Program Reviews

My volunteer experience with VIN Nepal was truly unforgettable. The staff were incredibly welcoming, supportive, and always willing to help, making me feel at home from the very beginning. I had the opportunity to develop my photography and videography skills while contributing to meaningful community projects that made a real difference. I met amazing people, learned so much about Nepalese culture, and created memories and friendships that will stay with me forever. I highly recommend VIN Nepal to anyone looking for a rewarding and life-changing volunteer experience.

I spent two months volunteering with ViN in the Child Protection Project in Nishankhe, Okhaldhunga, and it is an experience I will carry with me for a very long time. Together with two international volunteers and a Nepali intern, I taught children aged 5 to 13 in two local schools. I arrived hoping to contribute in a meaningful way, but I left feeling that I had received far more than I could ever give.

What touched me most was the everyday life of the community. Nishankhe is a rural place where people live closely connected to nature and where even simple things often require time, effort, and long walks. Some children spend up to two hours walking to school and another two hours returning home, yet they arrive every day smiling, curious, and excited to learn. Their energy, kindness, and enthusiasm are something I will never forget.

Throughout my stay, I always felt supported. The ViN team in Kathmandu was welcoming, available, and ready to help whenever needed, while the staff in Okhaldhunga made us feel at home from the very beginning. A special thank you goes to Didi, who took care of us every day with incredible warmth, prepared delicious meals, and shared a little piece of Nepali culture through her cooking.

Beyond the volunteering itself, this experience taught me how to adapt, how to slow down, how to live more in the present, and how important community can be. It reminded me of the beauty of simple things and helped me reconnect with nature in a way I hadn’t experienced for a long time.

I left Nepal with unforgettable memories, wonderful friendships, and a deep admiration for the people I met. I would wholeheartedly recommend ViN to anyone looking for a genuine volunteering experience. You may arrive thinking you are there to help others, but chances are you will leave having learned just as much about yourself.

I came to Nepal with the idea of contributing a little bit to the community, to get immersed there and learn from them. Now that I have finished the volunteering, I can say I achieved that with the help of VIN and ESC. During my stay, under the Child Protection programme, I was teaching English to children from 4 to 15 years old in two rural schools, with four more volunteers (who are now my family).
Seeing the kids happy during the class, participating in the activities and improving their English was one of the best things. Also, the community life, with the volunteers, interns, staff: participating in their festivals, seeing the sunrise on the mountain, cooking together momos or having breakfast together were some of my favourites moments.
If you like to try new experiences, learn from another culture, make new friends, walk and do trekking, nature, get away from big cities, enjoy small things, socialize, share with children, eat rice every day and live in community, this is the perfect place (I recommend staying at least 8 weeks).

My experience with Volunteers Initiative Nepal (ViN) has been incredibly rewarding. I joined the construction and renovation project in Okhaldhunga, where I helped build water tanks and water systems that now provide reliable access to water for local families. Knowing that our work has a direct impact on people's daily lives made every effort worthwhile.

What made this experience truly special was working alongside the local community. The Nepali people welcomed me with kindness and generosity, and I learned a lot from their resilience, teamwork, and way of life. The ViN staff were also very supportive throughout my stay, especially Bipana, whose daily guidance made a real difference.

The work can be physically demanding, so future volunteers should be prepared to work hard. However, if you are looking for a meaningful experience where you can contribute to a community while learning about a different culture, I highly recommend volunteering with ViN.

As a Child Protection Intern at Volunteers Initiative Nepal (VIN), I gained invaluable hands-on experience working directly within government schools in rural regions like Okhaldhunga. This immersive field placement allowed me to apply my academic background in Social Work and Psychology to real-world humanitarian challenges. By addressing educational barriers and child welfare needs in underserved communities, I significantly deepened my professional expertise and my personal commitment to the sector.

I had an amazing time during my internship at VIN. I absolutely loved going into the community and working with the team—the staff were very supportive, and I learned a lot from the experience. What really motivated me every day was the idea of contributing to something bigger than myself. I didn’t expect anything in return; I just wanted to give every bit of myself. From volunteering in schools to being involved in construction projects, everything was meaningful.

I also really enjoyed the community-based living experience. Staying with other volunteers from different countries, sharing cultures, stories, and everyday life was something very special. Even though it was just two months, we connected really well, and those bonds meant a lot to me.

