How it works

Volunteachers connects volunteers and schools. We provide all the information you need to organize your stay from back home with a maximum of freedom, choices and independence.

Volunteachers aims to enhance the quality of English lessons in Nepal with the help of skilled volunteers. Therefore, exchange about teaching methods, through planning, teaching and reflecting lessons together with the Nepali teachers, is our main focus.

Volunteachers offers you:

  • the possibility to organize volunteering on your own terms without spending a lot of money
  • financial support (contact us)
  • access to a growing database of primary and secondary schools you can choose from
  • a place to share teaching materials and seek inspiration
  • the opportunity to improve your teaching methods and skills
  • free use of the volunteachers website and services

To determine whether this is for you, consider the following:

We provide all the information you need to organize your volunteering experience, but we do not coordinate it for you. You are in charge of organizing your own stay. Therefore, independence is key to a fulfilling volunteer experience. If you are looking for an organization which books your flights, organizes transport, accommodation and a volunteering place for you, this is not your website. But if you want to be fully in charge of your experience, you are in the right place! However, we assist you by providing valuable information about schools, accommodation, transport and general information about navigating in Nepal.

Your job is to teach English to students and teachers. Being confident in your language skills is essential to teach successfully. Furthermore, you serve as a role model for the children. Many of them will experience English as a new tool of communication for the first time. By interacting with you, they will adopt your way of speaking. However, you do not have to be a native speaker to be a good English teacher.

Having experience in teaching is mandatory. Standing in front of a class can be quite overwhelming, especially if you can only communicate in English, a language the class might not be able to understand very well. Teaching experience helps you to structure your lessons, gives you security and makes you a skilled partner for your colleagues in Nepal.

You will be surrounded by school children every day. The desire to support children in their learning should be the reason why you visit this website. To make your work more sustainable, we would like you to work together with the English teachers as well. Therefore, you should feel comfortable to work with adults.

We believe that getting used to a new environment takes time. You should give yourself this time to settle in and become comfortable in the new place. The longer you stay, the greater the advantage for you, your students and colleagues. Talk to the school what their preferred time frame looks like. Stay for at least three months. Take into account that the students and teachers need to get accustomed to your way of teaching to benefit from it fully. The reward of teaching is to see your students improve. Give yourself the time to see this improvement!

The volunteer experience as a Volunteacher is different. You will be immersed in the community and need to be willing to expand your comfort zone. Traditions, food, living standard and the idea of personal space and privacy may vary considerably from what you are used to. Being open to new experiences and to a different lifestyle is a basic requirement to enjoy yourself while volunteering. This is especially true for volunteers opting to spend their time in small villages.

It takes time to learn about a new culture and navigate in it. The first phase is not always easy, but once you got through it a new world opens and you will enjoy yourself. Therefore, having the commitment to work trough rough patches is essential. Teaching in an unknown environment adds to the challenge. Lack of teaching materials, poor classroom conditions and the language barrier demand creativity and flexibility. You are not sure if you want to do this alone? No problem. Especially if you are looking to volunteer in a remote village, consider doing it with a friend. You can also look for schools which are willing to host more than one volunteer, so you are not alone. Team teaching is always a great option to cope with the differences and support the students.

You are still in? Great! Here is a step-by-step guide.

Sign up for a free account at the Volunteachers website and get access to more detailed information about each school. This information helps you to decide which school is a good fit for you.

We want to learn more about you and your reasons to volunteer at one of our partner schools. A letter of motivation helps us to assess whether Volunteachers is a way of volunteering that meets your expectations, needs and skills. Our main goal is to ensure that we as Volunteachers contribute to improving the English lessons at the host schools. This goal can only be accomplished with motivated and skilled volunteers. If we are comfortable that Volunteachers is a good fit for you, we will provide you with the contact information of the school you applied for.

We do not want to make decisions for the school. Therefore, reach out to the contact person of your school and introduce yourself. This way, you can get in touch with one of your future colleagues and learn more about your host school. In the same vain, you can decide if this school meets your expectations. Once the school agrees to your stay, you can start planning and organizing your trip.

Your contact person will answer more questions and will help you to arrange the details of your stay. Please note that the contact person is usually a teacher of the school and not a Volunteachers member. Therefore, be patient, friendly and take into account that English is not their mother tongue. If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to write us an email at info@volunteachers.de Once you found a school, there is a lot more to think about. Consider the following tips (some conditions vary depending on your home country):

  • Check the expiry date of your passport and if you need a visa for Nepal. Read the requirements and apply if necessary. For further information go to http://www.nepalimmigration.gov.np/
  • Do you need vaccinations? Talk to your doctor and research online
  • Book train tickets, ferry tickets, flights.
  • Do you need travel health insurance? Many insurances cover holidays but only for a limited number of days. Check if you need extra travel insurance to be on the safe side.
  • Is there anything you need for your lessons from back home? For example, a guitar to sing with the children, a Bluetooth speaker for comprehension exercises, a laptop …
  • A credit card makes traveling easier. Check if you need one.
  • Check out our tips regarding eco-friendly traveling. Make sure all you leave behind is smiling faces and footprints and pack your bag accordingly.
  • Do you want to see more of the country? Schedule time and money to do so.

It will largely depend on the school which materials are available. Sometimes there will not be much else than a whiteboard and a marker. Before you leave your home town, please make up your mind about ways of teaching which do not require materials like songs, nursery rhymes and games. Depending on your plans you might need to bring materials from back home.

Keep in mind that schools, students and teachers vary largely from each other in regard to their English skills. Therefore, do not make detailed lesson plans but be creative and flexible.

Check out the teaching materials provided on the website for inspiration.

Exchange of knowledge works best if lessons are planned, taught and reflected together with the teachers. Try to schedule a time for planning and reflecting together with the English teacher each week. By teaching together, we also try to ensure that volunteers do not replace teachers.

Please share your teaching materials and your volunteer experiences, to help other Volunteachers! Tell your friends about Volunteachers and help grow the community. Consider donating to Volunteachers to help more schools profit from the Volunteachers program.