Volunteering in Nepal can go one of two ways.  Either you will totally love it and will be ready to come back before you get home, or you will be disappointed and feel that you basically paid a lot of money to stay at someone’s home, eat mediocre food and make little impact on the people you wanted to help.

This may sound harsh,  but I do not think regurgitating the hard sell ads that convince you to spend thousands of dollars, euro, and yen to come help and then not really help would be worth me writing about.     Get the facts up front before you go.  Do your research, and ask lots of questions.   Here are some things you should look for before you commit to volunteer in Nepal:

1)      What is the goal of the organization overall?  The more focused volunteer programs tend to be the most effective.   So, if a volunteer program tells you they can give you ANY kind of placement… be wary, they probably have a huge overhead and most of your volunteer fee is going to support people who run the organization, advertising, etc.   Pick a program that focuses on what you really want to do to help, and maybe 2 – 3 other related activities.

2)      Is the organization affiliated with an orphanage?  If so, check it out and then check again.  Do your research on orphanages in Nepal.   It’s fun to play with the kids and teach them English, but how do you feel when the kids go back to their village for Dasain to be with their parents?  Huh? But you thought they were “orphans” right?  Not all, but some, of the orphanages are rather exploitative, so be careful about which ones you get involved with.  I agree with the idea of helping children, especially when it comes to education; however, I don’t agree with some of the questionable practices involved with some of the orphanages

3)      Are the books open for the charity?  Most reputable charities in Nepal are proud to show where the money goes, and often provide an annual report, so check for these things.   Of course, they need to use some money to keep things running, pay for staff, transportation and any activities you participate in, but you should see some type of benefit to the community.    Some charities use all the actual cash money for providing activities that benefit a village or community, they do not and should not give out cash, but those benefits will be obvious.    And let’s be fair, the people running the organization have to eat and live, it is their job to run the place, organize things, hire a staff, etc. and they deserve to be paid.  Most volunteer organizations have a director and staff who deserve to be paid, but their salary is usually modest compared to those doing similar work in the “for profit” sector.

4)      Where will you stay? – This is very important.  Get all the details of what exactly you get with your volunteer assignment.  In Nepal it can range from nice volunteer house sharing with other volunteers, to village home-stay, to tents (if you’re on trek), to just about anything.   This I mention because just as I have seen volunteers coming from volunteer houses who have become great friends and roommates, I have also heard of the volunteer who paid $500 USD per week, to stay in a family home, and share a bed with one of the children.   She had no privacy, and rather uncomfortable conditions.    Staying in Nepal is often more Spartan than Westerners are used to, but for $500 a week, she could have stayed at on upscale hotel in Thamel.

5)      Will your work be meaningful?   I met a Australian nurse once who volunteered to work at a clinic in Chitwan.  Only after she arrived in Nepal did she learn her “license was not recognized” in Nepal, or so she was told, and she was relegated to “observing” people who were less qualified.    On the other hand, I knew an American nurse who worked for 2 months at a hospital in Kathmandu and ended up training the doctors on the latest technology he had just learned in the USA.   There was no reason one should have been allowed to work as opposed to the other, it’s just the American guy was better informed and chose a placement where he would be useful.    Licensing and rules in general are shifty here, so check and double check.    I could tell you many, many stories of volunteers who came here and did NOT get the volunteer experience they expected; and I could tell you an equal amount of those who had the best experience of their life volunteering in Nepal.  So, choose wisely.

6)      How large is the organization?  I find the happiest volunteers are working with small to medium organizations that have been around 5-10 years.   There are a few reasons I think.   First, the organization is small enough that you feel like you are part of a volunteer family; you get to know everyone involved.   Second, as mentioned before, these organizations are usually very focused, they do a handful of community projects that improve the lives of others; starting with one group at a time.   Three, smaller volunteer organizations are usually run by a passionate individual who just has the drive to help, they have invested their heart and soul into what they do and they never want to get so big they feel like they are running a business.    If you don’t think volunteering is a business, do some research on the business of volunteering in Nepal.  It will help you sort out who you want to work with.

So, you may be asking at this point, what about you?  Do you have a volunteer trek at TREKT Himalaya. Yes! We do!  And we are happy to offer it.  We hope to have more, similar things in the future.   So, what TREKT has done is team up with an organizations we respect and coordinate mutual support for the charities, Nepal communities and volunteers.  Benefits from our treks go directly to one of our chosen charities.

We provide a volunteer trekking experience.  Our idea when creating this is to combine two things that people want when they come to Nepal: helping the community and trekking.   A lot of volunteer organizations will allow you to add on a trek to your experience with one of the hundreds of trekking companies in Kathmandu, but it is at an extra cost, in addition to your volunteer fee.   Our Medical Trek is a volunteer adventure all rolled into one!  And it’s awesome!  (But don’t take our word for it — DO YOUR RESEARCH!)

Having said that, whether it is our “Voluntourism” treks or anything else, I encourage you to do your research, ask questions and then volunteer in Nepal.   And be sure to schedule in time for day trips and treks.

Have Volunteer questions?  Ask me Sandra@trekthimalaya.com  Also, read this post Know Before You Go to Nepal: How to Avoid Scams and Jams in Shangri-La

Here are some volunteer organizations I like, but there are many other good ones out there too:

The Mountain Fund

PA Nepal

Dalit Welfare Organization