PRLog (Press Release) -
Nov 02, 2008 -
I volunteered an organization called VSN Nepal this past summer, had an extremely positive experience. The organization is basically two local good hearted husbands who between themselves must administrate a school, an orphanage, an array of clinics, several peripheral orphanages (the one I worked at housed 40 kids!), the finances of the NGO, etc. That's a lot of work on top of trying to keep all the volunteers busy, especially when some of said volunteers had dubious dedication at best. The way I saw it was that the first week, they show you around all their various facilities, tell you "here's what we're working on" and from there it's up to you as to take the initiative and figure out what you yourself can contribute (unless you're a teacher or medic, in which case its pretty self-explanatory.)
If you're only volunteering for say a week or two with no tangible skill to offer besides a desire to help, then you're probably better off with a much more structured program. If you're going to be in town for a month or more however - which is probably the minimum time for "making a difference" anyway, know exactly what you can offer and/or are very dedicated, you'll find Tej, Sugandha, and Laxmi to be wonderful, caring people who are doing the best they can to help their community, which happens to be magical place to spend a few months. It took me a while to find my own niche at VSN Nepal as I had no tangible skill to offer either and no idea (initially) of what volunteering really meant, but the longer I stayed and the more I learned about the people, the more I felt I was making a real difference in the orphans' lives and that probably wouldn't have been possible without the support that Tej & Sugandha gave.
The fees, compared with any other international and local organizations, were much less I felt.
VSN Nepal is a legit organization. They're doing the best they can to help the Pepsikola community and my stay in Nepal wouldn't have been as special without them. I fully recommend anyone who wants to volunteer for making a difference.
I miss Pepsikola, Children and VSN staffs :-(
Cheers,
Charlie
VSN Nepal is an organisation which has been established by local people in 2004 in Nepal.VSN Nepal is a non-government organization (NGO), whose mission is to provide overseas and local volunteers with a customized program that will enable them to make an important contribution to the people of Nepal. VSN Nepal has been placing volunteers around various parts of Nepal within host families and orphanages. VSN Nepal’s placements include teaching English, health and sanitation, environmental awareness and local community projects.
