Volunteer Abroad in Nepal with United Planet for 1-52 Weeks

During my time in Nepal I learned more about myself then I ever though I would. I take medicine for anxiety so going abroad was very nerve racking and culture shock freaked me out a little bit. However being in Nepal and learning to work through all of this helped me so much. I was surrounded by poverty which was hard but I learned to adapt to the best of my abilities. I also got to see one of the biggest Hindu temples and one of the biggest Buddhist temples in the world. Nepal's culture is so rich and there is so much to learn from the people there.
I would very highly recommend this program to anyone who is interested in learning about themselves and exploring the boundaries of their comfort zone, and then breaking them.

I volunteered in an orphanage called OCCED in Kathmandu, Nepal, and stayed with a host family for two weeks. I couldn't help falling in love with the cute children and my lovely host family. They gave me a very unforgettable experience and had a great impact on my life and value. Here is a typical day for me in Nepal:

07:00 Get up
08:00 Breakfast with my host family
09:00 Go to nearby supermarkets to buy toys or snacks for children (not required, just I wanted the children to be happier)
10:00 Start work in the orphanage
Work included: teaching, playing with smaller children, chatting with older children, having lunch with the children and the orphanage staff
17:00 Leave the orphanage
After work, normally I went back to my host family, but sometimes I went to Thamel (the main shopping area) to explore some nice restaurants
19:00 Dinner with my host family
After dinner, I would chat with my host family, showing each other photos, or watch TV with them (when there was electricity)
21:00 Go to bed

Apparently two weeks was not long enough for me to spend with the cute and smart children. I wish I could have stayed longer!

I would definitely recommend this program to my friends :)

My placement in Nepal through United Planet went as well as could possibly be imagined. There are a lot of unknowns involved in a long-term volunteer placement overseas, but United Planet did a fantastic job of giving me lots of information to reduce the number of them, preparing me to face the ones that cannot be removed entirely, and setting me up with great support in the country so that everything worked out really well. I was teaching at a small government school for 10 months and living with a local host family nearby. I felt totally immersed in the community and gained a whole lot of perspective that I still carry with me today. I highly recommend United Planet for anyone seeking to understand themselves and the world around them in a deeper way.

united planet helped me to feel very supported and safe in my experience. i always had a go-to person there that helped me to feel comfortable and welcomed and the preparation prior to my departure was fantastic. i would have liked a bit more direction in my day to day work as i feel like i could have been doing more, but the program i was involved with was a bit less structured than others so it was to be expected.

Living with a host family was the greatest experience I could ever ask for. I taught math at two different schools while in Nepal for 3 months and got an opportunity to live with two different families. Each was supportive, loving and thoughtful in helping me learn my way around Nepali culture and lifestyle. The students were eager to learn from me once they knew who I was and recognized me as a teacher. Teaching math was a wonderfully diverse experience because I got to teach counting to the nursery students all the way up to advanced algebra to 8th graders. I have been planning my return ever since I left - it was the best three months I ever spent. This is an opportunity that is not to be missed!