Make a REAL difference in Nepal - From just $259!

A few months back, I was fortunate to stumble upon Love Volunteers while looking up volunteering opportunities abroad. I instantly got interested in the programs they had to offer. Out of the many programs I went through, 'Teaching at Monasteries' in Nepal caught my eye. I had been wanting to travel solo as well as experience volunteering in a different country, and this program seemed to be the perfect fit! Ever since I mailed them for the first time, Love Volunteers had been nothing but supportive and prompt. Apart from sharing a detailed guidebook about the country and the program, they answered all my queries promptly.

Having just a month off work in summer, I could afford to spend 3 weeks at the monastery. Those 3 weeks spent in Nepal have undoubtedly been one of the best times in my life! I met some lovely people, made life-long connections, traveled, taught, learnt and gathered tons of amazing memories! Staying at a monastery and interacting with monks was in itself a unique and wonderful opportunity, and I feel very fortunate to have experienced the same. Teaching at the monastery definitely had its own challenges, as they relied only on volunteers for academics (English, Math etc.) and there wasn't a curriculum in place. If you tend to get involved with the students and take your teaching seriously, then it gets challenging because all students have different abilities and levels, and ideally one needs to cater to their individual needs. That is possible when you have many volunteers on site, otherwise can be a bit difficult. Nonetheless, teaching and interacting with the lovely monks is really enjoyable, and one sure learns a lot!

Such experiences definitely teach you a lot, expose you to much more in life and probably make you grow as a person. One gets to experience life in a totally different context, often without the luxuries and comforts one is used to. However, what you gather is way more valuable - friends, experiences, memories, learning. It's all worth it. My words may not do justice to what I experienced, felt and learnt. All I can say is that it was one of the best experiences in my life, and I wish I could have stayed longer! Would love to go back sometime.

I'd definitely recommend Love Volunteers and this particular program to whosoever wishes to volunteers abroad and make a difference! :)

I volunteered in Nepal through Love Volunteers back in March of 2014. It was an overall great experience. Kelly was very helpful and always got back to my emails and questions very quickly. I was picked up on time at the airport by Keshab and shown around a bit before we went back to the volunteer house. I had my own room with a cute balcony, which was very peaceful as it was situated in the hills. It had a bathroom with a western toilet, a shower, and a sink. The beds are low to the ground with a pad for a mattress, but there were so many thick woolly blankets, I just used a few of them for extra padding. The power goes off for 6 or more hours at a time in Nepal, there is a daily schedule so you know when it will go off. The house was equipped with solar lights in every room which would last a hour or two. Food is served for every meal. The cook and his family live on site and really make some great food. Expect rice, veggies, chapati, and sometimes noodles. No meat is served. Chicken and mutton can be found at any of the restaurants. But it is not readily available everywhere. This didn't bother me, I got a healthy diet (for once) of veggies, felt better than I usually do at home, and lost some weight! I had signed up for the environment program, which wasn't clearly described at the time on the web site. I found out when I got there that they primarily wanted me to teach children at the school about the environment, which I expected to do some of, but also more hands on clean up kinds of projects. Teaching at the school turned out to be amazing. I enjoyed it very much and loved spending time with the children. I spoke to Keshab about the more hands on part of the program, and he arranged for me to stay one week at an eco farm in Pokhara (Mountain View Eco Farm--google it!) Keshab and Manoj arranged my transport via bus on Swiss Travels. I stayed the weekend in downtown Pokhara, which was really a great experience. Many shops and restaurants, I even did a bit of a trek up to the Annapurna viewpoint. After the weekend Manoj met me by car and took me up to the eco farm personally and introduced me to the family. The farm is at the top of a large hill, or small mountain, and is a mud style house. It was beautiful and you can see the Annapurna range in the mornings. I got settled in my room, which was basic, with dirt floor and little bed with pad mattress. I had a beautiful view from my window every morning! Bathroom is a squat toilet outside, and shower is outdoor too, with an option for hot water (you have to boil it.) It was a rough experience, but nothing I couldn't handle. The family was great, and the wife would make great food that we picked fresh from the field each day. In the morning you help her pick the food for the day, and then you might help build a structure, like a green house, or plow a bit of a field, or plant. Sometimes they do seminars on eco farming for other local farmers to attend and learn. Down the mountain a bit is a coffee plantation and honey farm. It's a real treat to walk there in the morning and have fresh ground coffee and honey in front of the mountains. After that I went back to Kathmandu and stayed the remainder of my trip in the volunteer house. Keshab helped me arrange transport to Nagarkot to the Everest view point. They are really so accommodating and helpful, they went out of their way time and again to help me and make sure I was having a happy and fun time. At the school and volunteer house there were Chinese students also volunteering. We went out quite a bit by bus to Thamil, a nearby market. At the eco farm there were 3 other Americans volunteering. I had a great time where ever I went and would recommend this trip to anyone! If you can handle tent camping you shouldn't have too much of a problem with the living conditions :) it's worth it trust me!

I was happy with the Program I specific chose. To work and live with the blind was not difficult at all. I received a very nice and warm welcome from them. For me, it's a great challenging that I had to learn and understand how to communicate with the blind. How to communicate with the blind taught me how to think both; as me and as the blind at the same time.

I worked directly with the founder and executive director of IEC Nepal in Pokhara and I also lived at his place with his family. The Home Office has an amazing view of Annapurna and Himalayas, fresh air,... and nice and cleaned location.

We did not only talked and shared ideas, opinions about the programs for the blind, but also share any information about living, hygiene, nutrition, culture, and more....

