Tanzania

I had always wanted to go to Africa, and after much researching I chose to head to Moshi, Tanzania and work at an orphanage through Global Crossroad. Our housing was simple, but more than adequate and Hannah, the coordinators wife always had a nice, hot meal on the table for us. The orphanage was well maintained and the children were absolutely beautiful. Communicating simply through facial expressions and touch was an easy way to bond and give love to these remarkable toddlers and young children. Also, navigating around Moshi was fairly easy, there were days I travelled to and from the orphanage by myself and felt completely safe. I also would go for runs along the dirt roads of our village after my shift, and while I may have gotten a funny look or two, I always felt safe. I will briefly mention that our coordinator in Moshi ended up leaving us abruptly; however, the head of Global Crossroad quickly had a coordinator from a nearby city come and reorganize everything as soon as he was informed of the situation. Global Crossroad was very prompt in assessing the situation and responding and that was very reassuring . I loved my time in Tanzania, and hope that I can return in the near future!

Overall my volunteer experience in Tanzania was very good after getting settled and adjusted to life here and how things work. The week long cultural and language class was very beneficial and helped in the work at Msamaria Center where I did my volunteering. The actual volunteering at Msamaria was not very specific and I had no particular duties, it was up to me to organize anything. Organizing activities was difficult without help from a native Swahili speaker, and with the kids ages so varied it was almost impossible to organize any sort of educational activities. The kids themselves were absolutely amazing and I could not have had a better time with them. With my trip ending now I don't really know how much I have helped them and feel like I more or less just spent the last 3 months playing around with them. I have also been thinking about the amount of volunteers that come through the center for 3 month periods and then leave, this does not do so well for children from the street who have dealt with abandonment in their lives. I don't feel as if this is the best thing for the kids here. As for Moshi town it is a nice place to stay with enough activities to keep you relatively busy, at a cost of course. Plenty of nice places to get a drink on the weekend nights. Town can also be overwhelming with the hawkers and people trying to get you to there shop, where they will for sure try and overcharge you. As for the people working with IFRE in Tanzania, they were very helpful. Some of the very few people here that I could trust. Deo was here for anything I needed or any concerns I had at all. He took care of getting my C permit without any issues which was great. He visited me at the center to see how things were going there, always checking to see if I was feeling ok and could always recommend a nice new place to eat in town. He also helped us book our Safari which was a perfect experience. As for Eva, I could not have asked for a more welcoming and pleasant person to live with for the last three months. She took care of everything, she was always cleaning to house, cooking food and serving our meals very timely. I could have done without spaghetti as much as it was served but for a 3 month stay here that is the only complaint I can come up with. Besides that every other meal was delicious and she was always home to greet me where ever I was coming from. It would have been to be able to give her a break as I felt she was always here everyday cleaning and cooking without a chance to go to town for herself or leave Moshi if she had liked but she never showed signs of disappointment for how hard and how long she worked. She was just lovely. The house I lived in was very nice, modern and quite comfortable besides the heat on some nights but that was expected for a trip to Tanzania. I was lucky enough to have other volunteers here at the house with me for my whole stay, but to be here alone in the house would get quite lonely. With my circumstances, the trip went very well and was happy with my volunteer placement and Msamaria although there was the lack of specific duties. I would recommend this trip to others, just expect an adjustment period.

I volunteered through Projects Abroad at a hospital outside of Arusha, Tanzania. It was a wonderful and life-changing experience and I highly recommend recommend the program. The staff at Projects Abroad were supportive throughout the application process, and in the country. At the same time, the structure of it was such that you can do what you want in your free time, which I also appreciated. I was placed with an amazing host family, although my house was quite far from both town and my placement. (Personally, this wasn't something that bothered me, but it was also not my first time living and working in Africa. Had I not had previous experience on the continent, it may have been overwhelming to be that far away.) Working in the hospital itself was a very humbling and eye opening experience. I would definitely recommend it for anybody interested in working in the medical field- so long as you have a strong stomach! It was at times greusome, and you will be asked to do a lot more than you might expect. Overall, I felt like I made a positive contribution, I am happy I went, and I would definitely do it again.

The program was excellent. The support staff were really good and ensure all volunteers have a great time.

I had a great time volunteering in Tanzania. The house I stayed at was really great, and I made so many friends with others living there. We were well looked after with Eva and Rosie cooking amazing food, cleaning and providing a lot of support when it was necessary. Deo was also really great in providing support, taking us to town and showing us the ropes. He would often pop round for a chat, even when he was really busy. I got sick at one point and he and Eva both accompanied me to hospital to make sure I was ok. The volunteer work was really good, the kids were very cute and it was nice to help out. I would have like to stay longer.

