Adam left his life in London and job in a bank to live with us on Nosy Komba, Madagascar for four months. How glad we are that he did – throwing himself into each project that he was part of and one of the kindest people any of us have encountered.

And we’re pretty sure he enjoyed it…

“What a fantastic experience, I volunteered for eight weeks in the Forest Programme followed by eight weeks in the Marine Programme. The Forest Programme was a wonderful insight into how rewarding conservation can be. It’s very hard to pick
just one favourite moment but hiking through sub-tropical rainforest to find wildlife every day was something I’ll never forget. The Forest Team was beyond dedicated, forging relationships and earning the trust and respect of the locals which is vital to any conservation programme.

The Marine Programme was equally as rewarding and opened up a whole new world of exploration for me. I’d never dived before yet I achieved my Advanced Open Water and a total of 40 dives during my eight weeks here under the wonderful guidance of the instructors.

My 16 weeks in Madagascar were unforgettable and I can’t recommend it enough. My only piece of advice would be to stay for as long as you can.”

Caitlin ended her exploring stint with us at Turtle Cove where she joined our community project as a volunteer for two months before returning home to Australia. She kindly wrote a piece for us about her time on Nosy Komba and the friendships she forged on and off camp. It was a pleasure having her here and we can’t wait to see her again.

“It’s been one week, one entire week since I left MRCI Madagascar. As I lay in my bed, in a well structured house, with a burning fire, a nice warm shower and mum’s home cooked dinner, I feel more than appreciative of what I am fortunate to have, yet I still have not lost my attachment to Madagascar and the beautiful people I have met.

Spending only eight weeks in paradise just wasn’t enough. You realise the value of life, you will forever cherish the memories and never stop dreaming of Nosy Komba, the beautiful little island off Madagascar. This adventure for me was life changing.

I spent eight weeks volunteer teaching in Madagascar, coming across this online and having an interest in education and volunteering, this was an easy must-do for me. This was a rare opportunity that I’m so glad I took. I was very lucky to share my time with such passionate staff and motivated volunteers, working with like-minded people, forming bonds and friendships like no other. To wake up every day with not only the beautiful scenery but also everyone’s smiling faces; I compare it to a family. You grow, learn and thrive off each other; hearing one another’s adventures, planning more and creating memories along the way. No matter who you are, where you are from, what language you speak…there is a place for you in Madagascar and for me I will be forever grateful to these wonderful people I now call friends.

As a young, naive 19 year old girl who has visions to travel the world, it is more than a blessing to have this opportunity of being a part of the community program. At night, myself and my fellow teachers would plan our classes for the next day and we would always have help by our outstanding coordinator and other volunteers too. We would talk about our days, our students and even learn a few things ourselves.

Our walks to class…definitely not a normal commute to work. Walking, trekking in the forest, climbing and scaling boulders. Sometimes it would take an hour’s walk but it was all worth it. As soon as you come close to a village all you can hear are hello’s, thank you’s, the kids calling out your names and singing songs you have taught them…a magical feeling.

We taught kids and adults. The kids eager for more…more learning, more yelling, more colouring, more play time, more songs and dances. Eager to enjoy their time that they have with us. These kids to me, became like family. Local Malagasy kids, sharing and giving the little food they have, always wanting you to join in a game of basketball or soccer, but my favourite was swim time. I had so much fun with these beautiful kids, I became so attached it never felt right saying goodbye. Not only to this day but every day, every single one of them, I will never forget. These kids all under the age of 15 really showed me the value of life, the value of love and how to embrace every situation.

The adults of Nosy Komba and Nosy Be, are very intelligent, it was so impressive. You were able to have a normal conversation with them, in English! Every lesson they participated in, they would grasp the concept so quickly and so well! Their understanding was mind blowing! Such intelligent people, if a few struggled, no one was left behind and they would all help until everyone could comprehend. They always wanted to learn more, even the little things, always wanted to know until the very last detail. So many laughs, so many deep and meaningful conversations about our lives back at home, their personal interest in us never grows old.

I had a tendency to grow strong connections with them, because they spoke such good English, I was able to spend a lot of time with them. I would spend most weekends and a lot of my spare time with them. They would invite me into their homes, I would help them cook and then enjoy a meal that was prepared in a way I had never seen before. They would show us the local places and where to go! Enjoying massive boxing and football matches during my time (both so different to our ways in the westernised world), partying and just having an everyday conversation with the magnificent people of Madagascar.

Simply, they invited us to be apart of their culture. So I embraced it.

This was the most precious gift given to me, I took a step out of my affluent, middle class life and took time to embrace their culture and without this, I don’t think you could fully enjoy Madagascar. Without knowing these people, it would have never changed who I am today. They taught me so many life lessons, so many things I don’t need to worry about, the essentials and values. The culture is the one thing I will always treasure and I owe it to the wonderful people I met along the way.

