This month MRCI had two special volunteers on camp, Father-daughter duo, Zara and Zain. They travelled from their home in Mumbai, India, to work on our forest conservation program. During their two weeks on camp they participated in forest transects, species identifications, our lemur study, and the church walk. Both Zara and Zain brought amazing attitudes and contributed not only to their own projects, but to camp as a whole.
Zara is only 15 years old but already has a passion for conservation work. She spent months before arriving at MRCI looking for a conservation project she could volunteer on during her summer holiday. Due to her age however, she was not able to come to the MRCI camp unaccompanied by a parent, so she convinced her father to join her on this adventure! Zara felt this was the perfect opportunity to grow her own knowledge on conservation, and introduce her father to the topic.
Quality Father-Daughter Time
Zain admitted he was not sure what to expect before arriving but he agreed to join Zara so he could spend some quality father-daughter time with her. He described his time on camp as “coming out of a cocoon”. Zain stated that this trip allowed him to immerse himself in a new culture, as well as appreciate of the luxuries in his own life. He gave the example of going on the church walk, (an over night hike where the volunteers spend the night in a church). He said it was a tough hike but he was determined to get to the top. Once at the top the hikers enjoyed some traditional Malagasy food and were able to go to a juice bar which Zain and Zara both recalled as a highlight. They both agreed however, that watching the sunrise together over the ocean was one of the best memories they will be taking home with them!
When asked about their experience volunteering together both agreed that they were happy they had taken this journey together. This experience brought them closer together in ways had not foreseen and they enjoyed getting to learn new things about one another. They also shared that they were excited to take what they had learned at MRCI and apply it to their own lives, as well as share the information with others! Zain even has hopes of stating his own community and conservation projects back home!
We loved having this incredible father-daughter duo on camp and hope to see more people volunteering with their families in the future!
