My report from Utila, Honduras

When I first heard about the project I was attending a lecture made by my ESS (Environmental systems and Societies) teacher. He told us that he had found it on the Internet and that if someone was interested, we could go and ask for more information. The first thing I did when I got home was read about the project more in depth, and I decided that I was going to do it.

My pre-departure planning was carefully meditated and assessed by Jeremy Freedman from Global Nomadic, who answered all my questions.

Luckily I had economical support from my parents, and thanks to them I was able to fully finance my trip.

My main aims were to learn as much as possible and to help the local community and Kanahau as much as I could.

My first day was really fun, all the volunteers and the staff members went out to catch some Iguanas in an urban environment, in order to learn more of their behaviour. It was fun and I learnt a lot about the behaviour of the Iguanas in the urban environment, like for example, they will only venture far from their hole/nest if it’s a really sunny day and they consider they can get a better spot somewhere else to lay under the sun.

The staff members were always kind and willing to help with any problem that I had (Not that I had any to be honest), everyone really cared about how the volunteers felt and if they needed anything else besides the provided accommodations.

The accommodation was better than I expected, I was provided with a mattress and bed sheets, and the room had air conditioner. The house ran on solar power of course, and because of that sometimes we did not have enough power, but that wasn’t much of a problem, since we usually had power for most of the night.

The food was amazing, mostly vegetarian menu, but that’s understandable since many people there were vegetarian.

I consider that I made a lot of new friends among the volunteers and staff members at Kanahau already in my first week, since everyone there was friendly and eager to make friends.

In my opinion I do think that this project makes an impact on its field, since the island of Utila is still yet to be fully researched and catalogued, and even though I think this is just the beginning, with some luck, more volunteers will go there and help develop the project.

I cannot tell if I made a difference, but I did try to help as much as I could. I offered my help with everything I could or ha energy to do.

My major challenge was the mosquitoes. At the time I arrived to Utila every place I went was full of them. This proved to be a challenge since I had to wear long sleeve shirts to do field work, and with the constant heat it became a problem. At nights I could not sleep very well since my whole body was itching from the mosquito bites. Luckily the local community shop, which Kanahau collaborates with, sold calm balms made by the locals that allowed me to sleep at last.

I am most proud of my time volunteering at the community shop, there I was able to interact more with the community and help the managers of the store (who are also part of Kanahau) to introduce a photography competition project to the local kids.

But what I am most proud of is of the workshop I helped organize one Thursday afternoon. We gathered some kids in the community shop and we taught them how to build a chessboard and its pieces out of recycled materials such as wine corks. I prepared a little presentation about the three “R” (Recycle, Reusing and Reducing). Their level of awareness on such things surprised me, since they were only about 11 years old.

The extra activities were not many, but they were really fun. One day we went kayaking through the canal that goes through the island, and then we went to do some snorkelling on the beach. Another day we went partying at night, since it can’t all be hard work.

The project met my expectations and surpassed them, I learnt more than I expected and I was able to do many different activities, thus expanding my knowledge on both natural and social science.

I would recommend this project to everyone that is interested in raising environmental awareness and researching in order to create a better future. In fact I will recommend this project to my friends, because I know they might be interested in it.

Wildlife Research Internship in Honduras

Tanzania Global Experience

After several weeks since my return, and once my body has begun to purify the alcohol ingested this first month of summer, I think I already have the necessary pause to write the review Global Nomadic requested me at some point. In this case, like I have already obtained my certificate, I will try not only to make reference to my particular experience and the organization that gave me the opportunity to realize the practices, but also to carry out a broader reading, away from any individualist sieve.

On the first point: my particular experience. Thanks to Global Nomadic, I was able to carry out a volunteer project in Arusha Women Legal Aid and Human Rights Organization, a small NGO whose objective is the provision of legal aid for the defense of those groups that are in a situation of vulnerability, especially women and children. My period there was very useful. The predisposition of Martha, John and Harrison to make me feel like one more of the squad was incredible from the start. In the office I was able to understand some of the problems that day-to-day women have to deal with in Tanzania. Unfortunately they face a situation of absolute helplessness compared to men.

