Wild Animal Rescue and Education Centre

WARF

RELATED TOPIC WARED team Baan Thalaenork-BTN Volunteering

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE AT BTN
Pamela Huxly / Sue Jeasch / Debra Watson

Emily Newman and Lucy Gratwick

VOLUNTEER REPORT
(from 18th June until 7th August 2005)

Emily Newman and Lucy Gratwick-from England We travelled to Thailand as friends from the UK ; Emily is a vet student and Lucy a zoologist. We have decided to write our report together and to not focus on the animals as that is covered elsewhere.

We arrived after a few days in Bangkok having caught an overnight bus to Ranong. We were met by Gi and some other WAR staff who had all been attending a meeting in Bangkok and were stopping off at WARED on their way back to the GRP. It was a bit daunting climbing into a van full of strangers all talking to each other in a language we couldn't begin to understand but the scenery was stunning and we both just stared out the window most of the way!

We had underestimated just how scary it would be initially even though we were together as friends from England . Only one member of staff speaks English which we had not realised and it seemed like a big imposition and a pressure on him to interpret everything for us. This made our first few days a bit difficult whilst we got used to everything and everybody. However the staff cooked us a lovely welcome meal on our second night which made all the difference and we started to calm down a bit!

When we met the volunteer coordinator in Bangkok he told us we would be the only volunteers at BTN which hadn't seemed like a big deal at the time. For a week or so we were not sure if we would ever fit in but now, honestly, it is great and we would say that any volunteer should give it time. Our advice would be to try and not ask too many questions or make too much small talk for a little while and always listen to the answer if you do query something. We got caught out several times asking things twice just to fill gaps in conversation! With every car trip to Ranong or meal together, though, chatting gets easier and you learn to enjoy just sitting and listening to the staff talking to each other.

Accommodation here is better than we expected. The huts are spacious with a bathroom, tiled area and raised wooden sleeping part. The volunteer kitchen is well equipped and we cooked a lot of basics like prawns and rice from the market as we are not good chefs. After a few weeks of bad food, we started to take lessons from Ood and Gi and ended up eating with the staff every other evening. If you do this, remember to offer to help out with the cost of buying food which we forgot to do for a little while.

BRING A LOT OF MOSQUITO REPELLANT as although they do have some, you will get through it and you may want different types for your face, body and clothes.

Before we came we had various misconceptions about this centre. After working here we would say that it is much more organised and professional than any other animal charity we have ever encountered. Considering we visited following the tsunami when the staff here acquired a whole new set of responsibilities in this village, everything was working like clockwork. The days are easily filled as when you aren't with the animals there is always something to be done in the office. We spent time proof-reading web documents, writing the monthly updates and generally helping with whatever needed doing. If you can, try and be as organised as possible. Put things back where you found them (we left bits around quite a lot), take your walky-talky with you (we often forgot!), and don't keep people waiting.

WARED is in an incredibly beautiful area with people who will always say hello and children who will be keen to speak to you and try their English. We regretted not learning some basic Thai before we arrived as it makes a huge difference to how you are received and you will feel much more independent and less of a burden. Do try and get a tape or even go on a short course. Volunteers here can be useful; you are not coming as a paying guest. You can lessen the load of everyone else and the cage and health checks are valuable ways of making sure the animals are OK amidst all the other work that has to be done. If you are looking for an experience where you are genuinely needed and can make your own niche then this is an excellent choice.

Pamela Huxly
My feedback (from January 12, 2005 to April 11, 2005)

Pamela Huxly-from Switzerland I found the WAR Foundation during the summer 2004 on the Internet as I was searching for a volunteering project related to the sea. Their WARED (Wild Animal Rescue and Education Center) Rescue Center in Baan Thalaenork (BTN) on the West coast of Thailand had a sea turtle project that sounded exactly what I was looking for! I don't have any ecology, biology or veterinarian background but I have a passion for animals and I was very excited about the whole project and was looking forward to meet other people sharing the same passion.

It was not my first trip to Thailand but arriving on January 12 th 2005, 17 days after the tsunami, I just didn't know what to expect. What I knew was that most of the village had been destroyed and that 46 people from the village died. The sea turtle project was cancelled for the year but I still decided to go to BTN as I was sure I could help in other ways.

The friendly staff welcomed me at the airport in Ranong and when I finally arrived at the village of BTN I was shown around where I would be staying for the next 3 months. The WARED Rescue Center was in a much better condition than I expected because it is situated nearly 1km away from the beach. There was still a lot of mess and mud everywhere but the bungalows were cleaned up and very comfortable already. I went down to the beach and understood how lucky they were as all the houses between the Rescue Center and the beach had been mostly destroyed or completely washed out.

