Thailand Navigation

> About the Program

> About Thailand

> Gallery

> Volunteer Diaries

--------

GVN Home > thailand > diaries

Jessica Dunn writes...

...about her experiences while volunteering in Thailand.

It was great to be working as part of team with the other volunteers. I loved working with the animals and always felt I could never do enough for them. My awareness of environmental issues was ever increasing and something I continually learned about there.

Our daily duties were to feed the animals, clean in and around the cages, to build new enclosures and develop the environment by planting/watering trees. The volunteers working there at the time were motivated to do more than their duties, so I think we all put in a good amount of work that benefitted the centre.

The task that had the greatest impact on me during my time at the centre was individual care for a baby macaque. It was tiring (!) due to his active personality, but educating to spend a lot of time with one animal to understand more about their nature. He was a joy and a pain to play with, but I would not have traded it for all the sleep in the world!

The Wildlife Rescue Centre was a well run organisation. I feel it offered me so much more than just what I was there to learn and to do. The owner was knowledgeable about current environmental issues and shared these with us on a regular basis and we were working closely with other Thai workers, introducing us to their culture and language. When I arrived, I was shown what to do by various volunteers, as there is alot to learn; it takes a couple of weeks to fully know what you are doing. After a month, it is second nature and easy to teach others the jobs that need to be done. When necessary, the volunteer coordinator checks up with everyone, that the jobs are being done correctly. The communication between volunteers and staff is vital, and I found it it ran smoothly because of this.

I couldn't believe how clean and furnished the place was. I expected maybe a mattress on the floor, with lots of cockroaches! I found a twin room with a private toilet and shower, very clean and very sociable. The communal areas had seating and tables, and lots of space to socialise in. It was great to spend the time in company of about 10-15 other people your age, all coming and going.