Project Yeti
DENTAL CLINIC
Kopan Monastery, Nepal
There is a unique opportunity in April this year to be part of the team to provide dental treatment to the monks and nuns of Kopan Monastery, 30 min from KTM Airport.
It has been 2 years since the previous visit so i am excited to be returning and continue the project which first started in 2012.
Due to the COVID situation, participants will be required to remain within the monastery for the duration of their working stay.
You will need to be triple vaccinated and satisfy the necessary testing for travelling into Nepal.
The team will work for at least 2weeks within the period April 18 until May13th.
Dentists , Therapists, hygienists and dental assistants are invited to apply via the application form on this website, via the Contact tab.
Volunteering to work in the Project Yeti clinic is an amazing life experience and immensely satisfying. You will get the opportunity to live in a Buddhist monastery, work with an enthusiastic team of volunteers and treat patients with incredible backgrounds and stories.
What we do
The aim is to provide quality dental care using restorative materials. Composite resins, amalgam and GIC's are used. There is a fixed dental unit and several mobile Aseptico units. The Kopan clinic is equipped with a digital Xray machine, autoclaves, and ultrasonic scalers.
There are also Aseptico mobile units at Chialsa
The patients including, monks, nuns and orphans and local people who are excellent patients with a very high tolerance of pain.
There are two locations.
The Kopan Dental Clinic in the Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu.
The Chialsa Dental Project near Salleri in lower Solu Khumbu.
Kopan Dental Clinic
This is a modern, very well appointed “western” dental clinic. It has many of the features of a modern Australian dental clinic. Conditions are excellent, and you are close to the big city and its amenities
You need to have a mindset of caring and sharing with your fellow workers, be culturally sensitive and compassionate, and be able to manage yourself in different working situations than perhaps you would experience at home.
The working hours are usually 8.45am until 4.30pm with lunch 11.30 -1pm.
Accommodation within the Kopan Monastery is excellent. Check the website http://kopanmonastery.com/
Vegetarian food is provided
It's a very rewarding and worthwhile volunteering experience.
Chialsa Dental Project
Nestled in the mountains of lower Solu Khumbu is a branch of Kopan Monastery, Thubten Shedrup Ling. The area is beautiful, green valleys surrounded by the white peaks of the Himalayan range. Close to the trekking trail to the Everest base camp, it is still quite isolated, rarely visited by few foreigners. It is a very poor region of Nepal. With few jobs available, most people are living from portering during the trekking season, trading or surviving on subsistence farming.
The clinic is in this Tibetan settlement, Chialsa.
Volunteering at Chialsa is great fun. It is a VERY demanding trip and it will challenge you in many, many ways!
The travel to and from Kathmandu is tiring and needs patience, resilience and strength of character.
The cost of travelling to and from Chialsa is an extra cost.
This particular volunteering experience demands of you, tolerance, cultural sensitivity, the ability to adapt to new and unusual situations, both dentally and in the living conditions.
It is NOT for everyone.
You need to be a team player and have a great deal of care for your fellow volunteers.
Delicious country style vegetarian food and accommodation is provided.