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There are over 80 retired, abused or orphaned elephants at this renowned Orphanage. The Orphanage is a sanctuary for rescued, injured or abused elephants. Visitors from all over the world come to see these magnificent animals. There are also some small babies who have been born into the herd. The daily highlight is the walk from the Orphanage down to the river to bathe the elephants. It's amazing to watch an entire herd splashing around and rolling in the river, just a few feet in front of you!

"This project is fabulous and if you love elephants, like me - book. Seriously, BOOK NOW!"  Jo Packer

PLACEMENT OVERVIEW

Location: Near Kegalle Start dates: Available all year round, you choose your start and finishing dates. Duration: Minimum stay 1 week up to 3 months, subject to visa restrictions Requirements: No qualifications needed, just a big heart and a love of elephants! Minimum age 18. Compensation: Unpaid Price: £895 for 1 week, ranging to £2,245 for 4 weeks. Full Price List and other Currencies      What's included: ►Arranging your Programme, ►Full pre-departure support and assistance, ►Payment Protection insurance ►Meeting you at the nearest airport/station ►All accommodation ►Food ►Transfer to the placement site ►In-country team support and backup ►24-hr emergency support ►Return Transfer to the Airport ►Certificate of Completion. What's not included: Flights, travel insurance, cost of visa. Hello Liz, The project was great!!! The organization was fantastic, you have the great team in Sri Lanka! Thank you and all the team for your kindness and attention before and through the project. I wish to return in Sri Lanka one day !!! :)' With kind regards, Katarzyna Fedorowicz

The Elephant Orphanage is a sanctuary for rescued, injured or abused elephants and attracts visitors from all over the world to view these magnificent animals. Around 80 elephants have found homes at Pinnawala, including some small babies who have been born into the herd. Elephants are orphaned for a number of reasons. Habitat destruction and fragmentation is one of the main causes resulting from irrigation projects, development of industries, agricultural projects and human encroachment. Elephants have lost over 30% of their natural wild habitat. Other reasons for elephants becoming orphaned include hunting for tusks (although there is little of this in Sri Lanka compared to other countries around the globe), humans catching wild elephants for taming and domesticating and lastly due to the Human - Elephant conflict, which is rife in Sri Lanka. This occurs when elephants encroach on farm land to find food. The result is that 150-200 elephants are killed a year and around 60 people die. The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage helps this Human-Elephant conflict by giving the orphaned elephants a wonderfully happy and healthy life, including allowing for natural social behaviour, good medical treatment and food satisfaction. The Orphanage is reputedly one of the largest centres of its kind in the world, with one of the most successful captive breeding programmes for Asian elephants. And you could have the chance to work at this wonderful project! "Sorry to be contacting you this far into my placement, but I've been so wrapped up in baby elephants that I haven’t been on the internet at all! My stay so far has been really fantastic, all the staff are lovely ... I’m feeling so blessed and thankful for your organisation, as it has given me one of the best experiences of my life. I would especially like to say how wonderful Nerangela has been throughout this entire trip. She really is lovely, and so knowledgeable about the area. She has made the time away from home much more durable!!!" Laura Crilly (Australian) WORK CONTENT:  Working hours are quite short and you certainly won't be overloaded with work, so you'll have plenty of time to sightsee and explore.  Some elephants are overly large or have not been tamed or trained to a satisfactory level, whereby it is possible to safely have full hands-on contact.  The majority of volunteer work deals more with the day-to-day aspects of running the orphanage, rather than more specialised research or veterinary based work, although you will have the opportunity to do some hands-on work Your main duties will be: Mucking out the elephant enclosures in the morning (this is hard, muddy work!) Participating in bathing some of the smaller elephants. While the mahouts are bathing the larger elephants, you will be able to relax by the river, chat to the mahouts and watch the elephants play and interact with humans and each other. This is an absolutely beautiful sight and being around these serene animals in such a beautiful setting can have a very calming effect! You'll also have up to two opportunities per week to feed the beautiful baby elephants There may also be the opportunity to do other things around the orphanage, however this is subject the amount of work available at the orphanage at the time of your project. See the feedback page for more information about the kind of work you are likely to be taking part in! Volunteers' feedback on their programme at the Zoo You can also combine this project with a teaching project. "Just wanted to drop you a line as my project in Sri Lanka comes to an end to tell you that I have had the best time of my life. The project has been amazing, both the teaching and the elephant orphanage. It has been a truly amazing experience."  David Constable Back to Top

WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PROJECT:

• An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten adventure into South East Asia and the Sri Lankan culture

• New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional development.

• An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head and shoulders above most others in the job market

• And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!

"I wanted to end this year by thanking you, and all at Travellers, for making this year so special. As you know, my passion for elephants runs very deep and has done for as long as I can remember, and you were able to help me make my lifelong dream come true, and for that I am so eternally grateful." Travellers Volunteer, Jo 'The Elephant Lady' Harris

"I have walked with the elephants, fed babies, cleaned up after them, had an afternoon with the vet to talk about elephants. I have been to heaven and back. I have watched them play and scratch, watched a baby get to grips with her trunk, it was hard work but when she finally picked up the twig she gave the biggest squeal of delight and went to show her mum. I am the luckiest lady in the world to have been given the opportunity of living a life’s dream. It was more than I could have imagined and has changed my life completely. I will be going back to Sri Lanka next year, I have left my heart over there and need to go back to pick it up.”  Lesley Rogers

In Country Support Comments: "Niranjala, Chaminda and Chandana were excellent throughout my two weeks; extremely helpful, provided excellent food, organised wonderful weekends away for everyone and always chatty and smiley." Jo Packer

Watch Graham Jenkins washing an element and hear what he has to say about his placement at the Elephant Orphanage

Click here to see the BBC News Profile Video of Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Case Study by Volunteer Lesley Rogers on her experience at Pinnawala


Enhance your Programme with some exciting activities:

Food and Transport
A live-in chef will cook all your meals for you and our current volunteers agree with us that the food is delicious!! Transport will be provided for the 25-30-minute journey to and from the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.

You can also combine a one-month placement in the Elephant Orphanage with two months in a teaching placement in Ja-Ela - this way you get the best of both worlds!

Communication
There are internet facilities in Kegalle during the day. There is also a phone in the house that your family and friends can call you on. With a phone card that you can buy locally, you can make international calls home.

Kegalle
During the day Kegalle bustles with people and street markets. The evenings are quiet with the Sri Lankan culture favouring early mornings and early nights. There are always a few volunteers on this placement together, so there is a very sociable atmosphere in the house. However, do keep the quietness in mind and be prepared for slow-paced evenings.

Climate: In the lowlands the climate is typically tropical with an average temperature of 27^OC in Colombo.  In the higher elevations it can be quite cool with temperatures going down to 16^OC at an altitude of nearly 2,000 metres. Bright, sunny warm days are the rule and are common even during the height of the monsoon - climatically Sri Lanka has no off-season. 

"Pinnawala is great. Yesterday I spent ages in the river helping throw water at the elephants (though I also got quite a lot thrown at me!) and today I got to play with the babies!"
Jennifer Rowe

• Click for MAP of Sri Lanka

Got any questions? Please email us: info@travellersworldwide.com

The wonderful house boys who will cook your delicious meals!