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I was a volunteer at the first Manatee capacity building program at Ghana in 2007 where I met Caryn Self-Sullivan (Dr), of Sirenian International, as one of the Principal Investigators in the research project. It was an overwhelming experience receiving from her huge dose of scientific knowledge and experience. She made research look simple both on the field and at the class room when she gave lectures. I gained a lot from her and other PI's during the program which led to my career refocus giving me a good perspective to pursue a PhD programme on manatee Bioecology in Nigeria at the University of Lagos. I equally received some research instruments from her which I learnt she bought from some little donations giving to her organization and they remain useful to me till date. She through SI still pass to me useful information as they come up in the manatee conservation which helpful in my career.

I first knew Sirenian International in 2008 through internet when I was starting preparing my Msc thesis on the West African Manatee. From there I subscribe for membership. Scientific literature on the specie was few and difficult to access; but fortunately through SI I could get a good number of articles or electronic books that help me to prepare my thesis. One year later I met Dr Caryn on a Workshop on West African Manatee conservation that was organized in Ghana. The first thing I noticed is that she is a humble scientist which likes to gather peoples, ideas on particular scientific topics. I will never forget what she did for some of the participants there at the workshop who was in some financial difficulty, I was one of them, she remove from here personal money $100 to support us. What i will say is that she has enthusiast to fund and support young scientists like me; only through that act the impact of that money has reached three different countries. Still on the field in Ghana I was amaze by the devotion for manatee conservation Dr Caryn expressed as she was teaching us some courses on the order Sirenia. Really, she’s hard working. After the workshop Dr Caryn voluntary accepted to support my thesis with some counsel and literatures that she always provide freely to me, I’m sure she would even do above that if means are there . It’s thanks to SI that I'm improving in my Msc thesis. With this commitment and serious-minded, SI will continue to be sharp, efficient and unstoppable in their actions provided that means are available.

As one of the original board members of SI, I worked with a great team [of ladies] to set up the foundation for the organization. On the board for a couple cycles, I saw the small grants provide leverage to students and researchers. I have also attended workshops sponsored by SI. The resources available and global communication makes SI a truly unique organization for Sirenian conservation. Today, it could benefit from more online activities or real-time discussions on specific topics.

On march 14th 2008 an orphaned manatee calf was rescued in the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic and taken to the National Aquarium in Santo Domingo. Sirenian International quickly responded to our emergency situation with a small grant to help cover immediate expenses related to health and nutritional needs of the orphaned manatee. During a visit to the Dominican Republic in April 2008, Dr. Caryn Self-Sullivan personally visited the National Aquarium and volunteered to help with this new born calf, sharing her knowledge and expertise with the veterinary staff. She also participated in a workshop at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and gave lectures about Sirenians to undergraduate students, showing her commitment to education and awareness.

Sirenian International has several times requested my help in evaluating grant applications. My impression of them is that they are serious, mature, and meticulous in judging applicants, and try hard to make their funds go as far as possible. Their goals are ambitious, but they seem to have been surprisingly successful in what they have set out to do (promoting sirenian research and conservation from the Caribbean to the East Indies). The leading people in the organization are themselves active field researchers on sirenians. Over the past year or two they have also helped me by hooking me up with a skilled programmer who volunteered to help me with a large database project, and provided about $540 to defray costs. In my opinion, they are a definite asset to worldwide marine mammal research and conservation.