The WARED was initially constructed to take care of primates. They currently have 20 gibbons and 50 macaques so my sea turtle project on the beach became a primate project in the jungle! And this turned out to be a beautiful and unforgettable experience. To understand the general atmosphere it is important to know that BTN is a very remote Muslim village. Until mid-March, when we got connected to the web from the office, there was no way to communicate with the outside world from the village. There are no telephones and mobile phones are out of reach from here. This is a very special and nice experience I must admit if you compare it to our westerner way of life where everybody is expected to be reachable 24h. This left me with the opportunity to concentrate all my attention to my passion: taking care of the animals. Luckily no animals were injured by the tsunami even though the water did reach some cages. The first task was to finish clearing up the mess and get rid of the mud that was still sticking in every corner. After that we got back to a sort of a normal routine and our main daily duties consisted of preparing food for the primates before feeding them, performing health & cage checks and cleaning the cages as well as the food and water containers. In other words there was plenty to do and we had no time to be bored! But I always found enough time for other activities. The one I loved the most was my nearly daily break for a jog on the beach!

The days were going by quickly and after a couple of weeks I was comfortable with the job and started to know the animals better. I am very happy I worked for 3 months because it allowed me to develop a real contact with the primates. I was discovering everything about them and was amazed to see how close they are to humans. It took me a while to understand them and it also took them some time to know and accept me. It is a two-way relationship, each of them have their own personality! I think I can say that I have developed a real friendship with some of them.

Among many other things I keep very good memories of the regular dinner parties we had with the staff, at the Rescue Center or down at the beach. We all shared the meals we cooked and it was great listening to them singing Thai songs and playing the guitar under a sky always full of stars. What an atmosphere.

The 3 months spent in BTN also allowed me to see and follow the evolution of the life in the village after the tsunami struck. Houses have been reconstructed to offer new homes to the people who lost their homes, belongings and/or part of their own family. The school has also been reconstructed in the village after being totally destroyed by the tsunami. The WARED has always acted as a main co-ordination point for the village and still helps them today to identify their long term needs and allocate funds where needed. Life continues and I was amazed by the solidarity of everyone. Although all of them probably lost a member of their family I always felt welcome and no one ever missed the opportunity to offer me a big smile and say a loud "Hello"!

It is very difficult to express and describe in only a few paragraphs all the feelings I have about my experience but I can easily say that it was heartbreaking to leave such a nice place. I left more than just an experience behind me and hope I will be able to go back there again.

All the best,
Pamela

Sue Jaensch : from Melbourne , Australia

Sue Jaensch-from Australia I arrived at Ranong bus station at 6am on 29th September and was met by Khun Gi, Khun Lord and an English volunteer called Paul. We hopped in the car and drove the hour or so, back to Baan Talaenork, the Wildlife Animal Rescue and Education Centre (WARED) and my home for the next three months.

The sanctuary is situated in a small fishing and rubber plantation village. The villagers are very warm and welcoming, especially the local children. The beach is a five minute walk down the road, and was a popular spot for watching the sunset after a busy day.

My daily work consisted of feeding the animals, cleaning cages and feeding containers. On top of this work, there was always additional work to be done, whether it be; environmental enrichment, refurbishing cages, helping to build new cages, writing newsletter reports or helping the local thai workers with maintenance work around the sanctuary. There was hardly an ordinary day.

There is so much that I loved about volunteering at WARED. The animals, of course, I now have a great love for Gibbons, Macaques and Slow Loris. The village life was peaceful and simple, and such a rare experience for a farang in Thailand as most tourists congregate in their thousands at popular destinations and miss out on this beautiful side of Thailand . The Thai staff at WARED were wonderful, friendly and so accommodating. I definitely feel that I was leaving my Thai family, when it became time to leave.

A month after I left, the village was badly affected by the Tsunami and they are now working at rebuilding their community. There is a lot of work to be done. I would dearly love to be there helping but at the moment, I am unable. I would urge anyone, who is able, who is fit, energetic, proactive and easygoing to seriously consider volunteering here. If you give it your all, it will repay you tenfold, I would doubt that you would regret it. I definitely had no regrets what so ever and I will be back there, someday.

Debra Watson
The first Volunteer (October – December 2003)

Traveling thousands of miles and knowing you will not be home for a long time is a daunting prospect for most people; after all it isn’t easy to live in a community where everything is so completely different from what you are used to. Even though I have traveled to Thailand before, nothing prepared me for what I was to experience at the Na Ka village and sanctuary.

Having been here for two months I have learnt that to be a volunteer is a selfless act of devotion and commitment to a particular cause. If you believe in something enough to be able to make a difference, then you can overcome your own insecurities and concentrate on the job in hand. Just two weeks after I first arrived here, I wanted to escape and find a place that felt ˝normal˝. I needed to communicate with other Westerners and be amongst other volunteers. It took a lot of hard thinking to stay but I’m glad that I did because I was able to contribute towards a project in its infancy and leave my mark, whether it is a painted wall or a new idea to make things better. To fit into a new place and be welcomed takes time and effort, as the trust and respect of those around you has to be earned. I will not forget the people I shared my working days with at the sanctuary. It was not always easy to work beyond the language barrier, but the warmth and friendliness I received, especially from the local people melted away my insecurities and helped me adapt. I hope that I will be the first of many and wish everyone here the best of luck for the future.

Download the file below to find out more about the routine of a volunteer at WARED

WARED volunteer handbook
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Once you have made the decision to become a volunteer here, just visit WAR volunteering page and fill the application form.