Volunteering in marginalised communities

Volunteering with children in Nepal was one of the most amazing experience I have ever lived. It is hard to describe the adventure and the feelings I had throughout this period, but between those lines, I hope I can share some lessons I learned. As I said, I volunteered with children, but my mission was focused on Early Childhood Development Centers (ECDs), working together with VIN (Volunteers Initiatives Nepal).

Background

Early Childhood Development Centers are classes for kids from 3 to 5 years old, often divided into: Nursery, LKG (Lower Kindergarten) and UKG (Upper Kindergarten). Early childhood is the most significant period of learning for every human being, establishing the cognitive, emotional and social foundation upon which each child builds his or her future. A nationwide?survey on child development?undertaken in Nepal in 2014, concluded that children aged 3 to 5 years engaged in Early Childhood Education Programs were 17 times more likely to be on track in their introductory early learning and number skills, even after excluding the effects of numerous socio-economic factors.

However, Nepal’s national education budget allocation is less than 3% to pre-primary education, severely impacting the development opportunities for children in the early stages of their education. Besides, people in Nepal have limited awareness of the importance of Early Childhood Education and limited access to resources. Institutions such as local schools become nearly inaccessible for many local people due to the scattered nature of rural villages. As a result, most children spend their early childhood at home, without play material, acquiring little or no communicative or social skills.

Since 2005, VIN voluntary service for child care has been very impactful in the rural communities of Nepal, and that is where I decided to get involved and help them make a long-term difference.

Challenges

Kathmandu

When I arrived in January, my priorities were to assess the conditions of the ECDs nearby Kathmandu. In the last two years, the country has faced many natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides and floods, on top of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the conditions of schools have worsened, and my work and mission have focused on assessing the states of those ECDs after such a prolonged closure.

I visited a total of 16 ECDs in the Kathmandu region, some of them being in critical state due to the lack of monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic.?Most of those ECDs hadn't been visited by NGOs for a long while, some materials disappeared, carpets were ruined, windows were broken and even worse, teachers simply didn't seem to care for quality education.

During this first month, my tasks were to check the safety of the room, whether there were leaks, breaches in walls, or any other safety related issues. Besides, I aimed to record all learning materials and resources available, toys, ABC boards, books. It was also important to assess whether children had access to drinkable water and sanitation, and, unfortunately, too often it wasn't the case. Indeed, I have seen schools without toilets and children without proper food or drinkable water.

From the age of 3 years old onwards, kids need to awaken. This cannot only be done with books, but also with quality teaching. Despite the “low-standard” conditions of schools near the country’s capital, I was very surprised to see how smart and disciplined Nepali children were. While going through the surveys with teachers, I have always aimed to interact with kids, speak to them and tried to evaluate how “skilled” they were. I attempted to identify the gaps and see how quality education could be improved. Unfortunately, I soon realised that too many teachers aren’t skilled at all, and that for too many of them, the interest in teaching derives from an interest in money only.?

Okhaldhunga

After completing my first mission, I took a different path, and decided to get involved with ECD teachers and train them in order to raise the standards in the most needed areas and therefore, the most marginalised communities. Mid-February, I took the road to the Siddhicharan Municipality, a remote area belonging to the Okhaldhunga district, 10hours from Kathmandu by jeep. The Siddhicharan Municipality accounts for about 5300 inhabitants and 25 Early Childhood Development Centers.

In two months, I visited the 25 Early Childhood Development Centers, met hundreds of children and people who became brothers and sisters. Everyday my work was to visit schools, walking between 30minutes and 4hours. I wasn’t alone, a local volunteer was walking with me, supporting me with finding the correct location as well as translating. Her name is Sunita Ghimire, and she became a true friend.

As I said before, ECDs are new in Nepal, and the government doesn’t provide much support. In remote areas such as Siddhicharan, there is no ECD curriculum, some teachers are often not qualified enough or worse, illiterate. Together with VIN, I helped implement an “easy” routine in classes. Every day I would spend hours, showing teachers how the curriculum routine works:?

• Reading and Language (books, alphabets, songs)
• Large Motor Development (practical games)
• Small Motor Development (mathematics)

Coming to support teachers was very beneficial both for the teachers and for the children. Teachers got trained and guided, they got to understand the importance of cognitive and physical development but also creative expression for 3-5 years old kids.

I did some research beforehand and tried to transfer as much knowledge as I could to help raise awareness in the community as well. I set the guidelines, reading books, singing songs and playing practical games with children. The teacher would just remember the practices and use the curriculum provided for the following days and weeks. On the other side, children would remember the songs and the activities and they would ask to play again regardless of me being there. The success of teachers’ training originates from kids’ needs and demands to interact, play, sing and learn with their professor.?

I could see a huge improvement in interactions between teachers and children, it was as if a connection was finally happening between the two, and as if they were “communicating”. Raising ECDs’ standards in marginalised communities was a challenge but my efforts in improving teachers’ education paid off. Nevertheless, some cultural practices still negatively impact children’s development in Nepal.

In addition to the scarcity of resources and absence of quality education, the Nepalese caste system may also harm children’s development from an early age. Indeed, the traditional system of social stratification applies to everybody, everywhere in Nepal, and thus also in schools. In Nepal, your family name determines which caste you belong to. As of today, children from the lowest caste, the Dalit (“Untouchable”), are sometimes considered as impure and may still suffer from classroom segregation, harassment, and discrimination.

Conclusion

It is hard to describe my adventure with words. Before leaving for Nepal, I watched documentaries, I read books and tried to get informed as much as I could to adapt to the difficult conditions in marginalised communities. However, it wasn’t what I had expected at all. Nepal is an under-developed country with a scarcity of resources and that is developing in a convoluted political environment that further enlarges the gap between the rich and the poor. Education was the area I decided to volunteer for, but there is so much to do: women’s empowerment and environmental issues are major areas of focus.

Natural disasters, undrinkable water, weak health care, poor quality education, women abuse and high rate of suicide, child labor, domestic violence, arranged marriages and electricity and water shortage are difficulties I have witnessed during my stay.

Although the local population is aware of those customs and manners, international support from volunteers and donors is very much needed and in fact necessary to make things better. I’m proud to say that, for the first time, I didn’t travel for seeing the change but for making the change, and that the mission was a success.?

I am forever grateful for the time I spent helping children and teachers. I am forever thankful to the hundreds of kids I met, and for the friends and family I made. I have personally learned a lot and developed my inner self closer to success, health, and happiness. The lessons I learned are numerous, but here are the most important ones:

1. Enjoy every moment,
2. Realise how blessed you are for what you have,
3. Laugh a lot and never forget to smile!