Volunteers Testimonials
 |  I volunteered this summer in Peten in Guatemala. I can honestly say after a good shower, I was ready to go back!! I was very anxious about going there as it was my first experience with this kind of volunteering, and the first time I had gone into the rainforest environment! I was equipped with mosquito nets, 100% deet anti mosquito spray, long sleeved tops and trousers! I arrived and had the support package and was picked up from the airport and taken by boat to the site. I was extremely nervous, especially as my Spanish was virtually non-existent! After the climb up to the main living area (is not that steep, but feels really long the first time you do it!), I met everyone at breakfast – when I arrived there were 30 volunteers and Ali and Anna immediately made me feel at home. After orientation around the camp, where you are just in awe of where you are and the animals and the effort made to rehabilitate them, I was thrown into working on the 11am shift. The work is not hard, but can be tiring (6.30 start!), everyone pitches in together and helps and you are always paired up with someone who has been working on your section for a few days. They help you and then you teach someone else and you move on to another section. During my two weeks, I worked with parrots, macaws, owls, howler monkeys and spider monkeys. The experience is something I will never forget. Even as the number of volunteers fluctuate, working as a team, the animals are cared for and monitored to a high level. I soon ditched the long sleeves and trousers for shorts and t shirts – be prepared to ruin a few clothes! You may be a bit smelly at the end of your shifts, but rest assured everyone is, so no-one notices! I managed to survive with minimum mosquito bites (compared to others there), but I did regularly use the spray. I think 100% deet spray is the way to go, but don’t expect it to protect you completely! There is free time after 3pm and trips twice a week into Flores on the ARCAS boat. You are made to feel that you are important in the help you are providing. Every morning, you give feedback about the animals you are caring for. The presentation on the parrot release when I was there, really showed how these animals can be rehabilitated and the importance of trying to get them back into the wild. If you go expecting to cuddle baby monkeys and talk to the parrots then you will be disappointed, if you want to feel like you are doing something meaningful, you will not be disappointed. The aim here is to de-humanise and help the animals as best they can to enable them to be able to survive in their natural environment. I would like to thank all the staff and volunteers I met for making it one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. Nicola Gatiss (aged 37!) Wales, GB  Date of Posting: 26 September 2011 Posted By: Nicola Gatiss From Wales, 37yo, Wales |
 | I first arrived at the ARCAS Rescue Center in Petén in October 2005 and remember that I was immediately stricken by the tropical heat. Since I planned to stay for ten months I had a big rucksack and a suitcase – half of my household – and I was grateful when Bernardo (a staff member of ARCAS) offered to help me carry it up the hill to the volunteer house. Over the next couple of days, I settled into life at the Rescue Center, the daily routine of feeding the animals at 7AM and 3PM, and meals chatting with the volunteers and staff, and of course, caring for the animals, which is the focus of everyone’s attention. I wanted to improve my Spanish, so I tried to spend more time with the staff during meal times. Over the course of my stay at the Rescue Center, I got to know the staff, who were all very helpful and friendly and welcomed me into the ARCAS- family. I know it sounds like a cliché to say that my experience at ARCAS was a great experience and that it was life-changing, but it really was. For one thing, it helped me decide what I wanted to do with my life. Before I went to Guatemala I was planning to become a veterinary surgeon, but when I helped Fernando (the ARCAS vet) on surgery on an injured bird, I almost blacked out. The sight of the blood sent shivers down my spine and I started sweating and had palpitations. From that moment on I knew that I had to do something else for work. Since that time I study law with a focus on international environmental law. ARCAS touched my life and I continue to support them by fundraising among my friends and family and each year sending them a donation. I still consider the Rescue Center in Peten to be “my project”, as I say, joking with the staff each time I visit Guatemala. I appreciate the fact that ARCAS has created an atmosphere which allows people like me who care to actively participate in the conservation of Guatemalan wildlife feel. This is just a little anecdote to say that ARCAS touched my life and made me think about my place in the world! Date of Posting: 25 March 2011 Posted By: Jakob Frost ARCAS Volunteer, Germany |
 | In 2003, the Oakland Zoo teens embarked on a trip to ARCAS with much excitement. As a trip leader, I hoped these youth would have a safe and fun time, and an experience that would affect their lives and life choices. The teens were previously prepared through monthly workshops about the wildlife, culture and conservation issues in Guatemala, and were so inspired that they raised funds for a needed spider monkey fence, and collected educational and medical supplies to bring along. I could not have been more thrilled with our experience! The teens were empowered by the trust that ARCAS bestowed upon them, as they were each assigned various tasks at the center. I had never seen them so serious and focused as they rose early to prepare food for the animals, clean enclosures, haul materials and help at the education center. The authentic eye-opening work, combined with the evening vet and staff talks, really offered these youth the true story of the issues that these animals face, and the solutions that work. For each one of them to feel like they had contributed to the betterment of these animals was life changing. Of course, they also had a blast! Exploring the area, games and campfires, and getting close to beautiful animals made for an incredibly good time. Back at the zoo in Oakland, they were beyond motivated to teach our public about the importance of ecologically sustainable pet choices and did what they could to keep supporting ARCAS. Through the success of that trip, various zoo vet techs have volunteered at ARCAS and another batch of teens returned in 2010. Our ZooCamp even adopted ARCAS as their beneficiary and focus for that summer. I still am in touch with some of these now young adults, and there is no question that their trip to ARCAS was a critical part of their journey to be environmentally aware and empathetic adults. We will definitely return! Date of Posting: 24 March 2011 Posted By: Amy Gotliffe Conservation Manager, the Oakland Zoo, Oakland USA |
 | Dear Arcas: I'm Gabriele Consonni from Italy and I've been volunteering with ARCAS at the Peten Rescue Center this past summer. This mail is to wish you and all ARCAS staff a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.I also want to thank ARCAS because volunteering with you has been one of the best experiences I've ever had in my entire life. I wish you good luck with all the animals and everything, and I hope to be able to come back again and help. Thanks again Buon Natale Gabriele Date of Posting: 23 March 2005 Posted By: Gabriele Consonni Volunteer, Italy |
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