Africa

Askari is my first volunteer mission and what a joy it was! These four weeks have passed at high speed as I loved all these moments spent along true enthusiasts – Andrew, Katie, Bronwyn and Stuart. The discovery of this beautiful reserve, the search for the wildlife that composes it… I learnt a lot during my stay and leave with my head, eyes and heart full.

Thank you again for your kindness, your teaching and all the good times spent together. Hope to see you again one day!

My wife and I attended the program for 4 weeks and had a great time. My highlights were seeing many animals in their natural setting and the opportunity to educate myself along the lines of a better understanding of conservation challenges in SA but also throughout the world. Greater learning gives me more knowledge to make better decisions about what I can do to help. Highly recommended and doing it with a group from New Zealand was an added bonus!

My stay at Askari was wonderful, I enjoyed everything in the bush, the sessions of work, the animals, the tour trips and the house. Askari is a real serious programme that really aims at working on the conservation of a reserve in Africa. I felt so happy and proud to have been part of such an amazing project. Each people I met were nice, helpful and available when we needed it. Katie is doing an amazing job as the manager of Askari and she is really passionate about it. It is such a pleasure to share this passion with her. Same for Donald, he is also passionate and involved in his mission here. The house of volunteers is also really nice and the food really good. To conclude, I spent an amazing time at Askari, I will never forget it and I am actually wondering when I am going to come back! Thank you for everything and congratulations for the great job you are doing, keep it up and never change!!

It was a life-changing experience for me! The staff is amazing and it's a great privilege to be part of an effort for conservation. Living in a reserve is an amazing experience and it made me review my priorities for the better. It was my first time in Africa, but I felt completely at home at Askari and learnt so much. I can't wait to come back.

What a fabulous programme and made all the better by being able to work alongside Katie and Robbie. These two are absolute stars and really know their stuff.
They have so much passion and energy for what they do it can't help but rub off and leave you feeling a whole lot wiser about Animal conservation.
As a complete rookie and a little apprehensive to begin with we were certainly put at ease and no question was too daft! Our month at Askari flew by and we had a blast learning laughing and experiencing some fantastic sightings that were truly magical.

The workload is fun and very manageable, the food is great and Sth African wine is fantastic!

Don't dilly dally, get yourselves there and be prepared for an adventure!

Tracey (48 1/2)

Askari is a truly amazing place were you will foster a love and passion for conservation. You will be surrounded not only by amazing views, but amazing people. These people, Katie, Robbie, Andrew and everyone else will change you... so be prepared. They will fill your mind with knowledge and wonder, and leave you speechless. They are intelligent beyond belief and caring, but also passionate and dedicated people. IF you have a passion for the environment or even the slightest curiosity and feel like going abroad. Trust me, you will make no mistakes travelling too Askari. IF you are reading this I bet you're interested, and I bet there is something telling you to go. Oh.. yah that's me... GO. I didn't regret it, I bet you won't either. I will never forget this experience, and once you get a little taste, even a glimpse you'll want more. So prepare to go back... at least once or twice.

In only two weeks DAKTARI Bush School & Wildlife Orphanage made me feel like I was at home. I lived the best moments of my life in this amazing project. The environment with the other volunteers and staff is just amazing, I will forever miss those people. I truly didn't want to come back home. The animals, the kids, and the overall community was so much more that what I was expecting. I admit, I am a princess and never was a bush girl, but the patience that you had for my comfort was endless.

DAKTARI, I owe you a huge THANK YOU, you are the best.

I will eternally miss you,

Your non bush girl.

I am a Clinical Psychologist and I was looking for a short-term international volunteer experience to give back. My spouse was also traveling with me and was also interested in volunteering as well. I did quite a bit of searching of international volunteer programs and most of the programs that I contacted did not have any direct contact with the international site nor any means for me to contact the host organization. From the beginning, Ann McLaughlin was responsive and had personal experience with my host site. It was important to me to have direct contact with the host and/or host organization. Ann spent considerable time communicating with me and my spouse. Ann was professional, informative, and very knowledgeable. We felt very prepared for our experience and Ann had visited the host site where we volunteered so we felt very comfortable. It was very inexpensive as volunteer experiences go and the flight was the most expensive part of the endeavor.

We had an amazing experience even for being in Kenya for a short period of time. I enjoyed doing presentations and providing psychoeducation to mostly high school students and also to their teachers. I also provided education and training in an orphanage. My spouse gave talks on business and being an entrepreneur. We enjoyed direct contact with children, adolescents and the teachers. We had indicated that we were open to roughing it and being in less luxurious housing. It was very much a real world experience and we were immersed in the culture of the rural Kenyans. I would highly recommend Ann and NGO Abroad for a cross cultural experience.

From arrival every member of staff I met were friendly and helpfiul, to Katie and Robbie in particular, they had my life in their hands and not once did I question my safety. The team are approchable, focused, hard working, informative and their enthusiasm and passion is infectious. Lots of hands on work to be done including: security and longevity of fences, tree protection, alien plant control, camp clean (breeding camp and bush), assisting vet and wider team, data collection in the bush and much more, no experience necessary. Each day brought something different and soo much to learn!!

This was my first trip to Africa and Askari couldnt have opened my eyes and heart any more. The views are breath taking, lots of close encounters with animals, every activity was fun and they even offer a few day trips which were equally amazing. I was sad to leave Askari but also delighted and proud that I was able to play a small part in helping them become a benchmark in conservation, I do plan on returning and I wouldnt hesitate to recommend Askari to anyone interested.

My stay at Askari WCP was amazing! I learned a lot and had lots of fun. We had a very nice group; helped each other and bonded fast! Katie and Robbie combine their expertise with lots of fun. I think that’s very important during a stay/project like this.

We did a lot of different activities, like sable relocation, tracking, tree protection, bird watching and last but not least "The Rhino Warrior Challenge". In weekends and during time off we played a lot of volleyball, 30 seconds and card games. I also really liked the food. Lot of diversity, quite healthy and lots of fun by making it together. Especially the Cremora tart was a success ;)! And don't forget the Friday night, pizza night!

Every day at Askari was another beautiful day in Africa or like Robbie said, “Another terrible day in Africa/ Askari;)”. Thank you so much Katie, Robbie and all staff for this great life experience.

The choice to go to Askari WCP is one of the best choices I made in my life. So if you have the opportunity to come to Askari, do it for sure!