At a glance
- Volunteer with children at care centres in Nepal. You’ll work with disadvantaged children, focusing on improving their early childhood development.
- Help us achieve our long-term goal of raising literacy levels. It’s a fantastic way to give back, whiling gaining childcare experience in a different environment.
- Use your free time and weekends to explore Nepal’s heritage sites, take part in adventure sports, practice yoga, and more.
Is volunteering with children in Nepal right for me?
If you love working with children and want to help where it’s needed most, then this project is a great fit for you.
Volunteer work with children in Nepal also gives you a platform to explore childcare or early childhood development as a future career. Use this experience to give your CV an extra edge. You’ll also learn skills like leadership or planning, which can be applied to any career you pursue.
You don’t need experience to join. You’ll support local caregivers and teachers, and Projects Abroad staff are there to help if you need it. We also run regular workshops for all our Childcare and Teaching volunteers, where you can exchange ideas and talk about challenges you’re facing. You’ll also be able to draw on our online resources, which are filled with ideas for activities.
This project runs year round and you can join at any time.
What will I do on this project?
You will work in a care centre or special needs centre, supporting the efforts of local caregivers and teachers. Here are the kinds of activities you get involved with:
Your work will focus on the following areas:
Promote early childhood development at your placement
Meeting the developmental milestones typical for their age is critical for every young child. This is why your major focus in Nepal is on early childhood development. You’ll help children improve their hand-eye coordination through ball-skills, and teach them teamwork through an egg and spoon race.
Your work will help the children explore their world, and most importantly, their own strengths and abilities.
Teach children to read, write, and count
One of our goals in Nepal is to raise literacy levels. You’ll help us do this by working with children to improve their reading, writing, and counting skills. The children will enjoy learning if you use fun and engaging activities and games. Singing and chanting also work well, especially if you’re teaching the ABCs or 123s. You can also create easy templates for children to trace words, or dedicate a class to story time.
Teach children the importance of practising good hygiene everyday
You will sing fun songs, help with a crafts morning, create colour-in pages, or give a puppet show on how children should correctly scrub their palms and little fingers. These continuous lessons on hygiene help keep the children healthy, and form the basis of a lifetime of good habits. Practising good hygiene everyday is important anywhere in the world, and this is something you need to emphasise.
Where in Nepal will I be working?
This is a unique opportunity to fully immerse yourself in the small and mountainous country of Nepal. You will be working in one of two cities: Kathmandu or Chitwan. In both regions, we have a number of placements.
Kathmandu
Seeped in culture and history, Kathmandu is the urban capital of Nepal. We have partnered with centres for children in the region where our volunteers work. These include schools, day care centres, and centres for malnourished children.
Chitwan
As one of the larger cities in Nepal, Chitwan is home to a number of our placements. These include schools or centres for special needs children.
A typical day on the Childcare Project
Your day begins with sitting down to breakfast in your host family home. Then, with your lunch packed in your bag, you will take public transport to your volunteer placement.
Your day will normally run from about 9.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, coinciding with kindergarten times. This can change depending on the activities for the day.
On arrival at your placement, you will start with your daily tasks. You’ll read with the children, do physical activities to improve coordination, or lead English-based activities. You’ll also be asked to make sure that all the children wash their hands properly before lunch.
Nap-time for the children gives you a chance to plan for the following day. You can also take this opportunity to speak to the teacher or caregiver about you can do around the centre.
In the afternoon you will help with more activities, or assist staff with planning.
Evenings and weekends should be used to explore, explore, explore! It’s not everyday that you’re in a different country with such startling beauty around you. Climb a mountain, wander through a temple, practise your Nepali in a local market, or relax at your host family’s home.
What are the aims and impact of this project?
The aim of this project is to promote early childhood development and support teachers and caregivers at our partner care centres.
The United Nations has Nepal on its list of least developed countries. Disadvantaged communities face many challenges, including poverty, hunger, and low education levels. Children are especially vulnerable.
By supporting care centres and special needs centres, we are working to improve children’s education and quality of life. Projects Abroad has elected not to work with children in orphanages in Nepal, but rather to focus on community-based programmes that allow children to remain within their families.
With the help of volunteers, we have identified the problems and are actively addressing them. Our volunteers do this by increasing each child’s level of stimulation and raising literacy levels through fun, creative activities and games.
We also focus on sharing knowledge about good nutrition with caregivers and parents. Malnutrition is a huge problem in Nepal. Half of the children under the age of five are malnourished, and many people are unaware of what children need to be healthy. Keeping children healthy is a priority for us, and you’ll help us achieve this by raising awareness.
These are the five goals we have identified in our Childcare Management Plan for Nepal:
- Improve hygiene levels of the children
- Raise awareness of healthy living, the environment and family planning
- Promote early childhood development
- Increase literacy
- Improve the level of stimulation of each child
You can help us reach these goals by joining us as a Childcare volunteer in Nepal.
Management plans
We set out the aims and objectives of our projects in documents called Management Plans. We use them to properly plan the work you’ll do. They also help us measure and evaluate our achievements and impact each year.
Ultimately, our Management Plans help us make our projects better. This in turn means you get to be part of something that makes a real impact where it’s needed. Read more about our Management Plans.
Measuring our impact
Our projects work towards clear long-term goals, with specific annual objectives. Every volunteer and intern we send to these projects helps us work towards these goals, no matter how long they spend on our projects.
Every year we take a step back and look at how much progress we've made towards these goals. We put together a Global Impact Report, which documents our achievements. Find out more about the impact our global community of volunteers, interns and staff make, and read the latest report.
Food and accommodation
You'll stay with a host family in Nepal. They will welcome you into their home, eager to share their customs and have you teach them about your own culture. We believe that this is the best way to immerse yourself in the culture of Nepal and have a truly unique experience.
We will always try to let you live alongside at least one other Projects Abroad volunteer or intern at the same host family. Your room will be modest, but comfortable, clean, and safe.
Your programme fee includes three meals a day.
Find out more about our accommodation.
Leisure activities and free time
When you think of Nepal, the first thing that comes to mind is the majestic Himalayan Mountain Range. This is just one example of the country’s extraordinary natural beauty. Combined with rich cultures, this makes it a unique country to volunteer in and explore.
There are a whole host of ways you can explore the stunning and incredibly varied landscapes of Nepal. You can drive off-road through Chitwan National Park, go biking through Kathmandu Valley, or trek in the foothills of Annapurna.
In the evenings and over weekends, it’s worth taking some time to see the sights in Kathmandu. This includes Durbar Square, where you can stand in the midst of an ancient palace. The towering spectacle of the Boudhanath Stupa is also a must-see.
Nepal is one of our most popular destinations, so there will be many other volunteers in the country with you during your trip. This gives you the freedom to spend your leisure time either exploring alone or in a group.
Safety and staff support
Your safety and security is our prime concern. We have many procedures and systems to ensure you have the support you need to enjoy your trip with peace of mind. Our Projects Abroad staff are available 24 hours a day to help, and will be on hand to make sure you settle in well at your accommodation and placement. If you encounter any problems, they will be available to help at any time.
Find out more about safety and backup.
This placement is fully researched, safety audited, and risk assessed in accordance with the British Standard BS8848 for the Adventure Travel Sector.
Meet the team in Nepal
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