1

Nepal Orphanage Group Workcamp

Project Description

Project name Love and light action – to orphans in Nepal Project code VTBW16-19 Country Nepal Location Pokhara, Nepal Terminal Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport Theme Social, Kids, Teaching Dates 19th to 27th August, 2016 No. of participants 12 Hosting organization Edventure Nepal Work - Teaching English

- Arranging arts and sports activities with kids - Helping in house chores

Accommodation & meal To be provided by Edventure Nepal Pickup & dismissal points Kathmandu city centre (transportation to/from the camp

site will be provided by Edventure Nepal)

2

Hosting Organization

Edventure Nepal was founded by Amrit , the

Chairman and Tulasi, the Vice-Chairman , as

well as the loving mother for all the 12 kids(left

hand side). They are: Yemuna, 12 years old;

Ganga, 10 years old; Jivan, 11 years old; Sunil,

10 years old; Sarita, 8 years old; Bhakta, 5 years

old; Mausam, 8 years old; Babita, 8 years old;

David, 13 years old; Prakash, 13 years old.

Edventure Nepal Children’s Home is a registered (Registration number: 2631/32882) non-

government organization in Nepal which aims to meet the needs of extremely

underprivileged children of Nepal. This organization works with the Social Welfare Council,

Nepal Government and the governing and monitoring body for all social organizations

working in Nepal. They help to find children in desperate need of a safe and nurturing living

environment and are consequently placed in their care.

They aspire to fulfill the basic needs of as many orphaned children as possible. They do this

by providing basic food, shelter, and clothing and most importantly an invaluable education

which many had not received prior to their arrival. They strive to alleviate this situation by

providing an essential support to some of these disadvantaged children. They also aim to

raise the awareness that there is a large amount of Nepali children who are deprived of all

the mental, physical and intellectual development opportunities.

The 12 children at this Children’s home are studying in the nearby English-medium school

and are provided meals and shelter.

Location

Edventure Nepal is located in the quiet residential area, about 5km from the tourist area,

Lakeside in Pokhara. Pokhara is the second largest city in Nepal, which is also the gateway

for trekking to the Himalayas. So the orphanage is surrounded by the beautiful snow

mountains. On a clear day, the famous Fishtail peak is also visible from the orphanage.

And just by walking 30 minutes to a hill nearby, there is a splendid view of the whole

Himalayan range.

3

Missions/Goals

For the benefits of the orphans in Edventure Nepal

Bring love and light to the children.

Provide a happy and family-like environment for the children.

Reduce the workloads of the care-takers.

Improve the English of the children.

For the personal development of Hong Kong workcampers

‘Live how a local lives.’ Go beyond one’s comfort zone by leading a simple local life.

Learn and appreciate the local culture while not bringing materialistic culture to the

children.

Learn and experience teamwork.

Learn how to enjoy the present moment.

Train up the qualities of forbearance, tolerance, compassion, determination and being

grateful to everything in life.

Work

As the children in the orphanage follow a particular routine, workcampers’ work also need

to go around that. The children have a full day school from Sunday to Thursday, a half-day

school on Friday and a day off on Saturday. Workcampers will be split into two groups to

take turn in doing different work day by day. One group will be responsible for teaching

and arranging activities for the children, and the other group will be responsible for all the

house chores. The main work includes:

Teaching English.

Arranging arts and sports activities for the children.

Doing all kinds of house chores.

4

Accommodation

Volunteers will stay at a guesthouse in Lakeside which is about 45 mins walking distance from

the Children’s home. Volunteers will be accommodated in different rooms, female and male

are separated. Each room has its own bathroom, but hot shower water is not guaranteed as

it depends on the solar power and the irregular power supply.

Meal

Workcampers are responsible for carrying out cooking and cleaning duties by turns. They

have the chance to learn to cook Nepalese food from Amrit. Food materials will be

provided by the local organizer on request from workcampers. The orphanage is

vegetarian-based, they only eat chicken once a week. In Nepalese culture, people do not

eat beef and pork. In order to respect the local custom, workcampers should follow the

same diet during the whole period in the workcamp. Safe drinking water will be provided.

Workcampers are recommended to bring their home country ingredients and recipes to

share their home dishes with others.

5

Toilet & Bathroom

Two squat style toilets are available in the Children’s home. In order not to block the drainage

system, volunteers are advised to put all the toilet paper in the bin. Please bring your own

toilet paper.

Currently, Nepal is under a dry spell and drought is widespread. Moreover, the children’s

home has to buy water. So volunteers should try their best to conserve water resource in

cooking and washing in order to minimize the impacts to local community. Volunteers are

also advised to only take shower once or twice a week to save water for Nepal.

Electricity and Internet

There is regular 12 hours power cut in Nepal every day, only a few backup lights are

available, so please prepare your own torch/headlight. Please be prepared that there will

not be power for recharging your electronics all the time.

Internet is available at the guesthouse only, but not at the children’s home.

Others

Mosquitoes and insects are unavoidable in rural area.

Please remember to bring mosquito repellent.

No Smoking and alcohol are allowed within and near the orphanage, including both

indoor and outdoor space.

On the free day, workcampers can enjoy whole day excursion and souvenir shopping

time on their own expenses.

6

Workcampers’ criteria

Highly self-motivated and enthusiastic for voluntary work

Responsibility and cooperation in running of the workcamp

Best efforts to understand and respect the house rules and local cultures

Open-mindedness, willing to go beyond their comfort zone and good adaptability to

simple living conditions

7

Tentative Schedule

Date Morning Afternoon Evening

Day 1 Arrive Kathmandu Stay at guesthouse in Kathmandu provided by host

Day 2 Minibus pickup from Kathmandu city centre to Pokhara

Arrival at Pokhara & Orientation

Stay in Edventure Nepal

Day 3 Work

Day 4 Work

Day 5 Work

Day 6 Work

Day 7 Free Day

Day 8 Work

Minibus pickup from Pokhara to Kathmandu city centre

Dismissal at Kathmandu

-

Specific things to bring

Torch/headlight Flip flop Sunglasses

Toilet paper Home ingredients for cooking

Water bottle

Insect repellent Teaching materials Thermal flask (for tea or hot water)

Umbrella/rain coat Sunscreen Wet paper towel/Towel (for body cleaning on days of no shower)

A pair of good walking shoes Mask (it is quite dusty in Kathmandu, but not in Pokhara)

Medicines for general sickness and carsick etc

An open heart and smiles

8

Excursion plan for free day (Optional) Morning

Sunrise in Kalika mountain

Gupteshwor Cave

Museum

Lake side for shopping

Total excursion time: 4-5 hours

Guide by Amrit, the Chairman of Edventure Nepal and also the founder of a social

enterprise, Green Holiday.

Cost for six or more people: 45USD per head (including all the entrance fees, but excluded

meals)

Afternoon

Paragliding: 8500 Nepalese rupees/85USD per head (the DVD costs an extra 1700

NRP/17USD)

Extra trekking advices

In the past few workcamps, some workcampers arrived Nepal earlier and did a 4-5 days

trekking in Poon Hill. Green Holiday could also arrange for that. If you are interested, please

consult with Voltra’s representative about the itinerary and cost.