Your guide to volunteer teaching at our school in Nepal!

santischool

A b e t te r l i f e s t a r t s a t s c h o o l

The Santi School Project2401 Hammonds Ferry Road

Baltimore, MD 21227 USAinfo@santischool.orgwww.santischool.org

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How can I help?We need volunteer teachers at our

primary school in Ramche to help teach conversational English and introduce hands-on lessons that make learning fun. To give you an idea of popular activities, Sarah, one of our previous volunteers, started Apple Day, Toothbrush Day and Garbage Police, which encouraged the children to clean up their vil lage.

• Our students range from 5 to 13 years old. They enjoy learning rhymes and songs and listening to stories.

• Our school has its own English teacher who can offer advice on solving communication barriers, and provide suitable ideas for the classroom.

• The teaching is always alongside a Nepali teacher, so nobody has to worry about standing up alone in front of a class of 30 children.

What if English isn’ t my f irst language?

That’s OK! We welcome anyone who has a working knowledge of English and the desire

to share it with students who are eager to learn.

We promote quality education in rural Nepal, especially for girls and ethnic minorities, who are

often excluded from school. We do this 2 ways:

• building and repairing primary schools

• providing specialized early childhood education instruction for teachers because government-sponsored training is limited

For our first project, we built a six-room primary school in a mountain village, Ramche. It is inaccessible by

road and a 2-hour hike uphill from the nearest town. Recently in a nearby area, we completed structural renovations on a deteriorating, two-story school for 150 students.

Everyone involved in The Santi School Project in the U.S. is a volunteer.

What is The Santi School Project?

What is a classroom like?

SubSiStence farmerS in ramche grow wheat, maize and millet on

the terraced mountainSide.

www. san t i s c hoo l . o rg

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Who should volunteer with The Santi School Project?

What are the benefits of volunteering with

The Santi School Project?Immerse yourself in Nepali village life

We offer you the opportunity to work directly with an ethnic Tamang community in the foothills of the

Himalayas. Many aspects of life have remained unchanged for generations.

Support our charity work

The modest $60 that you pay every week stays right in the village. Half of the funds go to paying teacher salaries and

buying books for the school; the other half is shared with your host, providing an important extra source of income for local families who otherwise support themselves as farmers and laborers.

Go on a trek or visit a national park

If you would like to go trekking or travel in other parts of Nepal, Rabindra, one of our volunteers in Kathmandu, is

an extremely experienced and knowledgeable guide who runs his own company, Experience Outdoors Nepal. He is happy to help.

Cut out the middleman

We are a non-profit charity run by volunteers in Nepal and the United States. Our only paid employees are

our teachers and our project coordinator. We keep the costs down— and pass on the savings to you.

Receive credit for your work

The Santi School Project will provide you with an official letter to verify your volunteer service.

love kids.

want to teach English to children who are just starting to learn.

have a special interest you would like to share (such as art or sports).

have an open mind, lots of patience, and a healthy sense of humor!

We’re flexible about how you volunteer. While we expect you to help teach English, there will be plenty of time

for you to create your own lessons about whatever topic interests you.

• Teaching or tutoring experience is helpful but not required.

• You don’t need to speak Nepali, either, but you’ll probably learn some very quickly once you’re staying in the village.

YOU ARE A PERFECT CANDIDATE IF YOU:

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We keep costs lowUnlike other programs that charge volunteers thousands

of dollars to place them with a project abroad, our only fee is a modest $60 per week to pay for your food and lodging provided by a family in Ramche.

• Volunteers pay for their own travel to Nepal.

• Volunteers sleep in a house of a local family, who will prepare your meals. Volunteers are expected to eat the food prepared by the family; no separate arrangement will be made.

• The typical meal consists of rice, lentils, fried egg, spinach and/or cauliflower; when there is meat it comes with bones. There will be plenty of opportunities to drink tea.

• This is not an all-expenses paid trip.

No min imum time commitment

We hope volunteers can stay for a couple months, but if you only have 2 or 3 weeks, that’s fine. We have found

with previous volunteers that the longer you stay, the more worthwhile your experience; it takes a little while to establish a rapport with the children.

Come prepared to teach

We recommend that volunteers do a little homework before you arrive. Bring some lesson plans, ideas

for hands-on activities, and teaching materials with you. Supplies—paper, colored pencils, playground balls—can be purchased in Nepal. You don’t need to bring them from home. TOEFL can be a helpful resource.

