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Africa is where our organisation originated. Placements in Tanzania were introduced in 1993 our Founders, Nigel Warren and Peter Bell, and we have strong links with the communities and schools around Machame and Arusha. We employ a local representative to support our projects.
Living with Tanzanians is a simple way of life - with no running water or electricity, you will learn to appreciate these luxuries we take for granted in the Western World. We interview all volunteers and discuss the project in great detail, you will be given documents about what to expect from your project from communities, school life, living within the village to how Tanzanians respect their environment. On arrival there is an induction course in Arusha, to introduce you to Tanzania. Our local representative will talk to the volunteers about Tanzanians and their history. You will also be introduced to basic Kiswahili phrases so you can integrate into the community.
We will encourage all volunteers to use local products and services. We place volunteers in school accommodation within the community, providing the schools with a source of income. Communities are paid to host volunteers and in total an average of 55% of our revenue is spent in-country. This includes paying local communities for accommodation and food or giving volunteers an allowance to buy food locally. By volunteers living within a community they will be purchasing local goods and services. We employ local people as in-country staff, to support all our projects providing employment and an income for families. We prefer to use locally owned facilities for induction courses, and recommend local services for safaris and adventure activities.
In the long term we hope to continue and develop our projects to help with English and extra curricular activities in more of the poor schools in these regions. Volunteers bring a new dimension to teaching in Tanzania - its more interactive and fun for the children. Volunteers are also able to offer extra-mural subjects like sport, music, art etc, which are not normally included in the school timetable.
Education is a priority in Tanzania; primary education is free and compulsory. By the late 1980s the country’s literacy rate was one of the highest in Africa but much of this initial success has been lost. Schools are poor and they lack furniture, textbooks, sports equipment, and even windows and stationery. You will be helping them in all sorts of really valuable and highly appreciated ways.
We normally use the same houses for volunteers each year so families in the community who host them are familiar with them and are welcomed into the village. Volunteers are briefed on customs and cultures advising them to be responsible and respectful to their new neighbours. We also try to assist the same schools each term so the teachers are familiar with our volunteers and what they should be involved in. Post project reviews are always completed with schools and volunteers to make sure help is always needed.
Our charitable arm is currently fundraising to help build a new library at Lambo Primary School in the Moshi area. In addition, the Foundation has granted a total of over £20,000 in bursaries to 164 children in schools in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi. The head teachers of schools administer these bursaries so that a child, once sponsored, can complete his or her education. They are awarded to children who could otherwise not afford the costs (e.g. food and boarding charges if they live far from school) and therefore have to leave school after primary level.
There are many volunteers who choose to go on to fundraise for the their Tanzanian schools and villages – donating school equipment, helping with funds for new or improved classrooms/facilities, and sponsoring children through education. Tanzania volunteers Celia, Jess, Anna and Flavia all decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and raised over £2500 for Ilkidinga Primary School. They also chose to sponsor one of their pupils, Doris, through school. Max, who volunteered with us in 2001 founded a charity, helping to fight poverty in Tanzania through education.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
