Special Needs Care Volunteer

Special needs care volunteer programs allow volunteers to contribute to specialist daycare centres for children with disabilities. Special needs care centres are often under-resourced and assistance from volunteers can make a huge difference in helping local teachers provide individual care and connection to students who need it to grow, learn and thrive. Special needs care centres are often not well-resourced, so volunteer assistance can make a huge difference in helping teachers deliver personalized care that can improve the quality of life for those with disabilities.

Special Needs Care Volunteer Highlights:

  • Help children with disabilities with education and sensory activities
  • Explore Nepal’s amazing mountain ranges
  • Stay with a local family for a unique experience of Nepali life

As a special needs care volunteer, you will help to look after children or adults with disabilities in Kathmandu or an elderly care home in Pokhara. Working in a special needs care placement can be challenging but very rewarding. Special needs care volunteer tasks will include:

  • Teaching life skills and basic lessons
  • Cleaning up and personal hygiene
  • Feeding and helping with meals
  • Arranging games and activities
  • Physiotherapy or physical therapy

Who is suitable for the special needs care volunteer program?

Sympathetic, helpful volunteers who want to help and support people with a wide range of physical and mental disabilities. You will work alongside local staff so there is no need to have prior experience, but physical therapists are especially in demand at this place.

Orientation begins on the morning of next day your arrival and covers everything you need to know for your volunteer program in Nepal – an introduction to Nepal, Nepalese customs, language training details, rules and expectations, safety, travel opportunities in Nepal, and an introduction to your project and placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to visit local temples, sample authentic Nepali food, meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socializing. The program may vary depending on your time of arrival. We will manage to include all below mentioned activities in you introduction program.
• Arrival and introduction host family
• Survival Nepali lessons and cultural discussion
• Local amenities and sightseeing and project start

On arrival in Nepal, volunteers stay in a host family in Kathmandu for their orientation.

Volunteers are then accommodated together in homestays and hosted by local families who have been approved by our program staff. We give your host family a fee for your support, food and board. It is exciting to stay with a host family, providing you with a unique opportunity to learn about the Nepalese way of life, meet local people, try traditional food and speak the local language – especially when host families in Nepal tend to have limited English.

Living is basic but comfortable and most homestays have electricity and running water, with the exception of some rural homestays which are without these conveniences during the dry season. Squat toilets are the norm in Nepal and you will not come across many western toilets. Volunteers can also expect low-pressure showers that are generally not heated; however, this is refreshing after a day in the heat.

You can expect to share a room with one to three other volunteers and bedrooms have single beds and bunk beds with bedding provided. It is recommended volunteers bring their own sleeping bags and mosquito nets for any trips away.

WiFi is available in most of the volunteer homestays. If you would like to keep connected during your stay, we recommend bringing an unlocked mobile phone and purchasing a local SIM card when you arrive in Nepal.

The staple meal for most Nepali families is dal bhat, which consists of lentil soup (dal), rice (bhat) and vegetables in curry (tarkari) and/or meat (masu) with a side of pickle/sauce (achar). Volunteers are served two meals per day at their homestay and can purchase additional food to supplement this if they wish.

Volunteers can have a meaningful impact on Nepalese communities by providing assistance with a wide range of activities that help make life, and the future, better for local people. Volunteer World Nepal has a number of volunteer projects in Nepal. Some are located on the outskirts of the capital city of Kathmandu in rural and urban areas, while others are in Pokhara and Salleri. Pokhara is located in mid-western Nepal and is a popular tourist destination, renowned for its amazing mountain views. Salleri is the Everest Mountain region: beautiful landscapes, hillsides dotted with villages, a lively weekend bazaar, a Tibetan camp, and many spectacular Buddhist monasteries. In Salleri you can teach in Schools, teach English in a monastery, work in a Health Clinic or work in Construction. Salleri is a small Himalayan Region town that serves as the headquarters of the Solukhumbu District.

Low-cost, fully hosted volunteer abroad programs in Nepal.
Your registration fee and your program fee provide access to a fully hosted volunteer experience with Volunteer World Nepal. In order to apply to join Volunteer World Nepal you are required to make your registration fee payment of 100 dollars.

Key Information:

Provide care & connection for disabled people
Various locations in Nepal
Homestay accommodation
Based in specialist day care centers
Up to 4 - 5 hours volunteers a day
Fully hosted experience from 250 dollar for 1 week
Base Camp treks and other tours available
Durations from 1 - 4 weeks
Volunteer's Choice
Program fee for two weeks: USD
  • Most Affordable Program Fee
  • Best Price Gurantee
  • No booking or Credit Card Fee
  • Free Cancellation

What's included:

  • Two meals (breakfast and dinner)
  • Accommodation
  • Orientation and survival Nepali language lesson
  • Cultural sightseeing in Kathmandu
  • 24/7 email and telephone support
  • Volunteer handbook
  • 24/7 hours emergency support
  • Dedicated VWN program and travel co-ordinator
  • Regular program inspection
  • Scholarships for low income students

What's Excluded:

  • Flights to Kathmandu
  • Visa cost
  • Travel and health insurance
  • Domestic flight costs
  • Transportation costs for the volunteers who want to work outside the Kathmandu Valley
  • Personal items, extra beverages and entertainment expenses
  • Personal travel and sightseeing
  • Transportation service during weekends travel
Volunteer's Choice

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Read reviews of our optimistic volunteers.

"Teaching volunteer in monastery and cultural immersion is an incredible experience to understand the Buddhist culture. I decided to spend several weeks teaching at a Buddhist monastery in Nepal to contribute meaningfully, immerse myself in Buddhist culture, and observe the daily lives of the monks. The experience of fully integrating into the monastery was both fascinating and enriching. The monks were incredibly warm and welcoming,..."

Jort van den Horst, The Netherlands

Best Teaching Volunteer in Monastery