Ever year BE Offices send two very lucky members of our team on a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience to help in less fortunate areas of the world. This year the destination is a turtle conservation project in Costa Rica
Over the past few years our volunteers have helped on projects, through volunteer organisation POD Volunteer, in Cambodia, Nepal, Thailand and a reef conservation in Belize. For the 2019 trip a turtle conservation project on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica was the chosen destination.
Back in February, when the charity trip was announced, all employees were invited to apply with the reason why they should be chosen for the trip and competition for places was tough. Much to their delight, Megan Patel from our facilities team and our credit controller Tom Morgan were selected. Tom’s application consisted of an extraordinarily beautiful poem (see below).
Here is their blog…..
We met outside Heathrow at about 7:30am Monday (7th October) morning, both very excited to start our journey to Costa Rica! Check in was a breeze and miraculously Meg’s suitcase was under the weight limit, happy days!
We got a much needed coffee and waited for our flight to board. We were going to try get an upgrade but sadly it didn’t happen as we got separated at boarding, but as it turns out, our seats were really good and the movie choices were great so we were happy 🙂
When we landed in Miami, we both said the same thing, nobody at passport control or check in liked their job and they are very thorough when checking people in! But we managed to get through that all okay, and eventually found our way to our gate for the transfer to San Jose in Costa Rica.
The next flight was the killer, we were both so tired and really quite done with sitting down, but luckily it was quite a quick journey.
We were then picked up by our taxi driver who took us to the hotel for our overnight stay. Here we met two other Pod volunteers so we got ourselves acquainted, checked in and then found some food. After a quick trip to the supermarket it was definitely time for bed, tired was an understatement at this point!!
We had an early wake up call this morning (5am!!) for our long bus journey to the south beach where we will be doing our work. As we type, we are driving through the streets of San Jose and devouring the gorgeous scenery.
So far so good, we are all so excited to see the beach, meet all the other volunteers and get stuck in… 😁
The Song of the Turtle
I am warm and I’m snug in my eggshell of leather
I don’t want to move, not now, not never
But a yearning is stirring in my little belly
So, I break open my egg, and give it some welly
I dig upwards in sand and fight to the top
And race to the sea and dare not to stop
I run and I flap as quick as I can
Thank goodness to sometimes have the assistance of man
For to swim is a must for me to grow big
To be called Man of the Sea, not Lumpy, not Pig
To return to the beach when mother fell ill
For eating some plastic for which there’s no pill
I’ll swim and I’ll grow and eat what tastes nice
Some Squid and small fish and maybe some rice.
And then when I am five, all big and quite strong
I’ll sing a sweet tune, a true mating song
My wife, she’ll lay eggs, again in the sand
And I’ll help bury them, I’ll give her a hand
For when time is right my daughters and sons
Will again run for freedom before the dawn comes
We won’t see them hatching, we hope they stay warm
For we have to go back to the sea all forlorn
Our babies are soft and a nice tasty dish
For birds and some crabs and even some fish
But help is at hand, our plight is not scorned
For POD Volunteers have hereby been warned
For seek us they will, and keep us all warm
Till all of my siblings are healthy and born
Release us they will in seas blue and clean
And watch us though darkness and where we have been
For when time is done and we all turn old
A story of kindness will hereafter be told.
by Tom Morgan
