"My little slice of heaven"
The Galenkamp family (mum, dad and two children aged 11 and 13) from Georgia, USA, volunteered with us in June 2019. They loved it so much, they've already booked to return this month for our rhino collaring operation, AND in June 2020!
"My morning view. “A little slice of heaven.” This was the description I was given for the newly opened Chiwawe tented camp at Imire. I agree- this place is magical. We have just finished a week of volunteering at Imire and the experience was beyond what I can adequately express just now. We accomplished much- and truly felt like we were contributing to the land, the animals, and the people- while also feeling truly blessed ourselves.
"My family of four spent two amazing weeks at Imire in June. It is difficult to embody the experience in words. My 11 year old daughter responded when asked about the trip that "...it was life changing". And indeed it was. We have travelled all over the world and Imire is the first place we have decided to return to - with plans to return in 2020.
If you are at all inclined to do volunteer work abroad- this is a wonderful place to visit. Solo OR with family.
There is a book if you would like to read more about the beginnings of Imire, entitled “Imire: The Life & Times of Norman Travers as Told to Cathy Buckle”. There is much to say about this wonderful family and all they have done for the land and local community.
"We were the very first people to stay at Chiwawe and were given the entire camp to ourselves for a week- it was a serene setting and we often had visits from giraffe by our tents. Some nights the rhinos were nearby as well!
The volunteering consists of three fairly unique activities per day ranging from rhino care and tracking, bee-keeping, gardening, elephant walks & enrichment, school visits, game drives, collecting hay from the fields, and harder labor such as building structures or digging up roots.
Everything that we did was a necessary activity and we truly felt that we were contributing to the upkeep of the program.
A typical day:
6:30- 9:00: activity 1
Breakfast
10:00- 13:00: activity 2
Lunch
15:00-18:00: activity 3
Dinner
Three meals are provided per day and all of our meals we had were fresh, colorful, and delicious. The cooking staff were top drawer! Our daily guide was Morris and I cannot even begin to explain how wonderful he was- a treasure. Diogo oversaw the Chiwawe Camp and was also fantastic with the kids- particularly my older son. Vera & Sam oversee the program and are a passionate and thoughtful couple.
We are already looking forward to our return next June."
Click to read Pam's full Tripadvisor review.
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To volunteer at Imire with your family, please get in touch!
