"I Was Totally Intent On Living My Dream....Working With Orangutans" - See Why Sharon's Going Back To Samboja For A 3rd Time!
"I Was Totally Intent On Living My Dream....Working With Orangutans" - See Why Sharon's Going Back To Samboja For A 3rd Time!

"I Was Totally Intent On Living My Dream....Working With Orangutans" - See Why Sharon's Going Back To Samboja For A 3rd Time!

Samboja Lestari Orangutan Volunteer Project

Samboja Lestari Orangutan Volunteer Project

12 - 26 Nights from $1,869.00

Work on enrichment for 112 orangutans and 72 sun bears at the world-renowned Samboja Lestari Rescue Centre

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Meet the Nayru Menteng Orangutan Candidates for BOSF's 44th Release!

Meet the Nayru Menteng Orangutan Candidates for BOSF's 44th Release!

The Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Sanctuary is preparing for the release of 6 rehabilitated orangutans. Meet the candidates for Borneo Orangutan Sanctuary Foundation's 44th release!

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Nyaru Menteng's Orangutan Super Mother - Du!

Nyaru Menteng's Orangutan Super Mother - Du!

Meet Du: Rescued from captivity in Thailand and brought back to her homeland, Du is one of Indonesia’s repatriated orangutans who has become a symbol of resilience. Learn how her journey to rehabilitation led her to motherhood and helped strengthen orangutan conservation efforts.

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Orangutan Jeffrey moves to the new island at Samboja!

Orangutan Jeffrey moves to the new island at Samboja!

Over the last few months, the volunteers have worked closely with the local staff to help the Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation prepare and renovate the new island at Samboja Lestari. The new island is now ready for orangutans Jeffrey and Yuyun to call home! This incredible achievement showcases the power of teamwork.

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Posted by Michael Starbuck on 12th Nov 2017 3 mins

Having travelled to Samboja in 2016 and 2017 and already planning to head back in 2018, Sharon is one of our most frequent volunteers so we wanted to see what keeps bringing her back to Borneo! Let’s see what Sharon has to say!

As a 61 year old career woman, I was totally intent on ‘living my dream’ - working with orangutans… and after weeks of research and comparisons between orangutan sanctuaries in Borneo, it didn’t take me long to get ‘the right feel’ from the package that The Great Projects was offering. So in October 2016 I booked a volunteering trip to Samboja Lestari Orangutan Sanctuary in Borneo and it was the best decision I ever made. Besides giving me balance back in my life, it was life changing. I was ‘hooked’ after my first visit. I had the most eye-opening and emotionally charged experience I could ever imagine and the day I got back home… I booked again for May 2017.

Volunteer working hard at orangutan sanctuary

There are no words to describe being surrounded by a vision that I had imagined for at least 40 years. I had waited way to long, but I had done it... …and now I was going back! Life is way too short to just dream and not do. I knew this was something I would do again and again.

The second time was just as exhilarating as the first, if not more so. I again met a group of like-minded people working side-by-side for the same reason. The sanctuary has around 200 orangutans and they need to be fed, their cages cleaned, and ginger leaves cut every day from the forests so that the orangs can make their beds. Then there’s the river to weed, enrichment to make, bamboo to chop, platforms to be built using concrete..….it is incredible the way the group worked together. I coped well with the hard work. I could go at my own pace if I needed to, but it’s amazing what a surge of adrenaline can do for your endurance. I was in my element.

Orangutan at Samboja Lestari

I loved being part of the comradeship and the sheer ongoing joy that exuded so obviously from each volunteer. We all worked tirelessly for a cause that desperately needs more help….

It doesn’t matter what animals you support or which are your favourites, or what age you are… this volunteering experience with orangutans at Samboja Lestari Orangutan Sanctuary has to be amongst the best of them!

I am now booked to go back for the third time in June 2018 and I can’t wait!

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