Help us in our non-profit animal sanctuary with rescued animals

Canada

4

I stayed for a month at the the shelter, it was a great way to experience Greek food made by Diamanto everyday, the contact with animals but also learning all the work that comes with owning a the shelter! Diamanto is good at explaining everything you need to know in order to help them. You will get tested by the goats (evening shift) the first week which honestly is just constant effort, but after that they listen to you very well. Due to the language barrier, I had very little interaction with the shelter that resumed in him telling me the job to do. I wish I had learned Greek to be able to interact more

about 1 year ago

Diamanto replied

Thank you Lia for your amazing contribution and your positive presence at the shelter. We wish you to continue your travels with the adventures you desire and to be able to climb all the mountains you want!!!!

United Kingdom

2

This couple love what they do and invest all their money into the project. However: - 3 hour wait due to 'car being fixed' at the airport - facilities were incredibly basic if not very unhygienic (dog food in same room as food and mouldy fridge) - food not nutritious, fed ourselves - they wanted best value workers, not providing us with positive experiences. - no public transport connections, only taxi - far from town (it's not in nea kallikretia, it's in Lakoma, a village 20 minute taxi away) - bedroom was good Wouldn't recommend for single young women just as safety and being alone

over 1 year ago

Diamanto replied

Charlotte said that she had two dogs at home and that she had experience with animals in her studies. This turned out to be untrue. The dogs turned out to be her neighbours' dogs and she had no experience with dogs. From her first time at the shelter, she avoided all contact with dogs and animals like the plague. She wouldn't even let them touch her. If they approached her to greet her or even entered the area and accidentally touched her, she would push them away, avoid them and yell at them in anger and we found that she would threaten them with a stick when she thought we weren't looking and we were afraid she would hit them when we weren't looking. Gradually she began to get angry at the slightest thing. She would only wear our jackets and boots because she didn't want to get hers dirty. She wouldn't follow the safety instructions we gave her for the animals and would burst into tears afterwards. She resented having to go out and stand in the pasture and just look after the goats we have.
It's a lie that there is no public transport. While there are buses all day to both Kallikratia and Thessaloniki from 7.20am to 8pm, costing 1.70-3.50 euros a ticket, and all our volunteers use them regularly, she chose to use taxis for her commute.
While we cooked homemade food every day, traditional Mediterranean dishes with extra virgin olive oil, vegetables and legumes, and desserts, she left them mouldy in the fridge and bought snacks to eat.
Unfortunately, she did not clean the place where she lived, which is by no means unhygienic.
The area where the shelter is located has security cameras and security guards patrolling the whole area and no one has ever reported a safety problem, nor did she ever report a safety problem.
She told us she was leaving 3 weeks early, she said she was leaving because of family problems and that she was not happy. In general we found that she lacked basic animal care skills, that her personality was not adaptable to anything different and that she had bad intentions towards her hosts while expressing veiled hostility.

Brazil

2

This didn't work for me because the hosts don't really care about the volunteer's experience. I feel like the hosts want people to work for free and that's it. The schedule was 8 - 11 and 14 - 18 (5 days/week), which is more hours than what was agreed before. When I talked to the host about this, she said that I didn't need to do the afternoon shifts then (but in this case the other volunteer would have to work for both of us, which is unfair) and that I could do the job faster if I was more “muscular”. I left earlier but I wish all the best to the hosts, I know they really love the animals.

over 1 year ago

Italy

4

My experience was great! Diamanto and the shelter are two really kind and patient people who show you your part of work and patiently wait for you to learn it. In every moment of difficulty, even outside of work, Diamanto helped me and had a lot of patience with me for all the troubles I got into with the buses during my days off. The place is nice and during my entire stay I had the opportunity to have a strong contact with nature and animals that were lovely and friendly, especially the dogs! It is an excellent experience to have as first volunteer like I did and I highly recommend it.

over 1 year ago

United States

5

Amazing experience! Hosts were very welcoming and comforting to me especially when I was missing my family. All the animals are amazing and I will miss them so much. I love that I was able to play a part in helping all the animals live a happy life and be well cared for. That's all Diamanto and the shelter want is for their animals to be happy and healthy! Volunteering will help them so much in being able to achieve this goal even if you're just staying for a short time. Don't expect the work to be easy, but rather fulfilling. You will learn and grow so much through this experience as I did!

over 1 year ago

Czech Republic

4

I learned a lot during this trip. Diamanto is very welcoming and she took great care of us. Work is divided in two shifts - morning and evening. I have to say that it was really intense for me because I have never volunteered in a such big the shelter and I was not used to waking up this early. But Diamanto is really patient and she explained everything to me well. I also recommend bringing earplugs :)

almost 2 years ago

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