Rachel Connor our PR intern at our wildlife rehabilitation centre in South Africa told us about this little fellow:

“I am coming to the end of my work experience at CROW now and have had such a good time!

This hedgehog has been a bit of a mystery as we have spent the last couple of days trying to figure out what kind of hedgehog it is and if it is native to South Africa. He appears to be an albino! The hedgehog was found in a garden with grass caught around one of its legs. The grass was so tight that it cut off the blood supply to its leg and the leg unfortunately had to be amputated. We are hoping to discover exactly what breed he is within the next couple of days so that he can be transferred to another organisation that is better suited to finding him a new home. He is making a good recovery, however it is unlikely that he will be able to be released back into the wild with only three legs.”

Isn’t it nice to know that he will continue to live a safe and happy life at the wonderful CROW centre!

Internships and animal conservation projects available at this worthwhile centre – Click Here or contact us for more information!

Michael took part in our Radio Internship in Australia.

Michael got to read the news in the pre record studio on his Radio Internship

“Everyone at the station has been so friendly in welcoming me – even the senior managers. It makes you want to work harder for them – and differs a lot from some commercial stations I’ve done work experience for in the UK, where some journalists are notoriously short tempered, rude, and hardly ever say thank you!

General working day is 9-5, but I tend to get in at 8:30 to get settled into the day, have a brew, and make a good impression. The days do vary a lot depending on where I’m needed. At the moment, I’m on reception on Mondays and Wednesday, in the News Room on Tuesdays and Friday, and Thursday I’m everywhere! (Reception, production, news room, sitting in on one of the announcers shows, marketing)

An average day on reception would be to answer calls, send out competition prizes, type up the job links, and perform general office tasks, which is fairly tepid, but allows you, especially in the first week, to learn the operations of the station, and, more importantly, your colleague’s names!

A typical day in the news room could be anything from writing cues (or as the Aussies call them, stories), shadowing the journalists on outside reports, editing audio, booking interviews, making editorial suggestions to the news director.

You have the opportunity to practice reading the news in the pre record studio, if you ask nicely, and it’s free. And finally, if you’re lucky, get an assessment from one of the journos on how to improve your reading skills.

I would highly recommend anyone who is looking to break into radio to come on this placement.”

Michael has since been offered a job at this company and has stayed on in Australia as a full time employee!

For more information on the Radio Internship in Australia see here

Kristin is one of our project coordinators for Australia, New Zealand, and China in addition to helping in all things related to America and Canada.  She lives in Maryland, USA.

Christmas to me is all about children and giving, so armed with a donation from Rachel who worked in our UK office I hit the Knysna shops with a list of the safe house children’s sizes in clothing and shoes!

I wanted to get outfits for all of the kids and wrap them in bright wrapping paper so that all of the children got to open a present and find a new outfit in their size handpicked for them. Unfortunately I had not taken blister plasters as by the end of the day I was exhausted and had a huge blister from all the running around. Despite my ‘war injury’ I must say I felt like I had surpassed myself- and my budget- when it came to all the items I had bought. I managed to get a pair of shoes for every child at the safe house and in most cases a complete outfit. I also managed to pick up a little Christmas tree with the trimmings and flashing Christmas lights to bring the spirit of Christmas tree into the safe house.

But I had gone over my budget and was still short on a few items and still had not even bought food for their Christmas Day lunch, which was something I really wanted to do to make the whole day memorable. With a heavy heart and a very light purse I decided to mention my circumstances on Facebook. Well the response was quite amazing!! Three of my friends made donations to help out with two more pledging donations at pay day!! So not only was I able to buy the rest of the clothing I needed to buy for the some of the children but on top of it I was able to buy the wrapping paper to wrap the presents so that they could go under  their newly bought tree and buy food for their lunch. I’m just so happy to be a part in making their Christmas day a whole lot better as I am sure is Rachel and my other kind friends who have helped out.

