Community building and teaching projects in Tanzania
| country: | Tanzania |
| departures: | 2010: 3 Apr, 1 May, 29 May, 3 Jul, 17 Jul, 30 Jul, 14 Aug, 28 Aug, 9 Sep, 25 Sep |
| price: | From £695 (2 weeks) - £999 (6 weeks) excluding flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Community building and teaching projects in Tanzania
Teaching English and building health clinics / school - toilets and classrooms in rural communities.
Based in the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world, we offer rural placements in a breathtaking location of unparalleled beauty. Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa and one of the most diverse; from the spectacular grasslands of the Serengeti, the glacier-capped peak of Kilimanjaro to the palm fringed beaches of the mystical spice-island of Zanzibar.
Classrooms are usually quite basic, comprising brick walls, a tin roof and simple wooden desks. Windows may be simply holes in the wall, or may be fitted with frames and glass. Resources available to teachers and students are limited, with a blackboard and a few textbooks for the class to share being about all many schools have. Some receive funds from churches or other donors, giving them access to more books and occasionally a few computers.
Term times in Tanzania differ to our own in that the new academic year begins in the first week of January. There is then a break at Easter of around 2 weeks until mid June when the first term finishes. The second term begins in mid July and, with a week break in the beginning of September, goes through until the beginning of December when the school year finishes. If your project coincides with the holiday times and you still want to become involved in teaching, the crew will be able to arrange some extra curricular activities for you.
At what level, and to what extent, our teachers get involved is up to each individual. During the first week of the project, the crew leader will introduce volunteers who want to teach to the Principal of the local school to discuss the volunteers interests and skill areas, and how these fit in with the school's needs.
Based in the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world, we offer rural placements in a breathtaking location of unparalleled beauty. Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa and one of the most diverse; from the spectacular grasslands of the Serengeti, the glacier-capped peak of Kilimanjaro to the palm fringed beaches of the mystical spice-island of Zanzibar.
building
We try to plan projects such that there are a range of activities for volunteers to get involved in; those less keen on heavy building work usually take up the lighter, but equally important, work such as painting or plastering. The key to any building project is the partnership between our team and the local community. As well as bringing essential funding to the project, the presence of a team of volunteers in the village community can be a great motivator to local people. In some cases it takes time for villagers to get used to the idea that volunteers - especially girls - actually want to help with manual labour, and initially you may find people trying to do all the work for you. Once you explain that you genuinely want them to teach you the basic skills (e.g. how to mix cement or lay bricks), however, the partnership really begins to develop, allowing everyone to get stuck in. teaching
Village education in Tanzania is under resourced, and usually follows quite old-fashioned methods involving lots of repetition. Although the government pledge free primary education across Tanzania, most of the building structures are up to the parents and community to provide. There are sometimes small grants to schools, they are slow in the process, and rural schools such as this one tend to get overlooked. Classrooms are usually quite basic, comprising brick walls, a tin roof and simple wooden desks. Windows may be simply holes in the wall, or may be fitted with frames and glass. Resources available to teachers and students are limited, with a blackboard and a few textbooks for the class to share being about all many schools have. Some receive funds from churches or other donors, giving them access to more books and occasionally a few computers.
Term times in Tanzania differ to our own in that the new academic year begins in the first week of January. There is then a break at Easter of around 2 weeks until mid June when the first term finishes. The second term begins in mid July and, with a week break in the beginning of September, goes through until the beginning of December when the school year finishes. If your project coincides with the holiday times and you still want to become involved in teaching, the crew will be able to arrange some extra curricular activities for you.
At what level, and to what extent, our teachers get involved is up to each individual. During the first week of the project, the crew leader will introduce volunteers who want to teach to the Principal of the local school to discuss the volunteers interests and skill areas, and how these fit in with the school's needs.
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
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We have been working in the Kilimanjaro of Tanzania since 2001 and have very close links in the area. Working directly with local communities, we undertake projects with a focus on disadvantaged youth, in under-resourced and vastly over-crowded primary schools. Working with government primary schools, we are having a big impact on improving education facilities which will benefit the area for generations to come. Primary school education is now free in Tanzania but most schools have no facilities to cope with the increased intake and have severe problems obtaining funds. We focus on building kindergartens, primary classroom blocks, refurbishing derelict and unfinished buildings and constructing pit latrines. Projects are all identified by the communities themselves and are selected on the basis of their most urgent needs. Because of out close links with local schools, our volunteers are welcomed into the classrooms and often get involved with teaching English as well as arts crafts, music, drama and sports.
Our projects will really get you under the skin of your chosen destination; you will be fully integrated into the heart of a rural village where you will live, work, eat, drink and generally become part of the community. Everything we do is in partnership with our village hosts, living and working as part of a team of volunteers. You will make a very tangible contribution to the lives of those who have welcomed you into their lives by building basic infrastructure that will benefit the community for generations to come. All of our projects are selected for their long-term benefits to the host community. Our focus on youth development incorporates health, education and sports and our community building and teaching projects build vital facilities such as schools, classrooms, clinics, toilet blocks, water tanks, community centres etc. We research each project to ensure it meets our strict criteria including an assessment of the need, benefits and long term-sustainability of the project itself, together with levels of community involvement, risk assessments, health and safety requirements, logistical practicality and living arrangements. We always work in close partnerships with village chiefs, village development committees and other NGOs as well as local, national and international charities to ensure that we gain as much local knowledge, expertise and support as possible. The projects are always initiated, owned and led by the village, community or local partner organisation to ensure the long-term support and involvement of the local people which also secures the sustainability, staffing and maintenance of the project long after we have left. Our projects are very environmentally and culturally sensitive respecting local traditions, languages and religions. We live as the locals do as far as is possible, adapting to local conditions and employing local staff from within the village; these include cooks, carpenters, mason, engineers and local labourers to work alongside our UK crew on all of our projects. All accommodation is locally owned and hosted by a local family, we source all food, materials and supplies nearby to contribute as much as possible to the local economy. We minimise the use of valuable resources such as water and firewood to reduce the environmental impact of our projects, bucket showers are used for washing and towels are not provided. We operate small group projects with a maximum of 16 per group to ensure that volunteers are welcomed into each community ensuring that our presence isn’t overwhelming. We also provide comprehensive and accurate pre-departure information together with full orientations and responsible travel briefings to increase cultural sensitivity. We offset the CO2 emissions for every flight made by our staff and encourage all volunteers to do the same. To describe this form of travel as ‘low impact’ belies the incredibly positive and tangible difference that you will make; your contribution will be highly valued as the community will benefit from an improved standard of living as a result of your decision to travel there. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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