Community & Wildlife Volunteer in South Africa

The Umpalazi: Community & Wildlife Project incorporates local community upliftment, including skills training, environmental education and aid work; with the rehabilitation of injured and/or orphaned wildlife for future release and monitoring. Umpalazi also provides sanctuary for other displaced animals. Volunteers are needed to keep this project going. Volunteers will have a unique opportunity to work closely with South African wildlife, primarily the South African Vervet Monkey.

Umpalazi relies on volunteer fees to survive, thus without them, there would be no project. Therefore if you volunteer at Umpalazi, you are directly conserving South Africa's wildlife (particulary vervet monkeys) and environment.

Numerous orphaned and injured vervet monkeys are rehabililtated at APES (project partner) and, thus Umpalazi, and as a volunteer you will provide the resources and help to give these beings a chance at a better life.

The local Zulu community also benefit greatly via employment, skills training (an upcoming project, again depending on the number of volunteers due to limited funds), environmental education and aid work.

Please visit www.umpalazi.org/Working_Volunteer.html for more informationHow to Apply: For more information, or to apply please visit our website at www.umpalazi.org �
or contact Danielle Enright (co-founder) at de@umpalazi.org 

Volunteers will have a unique opportunity to work closely with South African wildlife, primarily the South African Vervet Monkey. This is a joint project with the Animal Protection and Environmental Sanctuary (A.P.E.S.) as co-founders, Dawn Magowan and Rodney Pendleton, will be moving to Umpalazi with their sanctuary to provide their wildlife with a better release site and to immediately get volunteers involved with wildlife conservation.

 

Volunteers will have a direct and positive impact on the conservation of wildlife and the environment through snare/trap clearing; game counts; bird watching; environmental management activities and maintenance of vervet monkey 'feeding station' (to supplement the diet of the nearby wild vervet monkeys due to their continued loss of habitat; this eliminates the need for the primates to steal food, an act which could result in their death at human hands).

 

There are also opportunities to live with a Zulu family (for a day etc.), and visit other attractions in KwaZulu-Natal (i.e. CROW, Game Reserves, St.Lucia Wetlands etc.)

The Umpalazi: Community & Wildlife Project, set on a breathtaking 7,000 acre property in the South African bush, endeavors to provide skills training for local rural Zulu community members. This is carried out with the help of international volunteers who help train the selected local community members, whilst transforming Umpalazi's facilities as a wildlife sanctuary. (The number of local Zulu people hired depends on the number of international volunteers due to limited funds).

The aim is not only to create jobs to help improve the standard of living and the lives of local rural people, but also to provide long-term community upliftment. Skills training will create a positive ripple effect throughout the whole community, as the individuals involved thus have the opportunity to build on their skills, providing an income and/or the ability to teach others.

Furthermore, Umpalazi does not have access to electricity; therefore it does, and will provide for a more environmentally friendly way of living. Funds permitting, solar and gas facilities and a generator will be installed, supplying what little electricity is necessary.

This will be a joint project with the Animal Protection and Environmental Sanctuary (A.P.E.S.) as co-founders, Dawn Magowan and Rodney Pendleton, will be moving to Umpalazi with their sanctuary to provide their wildlife with a better release site and to immediately get volunteers involved with wildlife conservation.

APES focuses on the rehabilitation of primates (primarily the South African Vervet Monkey - Cercopithecus aethiops) and other wildlife. The Umpalazi: Community & Wildlife Project also carries out snare/trap clearing (in nearby forest and bush areas); game counts; bird watching; and maintenance of vervet monkey ?feeding station' (to supplement the diet of the nearby wild vervet monkeys due to their continued loss of habitat; this eliminates the need for the primates to steal food, an act which could result in their death at human hands).

There are also opportunities for volunteers to assist at nearby rural Zulu schools (environmental education etc.), to help local AIDS workers, and to participate in an up-coming project involving more intensive snare/trap clearing in forest plantations, invasive weed removal and other environmental management activities.

email: de@umpalazi.org
website: www.umpalazi.org

The aim of the Umpalazi: Community & Wildlife Project is to incorporate local community upliftment, including skills training, environmental education and aid work; with the rehabilitation of injured and/or orphaned wildlife for future release and monitoring. Umpalazi will also be a sanctuary for other displaced animals.