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The elephants, especially the sick and the young, need as much care and love as our children do. They need to be fed, cleaned and loved. These elephants have been abandoned by their herds and without the help of the center, where they are raised, they’ll succumb to disease and death. The center is doing a great job of feeding and raising the animal but they are understaffed and resource poor and would greatly appreciate your help. So volunteer now in our elephant orphanage and help the center raise the elephant.
At Pinnawela in Sri Lanka, where the orphanage operates, the elephants are raised in the natural environment of lush forest. During early morning, the elephants are even allowed to roam freely in the jungle and allowed to form friendship with other elephants. Around 10 am, they are washed, cleaned and bathed and tethered during the night. Their diet includes milk for the small elephants and coconut and jackfruit leaves for the others. Be part of this wonderful team that takes care of the elephant as well as other animals. You’ll be helped by expert elephant handlers and taught about elephant behaviors.
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Your major role as a volunteer in elephant orphanage is to assist the Mahouts (elephant handlers) in caring for the elephants and providing them food. The majority of the volunteer work deals with day-to-day aspects of running the orphanage. You’ll clean the elephant enclosure in the morning, bathe the elephants in the river, feed them, help staff prepare milk for the elephants, and assist in other construction and maintenance works. If you have some knowledge of veterinary science, you can also check up or treat the elephants.
Working in an elephant orphanage is an easy job. So you do not require any specific qualifications and experiences to work in this project. You should however have love and compassion for animals, especially for the elephants. You must also arrive with an open mind and with a passion to learn new things in a strange environment.
This is very rural project located near the historical city of Kandy, close to the highlands. You’ll find plenty of greenery and forest around the area. The orphanage is accessible from Colombo by van or train. It is one of the major tourism hubs in the country. In 1975, the sanctuary was established covering 25 acres of lush forest by the Sri Lankan government. Recently, the sanctuary also started elephant breeding program. In your free time, you visit ancient historical cities, first capital cities like Anuradhapura, and Polonnaruwa, where you can explore the ancient ruins of the temples built by the ancient Kings. You can hike to “SIGIRIYA ROCK“ and witness spectacular scenery from there. You can also visit North East of Sri Lanka and visit famous beaches like Arugam Bay beach and monasteries, temples, parks, churches, museums, art galleries, etc.
Volunteers with stay with host family that are very near the orphanage (walking distance). You will be provided with a room which you might have to share with another volunteer if there is more than one volunteer working in the orphanage at the same time. You’ll have attached bathroom and you’ll be served three local meals a day. Sri Lanka meals are mostly rice and curry. Our host families are carefully chosen and all of them have experience of hosting international volunteers. You’ll be able to get a glimpse of wonderful Sri Lankan culture when you stay with the host family. The place is also safe and secure and the meals prepared hygienically. The members of host family are able to communicate with you in English.
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The mission of RCDP-Nepal is to encourage international volunteers to contribute in sustainable community development that benefits the underprivileged and extremely poor. By developing the places and the communities, the volunteers are also developing themselves and learning new perspectives and ideas that will ultimately change their lives.
