Volunteer

Volunteering has played a key role in the story of the Himalayan Trust. However, we no longer run a volunteer programme. While we strongly believe in the value of volunteering, we try wherever possible to use the skills, experience and talent of local people in the communities.

Volunteer Services Abroad (VSA) NZ are New Zealand’s largest and most experienced volunteer agency working in international development. Sir Ed was the founding President of VSA NZ and believed passionately that if people work together in equal partnership they can achieve great things. If you are keen to use your skills and experience as a volunteer, you should get in touch with VSA NZ today.

Teacher training in Nepal

Our local partner REED (Rural Education and Environment Development Centre) does however run teacher training programmes. You can find out more and contact REED-Nepal through their website.

Other volunteer opportunities in Nepal

Below is a list of agencies as listed in the Lonely Planet Guide that offer volunteer opportunities throughout Nepal:

• Butterfly Foundation (www.butterflyfoundation.org) Accepts volunteers to help with administration and child care in Pokhara; linked to Butterfly Lodge.
• Child Environment Nepal (www.cennepal.org.np) Accepts child-care volunteers at its premises at Naya Bazaar in Kathmandu.
• Community Action Nepal (www.canepal.org.uk) Charity founded by mountaineer Doug Scott, working in porter villages in the Middle Hills.
• Esther Benjamins Trust (www.ebtrust.org.uk) Can arrange placements working to improve the lives of trafficked and abandoned children.
• Ford Foundation (www.fordnepal.org) Arranges volunteer work focusing on teaching and child care.
• Global Vision International (www.gvi.co.uk) Offers both short- and long-term internships and volunteer placements, some combined with trekking.
• Global Volunteer Network (www.globalvolunteernetwork.org/nepal) A Kiwi organisation offering placements in health care, education, child care and social development.
• Helping Hands (www.helpinghandsusa.org) Places medical volunteers at clinics around Nepal.
• Himalayan Children Care Home (www.hchmustang.org) Accepts volunteers to help with the care and education of kids from remote Mustang who are attending schools in Pokhara.
• Insight Nepal (www.insightnepal.org) Combines a cultural and education program near Pokhara with a volunteer placement and a trek in the Annapurna region; the package lasts seven weeks or three months.
• Kathmandu Environmental Education Project (KEEP; www.keepnepal.org) Placements in education and training in and around Kathmandu; minimum two-month placements and a US$50 administration fee.
• Mountain Trust Nepal (www.mountain-trust.org) British NGO that can arrange volunteer placements in social projects around Pokhara.
• Nepal Trust (www.nepaltrust.org) A focus on Humla in western Nepal.
• Nepali Children’s Trust (www.nepalichildrenstrust.com) Runs an annual trek for volunteers and disabled Nepali children from the Annapurna region.
• People & Places (www.travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk) Placements for responsible and ethical volunteering.
• Prisoners Assistance Nepal (www.panepal.org) Kathmandu-based organisation that needs volunteers to help look after children whose parents are in prison.
• Rokpa (www.rokpa.org) Swiss-Tibetan organisation that needs volunteers for its soup kitchen and medical tent at Bodhnath for six or more weeks (December to March).
• Rural Assistance Nepal (www.rannepal.org) UK-based charity that places volunteers in education and health care.
• Sustainable Agriculture Development Program (www.sadpnepal.org) Arranges placements in sustainable agriculture and social programs near Pokhara.
• Volunteers Initiative Nepal (www.volunteeringnepal.org) Wide range of opportunities; see also www.friendsofvin.nl.