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A Holiday With a Heart, Work Volunteer, Heart2Heart with Orangutan "When you realize the value of all life, as a work volunteer, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future." -- Dian Fossey I have idolized Dian Fossey, the zoologist ever since I watched 'Gorillas in the Mist' on television. She was the champion of the gorillas in Africa and had dedicated her life to preserve and protect the great apes from extinction. Without her painstaking research and groundbreaking studies, we might never have known or cared about the primates’ existence. I may not have the single minded devotion that Dian Fossey had for the majestic mountain gorillas of Rwanda but I am passionate about the conservation of wildlife. Although I’ve made a practice of donating money to various wildlife organizations, I have never participated in any conservation program. So, I believe it was fate that brought me all the way to Matang Wildlife Centre in Kuching, Sarawak, last July. I was in Sarawak for a holiday but a friend had invited me to attend the launching of a conservation program called Heart2Heart with Orangutan at the rehabilitation center. Nothing but divine intervention could stop me from going to the center that day. Here I was, dreaming of saving the silverback gorillas in the Rwanda Mountain that I forgot about the equally precious and endangered animals that needed rescuing in my own "backyard." The orangutan is Asia’s only native great ape. An endangered species, they are only found in the rain forests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. In Sarawak alone, there are an estimated 2,000 orangutans located at three protected areas, i.e. Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, Batang Ai National Park and Ulu Sebuyau National Park. Imagine my excitement when I found out that there was a work volunteer program at the orangutan rehabilitation center. It was always my dream to help in efforts to rehabilitate orangutans, even if that meant cleaning out their cages. What a great way to create a worthwhile vacation, one that will become a lifelong experience and inspire me to return again and again to the Matang Wildlife Center. Work Volunteer Tourism Combining a holiday with voluntary work is a fast growing niche market in the tourism industry worldwide. Known as volunteer tourism or voluntourism, it allows tourists to participate in goodwill activities. Professor Stephen Wearing, the School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism Associate Professor from the University of Technology, Sydney, defined volunteer tourists as “Those tourists who, for various reasons, volunteer in an organized way to undertake holidays that might involve aiding or alleviating the material poverty of some groups in society, the restoration of certain environments or research into aspects of society or environment”. Heart2Heart with Orangutan The Heart2Heart with Orangutan program is a unique conservation initiative run by Sarawak Forestry in collaboration with the Sarawak Convention Bureau. It is a one day program which allows participants to actively participate in orangutan rehabilitation at the Matang Wildlife Centre and Semenggoh Wildlife Centre. It aims to showcase the orangutan conservation efforts in Sarawak to the global community and to raise awareness on the importance of saving the orangutan from the brink of extinction. The work volunteer program starts with a briefing on the conservation program, after which participants are given a guided tour around the center to familiarize themselves with the surroundings. Then, the volunteers are assigned tasks and areas of responsibilities or duties, and these can range from cleaning up the cages, preparing food for the orangutans, taking part in the orangutan enrichment program, to assisting in related research and education work. Towards the end of the day, volunteers are treated to a picnic at the nearby Matang Family Park before receiving their certificates. Their day, however, does not end there. As a treat for putting in a hard day’s work, volunteers are transported to the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre to see the rehabilitated orangutan family in their natural surroundings. Apart from the hard labor, a work volunteer is also given the opportunity to learn from a dedicated team of experts from Sarawak Forestry about the challenges of orangutan rehabilitation and related works at the center. Granted, volunteers have to pay for the program but they can rest assure that their money will be channeled to the orangutan conservation works such as maintaining the center’s enclosures, purchasing the medication and food supply for orangutans and carrying out educational and awareness projects for local communities on orangutan conservation in both Matang and Semenggoh Wildlife Centres. Heart2Heart Work Volunteer Program Packages
Package 1 is worth RM450 nett per pax with minimum of four participants, package 2 is worth RM400 nett per pax with a group of five to 10 participants and package 3 is worth RM350 nett per pax with a group of 11 to 20 participants. All packages include orangutan conservation work, meeting room rental, professional fee, entrance fee to both Matang and Semenggoh Wildlife Centres, certificate of participation, tools and equipment, Heart2Heart with Orangutan Premium items. *A generous 40% of the fee is channeled towards the orangutan conservation purposes. However, transportation (air fare, ground transfers, etc); food & beverages, accommodation, insurance and ground handler fees are not included in the packages. The work volunteer program has so far attracted many incentive groups who are in Sarawak for corporate meetings and international conferences. To date, various incentive groups, be it local or foreign, have incorporated the Heart2Heart with Orangutan program into their itinerary. For further enquiries or for more information about Heart2Heart with Orangutan work volunteer please contact via e-mail: H2H.orangutan@gmail.com.   "Fired Travel Agent Reveals How To Get Dirt Cheap Airfare Tickets!" The secrets exposed here will exceed your wildest of expectations. Manipulate airline companies' ticket pricing computer systems to give you $1,000's of discounts on your ticket. Earn free vouchers for airfare tickets just from making a phone call and without ever even flying at all! The KEY to traveling for cheap, and how to use this knowledge to get the biggest bargains!My Airfare Secrets »
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There are three packages available for work volunteer tourists who are interested to paticipate in the Heart2Heart program.
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