Sri Lankan turtle protection volunteers share

A senior construction dog has always wanted to be a volunteer, but there is no channel, only a rough understanding of volunteers. I have paid attention to many "volunteer travel" organizations (almost once, even applied for an experience officer, haha, of course failed), and I was deeply attracted by the sharing and experience of many small partners, but I met with resistance from all sides and couldn't find the disapproval of my peers and parents ... Of course, there are many factors of my own. It was not until I accidentally entered the "pit" of Zhihu Island owners and met more friends who volunteered that I gradually saw the real pleasure of volunteering. With the help of the island owner, I tried to choose and contact local NGOs directly. Finally, in this winter vacation, I came to Sri Lanka alone and participated in a week-long international volunteer project. Although the time is not long, I have gained the most valuable experience in my life. Thank you very much for your support and sharing. I have recently sorted out my previous experience and shared it with you. I hope more friends can go out independently in the future!

Sri Lanka turtle protection project

Turtle protection project

This is an NGO specializing in turtle protection, which was established on 20 14 and also does some turtle research. The Conservation Center is located in Ahongjiale on the west coast of Sri Lanka, between Colombo, the capital, and Galle, the ancient city in the south, and about two hours' drive from Bandaranaike International Airport (the traffic in Sri Lanka is not very developed, and the main means of transportation is Tu Tu, which is similar to Little Feilong in China). There are seven kinds of sea turtles in the world, five of which hatch eggs on the beach in Ahongale, so you can really feast your eyes on them in the protection center. At least one week of volunteer projects and long-term projects. In general, if two or more small partners travel together, this organization will provide free shuttle service. However, Charith, the head of this institution, is really good. Still provided me with a free shuttle. Thank you!

There is really a lot of interesting work to be done in this project, some of which are relatively easy, while others are relatively heavy physical labor, which needs to be done in cooperation with other volunteer partners. Charith, the person in charge, assigns different tasks to volunteers every day, so he won't feel bored because he can try and learn new things every day. Start working for 2-3 hours every day at 9: 00 in the morning, and then you can move freely in the afternoon. Of course, working hours can also be flexible, you can choose to go to work in the morning or afternoon; You can also work all day and have a rest the next day, as long as you communicate with charith in advance. I have been here for a week and have basically experienced all the work here. Let me introduce it slowly. I really hope to stay here for a long time!

This project usually arrives every Sunday and leaves on Saturday. My flight arrived in Sri Lanka at 1 1 on Saturday night. Charies and the driver have been waiting at the airport for two hours. As I said before, it takes more than two hours from the airport to the project base, and it is close to two o'clock in the morning when I return to the hotel. I'm really touched!

There are seven or eight large pools in the protection base, and different kinds of turtles will live in different pools. The oldest turtle here is over 60 years old. These turtles were fished ashore by local fishermen, and some of them could not survive alone in the sea because of physical defects.

The work of the hatchery usually lasts one morning. In Sri Lanka, where the temperature is 30 degrees, this is not easy. Digging sand pits, burying turtle eggs and transporting sand are very tiring ... but the thought that these lovely little turtles will hatch in two months will make them extremely excited and excited. The survival rate of turtles hatched naturally on the beach is very small, and even the survival rate of artificial hatching is only about 75% of the current work.

Every week, new turtle eggs are buried here, so basically you can witness the hatched turtles every week. Of course, picking up these little turtles is also part of the job. Some turtles are alive and kicking, while others stay in this sand pool forever.

These newly hatched turtles usually live in hatchery's sand pool for a few days, then are taken back to the pool by volunteers to live, and finally released into the sea to start living alone.

This is the most amazing night of the week. When I was about to go to the hotel to wash and sleep, Charles suddenly called, "Come on, there is a turtle laying eggs on the beach, let's go!" " Before I realized it, he pulled me onto his motorcycle and drove off to the beach. Then-there is the following picture:

The staff of the conservation base will judge whether there is a female turtle coming ashore to lay eggs tonight according to the trajectory left by the turtle on the beach. I really want to find out how they track their footprints, but unfortunately I don't know what to say after listening to English for a long time. If there are any friends to go in the future, I must find out. According to Charles, it is not common for turtles of this size to land and lay eggs on the beach. I can say that I am really lucky. I collected 96 fresh turtle eggs this evening, and the next day I put them in an artificially hatched sand pool.

As the first batch of volunteers just left, I was the only volunteer in the turtle protection center for the time being two days ago, so I couldn't finish some tedious work alone. My brother Prasanna gave me a lot of help. On Wednesday, I arrived at a volunteer group in Europe. Most of them are high school students from different countries (Netherlands, Norway, Germany ...). The team is led by a German high school teacher. He temporarily quit his job to volunteer in Sri Lanka. They will stay here for 3-4 weeks, a bit like GAP. Suddenly, they were envious.

Feeding turtles is not an easy task, so we must start from the source of food. First of all, we should select and clean small marine fish, remove scales and heads, and some even cut them into smaller parts to make it easier for young turtles to chew.

Sometimes there are not enough people, and the turtles here don't have enough to eat every day. Some turtles have lost the ability to live alone and can only stay in the pool every day. Maybe food can bring them some fun ~ ~

In addition to irregular international volunteers coming here, this NGO also cooperates with local schools. Pupils and junior high school students often visit here, and Charies patiently explains the knowledge about turtles to them every time.

