What’s it like to volunteer for a Born Free-supported project? In a guest blog, Laura Praill recalls her incredible time at Lilongwe Wildlife Centre in Malawi

I first volunteered at the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre (LWC), Malawi, in November 2017 and loved it so much that I returned in July 2018! The centre is supported by Born Free and is the perfect place for animal lovers, and as an animal lover myself, I had such an incredible time. 
I did a lot of research about LWC, as I wanted to make sure I was choosing a well-run, ethical organisation that focused on animal welfare rather than the artificial ‘hands-on’ volunteer experience – and I was not disappointed. 

I arrived at the centre just in time for lunch. The amazing chef, Joseph, cooks for volunteers six days a week, making a variety of delicious vegetarian foods from noodles to burgers. I spent the rest of the day getting to know the other volunteers and hanging out with wild vervet monkeys. In the evening we headed out for dinner at one of the best restaurants in town, and then I settled in for the night in the large volunteer bedroom, which has lots of bunkbeds and plenty of storage. It is a friendly and cosy atmosphere, and you become close to everyone very quickly. 

The next day we were introduced to the huge variety of animals at the centre, all of which have been rescued, including olive baboons, yellow baboons, vervet monkeys, samango monkeys, servals, antelope, crocodiles and a number of birds. Later, we went into the centre of the city in a very bumpy bus to see the local supermarkets and souvenir stalls. The souvenir market can be a little overwhelming with lots of people pressuring you to buy things, but haggling is always fun, and the items they sell are beautiful and mostly handmade. 

I was expected to help with the daily running of the centre and future volunteers should prepare themselves for lots of hard (but fun!) work. I often helped the animal care team with food preparation, feeds and cleaning the enclosures. These jobs offer a great opportunity to be around the animals and observe them interacting with each other. Another important job is orphan care; many of the very young animals need full-time care and must be bottle-fed regularly, kept warm and entertained. During orphan season (November to February), when many young animals are found abandoned or being sold, volunteers may get the opportunity to become a foster parent for the orphans, which is a truly lovely experience. Other work in orphan care involves food and milk preparation, general cleaning and maintenance, and lots of laundry!

I also helped with primate rehabilitation, carrying out observations during reintroductions. This is a great way to get an insight into how social structures work within a group of primates, and I spent hours watching the primates interact with each other. I could see their personalities come out and I developed an understanding of the hierarchy within the group. I helped to create enrichment items for the animals and I soon learned to be very resourceful, as supplies in Malawi are often limited and you must be very creative! We used toilet rolls, sticks, leaves, bottles, old clothes and dried grass to make items to entertain some of the primate groups. 

There is also plenty of opportunity get involved in LWC’s community outreach projects. You can teach English to adults, make fuel briquettes (a sustainable alternative to charcoal) and even go to local primary schools and give presentations to the children about the work the centre does. One of my favourite moments was going to a rural school and being greeted by hundreds of singing, dancing children. 

I can’t recommend a volunteer placement at Lilongwe Wildlife Centre enough. Every day you learn so many new things, make so many new friends, and most importantly, make a real difference in the lives of so many animals! I can’t wait to return for my third visit in the near future.

LILONGWE WILDLIFE CENTRE     VOLUNTEERING