VOLUNTEER IN TANZANIA
International Volunteer HQ’s partner NGO in Tanzania requires volunteers NOW! IVHQ has a wide range of volunteering opportunities available in teaching, orphanage work and medical placements in both urban and rural Tanzania.
LOCATION OF TANZANIA VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
IVHQ has volunteer placements in urban and rural Tanzanian communities and villages. This project is based in Arusha and volunteers will need to fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport (if travelling to the program by air). As one of our younger placements, we are currently only placing volunteers in and around Arusha, however as this program develops we will expand into other cities and rural villages within Tanzania. While we would like an indication of your location preference (rural or urban Arusha) when applying, this can be finalized with our program partner on arrival in Tanzania.
START AND DURATION OF TANZANIA VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
Placements begin on the 1st and 15th of each month. Volunteers can choose to volunteer for periods of one week to six months.
TANZANIA VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS
Volunteers must be over 18 years of age at the beginning of the program and have at least a high school education. Volunteers participating in the MEDICAL PLACEMENT must have appropriate training and certification (to be presented to IVHQ partner staff on arrival in Tanzania)
TANZANIA VOLUNTEER PLACEMENT DESCRIPTIONS
TEACHING
Our volunteers are placed in exciting community schools, public schools or orphanage schools. Many of the schools we work with are constantly understaffed and are always in need of new volunteers. In this program, volunteers can work by themselves or alongside other teachers and volunteers. Typical subjects taught include – English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Art and Physical Education. School in Tanzania runs for three terms a year (Term One – January to April, Term Two – May to August, Term Three – September to November).There are short breaks between these terms during which time volunteers can take a break, travel, engage in tourist activities such as safari, take tutorials for senior students, or participate in another placement. N.B. Volunteers DO NOT need to be a qualified or experienced teacher.
ORPHANAGE WORK
Sub-Saharan African countries are suffering from huge number of orphans left behind after their parents die from illnesses such as HIV/Aids resulting in a larger number of orphanages in countries such as Tanzania. Contributing to this disproportionate number of orphanages is the fact that in some cases the parents are simply unable to provide for the children or they have been abandoned, increasing the number of orphans in Tanzania. Volunteers who work in an orphanage help with general work and daily chores and will generally work from 8:00 am until 3:30 pm. Your participation in an orphanage project is not only appreciated by the children but also by the orphanage administration. This work ranges from cooking and cleaning to farm work, assisting with feeding programs, caring for children and babies and teaching.
MEDICAL PLACEMENT
Healthcare is neither easily accessible nor affordable for many Tanzanians living in the rural villages and poor urban areas. Poverty creates a large barrier to the acquisition of healthcare in general, but in rural areas in particular. Our volunteers work in a number of medical clinics and hospitals in urban and suburban Arusha. These dispensaries and hospitals have very basic equipment and facilities. Volunteers are placed in a hospital or dispensary based on previous medical training and experience. The key requirements in a medical volunteer (aside from the relevant training and qualifications) are initiative, enthusiasm, and readiness to work in unfamiliar circumstances - a surgery with minimal equipment, an understaffed hospital, or a clinic for leprosy or tuberculosis patients. N.B. For the MEDICAL PLACEMENT, volunteers need to be training or qualified in a relevant medical field. Therefore, volunteers are required to present a copy of their qualifications and certificates to our program partner on arrival in Tanzania.
TANZANIA PROGRAM COSTS
One of the strengths of IVHQ is our extremely affordable fees. Click here to see the program cost to volunteer in Tanzania and what you receive in exchange for your fees.
ACCOMMODATION AND MEALS
Volunteers are accommodated in a home-stay where they will live with a local family. We give that local family money from your fee for support, food and board. It is exciting to stay with a family; that way you will learn the Tanzanian way of life, meet local people, eat local food, speak the local language and engage in local customs and traditions. Living is comfortable and all home stays have electricity and running water. Volunteers can expect to share a room with one or two other volunteers but in some home stays volunteers get their own rooms. Regardless of the tribe or culture your host family is from, they will be sure to give you a good Tanzanian treat and meals will be relatively varied. Bottled water is readily available in Tanzania and volunteers should budget approximately US$5 per week for this (2 liters per day). Breakfasts generally consist of Chai (tea), toast, cereal, fruit and mandazzi (deep fried dough). A typical lunch can include meat and vegetables with rice, sandwiches and fruit while dinner usually sees traditional food such as ugali, chapatti, boga and irio accompany the meat and vegetables. Breakfast is taken in the morning, then lunch, which is served at about 1 PM (or you can take a packed lunch if you wish to eat at your project) and then dinner/supper served at 7 or 8 in the evening. If you have special eating needs, please let us know ahead of time so that we can make arrangements for you. However, we need to stress the point that you should not expect to eat as you normally do at home. We will do our best to see that you are well taken care of, but also as a volunteer, there is a need to be flexible.
ORIENTATION
Orientation will begin on the 1st or 15th of each month and last for approximately one day. Orientation will be conducted by staff in Arusha and cover everything you need to know for your volunteering placement in Tanzania – Introduction to Tanzania, Tanzanian Customs, Basic Language Training (Swahili), Rules and Expectations, Safety, Travel Opportunities in Tanzania and Introduction to your project and placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socializing. Once orientation is complete, volunteers will be transported to their home stay and introduced to all relevant parties – home stay family members and program placement staff.
VOLUNTEER WEEK
First Day: On the first day of the volunteering placement, the volunteers will be escorted to the project and introduced to the staff at the project you will be working with.
Weekdays: While our programs are flexible and can be fitted to your requirements, an example of a typical day is as follows.
- 7.30AM Breakfast with the host family or other volunteers (if staying in a volunteer house).
- 8.00AM Volunteer leaves home and is dropped (or walks) to the project.
- The volunteer joins with the local staff. You will be given a duty roster and a plan for your work. There is usually a tea break and a lunch break. Work and hours is dependent on the project and location that the volunteer is participating in.
- 12.00PM-5.00PM Work at the project usually ends. The volunteer at this point is free to visit and see places or do shopping. You may also want to hang out with the kids up to around 6.00PM.
- 8.30PM Dinner with the host family.
Weekends: During the weekend, volunteers have spare time and usually just relax or take the opportunity to explore other parts of their local town and Tanzania. Long weekends can be taken to go on safari or to travel further afield to places such as Zanzibar, Kenya or Uganda. If volunteers wish to volunteer over the weekends they can join local teams and visit other orphanages (or other children helping organizations) to spend time simply playing with and entertaining the children.
GENERAL COUNTRY INFORMATION
Capital City: Dodoma
Population: 37,849,133
Languages: Swahili
Currency: Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
Time in Tanzania: EAT (UTC+3)
Weather and Climate:
Tanzania is hot throughout the year and is humid on the coast and dry on the central plateau. The heavy rains last from March to June and can make unsealed road travel difficult. The hot, dry weather in January and February attracts the most tourists. The best time to visit the Serengeti is from January to March when the grazers are calving and there are plenty of lion around, or to witness the wildebeest migration to and from Kenya which occurs at the onset of the dry season and again with the first rains, usually the beginning of June and mid-November. Zanzibar has a warm climate year-round and its coastal resorts are tempered by sea breezes. The island is best avoided in April and May, the rainy season.