10 weeks in Nepal with Raleigh International

Raleigh Expeditions are amazing. Honestly, when I went on this 10 week expedition back in Feb 2018, I was not expecting to enjoy it quite as much as I did, whilst also positively impacting the Nepalese community and making real change with the projects we did. I went on this programme during my gap year, after working and fundraising for the first half of it. I felt welcome and part of the group from the very first day - it was so easy to make friends, as majority of the volunteers were also school leavers, or had just left Uni, so we found we all just clicked.
I know how difficult it is to chose which volunteering programme to go on. However, I would urge you to consider Raleigh, because it IS different to the rest. Raleigh is a trusted company and out on expedition I genuinely felt safe - the staff were supportive, I was able to get contact from home, and the whole programme was extremely well organised. With the expedition I went on, I spent two phases (3 weeks each) working in community and the middle phase (also 3 weeks) trekking in the Ruby Valley. In community we were staying in home-stays with a host family, and another Raleigh volunteer, which was such an amazing experience - it allowed us to fully immerse ourselves in the Nepalese culture. During the working days our main project was digging a pipe line and a hole for a water tank, to replace the one that was damaged from the earthquake in 2015. This was super hard work, but enjoyable as a a group, and we always debriefed after and planned activities for the evenings.
My highlight was Trek - of course the scenery was beautiful, but not only that. Walking and camping for days on end gives you the time to chat, and get to know everyone in your group. I'm still in contact with so many of the people I met on Raleigh Nepal. I'd 100% recommend it, and if given the chance, I would love to do it again.