Care & Community - NEPAL Daily Life

Daily Life of a Care & Community Volunteer in Nepal

There is no such thing as a “normal” day in Nepal; each day differs greatly, throwing new and exciting challenges and experiences at you along the way. But my average day went something like this:

8am – This would be the usual time to get up. During my placement I was living in an English boarding school with 6 other volunteers so there was usually a mad dash for the shower (usually cold!). If we were lucky we had a gas cylinder so we could have a hot shower!

9am – I would have breakfast with the other volunteers and children at the boarding school. This was cooked by the didis and often included either rice or chapatti with curried potato. The idea of a curry first thing in the morning may seem daunting but you soon get used to it and you can always opt for toast when your stomach can’t handle it!

9.30am – This is when the journey to work began, often an adventure in itself. We would catch a tuk-tuk, the typical Nepali mode of transport to work; this was usually a very crowded but interesting ride. I would usually be crammed into the back of a mini van with a dozen Nepalese people and half a dozen chickens! It always proved a good fun start to the day!

10am – I arrived at work, the Life Development Centre. This was a residential home and educational institution for children with mental impairments. As I arrived the students would be starting their school day. We would start by assisting the teachers in taking a register and singing songs with the students.

11am – 1pm – This would be our time to teach our class. The volunteers always taught the most advanced class where we would teach basic English, mathematics and cognitive skills. If the weather was nice we would often go into the garden and do some sports, cricket and badminton being the favourites! This part of the day was often the most challenging, as it was often difficult to retain the children’s attention and lots of improvisational skills were needed.

1pm – 2pm – At 1pm it was lunchtime for the students, this was usually a messy event. Sometimes we would help to prepare the meal and then we would assist those students who needed help.

2pm - 2.30pm – This was our lunch time when we would often eat some form of dahl baht or curry.

2.30pm – 3.30pm – All the students would gather outside and participate in different dance and games usually taken by one of the teachers at the centre. This was the most fun part of the day and we were required to assist the less able children so everyone could partake in the activities. Again lots of energy is required. We would participate in some traditional Nepalese dance and games.

3.30pm - 4.00pm – This time was set aside to lead classroom activities such as arts and crafts. I had a bag of craft materials I had brought with me which proved very useful; the students loved creative activities such as painting, making collages and planting flowers.

4.00pm - This was the end of our day at LDC (I was welcome to stay longer, but by 4.00pm I was always tired out!) Sometimes after work we would go straight back to the school and play sports with the boarding children, or go shopping in Thamel (the main tourist area) or go to Boudha Stupa - a local temple with lots of cafes around - and catch up with other volunteers.

8.00pm – 9.00pm – This was our dinner time, dinner would again consist of some form of rice and vegetable curry or dahl baht.

9.00pm – bedtime - We usually stayed in our rooms with the other volunteers in the evenings or (as long as our hosts agreed) we could go into town and meet other volunteers. On weeknights we couldn’t be in too late as our hosts often wait up to check we are all back safely.

The evenings and weekends we generally had free to relax and experience a different part of Nepalese culture, we learned Nepalese dance, we learned how to cook Nepali style and we went on excursions to other parts of the country. At the weekends volunteers from all over Kathmandu and the surrounding areas would meet up and stay in a budget hotel in order to stay out late and sample the unique Nepalese nightlife!

Marie Pillar