Hola: My name is Connie. I formerly had a life and professional
career in Canada until August 2003 when I quit my job, sold my house
and car, said goodbye to friends and family, and hit the backpacker
travel trail. I’ve visited various countries and continents around
the world, traveling solo most of the time, and most recently have
been exploring South America.
I like to volunteer along the way because I feel that sharing my
time, talent and energy is a good way of making a meaningful
contribution to society, especially in developing countries. Also,
becoming part of a volunteer project and living within a community
provides a much better understanding and insight into the lifestyle
and culture of the people and places I visit.
How did I get involved with the marine wildlife conservation
organization in Uruguay called Proyecto Karumbé? Well, I’d like to
say that I strategically sought them out, but in reality I was in
Buenos Aires, was planning on heading to Uruguay, did a bit of
internet searching to see what volunteer opportunities exist there,
and after digging pretty deep came up with exactly one organization
– Karumbé.
Karumbé (www.karumbe.org) is a non-government organization founded and run by a group
of bright young university students, veterinarians, teachers,
biologists, and researchers who work with coastal communities and
fishermen on the conservation of marine wildlife in Uruguay. In the
summer, with the assistance of volunteers, they operate a research
and interpretative centre in La Coronilla, close to the coastal
border of Brazil, that collects data on sea turtles and provides
guided tours and information to the public on sea turtles. In the
winter, Karumbé runs educational programs directed at the coastal
towns’ schools. These initiatives have been very successful; so
successful in fact that they decided to expand their operations by
constructing a new year-round interpretive centre in El Pinar, a
small community just outside of the capital city, Montevideo.
Through this new facility, called CICMAR (Centro de Investigación y
Conservación Marina), Karumbé hopes to increase public awareness on
issues such as loss of marine biodiversity, endangered species,
sustainable fisheries, sea pollution, and marine conservation. The
new centre will also manage a rehabilitation program for the “rescue
recovery and release” of injured sea turtles found during beach
patrols, as well as a research program where the less fortunate ones
are studied to determine cause of death. Centres with such programs
do not exist in Uruguay so this facility is a true contribution to
the development of the country.
Karumbé wouldn’t normally need volunteers in March as the La
Coronilla center is already closed for the winter, but they were on
a two-week countdown to opening this new facility in El Pinar when I
contacted them, and they were happy to have an extra pair of helping
hands to work on the long list of last-minute items.
There was a frenzy of construction activity underway when I arrived
and a core workforce of around 6 Uruguayans, although different
people (also Uruguayan) arrived daily to help out, including an
energetic group of local Boy Scouts. Everyone was working towards
getting the center ready for opening, i.e. finalizing exhibits
inside the center, building the sea turtle rehabilitation house and
outside public baño, cleaning the yard and trimming the lawn,
setting up the gift shop, making signs, and the ever present
painting and cleaning. Workdays were long, especially the last few
days before opening, but it was great fun to be part of this hard
working team and to see progress being made.
My tasks varied greatly, although there was a definite theme of
“painting” and “cleaning”. On good days I was painting buildings and
signs or cleaning display shelves. On the not-so-good days I was
cleaning turtle tanks!
One of my favorite tasks was caring for the 3 land and 5 freshwater
turtles (mostly unwanted pets that had been “dropped off”) that now
reside in two natural habitats at the centre. I also enjoyed
assisting the veterinarians with their treatment of the rescued sea
turtles (4 injured sea turtles arrived in the 3 weeks I worked
there).
The majority of the Uruguayan workers left after the opening of the
new center on 8 April 2006, but my volunteer assignment continued
for a few extra weeks. My cleaning and painting skills were really
fine-tuned during this time because other buildings on the property
were being cleaned and converted into usable space. Although I
could’ve easily spent many more months working there, I made my
final volunteer project the conversion of the previous guard’s house
into the new research laboratory.
My volunteer placement included accommodation (basic but adequate)
and at least one large meal per day. Accommodation was a single bed
in what presently is the same room as the sea turtle infirmary
(which usually meant a few nocturnal visits by the vet!) with
kitchen access and shared bathroom with shower. I understand that
they plan to add bunk beds to the volunteer quarters to accommodate
more volunteers in future, and one of the outbuildings is being
converted into a veterinary clinic so the nocturnal visits should
cease.
Program fees were 70 Uruguayano pesos per day (equivalent to less
than US$3/day), although I probably contributed another 2,000
U/pesos in the 3 weeks I was there towards various cleaning and
building supplies, food for the land turtles, and wine/chocolate for
myself. It was entirely my decision to make this additional
contribution; it was in no way an expectation of Karumbé.
El Pinar itself is considered a “bedroom community” of Montevideo,
located around 30 minutes by car or 60 minutes by bus from downtown
Montevideo. It is a quiet, very safe family community located along
the coast. It has a couple of restaurants, supermarkets, internet
cafes, laundromat, etc., but if you’re looking for a swinging
nightlife scene, you won’t find it in El Pinar!
Getting to El Pinar was pretty easy. I had received precise
instructions on how to get to El Pinar from Montevideo via bus, but
I had also arranged to phone my Karumbé coordinator upon arrival in
Montevideo. As it turned out, he needed to be in Montevideo the
following day, so he met me at my hostel and we traveled to El Pinar
together. But if needed to arrive there on your own, the Uruguayan
bus system is very simple, especially to reach places along the
coast and/or just outside of Montevideo like El Pinar. Tourist
offices and hostels/hotels are also very helpful in providing
information regarding bus companies and schedules, and the bus
terminal in Montevideo has to be one of the best organized and
nicest I’ve seen in South America!
I think everyone I met at Karumbé could speak at least basic level
English. If I didn’t understand something in Spanish (which I
usually tried to speak because I have intermediate level Spanish),
they could explain it to me in English. However, this isn’t to say
that EVERYONE in Uruguay speaks English, and I would strongly
encourage anyone planning to come to Uruguay to make an effort to
learn at least a few words and phrases in Spanish...you’ll be
rewarded with a much better experience.
Would I recommend Karumbé to potential volunteers?
Absolutely! It’s a well-run organization and a great group of people
who are truly passionate about their efforts in marine wildlife
conservation. With limited budget, but very big hearts, they are
trying to save our beautiful sea turtles, who lived in the world’s
oceans for more than 150 million years but are now globally
threatened with extinction. Isn’t that worthy of our support?
- Connie Martin
(10-Jun-2006)
Connie Martin volunteered with Karumbé in May 2006
