Voluntary Project Overview

Volunteers work at rural Secondary schools in little villages at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro or in the Pare Mountains. Career break volunteers can truly help children in classes such as English, maths and science as class sizes are large and there is a shortage of teachers so students get very little input. Teaching in Secondary schools in Tanzania is a challenging but very rewarding experience.

The Volunteer Abroad Role

As a Career break volunteer you can teach lessons in a particular subject area depending on your skills and experience. There is a chance to exchange ideas and teaching techniques with the teachers and really build a bond with the local community. While primary schools all teach in Swahili, secondary schools are generally English Medium so students need extra help and support to fully comprehend some lessons. Volunteers need to be prepared for large class sizes, lack of organised approach and children of varying ages in the same class. While this can be a challenging experience, the children and staff are very welcoming and career break volunteers are able to settle into the community easily.

Other Volunteer Abroad opportunities

While this is a full time placement there is also the opportunity to help in extra-curricular activities, especially sport or even set up your clubs if you have a particular skill or hobby. Depending upon your own interests and desires there are always opportunities for career break volunteers to run teaching programmes for adults in the village or get involved with other community initiatives.

Voluntary Programme Requirements/Eligibility Criteria

This volunteer abroad programme in Tanzania does not require you to be a qualified teacher for this role but good subject knowledge will be helpful for teaching the more specialised subjects. Teaching volunteers always need good communication skills, have an open mind, lots of enthusiasm and a good sense of humour! School is tough in Tanzania and career break volunteers can make learning enjoyable for the children.

Volunteer Accommodation and Living arrangements

Career break volunteers are generally provided accommodation with local host family where you have a private room. You take your meals with them, providing a great way to try local food, see the local culture first hand and even learn some Swahili. Depending upon where you are based other volunteer accommodation options may also be available you should discuss your preferred options and cost implications while booking your volunteer programme to Tanzania. We have a range of specially prepared travel opportunities to help you see and experience more of the country; it is useful to plan these ahead so you have your programme set before departure.

What’s included in your Programme Fee?

• Project selection and placement - Our in-country teams work constantly to identify and select projects that are doing exemplary work in developing countries but need your skills and effort. Our staff are in dialogue with you to ensure that we choose a project that really needs you, where you will use your skills and contribute, because at MondoChallenge, we believe that a great volunteering experience is largely dependant on matching you with the right project
• Pre Departure Briefing - Before you leave, we will arrange for a pre departure briefing where we help you with small but extremely helpful details on your chosen destination. Things like: what to pack, local culture and customs, food, safety and precautions if any - simple things to make your life easier!
• Guidance for processing visa - MondoChallenge will arrange for any relevant documents and guide you through the visa process.
• Airport Pick Up - Arriving in a new city and not knowing where to go and how to go can be quite unnerving. A MondoChallenge representative will meet you at the airport and take you to your place of stay where you can put your feet up after a long flight.
• In country Orientation and Welcome Pack - When you arrive at your location, you will be given an orientation where you could meet other volunteers from MondoChallenge, learn all about your location, how to find your way around, where to get SIM cards for the phone, small bits that you will need help sorting out in the first few days.
• In Country Support - Our local co-ordinators are there to guide you through out your stay. They will make sure that you are settled at your project, are comfortable with your accommodation and provide guidance on local culture and customs to ensure that you have a memorable and rewarding experience.
• Accommodation - In most cases you stay with a local host family. It gives you a taste of the daily life of a local. You will be sharing a room with another volunteer, however if you prefer to have a single room to youself, this can be arranged but a cost supplement may apply. If you prefer totally independent accommodation, this maybe possible in certain areas at an additional cost and our Programme Managers will be able to assist you with this.
• Breakfast and Dinner - Local home cooked food, will be provided at the home stays. This gives you a chance to experience local dishes.
• Optional Contribution to the Education Grant - The Educational Grant helps projects like the one you will volunteer with, to get basic infrastructure and resources. Open air schools need a roof, some need tables or chairs and some need books for children. We identify needs and constantly work at improving the conditions at our partner projects. We also encourage you to identify needs at your project and let our local management know of any specifics that you feel may help. The grants are made through our registered charity, FutureSense Foundation (Charity No: 1132101). In the project fee above we recommend an optional contribution towards these grants. If you would like to fund raise or contribute further amounts towards this directly to the foundation we can assist you through the process.

Not Included:

• International Flights
• Visa and Travel insurance Costs
• Vaccination
• Local Transport and Travel
• Personal Expenses

Project photos

Testimonials