Medical elective in Nepali hospital

We are final year medical students from the UK and we organised our medical elective with Volunteer World Nepal this summer. Right from the beginning, Umesh was so helpful in organizing our placement in Nepal.

When we arrived in Nepal we were given Nepali language lessons by Shakti who helped us with basic phrases that we could use during our trip. He also took us around some beautiful cultural sights of Kathmandu, including Boudhanath and the Swoyambhunath Stupa (Monkey Temple). On Sunday we were taken to look around the projects that Volunteer World Nepal do. We heard about the amazing work Volunteer World Nepal does, including teaching children, helping the intellectually disabled children at its care centre, women’s literacy program and providing shelter for children at a child care centre.

On Monday we met our host family who was lovely! They catered to all our needs (WiFi and hot water included) and we were able to see what family life in Nepal is really like. We always had very varied, delicious Nepali dishes with our host family – Aama (Nepali for mum) was a great chef! Our host family also helped us to catch the correct local buses (which could be quite crowded!).

We started our work at the hospital after our cultural and language training at Volunteer World Nepal. We were based in Hospital in Neurosurgery and Paediatrics. It was fascinating to see the similarities and differences between healthcare in Nepal and the UK. Our teams at the hospital were very welcoming and we learned a lot during our time there. We were also able to volunteer at a local clinic in Kathmandu which Volunteer World Nepal also organized for us, close to our home. It was an interesting experience, especially from an infectious disease point of view.

On our free days, we visited many places around Kathmandu. We went hiking with a group in a national park close to Kathmandu city.

After our time in Kathmandu, we went to Pokhara by bus- which Volunteer World Nepal again organized for us. We went on a short trek in Pokhara up to Australia Camp organized by Volunteer World Nepal and were able to see some lovely views. Pokhara is a beautiful city and we recommend a trip there to anyone coming to Nepal!

Overall we couldn’t speak any more highly of Volunteer World Nepal and we’d recommend them to anyone planning on visiting Nepal. They are very organized and always have their volunteers’ best interests in mind. You can also see where all their money goes and that they make a real impact on the community. Thank you Volunteer World Nepal!