My name is Jasmin, I am from Denmark and am currently a volunteer at Alturas wildlife sanctuary. I was supposed to be here for 4 weeks, but because of the world situation, I am here until June.
This is not my first time volunteering at the sanctuary. My first time here was in October 2017, where I volunteered for 4 weeks. I absolutely fell in love with the place and what we do here. So much that I actually came back in march ‘18 as the Assistant Volunteer Coordinator. It was an incredible experience getting to work with some awesome volunteers and animals. And so after 2 years away from Costa Rica, I was longing to get back. Although this time it is a little bit different, as we are only 3 volunteers left. After the COVID situation, the Sanctuary decided not to take in any more volunteers and asked local volunteers to stay home to ensure everyone’s safety and risk of getting infected. This has meant that we (the volunteers) together with the amazing staff, have been cleaning, feeding (and enriching) the animals on our own. The work is definitely hard, but it is all worth it when you see animals getting released into their natural habitat. Even just the little things, like an animal enjoying and interacting with the enrichment that I prepared for them, is for me, an amazing feeling. The situation has also meant that most volunteer activities have been canceled, as we can’t go to the beach, town, etc. But the staff have been absolutely amazing in finding alternatives and fun activities for us!