It is true that my limitations with Swahili meant that I could not exploit the experience as much as I would have liked, because the most of the people who use to go to the office asking for help are usually poor and, therefore, have no access to English learning. However, AWLAHURIO workers always tried to teach, putting me in touch with the issues raised and their possible solutions. Also, in the house where I resided during my internship, where the personal treatment was generally excellent, I received some Swahili lessons. The communication with Charles Adiel, responsible of Tanzanite Appartments, and the rest of the staff facilitated a lot the coexistence in the same, and although it is certain that we also had some discussions these were never really serious and we always found a solution able to satisfy all the parties .

In conclusion, I think the experience I lived is absolutely commendable and everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy it. Beyond the knowledge acquired in my field, which was not too much, the possibility of working and trying to help in an environment totally alien to my culture is something that, personally, marked me and has made sprouting some branches of the tree I want my life to be.

In regard to my overall opinion about the situation and possibilities of Tanzania, the first thing that caught my attention when I arrived to the country, and after talking for a while with some people, was the possibility of corroborating “in situ” an idea that I had already noticed, and for which I was already prepared, coming from a State like the Spanish one. I speak about the trivialization of information. The Western countries understand Africa from a homogenous point of view, without taking into account the different spheres of its diversity or the fragmentation of its realities, which do not always converge between the different States that compose it. Africa is given a generic and compact treatment, like if we were not facing a continent composed of 54 States and more than 30 million square kilometers. And while it is true that globalization has contributed to the homogenization of the cultural landscape, it is also true that few people would ever think of referring to an European country without a prefix. This, which at first glance may go unnoticed, leads to situations that ostensibly hinder the development of a region traditionally punished by various factors inherited from colonization processes and the excesses of liberalism. Let us take an example: the Ebola crisis, with epicenter based in West Africa, around the Gulf of Guinea. During the peak months of the same, the rates of tourism in Tanzania were reduced to ridiculous figures in comparison with previous years. I speak about Tanzania not only because it is the country where I have spent several months, but also because it is thousands of kilometers away from the epicenter on the east coast of the African continent, and because it is a State that has not registered a single case of the virus inside its borders. Why, then, did Tanzanian tourism suffer so profoundly the effects of the epidemic? Why not Spain, for example, if we did have some cases? It is an interesting question, which surely deserves a more detailed analysis, but which in some way allows us to understand how important language is, as well as calling things by their name, even if it is sometimes incompatible with the interests of the great powers and the capital.

A second important aspect is what I consider the perversion of the priorities system. In my opinion, this is an effect derived from the globalizing process by the expansion of neoliberalism as dominant ideology. Without underestimating the importance of communications, and with all the satisfaction and joy that came to me when I saw that Internet connections and mobile coverage were reasonably good; even after a lot of turns, I can´t understand how so many cuts in the electricity supply can continue existing, or how there are no effective mechanisms for water sanitation yet, water which is not lacking in Tanzania, like it happens in the case of Saharan Africa. I certainly believe that once again the economic interests of the multinationals have prioritized certain aspects above those that should be the basis on which build development. I have the feeling that in some cases the house has been started to build on the roof.

Apart from these issues, which are somehow imposed by circumstances of an exogenous nature, I am not trying to exonerate the different governments and the Tanzanian society from all responsibility in the situation that occupies them as a country still in a very depressed situation. Its organizational culture is certainly complex and requires an urgent restructuring of the educational system to vary certain behaviours that, in my opinion, make it impossible to advance. The management of logistics and transport is chaotic, and although traffic controls are numerous, their effects are not endorsed by a decline in accidents or infringements. The corruption that plagues the different layers of the “res publica” and the spheres of power, does not help either. Nor the exploitation of the need that the richest Tanzanians exert on their humblest fellow countrymen, with endless hours of work and inhuman remuneration.

On the other hand, although the coexistence of Christianity, Islam, as well as the particularities of certain tribal configurations, has an eminently peaceful character and in that sense it is necessary to praise it, it is also true that the radicalization of some positions supposes, in my opinion, an important obstacle, which causes the number of children by marriage to be very high, despite the lack of financial resources for their maintenance. This should be corrected with education about the use of contraceptive methods, something for what Tanzanian society is reluctant, fruit of the exacerbation of certain beliefs. There is, therefore, still a clear deficit in sex education and reproductive rights (without neglecting its importance for the prevention of STDs). If we add to this the difficulties derived from isolation in rural areas, such as the impossibility (often due to lack of knowledge, others due to a lack of economic means) to register births in the Civil Registry, a situation that underlies many other problems such as vaccination campaigns or the control of birth rates; we have an important breeding ground for the persistence of poverty and the non-reduction of mortality and morbidity rates. In addition, the radicalization of the religious tendencies, which we have been speaking about, also contributes definitively to the profusion of difficulties to overcome an absolutely patriarchal society in which women’s rights are regularly violated and those of LGBT groups simply do not exist, because they are not recognized.

