Malawi wildlife sanctuary volunteering vacation

Planet

Malawi is known as ‘the warm heart of Africa’, both for its stunning beauty and friendly people. It’s also one of the most densely populated countries in Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world, which puts enormous pressures on its natural resources. As a result, the illegal trade of wild animals and their slaughter for bush meat is still a big problem in Malawi, at a time when conservation of both the environment and wildlife is more critical than ever.

We work to protect Malawi’s wildlife & habitats. Since our inception in 2007, we have rehabilited over 800 animals, with more than half released back into the wild. Our programmes have evolved in response to local needs, working with wildlife as well as people and approaching the issues from all angles. Our is the only sanctuary in the world to have obtained all three accreditations from PASA, GFAS and the Born Free Foundation's PAW scheme and are Malawi's only member of the Species Survival Network.

We rescue and rehabilitate wildlife in distress and conduct scientific research to better inform both our welfare and conservation projects. We’re working with the highest levels of Government to tackle wildlife crime through advocacy and enforcement initiatives, tens of thousands of school children are engaged in our environmental education programmes across the country and our community conservation projects are helping people to live more sustainably.

We owe a great deal to those partners, volunteers and generous donors who have helped make our work possible.

People

We believe we can make a real difference working with the local communities in terms of raising awareness of the importance of respecting our environment and keeping wildlife in the wild, whilst also providing alternatives to practices such as deforestation and the illegal bush meat trade.

The sanctuary provides jobs for over 60 local Malawian staff, and as a ‘center for the people’ make every effort to ensure that the less privileged people in the communities benefit from the facility. For example, we organise wild picnics for local orphanages to come on a wildlife tour and enjoy the local playground, or run training scholarships for a number of children from the poorer local schools.

As a pilot ‘People and Wildlife’ project we also hope that our success will be used as a model for others around the world. In years to come we will be able to showcase the benefits of addressing conservation issues in partnership with the local communities through education and outreach, and become a true center for the people and wildlife of Malawi.