The Rustic volunteer program has exactly fit my needs in every way. The program supervisor, Deo Peter was available for our various needs,including assignments to programs and , transportation to the projects. My experience here for 8 weeks has been incredible, the kids at Upendo orphanage were so nice and lovely, i had a 3 hour safari to the Arusha national park it was very nice though it was short time, but there are other places you could go for safari like Manyara national park, Tarangire national park, Ngorongoro and serengeti national park as well.you can arrange this with Deo for more help. One thing that didn't make me happy is that the younger volunteers at the house were so demanding towards Deo, asking him to do things which wasn't his Job such as calling him to take them places and he's not a taxi driver, i think that was the only thing that bugged me..Eva the house mother was so great, she makes good meals for us every day, she keeps the house clean as well. also Saby who is Deo's friend was so good to us too. All in all my experience is something that i will never forget, I got to learn a lot from the Tanzanian culture which i think all volunteers should learn when here in Tanzania. the way they respect the elders and how friendly the people of Tanzania are. it was a great experience for me.I recommend Rustic volunteers for your traveling and volunteering. God bless you all

My time in Tanzania has been in experience I will never forget. My coordinator Deo would take great care of my friends (that I had met upon arriving) and I as we took on several adventures during our stay. The people that are hired are very polite and generous. The food was brilliant, and I never spent a moment hungry (unless away from home). I had plenty of room to lay my things and sleep and I never felt unsafe as long as I followed the rules and guidelines. I was extremely fortunate to have such great company on this trip since I had arrived on my own and I could not have asked for more. I would definitely recommend volunteering through rustic due to its low prices, great support once arriving at the destination and for the chance to really live amongst the locals. If needed, contact me for any further questions.

My experience here overall was an amazing one. Moshi is a very safe and friendly place to stay and work but I still think you have to be cautious as there will always be bad people everywhere. I learned this the hard way when my phone was taken from me on Christmas day on the way home. Deo my coordinator was very supportive and helpful especially on this occasion and reassuring. Other than that, every thing else here was so lovely, especially the people who I met at the house. The house was a really warm and comfortable environment, Eva and Rosie are such good cooks and took care of us so well.

The overall experience in Tanzania was amazing, with nice accommodation and very welcoming house keeper - her food was especially delicious! In terms of pre-departure support, I have to say that it wasn't the greatest. Some people from the organisation was very prompt at replying, but some were very slow, some I didn't get a reply at all. I think most would agree that having clear and frequent pre-departure communication between the organisation and the volunteer is one of the most important aspect of the whole volunteer abroad experience as it can take away your anxiety, and because of lack of replies to my questions, I was very anxious until a few days I settled in Tanzania. However, the co-ordinator in Tanzania was very helpful and had put me at ease. The co-ordinator was very informative and made sure whatever I did, was the safest and the best way. He's also very nice and friendly. In terms of the programme, my intention of coming to Tanzania was so I can give love and spend time with the orphan children in Tanzania, and that was exactly what I did so I was more than satisfied. However, there was no structure to the project at all - it was basically, you plan it and do what you want. Overall, it was a great experience. Having the opportunity to mingle with the local people and being able to give love to the children that need the most was truly an amazing experience for me. I think if there was a little bit more and prompt pre-departure support, everything about IFRE would be perfect. Regardless, I had a wonderful time, thank you IFRE.

The experience I had in Tanzania through IFRE was great overall. My first week was spent doing the Language and Culture Program. Although it was beneficial to learning some Swahili, my teacher mostly read from a phrasebook and I wrote the words down in a journal. I was shown around town and taken on a trip to Marangu Falls. The trip to Marangu Falls was great, but my Language and Culture experience didn’t coincide with the itinerary or promised trips on the website. After spending a week in Moshi, I was taken to my project in Arusha. I stayed at Mama Jane’s Orphanage for two months. During my stay there, I played with the kids (age range two to 18), taught math to the primary age children, helped with the class held at the orphanage, and taught various subjects at a school in Ngara Mtoni. It was great to live with the kids at Mama Jane’s, because I was able to connect with them and get a better idea of the Tanzanian culture by constantly being with them. Teaching was sometimes stressful because of the language barrier, but I still feel like I have made a contribution. My last couple of weeks were spent doing surveys of children in Ngara Mtoni that are part of Mama Jane’s program, though not living at the orphanage. I was supposed to do the Women’s Project, but it never really happened, partly due to a recent passing of the woman in charge. In the beginning, I was overwhelmed and felt as though I wasn’t making a difference, but once I became more comfortable, I really got into the projects and came to love what I was doing. The home-base accommodations were great. At Mama Jane’s, the accommodation was much simpler—there was no running water, and power outages were frequent. The volunteer bedroom was fairly nice, with its own bathroom. It was a good size and pretty comfortable. Sometimes the outside tap was working and clean water was easily accessed, but other times the drinking water that was provided was murky. I highly recommend a water purifying system. I got three meals a day. Lunch was usually just bread with provided peanut butter, and lunch and dinner were larger meals with a fair amount of variety. I thought the traditional food was delicious. I was typically able to spend afternoons and weekends how I wanted, but there were also times when we left unexpectedly and were gone for quite some time. I often wasn’t really sure what was going on, but it lead to some adventures that ended up being a good experience. For the most part, IFRE was a reliable organization and I feel like the money I paid was well spent. I would consider using IFRE again as an organization to volunteer through. The country coordinator was helpful for me, though a few other volunteers had different experiences with him. The information I was provided about my project was mostly accurate, though some details were outright incorrect. As a whole, I’m incredibly glad that I came to Tanzania through IFRE, and feel that my experience was something I can walk away from feeling happy and satisfied.