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What age do I have to be a volunteer? |
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You must be at least 17 years old to volunteer; there is no upper limit. You should be in good health, however. |
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Do you provide any finacial support for my trip? |
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Unfortunately we are unable to provide any finacial support. If you are strongly interested to take a part with us then please take your time to raise fund, whenever you are able to come we are ready to help you. |
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Why do I have to pay for volunteering? |
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Sounds like weired, as a local based organization Hands for Help Nepal does not receive any finicial support by Nepal government and other internation and local donor agencies. We fully rely on program fee that covers our expenses like food, travel, communication, marketing, staff salary etc. So we charge very nominal fee to meet these expenses and we are committed to provide quality service to participants. |
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What countries do most volunteers come from? |
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Most of volunteers come from the United States, Canada, England and Australia. We also had a good numbers of people from Italy, France, Austria, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Germany, South Africa, sweeden, Finland, Denmark, Korea, Japan and New Zealand. |
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Do I need travel insurance? |
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As with any overseas traveling, health insurance is recommended. Please obtain necessary health and travel insurance before coming to Nepal. Talk to your travel agent about this or check online to see what offers are available. Make sure you look into the details of the policy. You should make sure it covers airfare, in the case of a medical emergencies. We also suggest that volunteers consult a physician or an international travel clinic for recommendations on immunizations. You should certainly bring a small first aid kit. Nepal offers basic medical services and there are places for emergency medical services. If you are taking any medicine or medications, we suggest that you bring your prescriptions and other medications from home. |
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Are there more expenses once I arrive? |
No matter which of our programs you have chosen, you will need some extra spending money. However, Nepal is a very inexpensive place for shopping and for travel. The training and program costs cover accommodation and most meals. If you arrive early, or intend on staying on in Nepal for longer than you are volunteering, then you will need to have spare money for this time. Also, some money may be required for your days off. Other costs include buying bottled water, paying for your visa to enter Nepal, paying a departure tax and shopping for personal items.
Kathmandu provides many opportunities for purchasing gifts for your friends and family. You can change your major currencies and travelers checks in Kathmandu and at the airport. There are now 24 hour ATMs in Kathmandu, but traveler's cheques are still the best choice. It is possible to get $5-$10 hotel room per night in Kathmandu. Not included in the program cost is airfare, insurance, spending money and visas. |
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How safe is it to volunteer in Nepal? |
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We work very hard to ensure you are placed in safe environments while volunteering. In Nepal, you may have heard about the Maoists rebels. The post public insurgency wad run on their initiatives to presurise then government and oust monarchy. Now they have signed over on peace negotiation with Nepal government and currently they are also involved in cabinate. |
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How many volunteers are there on site at the same time? |
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This depends on how many people volunteer at any one time. Usually there are between 3 and 10 volunteers at the training. If possible, you are placed with one other person in the local villages when you are volunteering. |
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What resources are available for teaching when I'm volunteering? Do I need to bring my own? |
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If you have resources that you think may be appropriate, please discuss this with us via email to see if you should bring them. Most likely anything you have will be of help, as there will be limited resources. We are in the process of developing kits, but these will not be available until later in the year. |
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What is the course content of the training? |
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Depending on how long you are volunteering, the training can run from just a few days or up to two weeks in length. It is broken into two stages with the first part being based in Kathmandu and the second stage based in a local village or with a local family. The majority of the training is largely spent learning the language of Nepal. You also will receive an introduction to the Nepali culture and information on how to teach English as a second language. In the second part of the course, when you are in a village or with a local family, you will be prepared for volunteering in a similar situation. The content of the training varies according to the type of volunteer work you choose and is proportionate to the length of your stay. |
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How would my family members be accommodated while volunteering? |
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You will need to pay additional costs for accommodating your family members in Nepal. As some volunteer placements may not have available housing, you may be limited to the areas you can volunteer. |
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How can I get in contact with previous volunteers? |
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You can contact us to get the email addressed of previous volunteers who have worked with us. Previous volunteers would be happy to discuss their experiences with you. |
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Who organizes my flights? |
You do. You will need to organize your trip to and from Nepal. |
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How can I communicate with my friends and family back home? |
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There are many ways to communicate with friends and family. You will easily find internet cafes in Kathmandu, Pokhara and other cities, who offer pretty cheap internet excess and internet phone. In rural placement you have to go about an hour walking distance to nearest city to find internet cafes. In rural placement there are land line phone, web phone and CDMA line where you can make a call for reasonable cost. If your call is there then they will inform you to collect it. Now a days Nepal telecom and Spice Nepal mobile service getting better even in our rural placement. You can easily buy a Sim card for 8 Dollars in Nepal. There is a postal service in all over Nepal we advice to use our postal address if you like to receive any parcel during your volunteer. You can collect your mail or we will forward it to you.cc |
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Who organizes the visa for my volunteer placement? |
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Any traveler to Nepal is allowed to stay on a tourist visa for up to 5 months per each 12-month period. You can get a tourist visa at the Royal Nepalese Embassy or Diplomatic Mission in your country or at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu upon arrival (US $30 for the first two months). You can renew your visa when you are here if you wish to stay for more than two months- for an additional charge of US $30 per month. Non-tourist visas are difficult to obtain and are twice as expensive as the tourist visa. It is the responsibility of volunteers to manage their own tickets and visa. We suggest that volunteers not stay more than 5 months. |
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What are the school hours? |
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In Nepal, school is in session from Sunday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm (time may differ depending on place and season) and volunteers typically receive a ½ day on Friday and all day Saturday as vacation, in addition to local festivals and holidays. Your teaching load will vary depending on the headmaster of school. Please communicate with him/her when you begin. Most of the time volunteers teach 4-6 periods per day.
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What is the climate like and what clothes should I bring? |
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Nepal is not always as cold as people think. The country is geographically divided into three parts. The Himalayan region of Nepal is very cold in winter while the mid hill region and Terai region of Nepal have different climates in different seasons. The weather is cold from December to February but warm and moderately hot in the summer. The spring and fall are cool and very pleasant. Please bring your winter clothes (think layers!) if you are coming in November, December, January, or February. Please bring summer clothes for the rest of the months. If you are volunteering in the rainy season (July and August), please bring a light rain jacket and umbrella. We advise female volunteers not to wear sleeveless shirts, shorts, or short skirts in villages. Nepalese people dress modestly and girls cover most of their body; it is the Nepalese tradition. We can send you a detailed packing list upon request.
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FAQs