APAA was very pleased to have Malina Leippert join the shelter team to help care for the dogs for two months. We were very lucky that she made the arrangements and paid her own way, as APAA is not currently able to pay expenses for volunteers. It is definitely something we look forward to being able to organize in future. Thank you so much for your help, Malina. It was a pleasure and we hope to see you again! Read Malina's own impressions of her experience below:
"Hello!
I‘m Malina, live in the south of Germany, and I am 19 years old. I just finished my A-levels and had the honor to be a volunteer at Animal Protection Aegina & Agistri for 2.5 months.
After school, I wanted to do a gap-year and help animals while traveling the world. My first stop was Aegina, a small Greek island near Athens.
I really enjoyed my time here on this beautiful island. The sound of the crashing waves, the breathtaking sunsets as well as the nice and welcoming people make it clearly hard to leave Aegina again.
I truly loved working at the shelter and being able to offer a little of my love to all the dogs. While cleaning the kennels or going on a walk with one of the dogs, I always made sure to give them as many cuddles as possible.
But working with the dogs wouldn‘t have been so nice without the shelter staff. I felt very comfortable as part of the team because they are so kind and always helpful, not only at work but also outside of it. I‘m really thankful that they picked me up in the morning and dropped me off at home again when we finished work.
Even though I went to Aegina alone, I never felt alone thanks to the caring staff and board members.
To conclude, I had a really good experience here in Aegina and the shelter for stray dogs. I will definitely return someday and hope that this day will come soon. I can highly recommend volunteering there and hope that this story about my experience will be an inspiration for others who are thinking about being a volunteer at the shelter as well."