Life Changing Experience!

My daughter and I volunteered for 2 weeks at the NATUWA Wildlife Sanctuary. We were looking for a true hands on experience that was affordable and educational. It was all that and more!
The staff were knowledgeable, extremely friendly and loved to joke around! They also took their work very seriously. We felt welcome for the moment we arrived and learned so much from them! The kitchen staff were very accommodating to vegetarian and gluten free diets. You will not go hungry!
The theme was, “work hard, play hard” while we were there. Every day was different. Besides preparing food and feeding the animals twice a day, we worked on many projects throughout the sanctuary. It was very satisfying work. At the end of the day there was time to relax in a hammock, play games or go into town. We often walked to the local store and hung out by the soccer field. We even joined in a soccer game with the locals... so fun!!! We felt welcome wherever we went.
We also got one day off a week to go on a day trip. We organized a trip with 8 of us and hired a tour company to take us snorkeling and go swimming on a beautiful island. Along the way, they took us to an island where we got to see spider monkeys swinging around. They also took us past a rocky area where there were may birds. Along the way we saw lots of dolphins and a whale! We ended the trip with a visit to the bioluminescent water, where we could go swimming!
Although I went with my 17 year old daughter, I didn’t see much of her during the work day. She was busy giving tours of the sanctuary and working on different projects. There were 4 feeding routes, too, that we rotated during our stay. This allowed us to get to know all the animals at the sanctuary. There were many young people volunteering, as well as a family and people of different ages. We all made new friends and are in touch through WhatsApp!
We will definitely volunteer through IFRE again!!!