Life is life, Madagascar is paradise!”

Debra left her life as a school teacher in the US to volunteer as part of our marine program for four weeks this summer. Her impressive drive and determination saw her overcome each challenge that she faced, and she left us a qualified diver, having contributed to our ongoing research for which we are very grateful!

“Volunteering at MRCI was one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences of my life! Four weeks on Nosy Komba flew by quickly as there was always training, studying and surveys to conduct. I learned so much about coral and fish and learning to dive on the reefs was like diving right inside a picture book! The marine program is incredibly well run with excellent teachers and dedicated researchers.

Living at the institute was so easy – the huts and beds were comfortable, the food good and the island beautiful. There was little electricity, so entertainment was found with good books, card games and interesting conversations.

I will always treasure the friendships I made here and the memory of personal challenges I faced and conquered! I’m proud that I was their oldest diver (a 55 year old school teacher) who felt right at home among staff and volunteers from around the world.”

If you’d like to push yourself, discover a new skill and contribute to important research by volunteering with us, contact us to book your trip today!

Volunteer, James Barker from Sheffield, England, spent 10 weeks participating in our forest conservation, marine conservation and teaching volunteer programs. His aim was to experience something totally different from his everyday life, which he most certainly did and not only did he leave with plenty of photos, but also with new friends.

“I am incredibly lucky, Sheffield is one of the greenest cities in Europe, I live on the doorstep of one of the UK’s largest National Parks. I spend much of my free time on my bike pedalling the scenic, winding country roads of this area of outstanding natural beauty… But me and my friend Vincent wanted to see something different, and that’s where we found Madagascar, the polar opposite to Sheffield.

We arrived in Nosy Be, and even just on the drive from the airport to the boat port we experienced something of such contrast to the norm of life in Sheffield: Mountains, forest, road side stalls selling bananas, green oranges and vanilla.

But here in this unfamiliar and bizarre environment, different to anything either of us has ever experienced before, we quickly threw ourselves into the life here, which quite honestly is better than anything we could ever have imagined! We were lucky enough to have a crack at the forest conservation, marine conservation and also the teaching programme.

The forest programme gave us the opportunity to see the infamous lemurs indigenous only to Madagascar, many of Madagascar’s unbelievably extensive chameleon species of all shapes, sizes and colours not to mention the diverse population of insects and geckos. All whilst actually being proactive, conducting reptile, bird and Lemur surveys collecting useful data, indicating current populations of these species in different habitats from plantations to dense forest.

In marine, we were able to learn new skills, becoming firstly PADI open water divers then completing our Advanced open water, thanks to the amazing on site diving instructor and dive masters, before becoming competent in fish identification, allowing us to participate in fish surveying. But diving in this country which seems to have everything was unworldly, swimming with rays, turtles, an incredible range of fish species and even sharks, was something special, impossible to forget!

Teaching was not only rewarding but tremendous fun, there’s a range of ages and abilities, from 5 year olds, with very basic English but huge characters and great enthusiasm to learn, to adults with impressive English, but with a burning desire to refine and build on their knowledge. It wasn’t only the actual teaching that was so enjoyable about this aspect of the programme but also getting to know the local people who are warm, welcoming and enormous fun to be around.

I left Madagascar knowing I might never experience anything quite as special anywhere else, but with a mind filled with new knowledge, a camera full of new experiences and new friends whom I will never forget”.

If you’re looking to take a gap year abroad and experience something both meaningful and completely different, contact us today!

23 year old Elitsa Penkova from Bulgaria recently participated in our Forest Conservation volunteer program on Nosy Komba for six months.

“Being part of the forest conservation project on Nosy Komba has allowed me to experience and appreciate some of Madagascar’s tremendous biodiversity. It is incredible – despite its relatively small size, the country holds 5% of the world’s species. What amazes me the most though, is the way Evolution has carved life forms in bizarre and marvellous shapes and colours – unlike anywhere else on Earth – designing them to perfectly blend in with their surroundings.

However, being here for as long as I have, it was inevitable that I would witness one of the country’s major problems – environmental degradation. As one of the world’s poorest countries, its people’s survival depends upon natural resource use. They are forced to live off the land, destroying primary forest for plantations, cutting down trees to make pirogues, which is justified through a need to fish. Native species are being aggressively hunted and collected by people, desperately seeking to provide for their families.

We can’t really blame the Malagasy for what they do, what we can do instead, is go to Madagascar, either as volunteers or tourists, not to see it before it is too late, but to invest in its preservation, even by simply enjoying a one of a kind vacation.

There is no doubt that once in Madagascar, anyone is bound to fall in love with it. I definitely did, and not only because of its ‘million shades of green’, but the Malagasy too – their beauty, their hospitality, and most of all, their ability to enjoy life despite all.”

Take Elitsa’s advice and visit Madagascar before it’s too late. Contact us to find out more about our volunteer programs.