Before the last year of bachelor’s in Uni, I had a few months off, and I decided to put my CV on the
youth portal to browse for a possible program for the duration of my free time and contribute to a good
cause by volunteering for the first time outside of my country.
I applied to the children protection program with Pi Youth Association in Turkey, which was working
with the Nepali NGO Volunteers Initiative Nepal on a project right outside of Kathmandu in a rural
community that would become home for a few months and beyond.
The Child Protection Program was involved with seven schools in the community of Jitpur Phedi, a rural
area north-west of Kathmandu. Though located just an hour from the city, this community faces many
challenges, such as limited infrastructure, long walking distances for children, and sometimes teacher
shortages in the smaller schools. It is in this setting that we aimed to create workshops and structures to
help children become active participants in their own protection and growth.
With the team, our work consisted of building rapport with 7 schools. We then created the children’s
clubs by organizing elections and conducting workshops with the children from the clubs. This club
allowed the volunteers to have a second communication channel in the school with the school
administration to share events and actions. With those clubs were organized monthly Wall magazines of
children’s creations, clean-up walks, sports competitions, and soft skills workshops were organized.
Outside those clubs and within the schools, we also hosted summer camps and parenting sessions with
the common goal of making a supportive and safe environment for children to learn and develop.
The creation of these clubs was based on inclusive and participatory principles. Children in the schools
elected the members of the clubs, ensuring gender balance and fair representation. We accompanied the
clubs to teach them how to hold meetings and pursue their projects or ideas. Alongside my Nepali
colleague and friend, Gatha Shahi, we conducted management workshops and trained the members on
their rights and responsibilities as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the
Children’s Act of Nepal (2018). These sessions, filled with energizing activities and group reflection, gave the
children confidence, motivation, and awareness of the possibilities.
In June, we visited all seven schools to establish connections with principals, facilitators, and child club
members. We reformed child clubs, organized Environment Day workshops and activities, and
conducted capacity-building workshops on child rights and leadership. These first visits helped us
understand the school dynamics and the children’s needs, to assess what we could focus on for the
months to come.
The Wall Magazine initiative was one of the ways to encourage children in creative and group work. Each
month, students contributed drawings, poems, articles, and stories in both English and Nepali. The
magazines are a communication platform displaying the initiatives of children promoting expression,
cultural exchange, and pride. Teachers and parents could see children’s work displayed on the walls,
making their creativity visible to the community.
In July, we introduced Emotional Intelligence sessions in every school, preparing visual and interactive
materials like emotion cards, questionnaires, and mood charts. These activities made students reflect on
their feelings, and the teachers appreciated this new perspective on student well-being. The biggest
project of the month was the summer camp at North Star School, which was a week of hygiene sessions,
arts and crafts, public speaking games, sports, and English class. Seeing children’s enthusiasm and active
participation during this camp was really enjoyable!
In August, our focus turned to the parents. We designed Positive Parenting Education workshops with
the organisation’s support in materials and methodology, and prepared the materials. The workshops
encouraged open conversations between parents about communication, positive habits, and empowering
their children. The month also celebrated the 20th anniversary of VIN, which made us look back on the
work that was accomplished in a relatively small NGO with a big positive impact in different regions of
Kathmandu and of Nepal in a broader perspective.
The activities were prepared with the aim that children should be actively involved in the decisions that
affect them. By creating safe, supportive environments through clubs and participatory workshops, they
can develop leadership and follow their interests and passions. The fact that this volunteering team was
the same for 5 months allowed for stronger collaboration with teachers and parents, and a deepened
sense of community across Jitpur Phedi. Being familiar faces in the schools for the children made them
more open.
By September, we reached our target goals and had conducted work we could look back on and be proud
of. The regular visits not only supported the children’s stability but also ensured project continuity.
Across all months, we reached around 450 people through workshops and school events. We hope that
the projects will be continued by the next teams in child protection, either with ESC programs or other
volunteersNext to the volunteering, living in Nepal made this experience even richer. From experiencing Gai Jatra
in Taumadhi Square in Bakhtapur, going on a weekend on the lake of Pokhara or in Chitwan Safari, going
on an afternoon hike with a monk in the forest, to finding the best momos in Kathmandu or the best
view on the Kathmandu valley, from dancing with the Lakhes in Godavari to visiting the oldest temple of
the Kathmandu Valley, staying a long period of time is necessary to embrace the culture of Nepal.
To summarize, this unforgettable experience was made possible by the European Solidarity Corps, the
sending organization, and the hosting organization, and all the workers and volunteers’ openness and
alignment on common goals and values. It also showed how sustainability can be built into small-scale
community actions: child clubs now act as self-sustaining platforms for peer learning, wall magazines
continue to be published with teacher guidance, and parents and schools maintain dialogue about positive
education. The legacy of the project continues to live on in every school we worked with.
Next to the volunteering, living in Nepal made this experience even richer. From experiencing Gai Jatra
in Taumadhi Square in Bakhtapur, going on a weekend on the lake of Pokhara or in Chitwan Safari, going
on an afternoon hike with a monk in the forest, to finding the best momos in Kathmandu or the best
view on the Kathmandu valley, from dancing with the Lakhes in Godavari to visiting the oldest temple of
the Kathmandu Valley, staying a long period of time is necessary to embrace the culture of Nepal.
To summarize, this unforgettable experience was made possible by the European Solidarity Corps, the
sending organization, and the hosting organization, and all the workers and volunteers’ openness and
alignment on common goals and values. It also showed how sustainability can be built into small-scale
community actions: child clubs now act as self-sustaining platforms for peer learning, wall magazines
continue to be published with teacher guidance, and parents and schools maintain dialogue about positive
education. The legacy of the project continues to live on in every school we worked with.
