Women's Empowerment in the Kathmandu valley

General Impression
After a long and patient research on the net about volunteering organizations around the world I chose Love Volunteers because of the genuine, altruistic and confidence-building vision they were able to transmit to me.

Very useful and understandable pre-departure information and helpful tips from Love Volunteers.
Informative and detailed three days induction program at their partner organization in Nepal.
Uninterrupted and devoted help and support from both LV and their partner throughout my whole volunteering adventure.

Impression about the country
Nepal is an engaging country with a fascinating collection of magic landscapes. Its people belonging to many different ethnos are warm and welcoming. I experienced it as a very «spiritual» country, very proud of, and anchored in its profound values, and at the same time equipped with an enviable humility, openness, tolerence and acceptance for different views of life, ways of thinking, religious and not religious beliefs. This «spirituality» I could sense and see just strolling in the streets invited me to take a deeper walk into myself and reflect about my way of thinking and perceive the world. Day after day I felt encouraged to become more open to the new and the unknown, to work with my prejudices and to become more curious about life, people and all resources and possibilities which I was able to grasp through unpartial observation and dedicated receptiveness. The country is beautiful, its people is charming and the handmade clothes, jewels and food are definitly delightful ... BUT what I really liked most and nourished me in an enriching and instructive way was its nonmaterial dimension, the trust and the broad-mindedness of its people and their contentedness and generosity even in situations of material poverty. YES many people in Nepal need better living conditions and a better economy. We who live in richer countries CAN IN FACT HELP THEM WITH THAT, IF WE JUST DARE IT. It is a very healthy exercise for us -who are bathing daily in material abundance- to become more detached from «things» and to win a more sober relation to material objects. We discover very quickly that we actually don’t need so much of all this stuff, and it turns out very soon that it is much more fulfilling to learn to enjoy it moderatly and more consciously. It is sharing which gives us the biggest joy. We are just able to prosper if we learn to share prosperity. In Nepal, through sharing and giving I gained lightness in my mind and more happiness in my heart. Now in Norway I feel more free and real, and happy.
It was a therapeutic material weight loss!

Project and staff
I chose undoubtedly the right project for me this time «Women’s empowerment». Thank you very much for having it on your list! I wished to do field work, research, interviews with women (people) in their daily surroundings and to meet an authentic and natural reality. I wasn’t disappointed. On the contrary… I hadn’t particular expectations, but I feel I got more then I ever could have imagined… This project gave me the chance to challange myself and my limits, to meet very different people who contributed to my growth, to expand my knowledge and to open my mind, my heart and my ears in an innovative way: I learnt «to listen» in a more genuine and sensible way. This is a BIG DEAL for someone like me who is very fond of «talking». I still like to talk, but I became more conscious about it and I do know now much better how good it does and what a source of knowledge it is, to «hear and listen».

All the people I was/am in contact with, I met and I worked with, both at Love Volunteers and their partner were helpful, cooperative, committed and prepared to support me in the best and more satisfying way through my whole volunteering experience from the day of my application to this day. THANK YOU. I would choose Love Volunteers again, without adventuring into new internet researches next time I will embark on a new volunteering project.

Tips for other volunteers
I don’t like really to give tips to others about travelling or other matters in life and don’t rely so easily on tips from others because I believe that we are all individuals and have a unique way to experience and live our own life and our adventures. I also believe that every single human being has the right to choose and try things and experiences out of her/his own needs and convictions without mediations from others. I also believe that it is constructive and empowering to find the courage and inspiration inside you and in your deepest self because this will give you more tenacity, power, joy and success in the end. But if you really wish a tip from me… Well: Don’t miss volunteering in your life. It is the most effective career training you can get on earth.
Love from Emanuela.