You Can Be a Teaching Volunteer in Nepal Schools!

In this 2 week adventure volunteer trek to remote villages of the Himalaya, you will deliver school supplies and teach at village schools. Our goal with this trek is to:

• Be sure kids in need have proper school supplies to read, write and learn.
• Deliver new school shirts for village children. Having the same clothes of the same quality promotes equality. This is important for children in the Dalit castes, and others who are marginalized.
• Help students learn in English. Students generally learn language, math, science and social studies in English.
• Help village teachers practice English fluency and latest technology.
• Introduce technology in schools.
• Suggest play learning techniques that help children learn and retain information easily.
• The overall goal of this trek is to not only ensure that children in remote villages of Nepal are getting the supplies that they need to foster learning, but also to ensure that their teachers stay connected with other educators and facilitators. By helping the children AND the teachers in these villages, we foster growth and sustainability.

Schedule and Pricing

• Trek fee is $1500. A $300 deposit is required to hold your space. Balance due 30 days prior to trek.
• 2 week fully supported trek to remote villages of Nepal in Himalayan foothills.
• lodging, meals, transportation, and local guides are provided.
• Your fee helps provide school supplies, teaching tools and clothing to children in the villages you visit.

WHY WE NEED YOU

People in the west are constantly in touch with technology, and through this they are learning and advancing at a lightening speed rate. However, in remote areas of Nepal where education tools are scarce, it is hard for the schools and the children to keep up. It starts a cycle where lack of education leads to lack of education. The more educated, highly fluent teachers often leave remote communities to find a better life in Kathmandu, or out of the country. The remote village schools do their best, but their facilities, supplies, and educational materials are limited and dated.

We need volunteers who are fluent in English to help us bring supplies to the schools and improve literacy in these villages.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO NEPAL

There is a drastic difference between the level of education for students who go to an English language school in Kathmandu or Pokhara versus those who go to government schools in remote regions. These schools rarely prepare children for any type of higher education, and often do not result in any fluency in English language. This does not leave many options for children once they have completed school (if they indeed go until the 10 Class). However, fluency and technology can help give these children a window to the outside world, open up possibilities for brighter futures, and help them learn Math, Science and Social Studies that are applicable.

When children are left behind, they sometimes grow up to be adults with very limited opportunities. Many Nepalis from rural regions are leaving the country to find work in places like Malaysia, Dubai, and Lebanon. With no English fluency and knowledge of worldly affairs, they are falling victim to horrible labor practices which result in human rights abuses.

Our presence in these villages helps. We not only make sure the poorest children have proper supplies and clothes, but we have the chance to bring hope and light where there is little.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU

You will learn a great deal too. When you embark on a journey like this, you are also exposed to a world that is very unfamiliar. You will see that simple living away from the crowded cities and tourist regions has mind expanding virtues. There is no quiet like Himalayan quiet. There are no nights where the stars are as close to you as in this region of the world. There is no food that tastes better than that cooked over an open fire after a long day’s trek. Hopefully when you return to your home you will be filled with stories of not only being some of the first western people into a remote region of the Himalayan foothills, but also with a sense of appreciation for the opportunities you have always had at home. People who can do a trek like this, go on to have “can do” lives.

WHY I STARTED THIS TREK

Like Medical Trek Nepal, which has grown immensely popular in the last few years, I started TEACHING TREK NEPAL out of experiences I have had in Nepal, and that urge that we could all help solve this problem. There are two for instances that stick with me as the inspiration for this trek.

Delivering supplies to Rainish Bazaar School, Dhading Nepal – 2015.

The first was in 2010, when I was exploring a remote region of Langtang, well off the beaten path of tourism. There were no lodges in the region, and my husband and I were about to be stuck at dark with no where to sleep during the monsoon rains. We came across an old Sherpa farmer who said we could sleep in his house. The farmer had an 8 year old granddaughter who he looked after while her parents were out of the country working. This bright vibrant little girl brought out all of her English language books from school, and sat with me for hours asking me “pheri, pheri,” (more, more) – read more English. She hung on my every word. And the grandparents thanked me profusely for teaching her. Though I felt like I did little, it was a really big deal for them.

This experience stuck with me. How the little girl was so hungry to hear a native speaker of the language she was trying so hard to learn. Speaking fluent English means a better life in Nepal for many reasons.

Shortly after that, I was in my extended family village where I have two nieces who live with their grandparents and go to a village school. Though they are now teenagers and went to school nearly every day for ten years, the cannot speak or understand English. In contrast, their younger brother, who has always had the privilege of going to school in Kathmandu is completely fluent in English and has been since he was about nine years old. Such a contrast. Same family, same parents, different schools. This will mean that my nieces, unlike girls who have learned English fluently and may go on to other educational opportunities, will likely be married young and remain in the village of their respective husbands with little power beyond what they are entitled to in their household.

As the popularity of Medical Trek Nepal grew, I asked myself, if we can bring doctors, nurses and a moving pharmacy to remote regions, why not school supplies and learning too? With our sustainable efforts, hopefully we can help create the doctors, nurses, teachers and leaders of tomorrow for these villages. I hope you will join me and my team of Dalit Guides (another of our initiatives) and Help Us Help Nepal.

