The cost of this trip for each volunteer is tax deductible donation of approximately $TBD. You will be notified of the final cost as soon as possible. Volunteers are also responsible for purchasing their international airfare to Kathmandu, Nepal.
About the trip: Global First Responder, has been invited to provide medical care in Manthali, located in the Ramechhap District in Bagmati Province, Nepal. We will be working in partnership with the local hospital in this area to provide care in remote, underserved areas. Manthali is located about 6 hours east of Kathmandu and is often the starting point for treks to Everest Base Camp. This trip is limited to 16 team members.
One of the major health issus in Nepal is a lack of health education in rural areas. We will work in partnership with our local hospital to provide outreach to patients and provide both medical care and health education. Manthali is a town of approximately 40,000 people and was listed as the 12th most affected district in Nepal following the April, 2015 earthquake. Manthali has an aging population with many chronic conditions and a marginalized ethnic population. The remote areas we will visit can take more than 5 hours by public bus to reach the hospital. Our team will work in communities that do not have a local health clinic. The hospital welcomes our help in caring for patients that have difficulty accessing hospital facilities and the Chief Medical Officer will work closely with our team.
Sustainability: Community education is the most sustaining piece of any medical camp. We will also provide dental care and optometry with local providers and will provide prescription glasses for patients as needed. In addition, we will screen patients for diabetes, cataracts, and other diseases.
About GFR: GFR’s main focus is to provide excellent medical, dental, optical, and mom/baby care in the countries were we work and to provide community health education and tools for families to keep them healthier. At the same time, we provide professional education for local community health care workers and local health volunteers. GFR has a long history of building and repairing schools, clinics, and community centers in areas where we provide care, as well as placing permanent drinking water treatment facilities in communities that have great need. To date, GFR has completed the installation of 8 permanent water purification systems (filtering up to 12,000 gallons per day) in India, Uganda, and Zambia and have built or refurbished 6 schools, community centers, and orphanages. In 2025, will install 2 additional permanent filtration systems and build a community center in Peru. We also ensure, through local monitoring, the continuing operation of these facilities and provide training as necessary.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GFR TRIPS BEFORE YOU APPLY:
We want you to be prepared for volunteering and caring for others! Please read this section carefully and make sure that you are capable of participating fully in the following conditions. If you are not flexible regarding accommodations, transportation, food, and working conditions, we recommend seeking other volunteer opportunities that will better suit your needs.
Team Leaders: Our team leaders are in place for your safety and to ensure that the clinical experience is excellent for our patients and team members. Any and all concerns on the trip should be addressed in a timely manner directly with the team leader. Your team leader will do their best to address your concerns and will take appropriate actions. Please be aware that changes to your satisfaction will not always be possible.
Physical Conditions: The areas where we work may be remote and often have only rudimentary facilities. This means that electricity, air-conditioning, flush/commode toilets, hot water, and showers may not be available throughout your stay. We will do our best to inform you of this prior to your trip but this may not always be possible.
All volunteers need to be in good basic physical health and free of physical impairments that would prevent participation. Trips often require volunteers to walk on uneven surfaces, carry gear when needed, sit on long bus rides or sometimes ride motorbikes. If there are specific physical requirements for a trip, GFR will inform participants beforehand.
Food: If you have food allergies or personal likes or dislikes, you are responsible for bringing food that meets your needs. We recommend you bring bars, nutritious snacks, camping food, and other food items that will keep you healthy and satisfied on the trip. In general, our trips provide local, well-cooked and safe food that is a mix of home-cooked, small restaurants, and guest house cooked meals. If you have special requirements, you need to be prepared to feed yourself. Additionally, if you have life-threatening allergies, please make this known to the team leader prior to each meal so it can be discussed with the cooks. You should also assume that the food may not be allergen-free, regardless of what you are told. If you require an EpiPen, make sure you have at least 2 pens within date with you at all times or appropriate medications to provide self-care.
Lodging: Lodging is determined by our in-country host and is what is available in the areas where we work. We strive to ensure that it is clean and safe. Flush toilets, overhead showers, hot water, air-conditioning, and other things you may be used to may not be available. We will do our best to make sure that you know what to expect when you sign up, but ask that you remain flexible if unforeseen circumstances arise
Personal Electronics: You may not be able to charge personal electronics every day. We recommend being prepared with a solar charger or extra batteries as required for your personal items and a strip so that multiple items can be plugged into a single outlet. Adapter plugs for outlets and power converters are often also necessary.
Arrivals and Departures for the Medical Team: Please arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal (airport code KTM) on or before December 5, 2026. Your hotel and meals on and before December 5 are on your own. The official start to the GFR trip is the morning of December 6 with transportation to the clinic site from the host hotel. Your hotel and most meals are covered from Dec. 6 to the team’s arrival in Kathmandu on Dec. 12. The official end of the GFR trip is Dec. 13. Please see the “after the trip” section for more information on staying longer in Nepal.
What’s Included: This trip includes lodging, transportation, translators, water, and most meals within the official dates of the trip, including pick-up and drop-off from the airport by our ground team. Most clinic supplies and any special projects are covered by GFR. In 2025, we are adding a $100 per person fee to cover the increased cost of medications and supplies.
What’s Not Included: Your international airfare, snacks and drinks other than water, personal vaccines, and pre/post trip travel costs and expenses, trip insurance, professional malpractice insurance if desired, , and any free day or post- trip adventures you wish to engage in while in Nepal.
Personal Medical Equipment: You are responsible for bringing your own clinical gear – BP cuff, stethoscope, pulse oximeter, and any other supplies you use in general patient care for your specialty (think otoscope, ophthlmoscope, etc). GFR will supply a doppler, nebulizer and supplies, ultrasound (on some trips), and wound care.
