Thank you NAPSA!
May 25, 2023 by Anna -
Last week Kelsi, myself, JB and Diana got the extraordinary opportunity to travel to Atlanta, Georgia where the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) was hosting its 2023 workshop. Volunteer Patti also joined in on the event! Please forgive me as I failed to take any of my own photos. Eventually NAPSA should be releasing more photos of the event on their social media pages.
It’s been 5 years since the last in-person conference so we were very excited to network with fellow sanctuary people once again. While the rest of our hard working staff kept things running smoothly back home, we learned more about such topics as compassion fatigue in care staff, veterinary care, enrichment, and group introductions (to name only a few).
We finished up our trip with a visit to a fellow NAPSA member sanctuary Project Chimps. It was fascinating to see a larger sanctuary in action and get to see some of our former interns who have graduated and are now pursuing their own caregiving careers at Project Chimps.
A huge thanks to NAPSA program director Erika Fleury for organizing the conference, Project Chimps for hosting our visit, the various sponsors of the event and all of our supporters for making these types of educational opportunities a possibility for our staff.
6 Comments
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Thank you for the hyperlinks, Anna. Proud to see “our own” Diana was a speaker. I have no doubt she was highly informative and excellent.
I guess Anna must have been the photographer…
Good to see Jamie and Neggie made the photo spread for the announcement, too.
Anna for whatever reason, this didn’t “push” to my email; I had to come looking for the blog
Its very important that, as a charity, you have the ability to spend time and share ideas with like minded people. It is something that is expected in the corporate world but is often overlooked for charities.
That Willie B sure loves his cameras doesnt he!
Thanks for sharing this info with us, Anna! I’m so happy to know that you were each able to be with like-minded folks in such a positive and supportive experience. And I am also glad to see that “compassion fatigue” was among the topics covered. I can only imagine what it takes for each of you as caregivers to maintain your sense of connection and energy given all the demands that you so lovingly provide every day. Love for the chimps drives it all, I know, but geez, I’d imagine some days are harder than others (not to mention the moments that Jamie is throwing poop on you!!).
I agree with everything Myra said.
I wish all animal welfare organizations had their own version of “NAPSA” allowing connections, information exchange, and assistance, along with accreditation, to ensure the animals are always the priority. The primate sanctuary community seems to work together as a community not competitors. Very inspiring!
PS: I love this photo of Annie working her raisin board.