Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN)
Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN)
Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN) is a Nepal-based, Nepali-run company that wants to give you the most unforgettable and meaningful experience. We make sure that your work brings Nepal and the Nepali communities the maximum benefit and the most sustainable, long-term transformation possible.
Join us in our work to improve the situation of Nepal, while experiencing the rich culture, natural splendour and daily life of our spectacular country!
Our mission
Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN) is founded on the dream that brave and generous volunteers from across all backgrounds can work together to bring about genuine, sustainable change for Nepali communities. We encourage and invite international volunteers to improve the situation of Nepal. We do this by being flexible to our volunteers’ needs and keeping costs low.
Why Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN)?
Nepal is an astonishingly beautiful and diverse country, ranging from the well-known peaks of the Himalaya to the low-lying regions of the Terai. The Nepali people also foster a wealth of cultural diversity, with over 70 languages or dialects and scores of traditional festivals celebrated throughout the year. The nation deserves to take pride in having a unique, and very rich cultural and historical background.
Nepal is also an under-developed country, with low rates of literacy, high rates of poverty and a persistent gender imbalance. Nepal is one of the most beautiful, culturally rich and welcoming country in the world. It is home to Mount Everest, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, and an astonishingly beautiful and diverse landscape, ranging from the well-known peaks of the Himalaya to the low-lying regions of the Terai. The Nepali people are as diverse at the geography, with over 70 languages or dialects and scores of traditional festivals celebrated throughout the year. However, the government is frequently unable to provide adequate education and health facilities throughout the country and both urban and rural areas are forced to live without necessary resources to promote growth and development of their communities:
- 2% of the population live below the poverty line on less than $240 a year
- 42% of the population of Nepal are unemployed
- 51% illiteracy rate throughout Nepal
- 2.5 doctors are available for each 100,000 inhabitants
- 54% of Nepali children are malnourished
About Volunteer Society Nepal
Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN) seeks to address the issues of literacy, poverty and gender imbalance by partnering with institutions and organizations in Nepali communities and ensures that the progress made is sustainable. VSN co-ordinates construction, health, environmental, educational and income generating projects throughout economically poor areas of Nepal. These projects provide opportunities for national and international volunteers to assist in the development of Nepal. To make sure that volunteers are well prepared, Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN) runs a cultural exchange program, Nepali language and cultural classes and a home stay program in Nepal.
Why Volunteering?
Volunteering in Nepal can be an extremely rewarding and life-changing experience. Your efforts can bring great changes in the lives of individual people and the wider community. This cannot be said enough. In the difficult times that Nepal is facing, your contribution of time or resources is extremely valuable. Our unique position as a Nepali run company means we know our country better and this allows us to reduce overheads, yet still provide fantastic service equal to the high cost international agencies. From the the very first day of our volunteers’ arrival until your departure from Nepal, we do everything possible to make sure our volunteers will have a safe, meaningful and pleasant stay. We make sure all our volunteers are well prepared before beginning work as a volunteer. We provide you orientations, training in Nepali language, culture, work practices and guided sight-seeing tours.
Why choose Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN)?
- Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN) is founded and run by Nepali professionals, which means more money goes direct to financing the projects that need it so much
- Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN) staff collectively have more than 50 years experience of working in leading international volunteer based and development organizations in Nepal
- Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN) has established its own health clinic, schools, disability center, and women’s development projects to best serve underprivileged women and children.
- We are flexible in helping you find your chosen work and we can combine multiple projects in one visit
We have placed hundreds of volunteers from 17 to 76 years old from all over the world. All of them have had a great experience while they made a meaningful contribution in supporting local disadvantaged & marginalized communities. After returning to their homes safe and sound, many of them have already come back to Nepal and many have made plans to come back again to join us.
Volunteer in Nepal
Volunteer Society Nepal assists with the development of Nepali communities .
Internship in Nepal
Advance your skills with Volunteer Society Nepal, while also sharing .
Nepal Experience Program
Why not combine a volunteer placement with a trip into .
Nepali Language School
Learn Nepali language at the VSN Language and Culture School .
Summer Group Program: Volunteer and Tour
For all the volunteers coming this Summer: Join our discounted rate .
