Zimbabwe - African Wildlife Orphanage

I had such an amazing experience working at Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage in Zimbabwe. The Go Eco & Chipangali staff were both friendly and professional. I learned a ton and got to work with and care for some amazing animals such as lions hyenas and monkeys. I got to meet friends from all over the world as well. Other highlights of the trip included going on a few safaris and traveling to see the beautiful Victoria Falls (one of the original seven natural wonders of the world!) Definitely recommend and would like to return!!

I think the thing that I found most surprising about coming here, is how incredibly important the social aspect of the experience is. I think most people would have certain expectations and ideas regarding the animal caretaking and the work alone. However for me, the importance of the social atmosphere and how big of an impact that made on the total experience came as a shock. So not only can you expect interesting and rewarding work, but also the opportunity to meet friends for life. So to anyone considering or contemplating, don’t. Just do it.

Working at the orphanage was the best experience of my life. The goal of the orphanage is to help and to give a second chance to injured or orphan animals. It’s not always likely to release the animals but I can tell that the staff is making everything they can to make that possible. I loved being a volunteer there because everything you do helps the animals to recover. For example, you will be given tasks like cleaning and redecorating the animals’ enclosures, feeding them, playing with them and most of all, making sure that they’re having a good life. Having volunteers around is very important and it is not only because of their help, but also because every dollar invested by them helps the animals to recover and to be in a good shape.

I’m very proud of myself to have been on the team for three weeks and I hope that my photos will encourage people to participate in the project too. Every animal has their own story and this is exactly what inspired me during my trip. Believe it or not, when I went home after this project, I was kind of a different person. You learn so much and you may realise things you never thought of.

Please take note that the orphanage is not a zoo, and that there’s always a reason why all these animals are not released in the wild yet. For example, they have to wait to have a few more monkeys to release them all, because they are animals that live in a group.

The other aspect I really enjoyed is that you have the chance to do other trips during your stay. For example, the staff can arrange a trip to the Matopos National Park or at Victoria Falls for you. All you need to do is to pay and to have a wonderful experience there!

I volunteered at an orphanage with GoEco for 4 weeks and I absolutely loved it. Still miss it, actually. You get to work with a variety of animals including antelope, monkeys, lions, birds and more! The staff and team really care about the wellbeing of the animals at the orphanage. Bring a positive mentality because their will be snakes, bugs and creepy crawlers! But hey, you're in Africa. Truly an adventure that I will never forget, if you're looking to make a difference in animals lives while being hands on - this is the place for you!

When I was working at the old peoples home in Zimbabwe I met a really interesting 100 year old woman! I would often see her up before breakfast sweeping her porch! When she was introduced to anyone she would turn to someone who knew her and say "You know who I am, why are you asking again." I though that was funny!

I chose this program because I wanted to gain experience working with animals for my future career and I could have never imagined everything I would get to do. The volunteers are in charge of caring for the babies and helping with various projects around the orphanage. While I was there they had 3 baby barn owls, a baby serval, a baby duiker, and 3 baby pookies along with some other critters that we were in charge of caring for. Each day we also get an hour of animal time which allows us to spend time with any of the animals at the orphanage. The amount of knowledge and experienced gained in just 5 short weeks was incredible!

Wow! What can I say?! I signed up for this program because of other people's reviews. I was not disappointed! I was looking for a program with a lot of hands on animal time and that is exactly what I got. One of the coolest things I was able to do while at the wildlife orphanage was microchip a hyena. They had rescued some hyenas and unfortunately, could not return them to the wild. My time spent there included prepping enclosures for them so we could move them to a better and more suited area of the orphanage. In order to move them, we needed to dart them, collect health information, microchip them, and then relocate before they woke up. It was so cool that the orphanage lets you do these types of things with their supervision. Also, while I was there, a monkey somehow got a cut on it's leg. We had to dart him as well so stitches could be put in. One of the volunteers there had just graduated from vet school so they let her administer the stitches with their supervision.

When deciding between the various volunteering experiences offered at GoEco, I was most drawn to the wildlife orphanage because of the opportunity to work closely with a wide range of animals. I was not at all disappointed and over just two weeks, I was involved in the feeding and caring for lions, leopards, servals, a cheeky baby duiker, owls, and much, much more.