Family Volunteer Services of Nepal
Project Manager: Evangeline Neve
The Family Volunteer Services of Nepal (FVS) has been actively working in Nepal since 1995. Currently, FVS has three main programs:
Humla House, a home for displaced orphan girls
The Nepal Disabled Association School
Providing free educational material for needy institutions
Other programs which Family Volunteer Services of Nepal has been involved with over the years include:
Assisting with Drug rehab programs in Kathmandu and Pokhara
Teaching at the Haamro Ghar center for former child carpet laborers
Providing the Nepal Orthopedic Hospital with medical supplies
Sponsoring salaries of teachers in village schools
Musical programs at schools and orphanages.
Real Life Story — Himalayan Sherpa Benefits Thousands— Mingmar has worked hard toward his dream to bring health facilities to his Himalayan village... Read full story
Kathmandu, Nepal
Education for rural Nepali children
Former child laborer from a carpet factory, now attending school.
Thankful patient at Nepal Orthopedic Hospital in Jorpati
In 2005 we at Family Volunteer Services of Nepal (FVS) became acutely aware of the plight of the many displaced children in the country, mainly due to the conflict at that time and exacerbated by annual food shortages. Through a friend we learned of a specific group that were at risk and needed care, and opened a home for these girls from Humla, a district in the far north-west of the country. By Nepali standards, it is the most remote area you can go to, and the farthest from the capital. With no motor-vehicle-worthy roads, it can only be reached by days of walking, or a small airstrip, the cost of the latter being prohibitive for locals.
Working with the Nepal Disabled Association School is one of the first projects that Family Volunteer Services of Nepal (FVS) became involved with, back in 1995.
Over the years, volunteers representing Family Volunteer Services of Nepal (FVS) have traveled throughout Nepal, bringing books, audio visual materials, and other supplies to orphanages, village schools, libraries, drug rehab centers, and the Bhutanese refugee camps in the East of Nepal. Much of this was sponsored through grants from Family Care Foundation.
Some pictorial highlights from the work of Family Volunteer Services of Nepal.
We visited a remote village of the Okhaldunga district in the Everest region of Nepal and found the people living there sadly in need of all types of health facilities. This area, consisting of a population of over ten thousand, receives a total yearly government health budget equaling a mere $150 for its nine villages! Not surprisingly, this amount is nearly depleted in the first month or two of the year.
We work with the Youth Vision Drug Rehab Center, which has a program designed for young Nepali men who have substance abuse problems. (Additionally, about half these men are HIV positive and/or infected with Hepatitis C.) We offer group therapy sessions, followed up with personal counseling.
Haamro Ghar (or “Our Home”) is a boarding school for former child laborers from carpet factories. The majority of children come there straight from the factories with little more than the clothes they are wearing and a grade one or two education at the most—if even that—though they may be as old as 10 or 12 years of age.
The Bakteshwori Primary School in Manakamana, Gorkha District is a small village school, which teaches children from classes 1-3. These children come from very poor families and would otherwise be unable to receive any schooling. FVS had arranged the sponsorship for a much-needed additional teacher.
Some time back, FVS became aware of the plight of the Nepal Orthopedic Hospital (NOH). This small, newly constructed hospital, located near the Disabled School, needed orthopedic equipment and supplies. FVS felt called to help. FVS contacted fellow volunteers in Kaohsiung, Taiwan for assistance, which resulted in the formation of the Nepal-Taiwan Cooperation Project.
One of our more significant partnerships is with the Nepal Disabled Association (NDA), based in Kathmandu. This school provides approximately 80 physically disabled children from low-income families with a free education. FVS workers have been giving free English & music/drama classes for the children in grades 1-4. We repair and maintain classrooms, as well as contribute sponsored school supplies, uniforms, and educational/sports equipment.