VSN
always provides incredible support to the volunteers
throughout their stay. Our goals include striving
to maintain constant volunteer satisfaction,
ensure the safety of our volunteers, and maintain
the highest quality of programs possible. The
following is a list of the many support services
that we will provide during your stay.
Safety:
• A VSN staff member will pick you at
the airport on arrival
as well as take you to the airport at departure.
• VSN places volunteers in very safe places
to stay and work.
• VSN staff can give great guidance and
instruction about the local and national transportation
and about the hiking trails around the working
and urban area.
• Help with visa extensions.
• All the VSN staff have mobile phones,
so getting in contact in an emergency is not
difficult. You are always welcomed to get in
contact with the VSN staff at any time on our
cell phones during your entire stay.
• Mobile phones are also common on the
streets of Kathmandu.SIM cards and pre-paid
cards are pretty affordable. So, bring your
phone,VSN helps you to get a SIM card.
• Host families and long-term placements
are chosen near health care facilities.
Culture:
•If it is festival time (and it usually
is), then you'll be to experience Nepali culture
first-hand with the other volunteers and VSN
support staff.
• Meeting with your host family and VSN
staff before starting the volunteering work,
allows volunteers can ask any questions. For
example,
the VSN staff can be a great resource for information
about the Hindu caste system,Nepali education
system, culture, survival guidance, gender issues,
and recent political changes. If you are
volunteering in a health program, then
you can also get an initiation into the Nepal
health practices,the history of the health institution
and present health situation.
• Volunteering with VSN will be an affordable
experience (well except for the plane ticket!)
with low-cost program fee and no hidden
expenses.
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Sample Schedule
and Accommodations:
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During Training:
Throughout the duration of orientation and training,
volunteers stay with host families near to VSN
office or at the VSN office, located approximately
10km southeast of Kathmandu.
Volunteers will be provided western and/or Nepali
food three times a day. The VSN office has western
toilet and hot shower and 24 hour internet access.
During training you will have a single separate
room for accommodation. Volunteers will be provided
with three to five hours of training per day
and the duration of training depending upon
the volunteering period. Rest of the day, volunteers
will visit different schools, VSN projects,
orphanages and sight seeing. You will also meet
other international volunteers and share the
experience.
During placement:
Once necessary orientation and trainings are
provided and volunteers feel comfortable, volunteers
will move to Nepali family. At the placement
volunteers live with a local family as a member
of the family and has a separate room. All the
families have already accommodated our previous
volunteers and they have been provided training
on how to accommodate overseas volunteers; families
provide three meals a day (the day time meal
will be a light snacks) and boiled water available
for drinking. The typical Nepalese meal is 'daal
bhaat tarkaari' (lentil soup, rice and vegetables)
also other food like noodles, chapatti, omelettes
and different kinds of seasonal fruits and vegetables
are eaten. Volunteers will be eating the same
food that the family eats. All the the placements
have electricity and telephone facilities and
most of placements have internet acess as well. |
