Borneo volunteers build kindergarten on stunning Mantanani Island

Hello everyone! 'Team Borneo' have just come back from 10 days of pure bliss - Mantanani Island! Surrounded by sparkling blue water and soft white sands felt like absolute paradise, and it can be agreed that this location has been the most amazing so far. We spent our days working on building a kindergarten at the local school. With the help of the camp staff and student engineer Nick, we managed to successfully erect a large portion of the structure. This was very tiresome work in the sun, but was equally rewarding with breaks to swim on the beach, lie back in a hammock and work on our tans.

Another highlight of our time on Mantanani Island was learning about marine conservation, and teaching afternoon lessons to the children about caring for marine life and its environment. This included drawing sessions, beach clean-ups and several games of 'turtle, turtle, plastic bag' (like duck duck goose). To help us prepare lessons for the school children, we had sessions with camp leader Aida in the Marine Conservation Shelter by the ocean. This building is made from all recycled materials and driftwood, and we were lucky enough to help in making shell, coral and bottle decorations for the building in our free time.

Whilst on Manatani there was a lot of free time for exploring the island and soaking up the sights. We did a bush walk to the tsunami gathering point at the peak of the island, which allowed us to get an amazing view of our surroundings. We also spent our day-off snorkeling amongst the magnificent coral reefs spotting blue starfish, sea cucumbers and an abundance of tropical fish. We also explored the local village, watched some amazing sunsets and the few of us who woke early enough, some magnificent sunrises.

Another memorable day was spent preparing traditional food for a feast lunch with all the 900 residents of the island invited. This involved wrapping tray after tray of pastry for the curry puffs, a skill which requires technique that few of us could grasp! Of course, tasting the food along the way was mandatory to make sure it was good. That afternoon, we were told to dress in traditional Malaysian clothes and serve the food for the arrival of all our guests This feast was done in an aim to explain to the local children and their parents our plan to build the new kindergarten. We also made posters and decorations of the children's ocean drawings to stress the importance of not polluting the environment. This was a joyous occasion for us and a great success in getting our message across.

We all left Mantanani Island with a beautiful view of the island itself and the sun rising over a clear sight of the enormous Mt Kinabalu behind us. Our minds full with memories and our suitcases full of sand, we are now looking forward to our arrival at the final camp, BongKud. That's it for now, we're all eager to soak up the remainder of our time in beautiful Borneo!

Ruby, Borneo GapBreak Volunteer 2011

Are you interested in becoming a Volunteer in Borneo or Volunteering in Cambodia? We offer an additional one month stay in Cambodia to complete your Borneo experience. Antipodeans Abroad specialises in educational and volunteer travel overseas – find out more here.