Best two months with PMGY Sri Lanka

If you're considering volunteering with PMGY Sri Lanka – do it. The time I spent there from October 15 to December 17 were the best months of my life. The volunteer work was super rewarding, I made so many incredible friendships, and the opportunities to travel and explore the country meant there was never a dull moment.

I volunteered with the dog rescue project (@bringthemhome_srilanka) for my entire time there, and it never got old. Besides falling in love with the dogs at the shelter, it was beyond incredible to get to be a part of the early stages of this project. Ashika is super open to working with the volunteers, and I always felt super heard when I came to him with concerns or ideas for the project. I also did three weeks at the girls home in the afternoons. I so wish I had more time with these girls – they're some of the coolest, funniest, and smartest kids you'll ever meet. I highly recommend spending some time volunteering with the afternoon childcare project.
Some memorable volunteering moments:
- Three new tiny puppies came in on my group's orientation day. Me and the other dog project volunteer at the time got to give them names – Mocha, Peanut, and S'more <33. I got to watch them grow up over my time there (and we had the same first day which I thought was adorable).
- There was a turtle release in my first week and there were enough turtles / few enough volunteers that we each got to release one of the babies. Incredible experience.
- English lessons at the girls home, then playing hangman with all the new words – so many laughs!
- Spent a day doing Christmas crafts with the girls and dancing and singing to Christmas music.

There was a ton to do in our free time as well. Some out-of project activities that are definitely worth doing:
- Waterfall hike (about 45 minute tuk tuk ride away from London House) – hilariously chaotic experience in the rainy season; super quick and pretty stroll in the dry season.
- Badminton nights
- River boat tour (beautiful way to spend an afternoon; don't engage with the guy outside of the boat with the tied up baby crocodile though – blatant animal abuse)
- Hang out at Coral Rock – the pool's super nice and, depending on the season, so is the beach
- Visit Chicken Chop down the street – the guys who work there are super nice and the food's really good, plus it's only about a 5 minute walk from the volunteer house
- Mask museum in Ambalangoda
- Tsunami museum in Hikkaduwa (really emotionally intense, so go when you're in an okay space for that)
- Day trip to Galle

I did both PMGY-organised weekend trips (cultural triangle / Kandy weekend, hill country / Ella weekend) and highly recommend doing both if you're able. And I'll never forget my weekends in Weligama, love Hangtime Hostel with my whole heart.

The local team was super helpful and accommodating – we had weekly house meetings where they would check to make sure everything with the food and house was okay, if projects were going smoothly, if anyone wanted to change projects, what evening activities we wanted help organizing, etc. In between that, if we had any questions or needed help with anything the local team was super accessible and helpful. Ashika and his team go above and beyond to make sure volunteers are safe, comfortable, and having a good time. He approved multiple extended curfew requests, helped us to find and organize all kinds of reliable third-party activities and day trips, and just generally always had all of our backs. One time, I called him in a bit of a panic from a weekend trip I was on with some friends in Ella – one of my friends got pretty sick and I was freaking out and didn't know what to do. Ashika talked me through it, told me what the nearest hospital was and helped me come up with a plan, allowed me to return a day late, and even helped me figure out the bus schedule since I would have to travel back on my own the next day.

Originally, I'd signed up for 6 weeks and was super nervous that it was going to be too long, but the first 4 weeks flew by and I didn't want to leave at all. Even at the end of my extended time, it felt too short – I will definitely be back :))