Another aspect that I have observed is the propagation in certain sectors of work, especially the skilled one, of a sort of culture that some Tanzanian have called “hakuna matata”, which is a swahili expression that means “no problem”, a kind of “Don’t worry, be happy”. In general terms, it seems to me a way of life that contributes in a clear way to social peace. But when this culture moves to work, there is a risk of falling into accommodation. Like in any other aspect of life, it is not convenient to generalize, but it is something that caught my attention and that I can´t ignore. I have not observed this tendency, I must add, in the unskilled workers whose lives are more driven by necessity.

Lastly, and after have briefly and superficially disseminated some of the major scourges that, from my point of view, Tanzania is striking, I don´t think it is fair to end without putting in value peace, hospitality and religious tolerance (still not in other aspects) as capitals that generate the necessary stability to undertake the medium-term challenges facing the country. Building on these pillars, Tanzania, which enjoys moderately advanced infrastructures compared to some of its African peers, will have taken a giant step on the road to overcome the endemic poverty that still suffers in many of its areas, especially the rural ones.

Human Rights & Legal Aid Internship in Tanzania

Week 1 in Namibia!

“From aardvarks to herds of 66 springbok, cold showers to Fred’s cooking, the first week at Oana has been a blast. Our mission for the three weeks is to try to capture the enigmatic leopard: so far we have set up 14 camera traps, James has butchered a donkey (its halves affectionately known as Denis and Denise), and the aim is to document the leopards’ identities through photos. We have also joined forces with Kali, an overenthusiastic scat dog, who in the near future will help us on our endeavours.

So far, around Oana we have hiked up volcanos, had sundowners looking across the vast plains, and been (temporarily) abandoned in the dark due to the challenges of driving without a sat nav. Our morning mountain biking proved to be better suited to the adrenaline junkies, whereas our efforts at yoga provided a calming antidote. In camp, the biscuit jar is never full, hakuna matata is sung late into the night, and the bird bath we created is a beautiful rock feature.

Our excursions from the farm have involved creating netball courts for the local school in Warmbad, and we have done a two day trip to Fish River. While there we swam in natural hot springs, saw the largest canyon in Africa, and ate our first gemsbok steak.

Wish us luck for week 2!”

Re-wilding Environmental Development Project in Namibia

Dan Xia Tanzania Internship Report

“As an individual who subscribes to Western cultural values, interning at a low-income, Tanzanian hospital was both ethically challenging and extremely eye-opening. I was able to gain global medical experience, learn how to interact and empathize with different cultural groups, as well as solidify my future career aspirations.

In terms of my responsibilities at Levolosi hospital, my job as an intern was to primarily assist the local doctors with their diagnostics and their surgical procedures. This would range anywhere from filing administrative paperwork to dressing wounds to assisting in live births. Because there are not nearly as many regulations in the hospitals, I was also able to do much more here than I would have been able to in a more Western hospital. I was allowed to suture (I declined any offer to so because I felt it would be unfair to the patient), and after holding a pair of forceps during a circumcision, the surgeon told me, “Now that you have seen one, you can do the next one by yourself!” I, of course declined this as well for the same reason, and because I also felt the procedure was beyond my scope of practice as an Emergency Medical Technician and an undergraduate student in the USA.

While assisting and observing these doctors was already a very valuable experience, I also wanted to find more ways that I could contribute to the hospital. Over time, a group of us interns realized that government hospitals such as Levolosi often do not have sufficient funds to purchase essential health supplies. Many of the operational equipment are not sterilized between uses; wounds are cleaned with no antiseptic due to shortage of iodine; wounds with muscles and tendons showing are not treated with anesthetic, etc. Before us, there were already two volunteers who raised 2,500 euros worth of supplies in the month before, and with this money, they were able to buy an incredible amount of supplies to alleviate some of these issues. Even with these donations, however, there were still a significant shortage of supplies, so as a result, I co-started another fundraising campaign in order to raise awareness and to bring further donations to the hospital. We ended up raising approximately $1,730 USD, and we were able to purchase antiseptics, gauze, Mackintosh bed sheets, gloves, the list goes on. In total, between my fundraising campaign and the previous one, we were able to raise approximately $4,500 USD worth of supplies for the hospital.