Sandra Krasa BK

Founder of TREKT Himalaya
Medical Trek Nepal
Teaching Trek Nepal

Further reading:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/india-gives-rs-49-9-mn-aid-for-school-buildings-in-nepal-115042101182_1.html

2019 Spring/Summer

April 9-22, 2019

July 9-22, 2019

Autumn/Winter 2019

October 3-16, 2019

December 10-23, 2019

Day 1 – Arrival and welcome dinner with group. 

• Meals – Dinner meal provided
• Accommodation:  Hotel Buddha (3 star) or similar
• Transportation: Trekkers will be picked up in local taxi from airport
• Guide: Ram Chandra BK

Day 2 – Free time Kathmandu 

This day is reserved for you to prepare for trekking, get any last minute things at trekking shops.  Small money in 100 rupee notes, etc.  Our guides are available this day to take trekkers to local shops, banks, etc. and help you prepare.   If you do not need to do this, you can spend the day seeing the sites of Kathmandu.   The Durbar Square is within walking distance of your hotel, and the Swayambunath is a short rickshaw ride.  Both of these are World Heritage sites.

 6pm – meet our Nepali team.

(Dinner not provided, but there are lots of great options around Thamel for trekkers to choose from. Group usually eats together at Himali Kitchen or Road House or similar restaurant. )

• Accommodation:  Hotel  Buddha (3 star) or similar
• Transportation: Local, rickshaws, walking and bus.

 Day 3 – Depart Thamel at 8am after breakfast.

Trekkers – meet Guide at Hotel Lobby at 7:45am – please check-out of hotel and pay any room charges from restaurant, etc.

Drive from Ktm to Galchhi 3 hour by micro.

Lunch at Galchhi than start to walk Galchhi to Dummre chouir 3-4 hour  trek.  Set up tents and prep for next day’s teaching tasks.

• Meals – b’fast at hotel; lunch at Galchhi, dinner at camp – provided
• Transportation: Private bus
• Accommodation: Camping at Dummre Chouir

Day 4/5/6 –  Teaching Tasks at Dummre chouir.  8am until 5pm

We will spend 3 days at each school. The first day will be consist of passing out supplies, and getting to know the students and school. We rotate through classes, as to not disrupt all classrooms for the whole day. For these 3 days our teaching trek team will work in Dumre Choir School in small groups with students and/or teachers. Some of the trekkers will work with children, others will hold seminars with teachers talking about the latest technology, apps, and things that can help them help their students. Evening: local village dance.

• Meals – at camp – provided
• Accomodation – camping

Day 7 – Trek Dummre to Kalieri  3-4 hours

• Set up camp and prepare for the next days teaching tasks.
• Meals – teahouse/camp – provided
• Accommodation – camping

Day 8/9/10 – Teaching Tasks at Kalieri

Our duties and routine in Kalieri will be the same as in the previous village. However, each school has a different dynamic and specific village culture. So, day 1 is very much about assessing and meeting the needs of the community. We will introduce technology as much as possible, but keep in mind that electricity is not always available in these villages.   Each trek will present new creative solutions for these schools to help them bridge the gap in the digital divide.

• Meals – teahouse/camp – provided
• Accomodation – camping

Day 11 – Trek 5 to 6 hours to Sunolo Bazar

Camping for evening in Sunolo Bazar.

• Meals – camp
• Accomodation – camping

Day 12/13/14 – Bus to River Fun Camp and Rainish Bazar School

Rainish Bazar is our adopted school and the place where all Teaching Treks end. We will spend 2 nights at the River Fun Resort on the Trisuli River. We will deliver supplies to the school at Rainish Bazar, and work with the teachers and children. This school is 90% Chhepang children, and they are always in great need of supplies, clothing, etc.

Trekker will also get a chance to take to experience the amazing white water of Nepal’s rivers on a rafting trip down the Trisuli River from the River Fun Resort. (If you do not like rafting, you can opt to go into the nearby village, or relax around the pool at the River Fun Resort. Rafting trip is 2.5-3 hours long.)

• Meals – camp
• Accomodation – camping

Day 14:-  Return to Kathmandu

Free day for shopping, or site-seeing.  Pick up your Medical Trek Certificate at our office.

• Meals – breakfast/lunch provided
• Depart for home or other adventures!

Thank you for volunteering with Teaching Trek Nepal.  Have a good trip back to your home, and please write a review of your trek on our web site.  We would love to have you again on a Volunteer Trek Mission.

Namaste! TREKT Himalaya and Hardcore Nepal

Transportation: Trekkers will be taken to airport in local taxi. Please depart from hotel on day of departure, unless you have made other arrangements.  Let your guide know what time your departure flight leaves.

*Routes subject to change based on need of Nepali villages. Volunteers will be notified a minimum of 20 days  prior to trek date of confirmed route. All routes are similar to posted itinerary, unless otherwise noted.   Trekking time may vary and take 1 – 2 days longer than expected due to weather, transportation, or conditions beyond control of trek organizers.  Be prepared to be flexible.