Update from Nepal

Hello from Nepal! It's been a long time since my last blog post, (sorry!) but I am back online!

At Annapurna Base Camp

I recently took a holiday from PoD and took the time to trek to Annapurna Base Camp with a few friends. You can see photos here. We did it in 8 days in the end and it was incredible! To be completely 360 degrees surrounded by the Himalayas is like nothing I have ever done before. Living in Pokhara (a Lakeside town where we have all our placements) you forget how diverse Nepal is and that within just a few days you can be in a completely different climate. We trekked through forests, single  tracks, farmland, villages, valleys and snow! and through the rain, sun, hail and storms - incredible! This was part of my training for when I trek to Everest Base Camp in December to raise money for the PoD Charity. If you would like to sponsor me then please follow this link.

In other news, PoD volunteer is once again starting to get busier after the Christmas period. We currently have 5 amazing volunteers with us working in a variety of our placements.

Giving the donation at APS

The PoD Charity has been supporting AnnapurnaPrimary School  (APS) provide lunches for the entire school. We discovered that nearly all the children in the school were coming for the day with no breakfast and no packed lunch, they would then have to wait until late in the evening for their only meal! Now thanks to the PoD Charity we have been able to provide yummy nutritious lunches for the entire school. (Many thanks to all those have donated.)

Most our afternoons have been spend at our favourite StreetChildren's Rehabilitation Center. Generally we get the around 3.30pm in time for the children getting back from school. A quick change around and wash and the kids are ready for their snacks (watch out, Ama, them mother there serves the sweetest tea and will not take no for an answer, a few of our current volunteers don't like sugary tea so they have seen me trying to drink 4 without anyone noticing!!)

Some of the cheeky chappies at Balam

Jeff, who is with us for three months is working in or rural school in Balam. He has been getting to grips with the Nepali way of life and has settled in very well. Due to lack of funding, Balam recently lost two of their teachers which means at any given time in the school at least one classroom has no teacher. So that's where we help out. Jeff has been helping with the English and Grammar lessons for Grade 1-3 and has been coming up with some new and exciting teaching methods rather than the rote learning that the children are used to. The highlight of his weeks are musical Wednesdays when the whole school participates in singing and dancing!

We are getting excited about our first Volunteer Experience group arriving in two weeks and have lots planned for their time here.

For volunteers who are coming out soon, we are out of googly eyes (it's a tragedy!) and coloured card. If you have the time/space before you come, we would love some more for our PoD supplies, I've never been able to find anywhere in Nepal we can buy them. 

If you would like to join the PoD team in Nepal please contact Gemma in the UK Head Office on gemma@podvolunteer.org