The Christmas tree was taken through in the afternoon to the safe house and with the help of little Tracey, Beauty, Vuyo and our volunteers Laura and Elyse, it was put up with the star on the top, tinsel and all the decorations. And while Christmas day is one of our hottest days in South Africa, the

Christmas tree even got a little bit of artificial snow despite the children never having expe
rienced snow in their lives. They absolutely loved the tree with its flashing lights and little Tracey s

tarted immediately singing some sort of Christmas song –the words were just a repeat of Happy Christmas so it was

easy to join in with her singing- and I could feel that indeed there was a lot more of a Christmas feel in the safe house which is exactly what I wanted after all the build up is so important.

On Friday next week we will be dropping off the Christmas presents for each child and I cannot wait to see their little faces then. All the effort will be so worth it and I am so excited for them th
at I will be coming through on Christmas day to visit the kids and hopefully see them in their new outfits. This year is going to be the most special Christmas ever!!!

Sharon

Sharon, our Volunteer Liaison Organiser in Knysna, South Africa writes a regular diary entry for our main web site. You can read more from Sharon on the Knysna Diary

Here at Travellers we like making friends!

Especially with like minded people who are doing wonderful things around the world. One such friend is The Abraham Foundation http://abrahamfoundation.org/cms/ – an inspiring organisation based in New York. Their aim is to discover, develop and support grass root conservation initiatives.  They have successfully been doing so for years! This organisation assists small and worthwhile conservation projects around the world in getting their feet off the ground. This assistance includes helping form supportive alliances between grass root organisations and useful partners enabling them to carry on with their crucial work.

We’ve been friends with the Abraham Foundation for years and are delighted to have been introduced by them to the fantastic Surin Elephant Project in Thailand. Travellers Worldwide now works in partnership with this project sending a weekly donation, as well as YOU invaluable volunteers.  Please see below for details of how our donations are helping the elephants directly, as well as an account of the project from Ellie, a Travellers volunteer on the ground…

“Dear [Travellers team],

 I hope all is well. Here in New York it is hot like Thailand! I will keep this email very short. I simply wanted to send you a picture of Mem and Imboon bathing in the enclosure which is now complete. Alex says they are all enjoying the enclosure tremendously. As you can imagine, the enclosure has meant a tremendous improvement of their lives. Because you are largely responsible for the construction of this enclosure, I thought you would like to see the fruits of your labor.

As always with gratitude,

Abraham Foundation”

From Ellie – a travellers volunteer

“Hi Ana,
 
Now I’ve got a few spare minutes I’m able to sit down and get this message out to you.  In one word; Fantastic!
From the moment we were met by Glenn at the airport in Bangkok to right now, about half way through our project… we’ve been very well looked after and have had an amazing time. 
 
Glenn was fantastic, ready and waiting for us, took care of our travel arrangements to get to the hotel, then from the hotel to our meeting point on Monday morning.  Not only was he very informative, but really friendly too.  Great great guy
 
The hotel we stayed in in Bangkok was just what we needed, huge beds, friendly staff and air conditioning
 
Upon arriving in Surin, the experience hasn’t stopped.  From our cute little house up on stilts, with a fridge, fan, mosquito screen and a hammock downstairs.  The showers and toilets are pretty basic but they’re all we need and you’ve got no complaints from me.
 
As for the staff, Pum and Alex, plus the mahouts, we could not have asked for anything more.  They are so friendly, full of information, and always up for a laugh or a waterfight   They are doing amazing work here, and I feel privileged to be taking part in it.
 
We’ve been lucky enough to be in Thailand for their new years celebration… so much fun. A three-day-long waterfight, which the elephants have enjoyed as well.
 
Which brings me to the main event!  The elephant work has been hot, sometimes tough, completely unique and dirty.  I have loved every minute of it. From just walking out onto our balcony each morning and being surrounded by them, getting up close and personal with a few of the more friendly ones, getting to feed them, walk with them, provide infrastructure for their future and washing them in the river.  We’ve learned a lot from Alex about the situation we have in front of us here, and why we’re taking this method to fix it.  I have so much respect for him and his team here…..” 