From a cultural standpoint, it was also very fascinating to see the vast differences between Tanzanian medical practices and Western medical practices. In America, one thing that I have learned is that as a physician, physician-patient rapport is extremely important. We do not just treat the patient’s complaint, but we treat the patient, as a human being. In Tanzania, however, that mentality is absent. Doctors very rarely show empathy (although there are those who do as well), and it is not uncommon to see a doctor yell at a patient if the patient is not cooperating. In addition, if the patient does not pay at the reception, doctors will turn them away until they do. In some of these cases, it is very difficult to watch, and on several occasions, I have helped patients pay for their treatment (sometimes patients cannot even afford 3,000 tsh, which is the equivalent of $1.34 USD). As I looked more into it, I began to understand that this lack of empathy is because doctors are often paid by the patient, and a result, they try to get through as many patients as they possibly can. In a poverty-stricken country like Tanzania, everyone here is out to make even a little more money to put food on their families’ tables.

As I was having a conversation with the head doctor of Levolosi, I asked him why he chose to work at Levolosi hospital. The answer he gave was that he enjoys providing health in places of the lowest-income. While this may not seem like much, it was exactly what I needed to hear to affirm my career dream. For the past 2 years, I have found that my passion is to combine medicine and travel, as I wish to become a global physician. My dream is to travel and start clinics in places that do not have sufficient healthcare, and seeing this head doctor feel proud of his accomplishments made me realize that that was exactly what I have been searching for as well.

Overall, this entire experience has been invaluable to me and I have not only learned a lot about the medical profession in other countries, but about what I want to accomplish in my life as well. Being a part of a global experience that is tailored to your future goals is something that I would recommend everyone to experience at some point in their student lives.”

Medical Internship in Tanzania

5 weeks in Tanzania

“I have just returned back from my five weeks placement in Tanzania and now it is just the great memories that are left. It had a really special time, which I will not forget for the rest of my life. I have been working at the Women’s Legal Aid and Human Rights Organization (AWLAHURIO) in the city of Arusha. Arusha is a big city in Northern Tanzania. I do not really like the city itself, but there are nice places for food, drinks and dance. In addition, the climate is good and there are nice places to explore around, where I had time for in the weekends.

During my time at the office, I learned a lot about the Tanzanian and African law system. I worked together with a lovely lady, Ms Martha, who fights hard for the organization, which main objective is to empower women in the region and to protect their human and legal rights. The organization not just operates in the city but also in remote villages around, because there is much need to empower women, because a lot of women are not aware about their rights in most cases. For example, they might think it is normal to be beaten by their husband or they do now know where to go or they do not have the money to do something in case of violence. AWLAHURIO really tries to change the perception by the community about women’s (legal) rights and offers free legal aid to those in need. As an intern sometimes you will be offered the possibility to join the organization when they organize workshops for the women in the villages.

The problem when I was there actually was that there was no money for such services. AWLAHURIO does not get any money from the government and is fully dependent on their members and funds. My work at the office mainly consists about writing proposals in order to get a fund from other human rights organization. They are still in process, so I hope they will succeed. In addition, two afternoons a week clients can come to the office for free legal aid. Mostly they speak Swahili, but Ms Martha explained everything to me. What was really interesting as well was that I got the opportunity to attend an English procedure at the court, which was about a Dutch woman being violated by her Tanzanian husband. I learned a lot about the Tanzanian law system and it did me realize there is so much corruption going on there what makes it hard for such countries to develop.

A good thing is that since a few years there is a new president who started an anti-corruption policy. Another highlight was that one of the other (Tanzanian) volunteers organized an event on World Aid’s day with another organization he worked for. The event was held in a village where a lot of different tribes go to the market; by this, the organization got the possibility to make a lot of people aware about the risks related to HIV/AIDS by doing music, dance and performance. My placement at the human rights organization was the main objective of my trip, but I also took a little time to explore around. Sometimes I went with other volunteers from the accommodation to the orphanage, where they worked, which was a really nice experience. Also, I did an amazing safari trip before going back home, which was a wonderful end of my trip.”

