We offer 2 projects in Sri Lanka that allow you a once in a lifetime experience to get up close and personal with Sri Lankan Elephants or Sea Turtles. As a volunteer, you will have a unique experience to become involved with the local community and work with local people in improving education and promoting the importance of wildlife and marine conservation.
The FIRST opportunity is working in an Elephant Sanctuary in Kegalle. The organization was founded in 1999 and has been working continually to improve the care, protection and treatment of elephants in Sri Lanka by providing a place of sanctuary and medical services and facilities. The project has provided care to more than 60 elephants over the years. Today, 3 female and 4 male elephants ranging in age from 17-60 years are either temporarily or permanently residents here at the Sanctuary. In an effort to increase awareness about the plight of the Sri Lankan elephant and to generate the funds necessary for the elephantÕs sustenance and care, This sanctuary actively welcomes visitors.
If you enjoy elephants and have the passion and desire to learn more about them and work with them 1 on 1, then this project is a dream come true. International volunteers play an important role of contributing to the daily running of this project. Volunteers are welcome from all over the world, with all kinds of skills and interests. The main focus is the daily care and management of the elephants. Upon arrival you will be allocated an elephant and will be required to provide the necessities of daily care and treatment. Working under the direction of your elephantÕs trainer, you will be required to assist with its feeding, bathing and grooming throughout your stay; and hopefully build a special relationship with your elephant. As you get to know your elephant, you will start to recognise its sounds and movements, and get to know its moods and feelings, its individual traits and its temperament. You will also learn to discern the signs and symptoms of possible approaching sickness. This requires dedicated care and responsibility. Volunteers must able to work independently within the guidelines of the project. Patience and perseverance are essential, enthusiasm and a willingness to accept other cultures different from their own will will allow you to get the most from your volunteering experience. During your placement, you will be requried to use your initiative to develop your own ideas and follow up those of previous volunteers. We are here to help you work towards improving the sanctuary and the health and well beingof our elephants. Along with providing care to your elephant, you will also be required to help assist in the following programs:
- Care and Conservation at an Elephant Rehabilitation Center
- Teaching English
- Ecological Farming
- Mobile Veterinary Unit
| Duration | Price (CDN) |
|---|---|
| One Month | 1100 |
| Two Months | 1790 |
| Three Months | 2525 |
| Additional Month(s) | 850 |
- These fees include: 3 meals/day, accomodation, airport transfer to/from, and 1 month entry visa.
- If you stay on the project longer than 1 month, there are also charges to extend your visa that you will be responsible for.
- If you are an American citizen please note that visa renewal fees are significantly higher in comparison to other countries.
The SECOND opportunity is designed for those who are interested and have a drive to help protect the oceans precious sea turtles. The truth of the matter
is that our planets' marine life is diminishing rapidly and its up to us to understand the growing concern and educate others in trying to
prevent it before its too late. Getting involved in marine conservation is a very hands-on experience involving beach conservation work,
maintenance of the turtle hatchery, turtle feeding (and cleaning!) and even taking tours around the project for locals and tourists! There's a
lot to learn about our turtles and Sri Lanka is the perfect place to get involved.
This project was created in 1988 with the aim of monitoring local sea turtle activity and conserve the local nesting sites. The goal was to make the public more aware of sea turtles and just how important it is to help protect them before it is too late. One of the most important activities of the project is its hatchery. Within the sanctuary of the project, collected and rescued eggs can hatch safely away from predators before being released into the sea at night-time. The hatchery program is designed to maximize the number of hatchlings reaching the sea and surviving through the critical stages of their early life. Only a few hatchlings from each batch will ever make it to adulthood. Therefore every nest, every egg, every hatchling and every turtle is crucial to the survival of the species. Unfortunately, sea turtles face many dangers. Each year on average, the team helps clear and maintain local beaches, protects vital nesting-grounds, and releases 10,000 hatchlings. When you consider how long the project has been going, you can understand the impact it has on our oceans and maintaining the sea turtle populations.
For those who remember Tsunami tragedy in December 2004, Sri Lanka was hit hard by a sub-sea earthquake registering 9.2 on the Richter scale. Most of the area where this project was established was devastated by a 6 meter wave which surged some 1.5 km inland. There were many casualties in the disaster, homes and property were destroyed and thousands were displaced. Thankfully enough, the founder of this project and his family were fortunate enough to escape with their lives. His home and the turtle conservation however was washed away along with some 200 Hawksbill turtles which had been in their care at the time. There were fears that the destruction of the sea turtle nesting grounds would have a permanent effect on turtle populations.
Thankfully, the facility was re-built in 2005 and the focus was for volunteers to help rehabilitate the devastated beaches in order to attract sea turtles again. Together with local people and tourists, sea turtles have fortunately returned to the beaches of Sri Lanka and Kosgoda remains one of the most important sea turtle nesting sites in the country. With our help, sea turtles will continue to return to Kosgoda every year and its up to us to help do our part to ensure the survival of these magnificent creatures continues.
| Duration | Price (CDN) |
|---|---|
| One Week | 400 |
| Two Weeks | 800 |
| Three Weeks | 875 |
| Four Weeks | 950 |
| Five Weeks | 1025 |
| Six Weeks | 1100 |
| Seven Weeks | 1175 |
| Eight Weeks | 1250 |
| Additional Week(s) | 75 |
- These fees include: 3 meals/day, accomodation (shared room with attached bathroom), airport transfer to/from, internet facilities, and bottled drinking water
Our booking process begins by applying online. To do so, simply click this Apply link or click the Apply tab at the top of the page. Once you fill out the form, it will send your information to us and it will enable us to better understand your background and what area your looking to help out with. Once we recieve your application, you will be contacted and we will send you more detailed information on specific projects we offer. After you read over the information package, we will always be available to correspond with you to answer any questions you might have from the time you apply until you reach the project. Thank you for choosing Project Volunteer Abroad. We can assure you that you've come to the right place!
PLEASE NOTE: A $150 CDN Administration and Processing Fee will be added to the project fee. If you have any further questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact us at info@projectvolunteerabroad.org
Our vision is to help connect the world as much as we can. We now offer volunteer placements in 15 countries but our intention is to
offer more projects in both Central and South America in the future.
CLICK HERE TO APPLY ONLINE
