with the boys and the joy and compassion that she experienced during her time in Nepal has affected her profoundly. She is determined to return to your country. I hope to be able to join her if she does. Please feel free to have concerned parents of prospective volunteers contact me if you think it will help. Emma and I both feel like she was in good hands with VSSN and we both agree that this was a positive life changing experience for her. Thanks again for giving her this opportunity. Cordially,

I had a fantastic time in Nepal! Living in the village Chapagaun was much more comfortable than in the big and busy capital Kathmandu. My host family was very friendly and open-minded, always supported and helped me. They really know how to host newcomers and made me feel welcome. But it hasn’t only been my host family, who made my stay smooth. The Nepali people are so kind and helpful. I never met a Nepali with bad mood or a really angry one. VSSN is the best choice when going to Nepal. Matrika is a very friendly man who’s always around. If there was a small problem he solved it immediately. And he arranged trips all around Nepal for me and made exploring the country easy. Nepal is a great country with a completely different culture and lifestyle and staying with Nepali people is the best thing to really get to know their habits. It’s a perfect place to escape stress and order at home and to start an adventure. The people are so thankful and give you a lot for little effort - that happiness they show you is wonderful!

I actually was looking to do a construction project at first but since there weren't enough people I decided to teach instead. I never taught a class before and I thought it would be very difficult. Especially because I don't like handing out discipline and my spelling is horrible (I had to pull out my Nepali-English book and pretend like I was looking for the Nepali translation of the 12 months when I was actually checking the spelling). During my stay I taught English, Math and a bit of Science and basic Psychology. I also learned how to trick students into working. I was also considering switching around schools partly because I wanted to travel around a bit but I decided it would be best to stay there for the full five months. I had no teaching materials since I wasn't planning on teaching and was not entirely confident on the rules of English Grammar so I bought some books.

Getting concepts across was a bit hard however the other teachers were always supportive and sometimes translated for me. The hardest part was that the children always wanted to play and its so easy to give in. It got even harder when they found out that I am only 19 and the older students I am teaching were around 15-16. They were very respectful in the way a teacher is respected until the point where they asked about my age. On the other hand since I was around their age they always asked me to play with them during the breaks and so usually when I was free I would play football (soccer), volleyball (which was flat, but we pulled it back into a sphere every few hits) or even have a wrestling match. At one point one of the students said "You're not teacher" and I thought "Dang, I failed at teaching" but then he added "You're our brother, big brother".

I was honestly moved but I made a compromise that I was both their brother and teacher. With teaching, everyday was unpredictable which was a nice change from my "School-Work-Study-Sleep" routine. What time the students would barge into your room and wake you up is also unpredictable. Along with walking to school and finding out they forgot to tell you that there's no school today. The school teachers were always supportive and friendly and after a month they also loosened up and we joked a lot. They really liked making fun of each other and even asked for criticism. Leaving was very difficult because after five months you bond without noticing. The fact that they live in a totally different world made me felt like they were so far away. None of them had an address, never mind an email address, and were too young to have cell phones. If there's a reason I would never do it again it would be because its too painful to leave. I miss everyone at Nava Jyoti and my host family. I will never forget them. Thanks Matrika, I won't forget you too and hopefully you will see my application again in a few years.

My Time in Nepal: As I sit down to write about my summer, it’s hard to believe my 12 weeks in Nepal is already over and that views of the Himalayas and rice paddies have transformed into images of highways and cities of America. My experience in Nepal proved to be everything I had hoped for. The trip provided invaluable experience in rural health care, an opportunity to live and work with the local community, and the opportunity to collect the information necessary for completion of a small research project aimed to increase knowledge on medical adherence in rural Nepal.
VSSN was terrific throughout my stay and the program did everything within their power to create a memorable trip. I cannot speak more highly of Mr. Matrika, the coordinator for my trip. Mr. Matrika was always just a phone call away and never ceased to do everything possible to guide me through my stay and overcome obstacles. The members of the health center were always willing to go out of their way to help me bridge the language gap and help me accomplish my goals. The people living in the villages never ceased to be amused when I would try my tongue at Nepali. Their faces would grin as I butchered their pronunciation, and they would laugh every time I would mistake words, such as the time I tried to order kukur (dog) instead of kukhura (chicken) at a restaurant. My Nepali friends laughed and the waiter gave me a funny look, but fortunately the problem was resolved and I wasn’t forced to eat strange tasting “chicken”. With the language program provided by VSSN, persistent teaching from all the people I met during my stay, and with increasingly elaborate hand gestures, I was able to learn a little bit of Nepali and communicate with strangers. This made my trip much more colorful and certainly made for an even more enjoyable experience.
The clinical component of my internship was truly fascinating. The doctors at the health center were incredibly obliging in explaining how the center runs, allowing me to watch various procedures, and even letting me assist in minor procedures. The doctors courteously translated what the patients were saying, which allowed for me to gain a better understanding of the diagnostic aspects of the clinic. I am incredibly grateful for the clinical experience I gained from the trip, for these experiences have had great influence on my career plans.
The friendliness of the people living in the villages was heartwarming, and it is their kindness that ultimately made my trip remarkable. I will miss all of the wonderful people I came to know during my trip and look forward to returning to Nepal in the future. I urge anyone traveling to the region to contact VSSN and to volunteer with their program.

My friend Natalie and I spent a month at the Primary health care clinic in Chapagoun a suburb of Kathmandhu. From our very arrival the staff at VSSN were there to help us to get settled, answer our questions and ensure our transition to Nepal went smoothly. Natalie and I had worked as nurses in Canada for one year (in Cardiology and Neurosurgery respectively) but we had much to learn about primary health care nursing in a Nepali community. The staff at the clinic soon involved us in the pre-natal checkups, immunization clinics, outpatient department and deliveries. Our days were also spent outside the clinic, as we assisted at the outreach posts and visited schools that were implementing sanitation and health education programs. As we had an interest in the Nepali health care system we were shown around area hospitals and even taken on the staff fact-finding trip that visited health care centers throughout the Chitwan region. The language barrier was overcome by the infinite patience of the Nepali people as we used our newly-learned phrases backed up by the ever so useful pantomime! Besides that, many of the clinic staff and our host family were fluent in English which allowed us to ask endless questions about Nepali culture, religion, healthcare, etc. Overall everyone from the clinic, from VSSN and from our host family went above and beyond to ensure we had an interesting volunteership and a great experience in Nepal. I will forever remember the early morning chiya before our walks (getting in shape for trekking), trying to eat dhal bhat Nepali style much to the amusement of the family’s children (as we gave ourselves rice and lentil facials) and the hundreds of kindnesses that we encountered every day by Nepali people that will stay in our hearts and minds forever.