The people in Okhaldhunga were incredibly welcoming to VIN volunteers. Walking 2–3 hours through the mountains to reach communities was such a beautiful experience, and the kindness of local people—offering whatever they had at home—was truly touching.

It was an experience I will always value.

I have always wanted to travel to Nepal, but I didn't want to just be a tourist, I wanted to give back to local communities, learn from them and to have a truly in-country experience. So I decided to volunteer at VIN (Volunteers Initiative Nepal) in the womens empowerment program and facilitate stress management and emotional resilience, because this was most aligned with my work, skills and passions in psychotherapy and empathy culture back in Australia. Memorable moments that will stay with me include hearing the women sharing about their feelings, needs and learning the joy and value of listening better to eachother, standing in circle passing around a wombat, whilst the women listened to eachother, as well as when we passed around a handclap in our circle, sharing that this symbolises how we pass love around in the community and it letting it come back to us and seeing the women laughing and smile at this and get it. I can honestly say that everyone in the VIN team was super supportive, accessible and available to answer all my questions whether online before arriving in Nepal, in person or on whatsapp during my stay. I felt like I'd been welcomed into a supportive community of big hearted people. The biggest thing I learned was how to make my work more practical, accessible, fun and engaging for rural women in a language I do not speak and to be inclusive with women who can or cannot read in Nepali. I would definitely recommend volunteering with VIN, they are super adaptable to your skills and passion and work broadly with women, youth, children, conservation, animals, medical, education, environment and disaster resilience. You may be suprised how your skills and passions might be useful for the Nepali community members either in Kathmandu or rurally. If you are going rural I recommend volunteering for at least 3 weeks as the induction, travel and breaks take about 1week off your volunteering time. So be sure to make sufficient time to enjoy the cultural exchange.

I was very interested to experience Nepal’s eastern region, but in the capacity a volunteer rather than a tourist, having travelled around Nepal mainly to the west over 7 previous trips. The opportunity arose to experience volunteering through VIN in Okhaldunga, a beautiful mountainous wooded area in the southern part of the Everest region, an authentic area, untouched by tourism. From initial UK-based overtures to VIN, through arrival, induction, placement in the lovely Nishenke NaraTika Community Learning Centre (CLC) in the Okhaldunga region, and the actual volunteering sessions, I was met with enthusiastic support and interest from VIN’s lovely professional staff. The experience was so rewarding: the locals and their motivation in turning up for yoga practice before starting a long day in the fields; the somewhat unruly schoolchildren changing from unruly kids to becoming engaged, motivated and very competent in just a few weeks. Without doubt, the support and engagement provided by the CLC staff with translation and logistics drove the success of my time there.

For anyone interested in contributing to the improvement of local community living conditions, I really recommend VIN’s organisation. They have achieved a lot already including sanitation, hygiene, drinkable water, health projects. Whatever you feel you can offer is applied with meaningful consideration. You also gain an experience, interest and deep understanding of authentic Nepali culture. From mixing with the locals, and talking to the VIN staff, I finished my placement with an enhanced and humbling view of what is really important in life. VIN's dedicated staff reaffirms one's belief in the goodness of human nature.

Hi!! I am Chandrika. I did my volunteering at Volunteer Initiative Nepal as a national volunteer for 2 months. I am really glad i got this opportunity from VIN. The staff were very friendly and welcoming. During my volunteering, I met many national and international volunteers. And I made some really good friends. The best part of my volunteering was community people, they were very loving, I loved their hospitality. In these 2 months, I participated in many projects. Some of were awareness programs on early marriage and human trafficking. Another was before, during and after the earthquake. I did a survey on breast cancer and menopause and climate change as well. I get to learn many new things like social skills, computer skills, teaching skills, communication skills, etc. Overall, I enjoyed and liked my volunteering journey. Thank you VIN!!

I walked with the dogs , brushed them and contributed to their welfare. I also rescued injured dogs and took them to the clinic. It was important for me to take my time to interact with the dogs, as they have variety of circuses. And the people at the center have a very deep love for the dogs. It was a great experience for me to be a part of the community while feeling that. This was a great experience and the support from VIN was very good, which made me feel at ease with the activity.You will experience a better life experience here.