“I think HELP is one of the best organization in Nepal. A lot of volunteer-organizations are focused on tourism, what is HELP not at all. HELP is a small organization and I think therefore very effective.” (Marco Saaltink, Nepal: 2014)…
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(HELP is) “A very important charity which made volunteering cheap and affordable. I did what I set out to do – teach English. Other companies e.g. i2i seem to charge a fortune for a placement and I don’t think I would have had as much freedom to teach in the way I wanted with them.” (Emma Metcalfe, Leh: 2014)…
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“I am very happy with HELP’s role. While in India there wasn’t any sense of restraint with what I could and couldn’t do as a result of HELP. I’m quite happy with the monthly costs negotiated with the families (7000 rupees is a really good deal for both parties I found), and the fees weren’t crippling. I especially like that I had to give some of the money directly to the school itself. Jim gave me a few little assignments that I was happy to do for him which kept me busy also.”…
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I chose HELP because I approved of their policy
of requiring telephone interviews and references. It’s shocking that some
organisations will place volunteers they have never spoken to or sought
references from. I also liked the idea of being part of a bigger programme that
would continue to send volunteers to a school after I left. (Kerrie Sullivan, Nepal: 2014)…
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Serving as a HELP volunteer can change your life! This is what Abhijeet Manay says:
Abhijeet here! And have a bit of good news to share with you. Before I volunteered with HELP I was sure that I wanted to pursue a path in scientific research, but after that experience something within me awoke and I decided to change my career options. I applied to the Master of Child Study and Education (basically it’s a BEd for elementary teaching + Graduate Research – 2 year grad program) in December at the University of Toronto and found out yesterday that I was accepted!…
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(HELP’s) an incredible organization that does real good and gave me an opportunity to do the same. It’s networks and school choices, at least in my case, were spot on and due to the varying degrees of choices provided due to the sheer size of its operational area and school types, you can really choose the school that you think you’d make the biggest difference in. And the onus is on you as a volunteer, not as a tourist but as an educator to bring about some form of positive change in your school.(Abhijeet…
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I really liked HELP because of the flexibility that Jim offered. I originally was only going to be teaching for a couple of months and then decided to stay for three extra months. I was very happy that HELP allowed me to do this without charging me more money (obviously I paid more money for the homestay but didn’t have to pay more administrative fees). I felt that I had the support that I needed in case of emergencies but didn’t feel that I was being smothered.…
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I like HELP very much, it asked me to work hard but it gave me a lot of freedom and I respect the fact that it didn’t ask me for a lot of money and that it treated me like an employee. Though there were times when I felt disconnected with it, almost forgot I was a part of it because I was working alone and was so independent. I think I achieved a lot more that if I had been volunteering with a gap-year organization with a lot of other Westerners.…
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I think it’s a great organization. I’m really impressed with how small and focused on each project HELP is…I chose to work with HELP because it was different from so many other “charities” I found that were only concerned with collecting bored college students’ money and shipping them out en masse to “volunteer” for a bit.
I really feel that this charity is committed to making a difference, not just nominally, but a personal, tangible and lasting difference in the lives of those they help.…
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This is what a recent volunteer says about his experience as a medical volunteer with HELP: “I found the whole experience extremely enjoyable and rewarding and would recommend it to others wanting to do a slightly different elective away from hospital medicine. I would also recommend it to anyone who is either passionate to help communities such as Chitre or has past experience in similar situations.”(Simon Wydall, 2013)…
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