Here are some
comments from our volunteers:
Michelle
- September 2004
Needless
to say, spending a month working with turtles on a Kenyan beach
was a fantastic experience, but there was a lot more to it than
sun and sand. I got involved in a huge variety of different tasks,
from replanting mangroves, sea urchin surveys and beach clean-ups
to caring for sick turtles and releasing healthy ones. It wasn't
all work though - there was plenty of time for snorkelling over
the corals, diving (with whale sharks!), visiting Malindi and the
local snake farm, clubbing and eating out in the village etc. The
team are a very dedicated group of people and they are working incredibly
hard to protect a fragile and threatened ecosystem. It was great
fun and a real privilege to work with them for a short time and
I'd recommend it to anyone who likes sunshine and has any interest
in nature.
Jon Lazzarino
I wanted to expand my life experience
and explore a different culture. I wanted to meet people unlike
any I've known before. I wanted to see the untamed world first hand.
And I managed to do it all in Watamu! Anyone with the gift of sight
can see how beautiful Watamu is but the true gift of the place requires
discovery and that's where WTW is incredibly effective. For me WTW
was more than just a volunteer opportunity, they were a translation
layer between the world that I already knew and the new one opening
up to me. The team is comprised of an amazing group of individuals
that radiate the best in human qualities; compassion, devotion,
dedication, and community. WTW surpassed all of my expectations
and left me with an enriched sense of self and a new found admiration
for life. Want to enrich your life? Want to experience the gifts
of life? Want to use ALL of your available skills and learn new
ones? Jump in, the water in the Turtle pool is a consistent and
comfortable 28°C - ALL YEAR ROUND :-)
Tom Savage (Feb 2003):
My time as a volunteer at Watamu Turtle Watch was a very memorable
experience and one that I hope to repeat sometime in the near future.
I thoroughly enjoyed working with such a friendly group of people
and found Watamu a marvellous place to be. The work I carried out
was very rewarding. Witnessing a female digging a nest and laying
eggs or watching those eggs hatch in the early hours is an event
that will live in the memory.
I highly recommend the time I spent at Watamu Turtle Watch!
Kathleen Jehoul (Jan 2003):
I arrived in Watamu without any experience at all in conservation
work or
volunteering. And what a new world opened to me ! It was fascinating
to
learn about the sea turtles and their habitat. But WTW is a lot
more than
that and is active in many fields. As a volunteer, you become part
of a
passionate team and the opportunities to make a positive contribution
to the
project are unlimited : the local communities, the schools, fieldwork,.
I was mainly involved in the set up of an education centre in the
village of
Watamu and without exaggerating : I had the time of my life at WTW.
Audrey Greenman (Nov-Dec 2002):
I only have superlative adjectives to describe my stay in Watamu
Turtle Watch.
There was probably not a day I didn't learn or discovered something.
First of all, the team is great and I enjoyed being part of it and
work with everyone.
Then, dealing with turtles is a wonderful feeling. These are such
weird creatures, and if they still stay somehow mysterious, I got
to know them better.
One of my best memories is certainly that evening we waited so long
on the beach, litteraly camping next to a nest which was about to
hatch. After 7 hours and a half filled with lots of patience and
expectations, the little ones started going out, one by one, like
a miracle, coming out of the sand, again and again and then crawled
down frenziedly towards the ocean.
African nights are special and walking on these dark roads with
the milky way above you is probably a sensation I will not forget
and I will probably miss it a lot like everyone here.
Ariel Greenman (Nov-Dec 2002):
The time here left me with memories that will stay for the rest
of my life. During two months, every day there was something new
!
Hope to come again and again and see more and more turtles living
their lives without being threatened by man.
Some tips:
- There's great music here. A small radio receiver will be very
handy.
- The food is good and you can eat almost everything with no worries.
- Local people are fun to talk to and can teach you a lot about
nature and many other things.
- If you happen to pass by the police station when they raise or
bring down the flag (6AM & 6PM), stop - that is the law.
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