For more information on the Elephant Sanctuary Project in Thailand see: here 

Hard at work!

Andrew took part in our advertising and publishing internship in South Africa last October. On returning to a cold English winter he kept in touch with the people he interned for… within 6 months he was offered a full time position within the company!  

Andrew will be heading back to South Africa shortly – working visa, job and new life waiting. His initial feedback during his placement is below.

GRAPHIC DESIGN, ADVERTISING, PUBLISHING & WEB DEVELOPMENT WITH 2HEADS, KNYSNA 2010

 Where to start? Let me see…

I had been working full time as a Digital Designer for about 3 years when I decided a change was needed. I always wanted to work overseas so casually I started looking at volunteering as an alternative – since Travellers are one of the few companies that offered a placement which matched my skills I quickly found myself on their website, before long I made further enquiries and then within a month made plans to spend 8 weeks there.

Usually people take about 6 months to plan an experience like this because there is a good amount of preparation involved, but thanks to Liz and the other guys in the UK I managed to get everything sorted out in time. Before I knew it I was leaving the country for the first time on my own, to a country I never visited before – as you can imagine I was rather um… nervous!

To be honest I was coming out here mainly for the placement, the fact it was in South Africa was purely coincidence. But within a few weeks I quickly learned that I was in luck, the Garden Route of South Africa is a fantastic place to visit – both full of vibrant life and colours yet at the same time it has a casual, chilled out atmosphere about it. I was surprised how quickly I settled.

2Heads is the company I worked for with Dominic, Brett and Henk. These guys deserve credit because they are all wonderful people to work with – all of them made me feel very welcome and before long part of the team. They quickly shared their professional knowledge with me and they also invited me to come along to photo shoots and sign fittings to see how they work. Since the work ethic is so much more laid back here we also have a laugh in the office, enjoy drinks after hours and arrange social get-togethers.

Back in the office day to day routines or duties don’t really exist in agency life so the one thing I must warn all other potential volunteers, either for this placement or another professional placement elsewhere, is that you’ll need the initiative and the motivation to keep yourself busy. So in the spare time I had, was used learning the software I always wanted to use but never had the time, and improving on my own skills.

But more often than not I could sink my teeth into bigger things; the first major project I worked on was for ShowMe (http://showme.co.za/knysna/) – a directory style website which is to become the main source of everything you’d need to know about South Africa or the provinces. To begin with I was just entering information for the Knysna franchise, and then I was asked to make a few Flash animations for the banner headers and the logo.

When I discovered that ShowMe also had Facebook pages I casually mentioned (initiative!) that I worked on them before so could I try to jazz the pages up, when the client saw the mockups I produced she was blown away and told me to get it on ASAP. Not only did I do the design for the Knysna Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/ShowMe-Knysna/106816726055961?ref=ts) but the same thing for the Plett and South Africa Facebook pages too! The feedback I got once it was live was the best feedback I ever received; they showed so much genuine appreciation I was almost overwhelmed (I probably looked rather smug.)

I also worked on some Flash stuff for their own website, the bigger part of this was their showcase animation (http://www.2heads.co.za/view-brochure.html) which shows off work examples, they loved it enough to put it on the website the same day (again, smug.)

For the Ajubatas Foundation I was asked to make an animated booklet for one of their presentations (http://www.ajubatus.org/projects/cheetah-project.html – click ‘page flip’) to make it look more appealing. Other jobs included logo design ideas for a few eco friendly brands and more general office bits.

I came out here just for the work experience, just so I could have a pretty looking CV so companies back home would notice it. It turned out to be the best thing I’ve ever done, I am SO glad I took the risk because it’s opened my eyes to what I can see and do with my life. It’s made such an impression the ’safe career back in the UK’ sounds a bit… boring, so next I’ll look to doing a long-term internship someplace else instead!

