Blog

Our blogs are written by our volunteers in each country to give you a flavour of what life is like on our programmes. Filter by Country, Programme and Subject/Theme to find out more.

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Creating a Lasting Impact in Nayagaun

2015 was a devastating year for Nepal. The earthquake that struck the country in April caused great losses and one of the regions that suffered the most was Gorkha. Nayagaun, a small village of around thirty-nine households, had a similar fate. Many houses fell and people felt extremely vulnerable.

September 12, 2019
Raising Menstrual Awareness, and Creating a Lasting Change

Traditionally in Nepal, discussions regarding menstruation and menstrual practices have be discouraged. There are still socio-cultural restrictions regarding the discussion of this topic, which has resulted in decreased awareness among key groups. To help communities overcome this stigma, Raleigh Nepal volunteers organise menstruation awareness programmes, where they discuss menstrual hygiene and the menstrual cycle.

Our volunteer Nanako writes about the menstrual awareness session held by volunteers in the community of Aam Dada.

August 27, 2019
International Youth Day 2019: Young people are the future

Young people are often criticized for being lazy and apathetic by older generations. But this could not be further from the truth. Every day young people demonstrate their energy and passion for change. So it’s time that we stop underestimating them.

August 12, 2019
Change Starts Here- Our Raleigh Expedition Volunteers for This Summer

Our young and energetic Expedition Volunteers will be working along with our project partner for creating that lasting change in rural communities of Gorkha. The major source of income of these communities are agriculture and daily wage labour. They will be continuing Raleigh International Nepal’s sustainable WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) work in Gorkha. These dedicated young individuals will work to improve water, sanitation and hygiene. Meet our teams of inspiring volunteers and find out more about the challenges and adventures ahead of them

July 18, 2019
Upcoming ICS WASH Projects and Communities in Nepal

Our Summer 2019 ICS WASH volunteers are currently deployed to their respective four communities of Makwanpur. They will be working their best in partnership with our project partner WOCHEND. 54 volunteers (28 UK volunteers and 26 In-country Volunteers) including 8 Team Leaders (5 Nepalese 3 UK ) have joined this cycle to create that lasting change for a sustainable goal, which Raleigh aims for.

Here is a glimpse of our volunteers and Team Leaders who will be working on ICS WASH projects (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) in the region of Makwanpur this summer cycle.

July 12, 2019
Upcoming ICS Livelihoods Projects and Communities in Nepal

The Raleigh ICS livelihood programme is currently being implemented in five communities of Gandaki Rural Municipality of Gorkha District. 66 young volunteers (34 Nepalese and 32 UK) including 10 Team Leaders (six Nepalese and four UK ) have joined to continue our livelihoods work. Our young volunteers who are already deployed to their respective communities will have support from our local project partner Goreto Gorkha. They will be engaged in supporting these communities through sustainable Income Generation Activities and youth development work. A total of 150 families will be benefited from the projects running between July and September 2019. Here is a glimpse of our volunteers and Team Leaders who will be working on ICS livelihoods projects in Gorkha.

July 5, 2019
Business student applies skills to help boost rural incomes

After studying business for five years, Dayna wanted to apply her knowledge to a real life situation where she was able to help, before going to university to study International Business Management. Along with this, she wanted to spend time giving back to a community and to volunteer with an organisation like Raleigh International which isn’t ‘voluntourism’. Here Dayna tell us about her experience volunteering with the UK government funded International Citizen Service (ICS) programme which Raleigh delivers in Nepal.

July 2, 2019
Creating sustainable rural livelihoods in Nepal

Raleigh International Nepal focuses on livelihoods diversification (agriculture) and rural entrepreneurship development by mobilising its young volunteers in rural communities of Nepal. Pralita and Roban - our ICS national volunteers from Spring Cycle, 2019, Gorkha - discuss their impactful experience of working with the rural community in Chapthok.

July 2, 2019
Corporate volunteer Gizem: Swapping desk work for development work

Gizem is a corporate volunteer with Raleigh International. Her company, multinational health and hygiene firm RB, has been partnered with Raleigh since 2017. As part of this extensive partnership, RB enables future-potential and high-potential employees to take part in a Raleigh Expedition as part of RB’s Long Term Volunteering Programme, and to also develop their leadership skills.

For the past 10 weeks Gizem has been leading young volunteers working on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene projects (WASH) in two communities in the Gorkha region of Nepal. These projects connect strongly to the RB organisational purpose of ‘Healthier Lives, Happier Homes’. Here, Gizem speaks to Raleigh about her time as a Volunteer Project Manager and the lessons she will bring back to RB with her.

April 16, 2019
Raleigh ICS: Continuing Active Citizenship

Out of a total of 650 applicants, around 90 Nepalese volunteers were selected to take part in Raleigh International Citizen Service (ICS) in October-December 2018. They have since completed projects on the UK government funded programme and become leaders of Raleigh’s sustainable change. As part of ICS, participants take part in a Returned Volunteer event (RV) after completing their projects to reflect on challenges and achievements from their projects and to plan their next steps. Here, we follow ICS volunteers through their RV event and show how this is an instrumental part in making Raleigh’s work a continuous sustainable process which creates a new generation of active citizens in Nepal.

April 15, 2019