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WILDLIFE ORPHANAGE / COMMUNITY PROJECT
Would you like to get hands-on experience with injured and orphaned wild animals whilst educating local underprivileged young people, perhaps giving both them and all domestic and wild animals a brighter future? At the Wildlife Orphanage, this is exactly what you can do!
The Wildlife Orphanage started two years ago, fulfilling a lifelong dream of the project leaders. They wanted to provide a safe haven for orphaned and injured wild animals, and at the same time create a place where local underprivileged children could be taught and where disabled people could also be welcomed. The project is continuously growing and a lot has already been achieved. The first animals have found their home and some guests with a handicap have stayed at the project, enjoying the bush and the animals. The volunteers have already helped tremendously, building animal camps, painting, fundraising, looking after the animals…. And now the project has started to educate local underprivileged children as well, to help them along the way a bit and hopefully install some respect and love for wild and domestic animals and the bush.
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Six underprivileged children are collected from their school on Monday and they stay at the Wildlife Orphanage until Friday. A different group is collected each week to give many children the opportunity to join the project. They are generally between 12 and 14 years old and attend the second year of high school. But as they are in a class of up to 160 children at the school, the level of education is poor and many of these children have not even learnt very basic mathematics or English. At the Wildlife Orphanage, the project leaders hope to make a difference by enforcing and expanding this basic knowledge by teaching the children through innovative methods and one-on-one education. For this, they need your help! You don’t need previous experience, just enthusiasm.
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In the local communities, animals like donkeys and goats are widely used and kept but often not properly looked after. The orphaned wild animals and the domestic animals at the Wildlife Orphanage are used as ambassadors for their kind, to teach the children how to look after them and care for them. Together with the volunteers, the children feed the animals at the project, clean their cages, check their condition and – where possible – caress them to build a rapport with the animal. If the children learn to look after and love one animal, hopefully they will do so with many more back at their homes and in nature too.
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The Wildlife Orphanage is set in a beautiful nature reserves with granite hills and the most stunning views. It hasn’t got the Big Five, but leopard and hyena do roam around next to the general plains game like impala, wildebeest, zebra and giraffe. You will mostly work in and around the camp, but if you want to and where possible, the project leaders will also take you for walks and drives in the reserve. The game tends to be shy, but the scenery in itself is more than worthwhile already. Besides, it’s a great opportunity to pick one of the project leaders’ brains and learn from his vast knowledge on the bush and wildlife!
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As a volunteer your main tasks will be working with the animals, teaching the children and helping with general maintenance. Whether you are away from home for the first time or are an experienced traveller, you will love the family atmosphere that is created at the project. Your help will make a huge difference in realizing the dreams of the Wildlife Orphanage in aiding conservation and animal welfare, teaching local underprivileged children and building bridges between local and international, disabled and non-disabled people. All in all you will be participating to a worthy cause and having a fantastic experience in one!
-> Please note that the animals you see on the website could have been successfully rehabilitated by now, and new ones may have arrived. At the time of writing, a serval, a caracal, a snake eagle, a tawny eagle, several owls, an impala, two duiker, a donkey, two goats, several ostriches and tortoises have found their home at the project. As nature rules we are not able to tell you what animals you will see and work with at the Wildlife Orphanage at the time of your stay.
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Accommodation:
Depending on how many guests and volunteers there are, you stay in one of the four rondawels (each sleeping up to four people) with built-in bathroom, or in a room above the bar area or in the house of the owners. Bedding, pillow and towels are provided.
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Facilities:
Bar with fireplace
Braai (BBQ) area
Thatched communal area
Swimming pool
Internet
Laundry
Price Includes:
Accommodation
3 meals a day (all provided)
Tea, coffee, juice
Laundry
Trips to town when the project leaders go there
Transport to and from the project
Not included:
Drinks purchased at the bar
Internet use
Group size: 1 - 6 volunteers
Minimum stay: 2 weeks
Click here to view more photos of the project
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