This is Andrew, on location. Back to the studio.

6 months later….. (email from Andrew)

”….Short story is I’ve kept in touch with 2Heads and recently an opportunity has arisen for me to return to SA and work with them as a full time employee (hooray!)”

If you’d like to find out more about our internship opportunities overseas, click HERE

We now have a selection of projects in Trivandrum in Kerala. The name was changed back to Thiruvananthapuram in the early 90’s, but most people still refer to it as Trivandrum … definitely easier to pronounce!

Trivandrum is the capital of the gorgeous state of Kerala and lies on the west coast. Kerala is known as ‘God’s own country’ and the locals refer to the food as ‘God’s own food in God’s own country’ – with such a reputation, this is definitely an experience you shouldn’t miss!! The city is built on 7 hills by the shore near the southern tip of mainland India. The Arabian Sea is on the west and the Western Ghats to the east. It’s very popular with local and international tourists because it has so much – beaches, temples, mountains, rivers, museums and zoos, wildlife sanctuaries, palaces waterfalls … the list is endless.

We have fantastic teaching, care with orphans and work experience internship projects in Trivandrum.

Teaching:

Work with children ranging from 3 to 18 in an English-Medium school in the buzzing city of Trivandrum. You can teach English, Computer Science, Sports, Music, Art, and Science subjects. The schools are very keen to give the children exposure to international volunteers as it benefits the children enormously.

Care:

You’ll assist the dedicated Orphanage Sisters and helpers in their caring, teaching, healing and preventative work with very young children, all of whom have been abandoned or rescued off the streets. You’ll really make a difference to their lives.

Work Experience Internships:

This is a marvellous opportunity to develop your knowledge in a respected organisation in possibly the most beautiful state in the whole of India! You can do an Internship in the sector of your choice, for example, Business, Law, Medicine, Education, IT, Animation and Production, Finance … and much more.

If you’d like to find out more about any of these projects, click HERE

 Ayesha Akre volunteered on the Southern African Triangle – South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. She chose the three projects she wanted to participate in and tells us about them here:

South Africa

When I arrived in South Africa I had no idea what to expect but still managed to keep an open mind of what I would be dealing with. My project was to work with children in a youth centre located in the township. The first time I saw the township I wasn’t as emotional as I thought I would be probably because I already had a vision. I think the cultural shock kicked in when I heard the stories of the lives of the children were forced to live. It is hard to believe the struggle children as young as 5 go through every single day. At first, when meeting the children I was a little worried if they would accept me or because to them I was a stranger. The language barrier was also a little difficult to deal with in the beginning, which is why I didn’t hesitate to learn very basic phrases in Afrikaans. I have learnt to accomplish anything, you must give it time. Yes, I did come out here as a volunteer but in return the whole experience here has helped me to understand many things. I suppose the number one lesson I have learnt is that back home, many people take things for granted and are always complaining. There is always something people want but don’t actually need. Later on in the project I decided to assist with the pre-school. I will never forget that decision. It was hard work teaching a class of 20 energetic 5 year olds, but so worth it. I suggest that volunteers should take every opportunity they can get. You obviously decide to volunteer for a reason so make the most of it. These children have such interesting characters once you get to know them. Just don’t always judge on what you see, understand their story and that might make things clearer.

Zambia

When I arrived in Zambia, I could see straight away that it was poorer to where I had been staying in South Africa (Knysna). All the roads were made of dirt, a lot of plantation from lack of buildings and most of the children I taught lived in mud huts. I was taken on a tour of the village which was an hour away from the school I was working in. I couldn’t believe the distance these children had to walk every day. The school had hardly any equipment, the children’s writing books were falling apart, it was really hard to witness. I was quite nervous of teaching a class of 30 15 year olds but they were really eager to learn and never disrespected me. I found that their English wasn’t that clear for their age but I was still able to communicate and teach them. It makes you want to help everyone of them so they can live a healthier life but I guess just being there and showing some support is better than nothing.