Human Rights & Legal Aid Internship in Tanzania

A genuinely unbelievable experience

“As we all arrived to a sunny Uppington after long flights, we hooked up with Red and started our 4-hour drive, most of which consisted of catching up on sleep and checking making sure bags hadn’t fallen off. Once we got there we were straight away welcomed with sights of animals and ridiculous views. Our arrival to base camp was a very welcome one, and Drey showed us the ropes around camp. However the face on Will when he asked for the wi fi password only to find out it wasn’t for us was definitely a face of shock. Our next morning was more introduction to the camp, and warning us of all the animals and insects that wanted to bite us. Those warnings seemed very real later that night as a snake joined us for dinner, however we would all enjoy it as part of the “African experience”. The next couple of days took us all over the conservancy, the most notable of which was the transect in which we had to try and spot all the animals we could from across a large part of the land. It was a genuinely unbelievable experience however Mia, Max, Fred and I turned out to be not the best at spotting the animals.

That brought us to Tuesday morning, in which we set off for three days on our biodiversity survey. We arrived at the foot of a hill, took all our stuff up to find the most unbelievable camping spot where we would spend the next two nights, with absolutely crazy views. We set off later that morning to set up camera traps in hope of catching a mongoose or two, with the help of Fisho’s brilliant tracking. The evening we spent around a camp fire, watching the sunset, enjoying Carlene’s delicious food, and creating a list of Will’s best phrases so far which included the likes of ‘talli-ho’ and ‘holy crikey’. The next morning, we were hopping around the sand trying to catch bugs, of which Max was absolutely terrible, but Fred seemed like he could catch anything, and Mia and Drey took the savvy role on of identifying the insects. Lizard hunting was the next task, which turned out to just about be the end of us as they seemed to toy with us, knowing that they could get away from us when they chose, little bastards. That night was just the first time we had seen past 9.30pm, with lots of dubious camping games. We are currently chilling in camp glad to have sofas back, but we all agree that it has been a brilliantly ‘lush’ first week, and we can’t wait for the next 4.”

Re-wilding Environmental Development Project in Namibia

10/10

“10/10 I would highly recommend anyone to take advantage of this volunteer opportunity.

I volunteered for two weeks and if my time wasn’t as limited in New Zealand I would’ve loved to volunteer for even longer. My two month trip to New Zealand is almost over and it’s safe to say that my two weeks at pupu rangi was one of the major highlights of my whole trip, if not THE highlight of my trip. Pupu rangi is a place that will challenge you and force you outside of your comfort zone a bit but it will teach you that living a simpler lifestyle can actually be extremely satisfying. There’s no better way to learn about New Zealand in it’s rawest, most natural form then by spending some time at pupu rangi.

You’ll not only learn about the native forests of New Zealand but you’ll actually get to be a part of them. We learned step by step just what it takes to protect New Zealand’s native forests and the creatures that inhabit them. And although there’s was some working involved, we also spent some days exploring and seeing the beautiful things that New Zealand has to offer. Octavian is great and it’s amazing to see just how much work and passion that he has put into pupu rangi in order to keep New Zealand’s lands native. This is a great way to see New Zealand from a less touristy point of view. Plus they have a pizza oven.”

Off-grid Environmental Internship in New Zealand

My time in New Zealand

“I stayed 3 months at the Sanctuary, longer than actually planned, to do my internship for university. I learnt a lot about the forest, native animals, pests, native trees and about conservation work.

Moreover, it was great to work together with a team of like-minded people and being able to work together with rangers. Another great aspect was the way of living at Pupu Rangi. I really enjoyed being far away from civilisation, off-the-grid and living a sustainable life style without the ‘normal’ luxury. Above all, it was amazing to see what a huge difference a group of people could make and to actually see the forest getting healthier and discovering more indicator species for that, like the kauri snail and kiwi.

Another great experience was to look for kiwi at night and spotting almost every time a few of them, sometimes very close in front of us. Another highlight was the walk to Nikau Falls in Pupu Rangi forest, where we were able to enjoy the view of glowworms at the waterfall.
Overall, it was an unique time at the Pupu Rangi Nature Sanctuary and I learnt important and useful things for a lifetime. I can highly recommend to come here and would love to return to this magic place in the future.”

Off-grid Environmental Internship in New Zealand