Vervet Monkey Foundation

When I talk about volunteering in Africa, 90% of people respond with “Wow I have always dreamed of doing something like that”. It is seriously more common than not for someone to say something along those lines of “I wish”, “I’ve dreamed”, or “I've always wanted to”... So why not just do it? Leaving for my travels I never thought I was going to embark on a journey quite like this. Volunteering in Africa was the most heartwarming thing I have ever done. After many downfalls in a week, I was by myself trying to decide what was next. I had the simple thought of wanting to go to Africa but I'm by myself. I decided volunteering would be the best option for a solo female traveler. I found the Vervet Monkey Foundation on Global Work and Travel. It was a very easy process, so next time I would go directly through the Foundation(s) rather than a 3rd party. 

The VMF set up someone to pick me up from the airport, and boy was I nervous. I finally landed in South Africa from Turkey (one layover in Uganda). I spent the night at the foundation's owners' house, Sandy. She then set up the transport from Johannesburg to Tzaneen, 5 hours away, where the foundation is located. After a train ride, a long car ride, to another car, I finally arrived at the foundation for the next month. My little cabin #10, was perfect. Not a lot of volunteers at the time I went so I got a cabin to myself. 

I would like to make this very clear that these monkeys I worked with ARE NOT PETS. Wild animals should be kept in the wild, unless for the rehabilitation process to then be back in the wild. The VMF has been around for 30+ years. It all started with one monkey that needed help, and one man willing to put in the work for that monkey and the hundreds after that. 

Vervet Monkeys are looked at as pests because they eat the farmers' crops. People hit them with cars, shoot them, kick them, and treat them horribly–just the thought and writing this down breaks my heart. Another thing that impacts the monkeys is the power lines. Out there they are not insulated, therefore when the monkeys jump and grab onto the wires, they are then electrocuted. The foundation is trying to work with the government to change that. 

All of these problems create monkeys who need help. The foundation rehabilitates the monkey to then releases the monkey back to their troops (a group/family of monkeys in one region is called a troop). If the monkey is not found near a troop or in critical condition the foundation then releases them, when ready. into the troops on the property that are looked after by the staff there. 

My job when I was there was to take care of the baby monkeys that were coming to the foundation. At the time I was there, it was the start of baby season, so I dealt with babies anywhere from 7 days old to 4 weeks old. These babies have lost their mothers in one of the ways I have listed above. Heartbreaking I know, but that is where the work of volunteering and the staff there make a world of a difference. We take the baby monkeys into our care and get them back to good health before introducing them to their new mom through the foster mom program.

The foster mom program has been around for 15 years now if I’m not mistaken. 

The way it works is this:

We nurse the cutest babies back to health for many weeks. We keep the babies in human care for about a month, depending on how the baby is doing. Once the staff deems the baby healthy enough they then decide which troop to introduce the baby to. The monkeys who are in the troops on the property are neutered so there is no reproduction going on. Therefore the female monkeys are (mostly) welcoming and willing to take babies under their wing once introduced. The monkeys in the troops have rankings and the monkey with the highest ranking usually gets to choose the baby first. Choosing means if they want the ready one, or sometimes two or three are ready at the same time. Once a female monkey has chosen a baby monkey they are then kept together in an introduction cage, connected to the troop the female came from and the baby will eventually join. This helps get the baby introduced to the troop, and the troop learns that this baby is now the female’s baby that she will be taking care of. 

There are females in the troops who have been adopting the babies for many years in a row and raising them as the years go on. It is just an incredible program to witness. These baby monkeys are given a second chance in life. 

Not just the baby monkeys either, monkeys of any age from all around South Africa. For any reason whether that being that they were confiscated from humans because they were pets or electrocuted, the monkeys are given a second chance and it is so beautiful. It was an honor to be a part of such incredible work. The best part is that anyone can do this.

Use your resources wisely. You have the world at your fingertips on the internet. Do something you've always dreamed of. Global Work and Travel was an amazing resource that showed me all types of volunteering all over the world. Take a chance and book yourself a trip. You never know what you might discover.

Enjoy your discovery, 

Darby

https://vervet.za.org/

This is the link to the Vervet Monkey Foundation website.