What I should bring with me to give to the children?
Any second-hand clothes for children aged 5-15, but especially:
- Underwear
- Socks
- T-shirts
- Track suit pants
- Trousers
Best not to bring brand new clothes, as they are easier and cheaper to buy in Nepal and buying clothes here also helps support the local economy. If you want to buy brand new clothes, bring the money instead.
Also helpful are things like art materials, books and toys:
- Art materials (things that can be shared easily and that are durable, e.g. crayon pencils rather than felt-tip pens)
- Books (English books, “how to make” or “how to do” books, e.g. origami, drawing)
- Toys (things that can be shared easily, e.g. an English word game rather than a doll)
Volunteers from France or Germany are asked to contact SolHimal, France and help transport medical and other urgently needed supplies here to Nepal. Before the flight is booked, a luggage exception can be issued to grant an excess of 20 kg.
What should I bring for myself?
Bring as little as possible because everything can be bought easily and cheaply here in Thamel, the back-packer/tourist district of Kathmandu. There are a few things you will want to bring from home, like good quality shoes, personal medication, etc. Remember, in the summer, it gets very hot (day and night), and in the winter, it stays warm during the day and gets very cold at night. You’ll need thermal underwear, warm socks and fleeces, but remember you can buy all of these in Thamel at a fraction of the price you would pay back home. If you wish, you can bring a computer, as there are several wireless internet cafes in the city.
What do I do about visas?
You can obtain a tourist visa from your local Nepal Embassy before arrival, or at the airport in Kathmandu upon arrival. Most volunteers state the purpose of their visit as “tourism” not “volunteering”, as it is possible to volunteer on a tourist visa. Separate visas for volunteer work do exist. However, they are much more difficult to obtain and cannot be obtained at the airport on arrival.
Visas are issued at the airport when you arrive in KTM. You will need 30 Dollars U.S. in cash (or Euro equivalent) and two passport photos. Entry tourist visas are for two months, and you can renew them at the Nepal Tourism Board office in Maiti Ghar for extensions of 30 days (US $30 each), up to 150 days in a calendar year. If you wish to stay longer than 5 months, you can stay the last 5 months of one year until May of the next (10 months total).
Can you collect me from the airport?
Yes, we are happy to collect you from the airport, especially if you have a lot of luggage to carry. However, we do ask that you cover the cost of the taxi journeys (about 800 rupees or 8 euros). Let us know your flight details and one of our colleagues will collect you from the airport. He or she will carry a sign with UMBRELLA written on it.
Do you have a phone number I can reach you on?
Yes.
- Umbrella Foundation Office: (Viva Bell & Jacky Buk) 977-1-4277802 or 4288414
- Jacky Buk, Country Director: 977-1-9841344194
- Umbrella Organization Office: 977-1-4670932
- Chandra Adhikari, Volunteer Coordinator: 977-1-9841351982
- Gopal Pant, House Officer: 977-1-9841471545
- Krishna Thapa, Education Coordinator: 977-1-2357325
- Volunteer House: 977-1-4287062
Are all of your children's homes located in Kathmandu?
Yes, all eight of our homes are located in Swoyambhu, northwest Kathmandu. It is possible to take a taxi for about 100 rupees (less than one euro) into Kathmandu, including Thamel, the back-packer district of Kathmandu, where you can find western-style supermarkets, tourist shops, and restaurants. The journey from Swoyambhu to Thamel takes about 10 minutes. (Be careful with the taxi drivers, they can try to charge up to 500 NPR from a tourist to travel to Thamel from Swoyambhu - the cost should be only 100 NPR!)
Do you know which house I will be working at?
Before you arrive, we usually try to work out which house you’ll be working in. However, given the nature of the work, you might be moved to where you’re needed most. We try to place at least one volunteer per house. The work you do will depend on how long you wish to stay and how many volunteers we have when you visit.
What does an average day look like?
The children wake up about 6:00 or 6:30, and you can help them get up and get ready for school – if you wish! You can help them get dressed, eat with them, make sure they’re tidy and clean and check they have their bags and books, help them with their homework or even teach an early morning English class. They leave for school at various times, depending on the school they attend, so you can walk with them to school.
Our children attend several different local schools. The three main schools are:
Divyatara School (nursery, lower and upper kindergarten)
Pragya Jyoti School (class 1-6)
Public English School (class 7-10)
All 3 schools are located in Swoyambhu near our children's homes. You can visit the schools and even help teach an English class if you like - just ask the teacher if it’s OK for you to join in. (They normally say yes.)
