Mélodie Michaud, Projects Abroad volunteer on a humanitarian mission in Togo, then on an ecovolunteering mission in Mexico. She then joined Projects Abroad's salaried team in Mexico as assistant manager.
In Togo
"2pm, Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, Tuesday February 24, 2009. A voice announces that my flight has been delayed, adding to my anxiety. It's the first time I've traveled alone, even though I'm 26, but as they say, better late than never! Ten hours later, I arrived in Lomé, the capital of Togo.
I was quickly integrated into the host family and the SOS Children's Village, the organization where I was placed to carry out my humanitarian mission. I was soon confronted with the famous culture shock, the overwhelming heat and the over-dynamism of the children in the orphanage. I learned a lot at Village SOS, and these kids are a real handful compared to our French kids! I also met a lot of volunteers from different associations, which led me on a week-long bus trip across Togo, a great lesson in life. It was hard to leave Togo because I became very attached to the village children, my host family and the Projects Abroad office staff, but other horizons are calling me.
Then to Mexico
A few days after my return to France, I hopped on a plane again, this time bound for Mexico. When I read the description of Projects Abroad's ecovolunteer program in this country, I was literally won over. Arriving at the "El Chupadero" camp, we found a black sand beach, a single-storey building, two swimming pools where turtles pass the time peacefully, a few tents and sanitary facilities. The camp may appear rudimentary, but it fits in perfectly with the ideology of this mission. The Projects Abroad team at the camp is made up of Oliver, project manager, Roberto, volunteer coordinator, and three other Mexican employees.
>>>A typical day at camp:
Wake-up at 8:30 am. Volunteers are assigned tasks to keep the camp clean and tidy. Then, a common activity for all volunteers, depending on the needs of the moment: we may have to fetch palm leaves to build a roof with them, remove weeds growing in the sand near the equipment to keep away scorpions and snakes, clean the beach armed with garbage bags and gloves... Every day, Oliver or Roberto has to go to the nearest town, which is 20km from the camp, giving volunteers the opportunity to come with him to consult the Internet, do some shopping etc...
Back at the camp at around 2.30pm, everyone eats and then has some free time before the afternoon activity. Three times a week, the person in charge of the volunteers takes us to a lagoon a few hundred meters from the camp. A boat takes us into the heart of the lagoon to observe and record the different species of birds that can be seen there. On other days, we are assigned a common activity, similar to the ones we do in the morning.
In the evening, it's time to go hunting for sea turtle eggs. Two patrols are set up: one at midnight and another at 5am. A staff member, equipped with a quad bike, takes charge of a volunteer who follows him on this excursion. They can distinguish the nests by the footprints left on the sand by the turtles when they emerge from the sea. They bury their eggs some fifty centimetres beneath the sand, so it's necessary to dig to collect them.
Getting the babies out
A card is filled in for each nest found, indicating, among other things, the date, location, number of eggs and other information to ensure follow-up until the babies emerge.
During the "high season", from late July to October for the majority of species that lay their eggs on these 24 km of beach, dozens of turtles may emerge each night. A patrol can last more than three hours, the aim being to find the nests before they are stolen or eaten by raccoons. The more turtles lay their eggs, the more people will steal them to sell, and it's at this time of year that you realize how necessary and important it is to carry out these patrols. Although the consumption of turtle meat and eggs is forbidden in Mexico, it's still difficult to change people's attitudes, as the wave of "eco-consciousness" we've seen sweeping across Europe hasn't yet reached here.
The nests found during the night will then be buried by volunteers in the early hours of the morning, in a specially protected area. You'll then have to wait between 45 and 60 days for the chance to see baby turtles measuring just 5 cm. They are then released on the beach, taking care not to let a bird catch them. Thanks to the "radar" in their heads, they head for the sea without hesitation, and the females who reach adulthood should return a few years later to lay their eggs on the same beach.
Crocodile farm
Every Thursday morning, the manager takes us to the crocodile farm. The farm has a lagoon housing around 300 crocodiles, as well as equipped areas where visitors can observe crocodiles from one year old to adult. Volunteers take part in a variety of activities, such as counting baby crocodiles to which numbers are assigned by cutting off some of their dorsal scales, keeping the area clean, and searching for nests around the lagoon. You may also have the opportunity to go out at night, to climb into the boat and try to catch baby crocodiles to count them.
Here we don't care about having the latest cell phone
Over the past four months, I've come to realize that the work we do here is really worthwhile. The results of our activities are tangible: when we clean up a beach, we feel the satisfaction of seeing the place clean; when we release baby turtles, we may be led to think that if we hadn't found and brought back that nest, those turtles might not be clawing their way back to the sea. Here, we're back to the real values of life, no longer immersed in the consumer society that fills us with advertising and creates the not-so-useful needs we have in Europe and other so-called developed countries. Here, we don't care if we have the latest cell phone or over 100 TV channels, because here we have the sea, the beach, in short, nature as far as the eye can see.
As my mission drew to a close, I decided to head for the south of Mexico. Before returning to France, I spent a few days at the camp, bidding farewell to the turtles and the staff. But fortunately, my lucky stars decided otherwise: Oliver told me that he would need an assistant very soon, and obviously more than attracted by this offer, he recommended me for the job to the people in charge at Projects Abroad's head office in England. After a return to France and two telephone conversations with the UK office, I was back in Mexico, proudly taking part in the protection of sea turtles on the country's west coast, now co-leading the volunteers and co-organizing the activities with Oliver and Roberto. I had no idea I'd come so far on that famous February 24, 2009..."