We will meet you in Kathmandu

Our project coordinator can meet you at the airport in Kathmandu. When you’re ready to go to Ramche,

he will accompany you to the village, a 4-hour bus ride from Kathmandu (and then a 2-hour hike up the mountain). You will receive a brief orientation in Kathmandu before departing for Ramche.

Best time to go to NepalThe weather is most pleasant September through March.

There’s a month-long break from mid-March to mid-April, after which the school is open until the end of June, but temperatures can be hot that time of year. School is closed for the rainy season from the end of June to early August.

The daily routine at schoolExpect to be at school for 4 to 5 hours each day, five

days a week. School is actually in session from 10 to 3:30, six days a week. The rest of the day is yours. Previous volunteers have enjoyed learning the routines of village life.

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buSeS from Kathmandu Stop in the town of barabhiSe. then it’S a hiKe uphill to ramche.

You need avisa to enter

NepalYou are responsible for arranging

your Nepali visa. (All foreigners, except Indians, need one). You can obtain a multiple-entry tourist visa from the Nepali embassy in your home country or a single-entry visa upon arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. We recommend that you obtain your visa before you arrive to avoid the long lines at the airport.

Make sure your travel vaccines are

up to dateBefore you leave for Nepal, you

should consult a health care provider for information about the necessary immunizations (including Hepatitis A and B, typhoid, tetanus, polio). Malaria is present in some parts of Nepal but not Ramche. A health care provider can advise you about malaria protection if you plan to visit other areas of the country.

What to bring:

• water purification tablets and/or a quality water filter or purifier

extra batteries for electronic devices

personal items: camera, journal, photos of your family and friends

basic English/Nepali dictionary

flashlight

lightweight waterproof jacket

basic first aid kit, with a full supply of any medication that you will need for the duration of your stay, along with a copy of the prescription

sleeping bag (You can also rent or buy one in Kathmandu)

color pencils and pens, drawing books, stickers (optional)

books on teaching English for your reference (optional)

It’s also a good idea to carry a photocopy of your passport and visa in case of loss or theft, and keep it separate from the original documents. This could help make it easier to replace them. You also may want to e-mail yourself a scanned copy.

If you wish to use a mobile phone while in Nepal, you can bring an unlocked mobile phone from home and purchase a Nepali SIM card to use during your stay.

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What do our vo lun te ers sa y a bout th e ir exper ien ce a t The Sa n ti Schoo l?

‘‘Being a woman opened many doors for me that would have otherwise stayed closed. I feel very fortunate to have become friends with Rosy, a teacher at the school,

and another woman from the village, who accepted me as I am and opened their hearts and homes for me without reservations. I felt at home very quickly.”

—Uli, Austria‘‘As my knowledge of Nepali grew, also my relations with the kids grew tighter and many of them are settled deep in my heart. … There are so many great moments we shared together. … Try to not put yourself under too much pressure about how much they learn from you in English. They will have English taught by many other teachers and for a longer period than your stay. But in giving them attention and acting in your own personal way, they will benefit a lot.”

—Sarah, Austria

‘‘After working at Santi School, I feel like I have family in Ramche. I could hardly walk through the village without someone inviting me to sit down and have a cup of tea or partake in a meal. I wasn’t a stranger or a foreigner, but a cousin, a brother, or an uncle. I gave the people of Ramche a little bit of my time and they gave me everything they had.”

—Joe, United States

For more details about The Santi School Project:

www.santischool.org info@santischool.org

2401 Hammonds Ferry RoadBaltimore, Maryland 21227 USA

I had the most wonderful experience in my life, definitely a life-changing experience. Working and living with such great people changed my way of thinking about Nepal and rural life. Being from a different country and different religion and living with such unique people gave me the chance

to experience real Nepal, such a thing that I would not be able to do if I visited Nepal as an ordinary tourist.”

—Mohmmed, Saudi Arabia

‘‘

Ramche is a welcoming village that happens to be home to one of the most well-run schooling projects in the country. The Santi School has changed the fabric of village life by instilling hope that the children of Ramche - regardless of caste, ethnicity, or economic status - are receiving a world-class education. A visit to Ramche, and a stint working at the Santi School, will inspire you - with its awesome beauty, and beautiful simplicity.”

—Kyle, United States

‘‘

Photo Credits: Uli loskot, JosePh Vanderhyde, kyle knight and ChristoPher heUn © 2010 the santi sChool ProJeCt

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