During the day, while the children are at school, you’re free. Some volunteers choose to work in the office, helping out with administration and to work on other projects.
The children come home from school between 3:30pm and 4:30pm, again depending on the school they attend. They get tea and a cake after school and then start on their homework. Again, you can help them or lead a class, perhaps English or drawing. In the evenings, they have time for playing and watching television. The younger children go to bed at about 8:00pm and the older children from any time up until 9:00pm. You might be tired too and a lot of the volunteers go to bed pretty early, to get ready for the next day!
What do I do about accommodation?
You can stay in a volunteer’s room at our new Umbrella Volunteer House for 7,000 rupees (about 70 euros / 110 US dollars) per month. (For an additional 3,000 rupees Nepali lessons are available.) It is also possible to stay at Benchem Monastery for about 350 rupees (about 3 euros) per night. All are located within a short two-minute walk of all eight children’s homes.
The volunteer house caters for up to a maximum of 12 volunteers. Depending on how many volunteers we have when you visit, it may be necessary that you share a bedroom. Rooms are always same sex. The rooms are not heated; however, blankets and pillows are available for each bed. Electricity is also available in each room. There is a kitchen and two bathrooms you can use. Hot running water is available in the bathroom. You are responsible for your own laundry (it is possible to use the washing machines at the children’s homes). The volunteer house has a live-in Didi (cleaner/house keeper and security person). The volunteer coordinator will also live at the house.
How/what will I eat?
Volunteers have the option of eating in the houses with the children or of feeding themselves. You can eat your breakfast, lunch and dinner with the children in their houses. Hot tea and biscuits are served at 7am, Daal Bhat (rice with lentils and curried vegetables) is served at around 9am and again between 5 & 6pm. Hot milk or tea with a cake, boiled egg, biscuit or scone is served around 3.30pm. These meals are covered by the accommodation fee, so there is no additional cost. You are welcome to eat at any of the houses.
If you wish to feed yourself, you are welcome to use the kitchen in the Volunteer House. There are a variety of restaurants and grocery stores in Thamel. Closer to the Volunteer House, in Swoyambhu, there are small stores and produce sellers.
How much money will I need for my stay?
The Nepali rupee exchange rate is currently about 65 NPR to the U.S. Dollar and 100 NPR to the Euro. Money can be converted either by traveller’s check, cash, or taken out from ATM machines in the city (be sure to inform your bank before if you plan to do this, otherwise they may block your account).
Some average prices:
A meal at a nice restaurant — 200-500 NPR ($3-8 US)
A bottle of drinking water — 15 NPR (25 cents)
Microbus fare — 12 NPR (20 cents)
Internet cafe — 20 NPR per hour (35 cents)
Internet phone call abroad — 3 NPR per minute (6 cents)
What about health? Do I need to have any vaccinations before coming out to Nepal?
Yes! We recommend you visit your doctor at least six weeks in advance of travelling to Nepal, as you may need a series of vaccinations or booster injections for typhoid, diphtheria, tetanus etc. As there are so many monkeys here, we advise you have a rabies vaccination before arriving. Some doctors advise you also have Malaria & a Japanese encephalitis vaccination (This depends on where you wish to travel to during your time here. Please inform someone at Umbrella if you plan to travel away for a few days).
The most common things you might suffer from here are colds and stomach sickness. Bring medication for that kind of illness, or you can consult with Umbrella’s doctor, Dr. Suman, for the best course of action.
There are many health clinics around the city which provide basic services quite cheaply. If you have an emergency or become very ill, there are a few Western clinics (CIWIC is the best) that are very reliable.
How safe is it in Nepal, especially for young, single women?
Nepal is a safe country and so far none of the volunteers have encountered any problems. Swoyambhu, where all our homes are based is a close-knit and family like community feel to it. In Thamel, you might be hassled as a tourist to buy things. But Swoyambhu is relatively quiet.
Will there be phone or internet access?
The volunteer house, as well as all of the children’s homes, is equipped with a telephone. If you bring your own mobile with you, you’ll be glad you did! It is possible to buy a cheap Nepali SIM card here. We find mobile phones are very useful for keeping in touch with each other.
There are also lots of cheap, reliable internet cafes. They cost about 20 rupees (about 20 European cents) per hour. You can also use the computer in the Umbrella office when it is free. Some volunteers bring their laptops for word-processing and internet access; if you have your own laptop, you’ll be very glad of it here.
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