Important Information about this trip: The host hotel will be in Thamel, the tourist area of Kathmandu. We highly recommend that you stay at the designated “host” hotel the night before departure as the traffic in the area is terrible and our departure time will be fixed. However, there are many hotels in the immediate vicinity including hostels and high-end hotels, if that is your choice.
Manthali: The weather will be 60s in the daytime and the low 40s at night. Your hotel in the rural area of Manthali is a class II hotel and will be comfortable. Please be aware that the hotel is equivalent to all other hotels in towns. You may not have hot water every day/evening. Please keep your showers short to help out your team. Food is prepared by the hotel and local restaurants and is excellent. Food allergies are not well understood in this area so please be prepared if you have serious allergies. You can expect an early breakfast and some late dinners. Lunches will be staggered in clinic to keep patients moving. Rooms are shared unless a single room is available and requested at additional cost. The hotel staff is wonderful and the hotel is great for team meetings, fun evenings, and pre-packing medications. Please note that hotel rooms are quite small and generally only have 1 or 2 free outlets for charging your phones, etc. Bathrooms are western-style. There is heat and air-conditioning in the rooms.
Please be prepared for rain as the rainy season is just ending. You may be walking on uneven ground during clinic. The altitude is approximate 5,000′ – if you are not used to altitude, please plan on spending a few days acclimatizing in Kathmandu. There will be some short hikes to clinic and possibly some suspension bridges as well as longer optional hikes to see the amazing views (Think Everest!). Bus rides average 2.5 hours each way and will be safe with our excellent driver and ground crew but they will be long and very bump with very windy roads. If you tend to motion sickness, bring medications for your use. Please look at the CDC guidelines to make your personal decisions about vaccines and other health precautions.
I want to apply for Manthali, Nepal 2026 with Global First Responder! Click here!
How is your cost calculated?: At Global First Responder we strive to keep your costs low and our quality high. We value your participation and willingness to volunteer your time and expertise. Everyone at Global First Responder is also a volunteer, donating their time to administrative tasks and paying their own way to participate in medical and construction missions around the world and at home. The fee you pay covers the actual cost of your expenses in country including lodging, transportation, meals, and translator fees and expenses. In 2026, we are adding a $100 general fee to each volunteer cover the increased costs of medications and supplies so that we can continue to provide excellent care for our patients. At GFR, no one is paid a salary and everyone is a passionate volunteer, doing our part to help drive our mission of “One Global World, One Global Family”.
Cost: The cost of this trip is approximately $TBD per person plus airfare. We will have the costs for you shortly. You are responsible for purchasing airfare that meets the required arrival and departure times (arriving on Dec. 4 and departing after 9pm on Dec. 11. We always suggest giving yourself extra time for delayed or canceled flights and that you purchase trip insurance from a reputable carrier. Your hotel and food prior to breakfast on Dec. 5 and after dinner on Dec. 11 are on your own.
This trip is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. You or your donors will receive a tax receipt upon making a donation. Please note: All donations made on your behalf through the application system or the Global First Responder website are non-refundable to you. Any funds that you or your donors donate will be 100% utilized for patient care or projects directly benefiting our partner communities.
After the trip: There is so much to do in Nepal that it is hard for us to choose what to highlight for you! There are many temples and stupas to see in Kathmandu. If you love yoga, yoga retreats here are some of the best in the world. Ubers are easy to get and our ground host can also arrange tours for 1 or all at your own cost. So can the hotel. The “host” hotel is a great place to stay in Thamel, the tourist area. Hostels and much more expensive hotels are also readily available on the booking sites. In addition to Kathmandu, a safari in Chitwan is a remarkable experience and of course, there is trekking! These can be arranged by our host (they are trekking guides and birders) or on line as you choose.
If this is your first time applying in our application system, please create a login and password. You may use this login and password for all future trips you apply for (and we hope to see you on LOTS of GFR trips!!)
PROPOSED Itinerary:
Pre-trip Friday, December 4, 2026: Plan to arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal (KTM) on or before December 4. Tonight is “on your own” – Our ground host will provide transportation at no charge from the airport to the host hotel or very close by hotels. You need to make your own hotel reservations for tonight and pay independently (you will know the host hotel well in advance). Meals are on your own today. This is a great day to rest up from your long flight and if you arrive early, see a little of Kathmandu. The official start date of the trip is December 5 with an early transport from Kathmandu to Manthali by road (approximately 5+ hours). The host hotel will include breakfast for those staying there.
Saturday, December 5, 2026: Today is the official start date of the trip. Please meet at the host hotel for an early departure and ready for a 5-6 hour drive to the area where the team will work. We will take some time to meet, get organized and look around the area today. Hotel, lunch, and dinner are included in your team fee today. Upon arrival, the team will meet to get to know our lead Nepali physician and other local providers and each other. You will be pre-packing and organizing medications and supplies and learning more about where we are going. Be ready for a long day!
Sunday, December 6 – Thursday, December 10, 2025: We will hold 5 days of clinic with a team dinner on Thursday night to thank our hosts and ground team for their partnership.
Friday, December 11: Return to Kathmandu via road and sightseeing in the late afternoon should be possible (depending on the road conditions to Kathmandu). You are free to head to the airport for flights later than 9:00pm or to stay on in Kathmandu. Your trip ends after dinner tonight and your hotel is on your own.
We highly recommend that you stay on for a few days to see Chitwan , make a trek, or see the sights of Kathmandu. If you didn’t come early, stay longer!