Join, learn and contribute to much-needed medical care support in our projects
Medical Internship Nepal program remains one of our most popular at Volunteer Society Nepal (VSN). As a Medical Intern in Nepal, you will have the opportunity to observe medical work in a variety of departments.
The Medical Care Situation in Nepal
Good medical care is a serious problem in rural and urban areas of Nepal. A lot of people have moved to Kathmandu after the civil war to seek better opportunities. This has left much of the city’s public medical infrastructure desperately overused. For the poor, seeing a doctor is simply not an affordable option. Meanwhile, in rural areas health facilities are in short supply. The main reasons are a poor transportation network and a lack of funding.
What can a medical Intern do?
Every internship is tailored to your level of experience and interests. There are options for conducting an internship in the following projects:
1. Health Camps
Health Camps are conducted by volunteers at the schools. With the proper fill-out forms from Volunteer Society Nepal you start conducting checking the health of the kids at the schools. The kids will come out of the classroom 1 class at a time and line up for the health check. You will then be checking the kid’s height, weight, lungs, vision and teeth. Among your findings are often many children with dental issues, some children can be under-weighted and there are children with sight problems. Sometimes you will find more heavy cases, such as infections, skin rashes or even clefts or signs of mistreatment. Depending on your findings, you consult with the school and parents on going to a doctor for treatment or how they can take better care of the children. Depending on your findings you can decide to give a workshop to the classes and schools about health. For example, about healthy lifestyle and food, brushing the teeth or about hygiene.
2. Hospital Rotation
In the hospital, you will be visiting different departments where you can observe the medical care being given. You can talk with the doctors and ask questions. After some days, you will choose one department where you can help the rest of your time. Once you have gotten to know the doctors and nurses and established a good relationship with them you can help with the patients and exchange your knowledge and skills with them. Please note that what you can do within the hospitals is dependent on the relationship-building you do with the doctors and nurses and the amount of time you have. The hospital requests that you spend a minimum of two weeks. We will do our best to place you according to your preferences, but cannot guarantee every department will be available.
Most hospitals have the following medical departments:
- General Medicine
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Infectious Diseases
- ENT
- Neurology
- Pneumatology
- Oncology
- Urology
- Orthopaedic
- ICU
- Ophthalmology
- Stomatology
- Emergency (requires at least 6 years medical training)
- Surgery (requires at least 3 years medical training)
- Burn and Plastic Surgery
- Community
- Medicine
- Pediatrics
3. Workshops
At our schools, the disabled centres and the women’s centre, the children and adults would love to learn more about health issues, healthy lifestyles, and first aid and hygiene. You can develop medical workshops and give these workshops to them in such a way that it will help them in their overall health and well being. Together with the Volunteer Society Nepal staff you will conduct a need analysis on where knowledge is lacking and prepare and give the workshops. It is great if you can use new technology such as YouTube videos and Powerpoint presentations for the workshops.
4. Health Clinics
In many remote areas, there are no hospitals and therefore the first place that people go to are health clinics. Generally, this is a small facility with a small pharmacy included where there is one doctor or nurse. Health clinics are often open in the early mornings and late afternoons only. You will be talking with and getting to know the doctor and nurse. Once you have gotten to know the doctors and nurses and established a good relationship with them you can help with the patients and exchange your knowledge and skills with them.
Your role as a Medical Internship Nepal
As a Medical Intern, your role will vary depending on your education and experience. At the hospital, you will begin by shadowing the local Nepali staff. When you show enthusiasm and develop a good relationship with the doctors and nurses, you will be rewarded with more responsibilities. The hospital’s facilities are basic and the treatment standards will probably be different from what you’re used to. You should be prepared to see some shocking cases and try not to get emotionally involved with the patients.
Do I need any qualifications or skills to do this work?
All Medical Internship Nepal Elective Interns in Nepal must have completed at least one year of medical studies or training.
Check out the experiences from some of our volunteers
- Medical students from University of Leeds, UK share their volunteer experience
- A Medical Elective student from University of Adelaide, Australia volunteer at a hospital in Nepal:
