Teaching holiday in Tanzania

The whole placement is geared towards helping the local community. We place volunteers in a school where they will make a valuable and worthwhile contribution to the community. Volunteers will be living within the school grounds with other volunteers. By working and living locally participants will become immersed in the country and will live in a way that is harmonious with the culture and environment. The accommodation is locally owned and any food provided is locally sourced and cooked by locals.

Volunteers are needed in Arusha, where there is a mix of wealth and extreme poverty. The area has little infrastructure and no welfare system. This means that the vulnerable within the society are in need of external help to provide them with basics such as education. Volunteers have had a really positive effect on the community. Apart from the teaching, past volunteers have helped build classrooms, educate local street children and individually sponsor their host families.

The placements are in primary and secondary schools. You will be teaching in English and there is scope to teach a variety of subjects. Some of the greatest rewards come form the extra curricular activities. For example you could coach a local sports team,. Put on a play r help local street children.

Our volunteers are given a pre departure briefing where they are encouraged to minimise waste and to live in a way that will not have a detrimental effect on the country or communities. There is a special session entitled ‘Responsible tourism’ where we discuss cultural differences and sensitivities as well as advising volunteers on appropriate conduct. Volunteers are given a Swahili language course and briefed on what is considered polite in terms of eating, greeting and dressing.

By learning the language individuals will be able to communicate effectively with the local community so minimising possible culture clashes. Volunteers are also taught the basic of what is considered polite in terms of eating, greeting and dressing. The duration of the visit means that a real bond can be made with locals rather than just a tourist-host relationship. The visitor will learn more about real Tanzanian life as lived by ordinary people in a variety of areas and know Tanzania in its real perspective compared to what is depicted in the International News.

A percentage of the cost of the placement will go to the local projects. The group size of volunteers is small so that the cultural impact is minimal and there is more integration with the society. Our company is an environmentally responsible one that operates recycling and reusing of waste products. We also offset carbon emissions in our office (gas, electricity, business mileage).