I wrote a proposal for fund raising to an international organization in Europe. I joined with them for any situation as much as I could, and also as a part of the family.

I think, the Blind or any program for disable people really needs more volunteers. Let's make different !!

Special thanks for Kelly, Mike, LV staffs and Keshab, Manoj of the local team. Guys, you did very professionally and very impressive for all suggestion, information, management, and friendliness.

I spent two months working as a maths teacher at the local partner school in Bhaktapur, Kathmandu. First of all, the people there ( Keshab, Manojs and Mahesh) are very genuine, very caring people and they are doing a fantastic job with regards to running the school. There are not enough teachers at the school to run all the classes all the time, so this means that there is a real opportunity for you to help out.

The children at the school are very intelligent on the whole, and whilst they can be quite boystrous (like all children) it would be hard not find yourself getting attached to them during your stay.

I really enjoyed my experience teaching English in Nepal. The Nepalese coordinators were wonderful and went out of their way to make the experience positive. They helped me to plan sightseeing activities and trips and were very interested in showing me the culture. I had a high level of autonomy, as I road public transportation by myself every day and planned by own free time, but I also experienced a high level of support from the staff. However, Love Volunteers did not paint a clear picture of what I was to expect. They told me that I would be living in a host family, which I found out upon arriving in Nepal was not an option. I would highly recommend the the program with which you work in Nepal as a safe and fulfilling organization; however, the communication between Love and the local program is lacking.

Go for it! I spent a month in an orphanage and one month in a monastery, both times teaching english. I was provided with food and although the sanitary conditions were not perfect, i don't think it could have been better, considering the 8 hours of power-outage that the country experiences every day...
And the fact that you are with a local NGO (Love Volunteers links you to them) reduces the cost very significantly. That's a plus, if you're a broke student like me!

I had a wonderful time while volunteering in Nepal for 4 weeks. I was involved in the medical program while I was there. The local team was very supportive, knowlegable and helpful in adjusting to day to day life in Nepal. However, the hospital that I was placed in was very quiet while I was there and there felt like was no real need for me to volunteer there. Due to this I was placed at a different hospital which was slightly busier.

The local team was very passionate about what they want to achieve in Nepal with the schools and orphanages that they support and the health clinic that they want to set up.

I was in Kathmandu for two weeks with LoveVolunteers and absolutely loved the experience. The local staff was very welcoming and friendly and taught us about everything we wanted to know about Nepal. The doctors that I worked with in Nepal were extremely dedicated and taught us a lot about the healthcare system. I encourage everyone to take a look at the program!

My experience in Nepal was overall very moving. I learnt a lot about the people, the culture, and most of all about myself. The program I choose to volunteer in was the medical aid program as I am in nursing back home. Looking back I wish I would have volunteered at the schools or orphanages. I say this because the hospital we were placed in to volunteer was private and there would be days when there would not even be one patient to help. I found that while we got to see a lot of the kathmandu tourist attractions, meet other Love Volunteers volunteers, and learn about the Nepali History, it ultimately felt as though we made not impact on the community through our volunteer placement. Next time I would either ensure that I am going to be placed in an area that truly needs my help. I would DEFINITELY recommend the Love Volunteers as an NGO to volunteer with as they are kind and helpful, but all I would say is choose your program carefully and if you do happen to be placed somewhere where you feel you are making no difference then say something! :)

I had the most amazing experience working with Love volunteers and their local partner. The team was extremely helpful, welcoming, and fun to be around. I found they were extremely well educated on the education system in Nepal, as well as extremely concerned and carrying for orphans, and very interested an determined to start medical clinic work. I felt very confident that these three see first hand what under privileged Nepalis truly need.

I worked with 7 orphaned boys between 12-16 years old. Before I arrived I was scared of being completely heartbroken and sad for their situation. I was pleasantly surprised but how happy, energetic, loving and proud these boys were. The local team has provided them with everything they need to live a happy healthy life. Even though they don't have an abundance of toys, video games, computes or any other western entertainment, they have bigger smiles, stronger laughs and so much love to give. I would never want to see them in any other situation.

We lived with the host family Love Volunteers is partnered with. They welcomed us in and made us feel like part of the family. We had so much fun with their two little girls, and the meals were amazing!!!

As for struggles, we didn't find to many. We did walk to the house in the dark, but unfortunately you cannot tell the sun when to set, that was the only real struggle, making sure you didn't trip into a puddle or something worse.
The cost of the program was very affordable, I had such a great time I felt like I should have payed more for the life changing experience. I have already recommended Love volunteers to all of my friends and clients hoping they can have the same amazing experience!

I chose this program from the internet, and didn't quite know what to expect. I found a wonderful group of people, who go out of their way to make you feel like a part of the family and workforce. nothing was to much, and always eager to suggest places to see, answer any questions, or to help if having any issues.
An average day would be start at 0800, attend the daily staff meeting, and get allocated your job for the day. Which could include cleaning enclosures, assisting with feeds, collecting natural plants for some of the animals. Spend time with hand reared animals, socializing them with other animals. You learnt to be flexible with what you did, if an injured animal or on a rescue came in, you got to assist with their care. you also had the option of assisting with the care of any sick animals (I got to help with a sick baboon, who ended up sleeping with me, i say sleeping when maybe i should say sharing a bed with me!)
I also got to spend time with a pair of black back jackals, The aim was to get them more comfortable with the presents of people, so we could treat them for tics etc easier.
I had such a great time there i am planning to head back at the end of the year to see all the animals and people, and i can't wait