Volunteer Voices

During the workcamp we saw rhinos, giraffes, zebra, wildebeests, lavender and bright red birds but what I shall remember most if the incredible people we met. The association members were very welcoming and friendly. They held a brief orientation the night before we left for the sanctuary in which they explained their mission, groups they served and programs they provided. They were transparent that any funds remaining from our $200 camp fee was donated to their other programs. There were five volunteers on the workcamp. In addition to me, there was a woman from Belgium, a woman from Germany and two men from Botswana. The women were in their late twenties to early thirties and were well into their careers as a child psychologist and a police woman respectively. While each of us were very different, the women quickly became friends and showed great concern and support for each other. The men from Botswana were in their early twenties and taking a break from school. One of the men became tended to distance himself from the group spending his free time at the reserve front gate where there was access to mobile networks and sanctuary staff that he knew. The other Botswana spent time with the group and sharing his culture and asking about life in the United States and Europe.

The sanctuary was the most welcoming hosts one could imagine. On the first day of work, the sanctuary director came to our camp and told us about the organization. Sanctuary staff went out of their way to get to know us and make sure we had everything we needed. In the evenings after dinner, they came to our worksite to take us to the sanctuary bar/restaurant and spent their evening talking or playing Yahtzee with us. Camp staff took us on three game drives -- one early morning, one late afternoon and one evening. In addition, one afternoon they took us to the bird hide and on Saturday they took us to the nearby town of Serowe. The camp site at Khama Rhino Sanctuary was beautiful...soft sandy, beautiful shade tree, water and cooking area...a short walk away were spotless bathrooms with flush toilets and shows with hot water and even an electric outlet for recharging camera batteries and cell phones. Plus the camp was home to beautiful birds who visited throughout the day.

We worked along side Botswana day labors creating a fire break boarding the sanctuary. The work involved sawing trees and then taking the branches deeper into the surrounding woods. Many of the trees had sharp thorns so volunteers should bring light shirts with long sleeves and thick workgloves. Expect shirts and pants to get torn. Our workday began at 8:00 am and ended between noon and 1:00 pm. By 10:30 am it was extremely hot (35 deg C plus). While the day laborers did not speak English we managed to communicate...they shared their tea with us during the morning break and on the last day we made pop corn and had a grand photo session. Thank you for the opportunity to be part of Botswana Workcamp Association's workcamp at Khama Rhino.”

Roberta Talmage ~ Botswana 2009