The warmth of JR + the team made all the difference and I have already recommended LEO to others.

Turtles are quite awe inspiring reptiles – not cold at all!

I will certainly be back again, same project, in 2012 – naturally with LEO!!

I highly recommend the whole experience – age has NO limit for adventure. Go for it!!

Iris, June 2011

Kate Sandford, British, Aug 2011

x Anne McElnea
Anne & Finlay April 2011

Victoria, Singaporean, June 2011

And then there are the fringe benefits. Whilst travelling all the way to Dambullah and Sigiriyah by tuktuk for a weekend in the cultural triangle is probably not the most comfortable way to do it, it was one of the experiences of my life. The famous temples are great to see – but in this particular area there are fantastic local ones to visit too.. They are every bit as amazing – and in one particular place truly jaw-dropping. But you’ll just have to go to find out why!

The support and back up provided by LEO was so essential to this experience. Rosiee was always there at the end of the phone if needed and kept in touch throughout my stay. Whilst there were no problems at all it is comforting to know that there is someone to call on. And I have to say that her willingness to accompany me on the long journey back to the airport in the middle of the night was much appreciated. As was the cake sent out by the team to mark my birthday!

If personal circumstances allow I would love to go back and discover more with LEO’s help. There seems so much more to discover about the country and about yourself and the options Leo provide are very enticing.

It was a wonderful experience to be in Sri Lanka and also to do the turtle project. Dudley – the owner – is doing something wonderful and I am pleased, that I was able to help out for a few days. These animals are wonderful creatures and I hope many of them will be saved. It was so much fun to be around them and to show and explain everything to the tourists.

When I was in Ahangama, I saw a turtle nesting on New Years Eve. That was wonderful too.

Since there was also the community project at the accomandation were I stayed with the turtles, I was able to teach English to singalese children for one afternoon. That was also a great and lovely experience. The people in Sri Lanka are very ambitious, nice and smart.

The traffic is crazy, but you get used to it. The country is very colorful, vivid and beautiful. And the nature is wonderful. Of course it has many problems like pollution for example and sometimes when you are a travelling woman, the people are really really curious. But it’s another culture and all in all it was a wonderful experience!

Upon signing up to volunteer with LEO, I had little idea who I would be teaching, how I would be teaching and where I would be teaching. All I knew is that I would be teaching English.

Upon my arrival at Vajira Children’s Home for my first day of work, the children were all lined up in the dusty quadrangle reciting Buddhist prayers under the supervision of the teachers.

Although I understood nothing of what they were saying at the assembly, it was quite a unique experience, especially seeing all of the children lined up by age in such an orderly, almost military way!

After meeting the principal, I was introduced to the English teacher and helped him teach his year 6, 7 and 8 classes that morning.

Later on I was thrown into the deep end and had to teach a year 9 and 11 class on my own. Having only ever been on the receiving end of a class it was quite a challenging experience being entrusted with the chalk for the first time!

The children were generally very respectful to you and treated you like they treat their regular teachers. The first time one of the children came and bowed at my feet I was taken aback and froze in a state of shock and disbelief!

In the days that followed I began to get a better understanding of my classes, found copies of the government issued textbook the children are all given and started planning lessons each morning on the hour long bus ride to Vajira each morning (if you think you have traffic at home – just wait until you experience it in Sri Lanka!)

Note by LEO: Wei stayed with family whilst in Sri Lanka. LEO has accommodation only 5 to 10 minutes away from the project.

I felt the greatest real benefit to the children of having a volunteer English teacher was forcing the children into trying to speak English, as it was the only way that we could communicate with each other.

Some aspects of teaching English which I found most challenging were the fact that these children all have different histories, with many of them never having attended formal schooling until recently.

In some classes I was presented with children who could speak English semi-fluently while others did not even know their alphabet!

At times it was taxing trying to motivate the children to listen and learn, however this is just one of the joys of teaching wherever you are in the world!

All in all I found teaching English a very challenging experience but also an exceedingly rewarding one.

The autonomy I was given to conduct and structure lessons myself was difficult to handle at first, but something that I learned just as much from as the children I was teaching were learning from me.

There is only so much you can do in this world from behind your computer screen.

It’s experiences like volunteering in Sri Lanka where you learn just how charity works, how your money is spent and how you can really make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children.

If you are looking for time away from work or study, volunteer through LEO. It’s a unique experience that you will be drawing upon for the rest of your life.

All in all my stay in Sri Lanka was a really interesting experience.

It is a really beautiful country with amazing and very friendly people.

I really miss the turtles, the other volunteers, the staff at the project and especially Anne & Amal – the whole leo team is gorgeous – not only the support during the stay, also the contact before with JR was excellent – thank you very much.

I hope to have the chance to do another project with Leo once again.

I definitely recommend this experience. Unfortunately, I could only stay for a week participating in the project but I absolutely recommend spending at least 2 weeks volunteering.

I was really amazed to see the birth of baby hawkbill turtles in my first hour of work! It was an incredible view.

And of course, releasing the turtles in the evening, for a biologist like me, was also a “once in a life time” experience.

I did not know at that time that we were going to have baby turtles every day

Personally, it was also very rewarding to have the opportunity to exchange opinions and views not only with other volunteers but especially with the visitors of the turtle project (Singhalese and foreigners).

I think that the biggest strength of this project is its educational contribution towards a more environmental friendly and environmental aware society, within and outside Sri Lanka.

Finally, even when I was involved in the turtle project I had the possibility of teaching English to local children which was really gratifying and loads of fun!