Storytelling: Lemur Conservation with Toni

I chose to spend one week, the minimum time frame volunteering with lemurs at Lemuria Land, a sanctuary and a tourist park in Madagascar in eastern Africa. The green space houses about 10 species of numerous lemurs, some of the country’s famous lizards and chameleons, some birds, 3 huge Seychelles turtles, 12 medium turtles, 14 small turtles, and crocodiles.

Each day, local workers, local volunteers, and I prepare food for lemurs, which means cutting up carrots, squash, guava, tomatoes, and bananas and more bananas. For about one hour, our group slice cucumbers, carrots, guava, tomatoes, bananas, bananas, and more bananas. My first instinct is to suggest a food processor to make the work go faster. My role here, as in my job in the Peace Corps/Ecuador in the 20^th century, is to listen, learn, and help. Daily chopping sessions ignite discussions on all topics for young and old. The younger locals relish my life experience. I ask about their fresh perspectives. We discuss school, work, marriage, divorce, and agree that our most important value is mutual respect. Those discussions trump getting the task done sooner with a food processor.

We set out lots of plates of food serving lemurs their breakfast in bamboo beds. Getting food to two small islands for a few landlocked lemurs entails walking across small moats. An important task includes cleaning enclosures for birds and other animals to remove out leaves and debris. Giving turtles a bath includes wiping each one down with water and then giving a clean rinse. The 3 big turtles, Napolean aged 211 years, Bonaparte 119 years old, and Josephine 85 years old seem to know when bath time approaches and run. How does a big turtle hide? Very easily here in this shaded park, usually in a big pool of mud. Other experiences include watching crocodile feeding and turtle feeding.

Our 2-hour lunch breaks find students wanting to practice English conversation. The best job opportunities are found in business and hospitality in the world’s default language of English, so dedicated students seek out native speakers. Students and I exchange social formalities, then they shift into challenging grammar questions. Teaching a new skill is an excellent way to learn English. So I engage them to make Instagram® reels and TikTok posts, which they enhance with great Malagasy music. One student asks for help to design his future project, a center for youth education in his native home, the most desolate area of Madagascar.

The agency provides volunteer housing, 3 meals a day on weekdays, 2 meals a day on free weekends. The project manager lives onsite and is always available in our villa with two separate houses. Our guide John escorts me on a 30-minute tuk-tuk journey through local color of streets lined with vendors, workers breaking rocks for construction, men hauling endless bags of sand at the port on our way from villa to lemurs and back.

Chef Rodrick whips out meals for a group, but this week, he is my personal chef. He prepares local meals, from banana pancakes, mofo gasy rice pancakes for breakfast. Yuca/cassava, delicious stews, fish, or beef and cooked vegetables for lunch come in my own take-out container. Evening meals are light including corn salad, and chickpea salad. Everything comes with rice, lots of rice.

 

The rooms include a 4-person room with two bunk bed, an armoire, 2 fans, and individual mosquito nets. Shared bathroom offers one hot walk-in shower, one basin, and one toilet. Twelve volunteers can stay in 3 rooms and share the bathroom. The central living area has an outdoor covered dining area, and an indoor area to read, play games, and watch the new TV to be installed.

What a life enhancing experience! We all part as new friends. We leave a part of ourselves, yet we take much more than we give. Some people can speak a little more English. We all learn that even though we seem different in lifestyle, we are really similar in what we want in life. What wonderful memories to weave into the quilt of my life!

-Toni