1. Can I volunteer with NGN or meet the children you rescue?
We are always excited by people’s interests in our work, but NGN does not have a volunteer program. Also, due to our strict child protection policies, we do not let visitors meet the children staying temporarily in our transit home.
2. If I raise money from other people for NGN, how do I process it correctly?
It is really quite simple!
You can just collect the money from them and send us a check. Keep close track of who donated and how much. Be sure to get their email address! If the people who donated through you want a receipt for tax purposes you send us their name, amount and email address. We will then issue an official receipt to them for tax exemption purposes. We will do this for anyone who donates and would like the exemption letter.
If they choose to use PayPal there is a box on the donation page to let us know where the donation came from. That is where they would write a little note about your fundraiser, so we know it comes from you. Or just donate to PayPal and email us their name so we can look for it.
3. Where can I volunteer ethically in Nepal?
If you do plan to volunteer in Nepal we ask you to ask the right questions in deciding who to volunteer with. Please read these guidelines from UNICEF to help make an informed decision. We also recommend that anyone interested in volunteering in any country should have the skills for the position they wish to do while volunteering. Be very careful not to displace a job for a Nepali. Manual labor is abundant in Nepal and Nepalis need work to feed their families.
4. What is the best time of year to visit Nepal?
Fall and spring bring temperate dry weather and great festivals. Monsoon season (summer) brings challenges but can be a very rewarding time to be in the country. Of course, Nepal has a wide variety of temperate zones and altitudes, so please check the specific areas you plan to visit before leaving.
5. If I am volunteering in Nepal and I see something that I think is unethical or illegal, who do I contact?
Please contact the Social Welfare Council (SWC) in Kathmandu with those details 97714418111. They are the Nepali government agency tasked with investigating
these matters.
6. Is all volunteering unethical? All my friends and family have volunteered all around the world and they always say; “What an incredible, eye opening experience they had.” I also hope to volunteer and be able to share my experience with my family and friends. Volunteering can’t be all bad, right?
NGN’s founder and author of Little Prince’s, Conor Grennan, believes passionately in the value and power of volunteering. He states, “Volunteering has changed my own life in so many ways. What started as a short volunteering trip (two trips, actually)for me turned into the organization we know as Next Generation Nepal (NGN). We have helped change the lives of hundreds if not thousands of vulnerable children. When volunteering can benefit the individual and others, then I am the biggest advocate – not just because of what it did for me, but because most of the NGN staff and Board members began their careers as volunteers. Volunteering is in our DNA.
But there are inherent risks to volunteering. Not to the volunteer as much as to the beneficiaries. Almost by definition, an international volunteer will know little about the people, the culture or the nuances of the place they are trying to help. This leaves us vulnerable to those who would prey on our good intentions.
When I hear stories of well-intentioned volunteers in Nepal inadvertently causing more trafficking by paying to volunteer in corrupt orphanages, it breaks my heart. These are good people who want to help Nepal, who have spent their own time and money to help.”
NGN’s work in prevention is explaining to all the good-hearted volunteers, donor agencies, embassies, and the Government of Nepal the things we are witnessing in Nepal today with orphanage trafficking and its links to voluntourism, NGN encourages ‘ethical voluntourism’ “.
NGN suggests that before you consider volunteering, take time to visit the country, learn the customs and hopefully, be open to learn from the local people who have so much to share. Please submit any other questions you might have and we will answer them for you promptly.
