A New Perspective, One Week at a Time

By Makayla - 1 week intern

When I first arrived to Kindred Spirit Elephants Sanctuary, I had no idea what to expect. Having volunteered in other rural villages before, I assumed it would be similar. It was in many ways but also very different.

The first night made me nervous for the week to come because of the idea of no running water. I was very shocked as I have never experienced this before. However the resourcefulness of the Karen people really opened my eyes to the beauty of using what you have and being creative when resources are scarce. With a few simple ingredients, the people of this village are able to create such intricate tasteful meals, much better than most I have at home with access to unlimited ingredients.

In addition to this, their admiration and care for the elephants was absolutely incredible. The bond the elephants have with their mahouts is undeniably strong.

Being able to experience this way of life, even for only one week gave me a new perspective on life, I highly recommend this experience to anyone with the opportunity.