This is the last task of every volunteer in this project, which is to put the hatched turtles back into the sea. When I was standing on the beach in the Indian Ocean, I watched these little turtles climb into the sea quickly. Some of them were hit by the waves, but those little turtles continued to climb in the direction of the sea without hesitation until another wave hit them and they disappeared. The sky on the beach was flushed by the sunset, and I stood there alone listening to the waves, feeling sad, moved and confused ... as if it were all in my heart again.

Ha, a week is actually very short, and what I can do is limited. There are many jobs that I may not have touched. I believe my friends will do better in the future. But the people here make me feel very kind. I especially like Charith, the person in charge here. In fact, he is not much older than me, but his persistence and love for turtle protection deeply touched me. Even if no volunteers came that week and had to change the water in the turtle pond, he did it alone. (There are no mechanical facilities such as water pumps, and the seawater is completely carried into the pool by manpower to change water. Charles is very strong, but it takes a whole day to finish the work alone and carry it back and forth hundreds of times. )

The project I participated in provides free accommodation, and it is a local homestay, which can be understood as a host family. However, most people who have just arrived in Sri Lanka may not be used to it, because most local residents are not used to using hot water, so taking a hot bath may become more luxurious. Of course, the situation may be slightly different for different families in the homestay. I was desperate when I heard that there was no hot water at first, but the hostess of the hotel immediately gave me a hot bath. I really didn't know how to express my feelings at that time. Although she doesn't know much English, whenever I need anything, she will help me prepare. She really treats me like a family.

Does anyone care what lunch and dinner are like? Haha, maybe I was too hungry. I just ate and forgot to record it.

To be honest, the three meals provided by the hotel are not rich. It's all local food, just like our own, so it's enough to eat. If you want a change, you can go to town to eat. You might want to order a TukTuk. Prices in Sri Lanka are very cheap, and you can eat well at 10 RMB. But because I am alone, I haven't met any volunteers in China, so I'm too lazy to go out.

In fact, being alone outside, I think the main purpose of volunteering or traveling is not how well you live and how expensive you eat. Being able to integrate into the life of local people is also a very good experience. No matter which country or region I go to, there are always better people and less good people. I am glad that I met such a hospitable family, which I will never forget. If there is an opportunity in the future, I would still like to visit them and stay at their home.

Actually, the trip to Sri Lanka is not the main content I want to share this time. First, I haven't been in Sri Lanka for a long time, so I don't have time to go to many places. Second, there are many friends who have done really great travel strategies. If you have peers and have plenty of time, it is strongly recommended to charter a car around the island! So I was lazy and took some photos. There are many places worth exploring in Sri Lanka. I don't like reading guidebooks very much. If I see all the scenic spots online, the fun of traveling will be reduced by half.

1, visa fee

I applied for an ETA e-visa directly on Taobao/Zhu Fei, which cost more than 200 RMB. I filled in the visa application information on WeChat and signed it that afternoon, which is very convenient.

It is possible to see the visa when leaving the domestic airport. When you arrive at Sri Lanka airport for immigration formalities, you will be able to clear customs quickly when you travel. The Sri Lankan people are very friendly to the people of China.

2. Air fare

Air tickets can be booked on Flying Pig/Ctrip and/or official website, so I won't introduce them in detail here. If you want to find a cheap ticket, you can do more homework. AirAsia is a good choice, but this time I chose Malaysia and Sri Lanka Airlines, with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur and a few days in Malaysia.

A * * * spent more than 4,000 yuan, which is certainly not cheap compared with AirAsia, but it can be said that it is more suitable for me in terms of schedule and route (I don't like flying in the middle of the night, I can't sleep, and the whole person will collapse). According to the travel time and low season, the fluctuation range of air tickets is still quite large.

3. Residual expenses

Excluding the cost of the project (around 200 yuan), it is mainly the cost of transportation, eating and playing. The currency in circulation in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan rupee. This domestic bank may not have changed it, so now it can change a little dollars in China and then change them at Bandaranaike International Airport or local banks. The exchange rate of US dollar against Sri Lankan rupee is about 1: 175. Of course, there is a simpler way, just use UnionPay card to withdraw money from the ATM of the local bank (most banks support UnionPay card, just look for the UnionPay logo), which is really convenient.

Tuk Tuk's transportation expenses can generally be settled within 1000 rupees; If you need to go far away, you may need to call a car or charter a car. At that time, it was more than 60 kilometers from the protection base to Meiruisha whale watching chartered car 160, and it cost nearly 300 RMB to go back and forth. The driver also took me as a tour guide to visit the stilt fisherman and the ancient city of Galle. You can buy all kinds of Sri Lankan black tea in the local supermarket food city. The price is relatively affordable, ranging from 200 to 700 rupees, and of course it is more expensive. Going out for dinner with the charith family (six) only costs 200-300 RMB, so the food can be said to be very affordable.

In a short week, I think I still have a lot to do. The first time I went abroad as an international volunteer, I think it was also a process of facing the outside world and growing up alone, from the initial persistence to the loneliness and fear of boarding a plane alone and connecting at the airport, and then to the excitement of seeing the lovely little turtle Charith. There will be many opportunities in the future. I enjoy the process of becoming a volunteer, and I look forward to Charith's enthusiasm and persistence in turtle protection and volunteer work.