Zimbabwe

Living in Livingstone was nice because I got to cross the border from Zambia by taxi. I also managed to get a fantastic view of the Victoria Falls several times. Working with lions was such a different experience altogether. They are such gorgeous animals; I could watch them for hours. The guides were fantastic. They really know the behaviour of lions and how to control them. I would recommend volunteers to not always treat the guides as guides but get to know them. They have such entertaining stories and can teach you a lot about their culture. II saw a lot of wildlife in Zimbabwe, it was amazing to suddenly come across a herd of elephants just 5 meters away. I also advise that you listen to safety precautions, you are not in a zoo, you are in the wild!

If you’d like to find out more about our Southern African Triangle, click HERE

Abbie is having a fantastic time on her placement in Yangzhou, China. She emailed us to tell us how she’s getting on:

Everything is fantastic! Love it here! Absolutely and utterly boiling though, and the locals are wrapped up in three or four jumpers and more than one pair of trousers, they are all convinced I must be boiling as I swelter in a teeshirt！
Completely crazy country, the driving is insane, and pedestrians more so. You can buy anything you like in the supermarkets, including live eel, turtles, and terrapins. There is every neon drink and food product under the sun and massive chicken and pig feet. Having said that the foot here is absolutely delicious, especially bao (steamed rice flour ball filled with a variety of meats and veg) and the egg fried rice which is the regions specialty (having the added advantage of adding a touch of home – be it Chinese takeaways!
Just come in from teaching the smallest class and I’m boiling after having them jumping, hopping and running on the spot. They copy absolutely everything you say and do, so I too have been jumping, hopping and running. I got the oldest class doing hopscotch outside earlier! They loved it, I am now shattered! They are such fantastic kids. All of them are so cute and so eager to learn. They are so enthusiastic and try out their English on you at any chance.
In fact all the local try out any English they know on you. We were asked if we liked potatoes by a young boy thrust towards us by his mum! We have also gatecrashed so many photo albums as people want photos with you everywhere you go, and then they want a photo of you with every uncle, aunt and great aunt they have with them! It’s nice though, because everyone is lovely and welcoming. They excuse you your terrible Chinese and just burst into fits of giggles when it inevitably turns to really bad gesturing and sign language!
Lucy and Tim are brilliant, really supportive and always thinking of cool things for us to do. This weekend we are planning to go strawberry picking and clubbing on Saturday and then to the KTV (karaoke) on Sunday (My birthday).
 
 Thank you for all your support. It still feels a little surreal to be here. It’s just such a crazy place but incredibly relaxing at the same time. It feels incredibly safe and not at all scary. But then again I have had Brit with me who has been here for nearly 3 months now so she knows the ropes. This has made a big difference, I wouldn’t envy anyone coming here if they didn’t know a little bit of Chinese and there wasn’t another volunteer who did. I was told no-one speaks English and this is not an exaggeration, beyond hello noone speaks any at all bar Lucy and Tim. My Chinese is terrible, but it is coming along. I brought tape which I listen to and practice. 
 
Thank you to Travellers for giving me this opportunity

If you’d like to find out more about our placements in China, click HERE

Rosanne completed a 5 week placement at the children’s hospital in beautiful Quito. She had to complete at least 30 hours a week to get credit for her college, so we organised it for her. She sent us this email from the airport on her way home:

Hello Fabio,

I find myself sitting at my gate to fly back home from Quito with tears running down my face as I had never expected time to pass so quickly. Tomorrow is my internship fair and I would like to ask you to send me a confirmation that for the past 5 weeks I have worked 30 hours a week. I need this confirmation in order to graduate so – would appreciate it if you could send it as soon as possible.

My time here in Quito has been amazing and I will never forget the amazing memories and friends that I have made. Thank you fo making this incredible trip possible for me.

 Rosanne

If you’d like to find out more about our placements in Ecuador, click HERE