The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has organized a workshop on KOICA Volunteers Program (KOV) for its Partner Organizations on September 25, 2015 in Kathmandu.

This workshop aimed to review and evaluate KOICA’s volunteer program with sharing and exchanging the best practices and creative ideas to improve volunteer program in Nepal among volunteer-related organizations.

This meeting further provided a  platform to discuss various issues surrounding disaster like the recent earthquake and ways to promote a better policy and effective implementation of Volunteer program in the future.  About 50 participants from different parts of the country got a glance at the overall KOICA’s program and volunteer activities in Nepal. 

In the program Narayan Dhakal, Under Secretary of IECCD, Ministry of Finance said that the role of KOVs is growing in Nepal and Korea is one of the important partner countries in dispatching Volunteers in the field of education, health, agriculture and Information and Communication Technology. Furthermore, he also addressed that Nepal can learn a lot about the "Korean ways", which is famous in terms of hard work, time keeping and hospitality.

Hyungkyoo Kim, Country Director of KOICA Nepal Office emphasized on the importance of cooperation from recipient organization in order to strengthen the KOICA Volunteer program in Nepal.

The KOICA Volunteer Program is one of the main pillars of the KOICA programs. KOICA volunteer program aims to contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development, to promote friendly relations between Korea and host countries. Until now under KOV Program KOICA has dispatched about 8,000 KOVs in 61 different countries in the world.

KOICA Volunteer program started in Nepal in 1990. Since then KOICA Volunteers are deployed in various governmental organizations within and outside the Kathmandu valley according to the demands and request from Nepalese government. These KOICA volunteers are from various backgrounds like Education, Urban development, Children education, IT, Health etc. 

Volunteer program is an important aspect of KOICA’s cooperation program in Nepal which supports to transfer Korean knowledge, expertise and technology directly in the grass root level. As of now there are total 35 volunteers who are actively working in various sectors. Since 1990 KOICA has dispatched about 305 volunteers to Nepal.  KOICA is committed in increasing the numbers of volunteers in Nepal.