Volunteer in Tanzania

Be the Change. Be a Global Volunteer in Tanzania.

Children are the future of our world.

Help parents deliver essential services to ensure their children have sufficient food, nutrition, health care, and stimulation to prevent childhood stunting. Share knowledge, engage your skills, and offer encouragement through Global Volunteers’ Reaching Children’s Potential (RCP) Program in Tanzania’s rural villages. Contribute to a program delivering on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and improving the lives of generations!

Help End Stunting: The Reaching Children’s Potential Program

Learn More

Get Started in Tanzania

Volunteer in the Iringa District of the highlands region.

Local time in Tanzania:

Required Mobility Level:
Mobile

Minimum Age(s):

Ipalamwa Area - 13
Ipalamwa Area - 10^*
* (July through Nov)

Call: 651-407-6100

Request Program Information

Quick Online Registration

FAQs:

Genuine development projects to help children thrive. Exceptional service-learning for families, groups and individuals.

Community Projects

Parent and Family Workshops:

Conduct interactive workshops for pregnant women, mothers, fathers and grandparents on science-based health, nutrition, early child development, importance of education, household food production, or related topics in your field. Choose from 37 prepared outlines and presentations. Global Volunteers learning center, situated in Ipalamwa close by the guesthouse, has all necessary equipment and technology for volunteer professionals and students in relevant disciplines to conduct informative workshops in comfortable surroundings. Our staff drivers transport parents from their home villages to Ipalamwa for morning and afternoon workshops. This also enables them to meet with the medical staff at the Ipalamwa Health Clinic to address their and their children’s health concerns.

Food and Nutrition:

Conduct food and nutrition parent workshops, help plant and harvest household container gardens, nurture seedlings in a greenhouse, distribute nutritious Rise Against Hunger meals to families, and construct and maintain household chicken coops, safe fuel-efficient stoves, and water harvesting systems.

Home Visits:

Volunteer professionals and students in relevant disciplines accompany Global Volunteers’ Tanzania caregiver staff on family home visits to reinforce workshop lessons, demonstrate effective child stimulation exercises, maternal self-care, proper hand washing with soap and water, and other appropriate household technologies, and offer psycho-social support to moms.

Conversational English:

Every primary school graduate must pass an English language test before advancing to secondary school. Volunteers are needed to work with students from kindergarten through secondary school on English language skills, primarily through conversation, reading, and writing. Whether one-on-one, in the classroom, or during two-week English language camps in June, September, and December, every native speaker can make a difference. Volunteers who have never taught in a classroom and professional teachers can help improve students’ ability to learn the international language of opportunity. Global Volunteers’ Conversational English Teaching Guide, English teaching curriculum, other educational materials, and our Tanzania staff ensure every volunteer can help change the arc of a child’s life.

Classroom Teaching:

Tutor primary school students in math or English. Professional educators and students in relevant disciplines teach secondary students math, science, English, or physical geography. Teach the teachers and administrators alternative discipline measures to better manage their classrooms. Offer psycho-social support to students of all ages.

Physical and Mental Health Care:

Provide patient care, health screenings, and dental and eye exams at Global Volunteers’ modern Ipalamwa General Clinic (IGC). Counsel pregnant women on prenatal care and nutrition, peri-natal depression, and practices for safe deliveries and healthy babies. Teach mothers and fathers good mental health care, stress reduction, recovery from depression, trauma, and substance abuse through the RCP Mental Wellness Initiative (MWI). Professionals and people with lived experience in the areas of grief and suicide prevention, alcohol addiction, domestic conflict and abuse, and depression and anxiety are especially needed as volunteers in upcoming service programs to meet the many needs. Read more about mental health projects here.

Ipalamwa General Clinic/Health Center

Medical professionals volunteering at the Ipalamwa General Clinic/Health Center (IGC/IHC)—including MDs, DDSs, NPs, PAs, clinical therapists, and dieticians—must register with the Medical Council of Tanganyika before arrival by submitting credentials online; fees are $200 for 1–10 days and $300 for 10 days to 3 months. Nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, and medical students are exempt, and any unregistered medical professionals present at the clinic will be limited to observation only. Additionally, all volunteers providing patient care must carry Malpractice Insurance. Resources and instructions for both registration and insurance are provided upon confirmation.

Repair and Maintenance:

Help paint, repair, and maintain classrooms and community centers. Construct chicken coops, install household hand washing stations, build fuel-efficient stoves, or promote solar energy systems.

Women’s Co-ops:

Eight homegrown village cooperatives enable women to generate additional income for their families. The nearly 90 co-op members have requested instruction in basic business skills including bookkeeping, marketing, sales, production, pricing, and P&L. Also, volunteers with knitting skills can teach the co-op members how to knit school uniform sweaters to sell at locally affordable prices.

Dates & Fees

Upcoming Volunteer Dates in Ipalamwa Area, Tanzania

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Registration is quick and easy!

Choose program date and duration above.
Click on the option you prefer in the result list.
Complete the online registration and hold your place with a $350 deposit.

Be sure to select all applicable discounts. All payments tax-deductible.

Groups of 10 or more participants interested in dates not shown below should inquire with our Partnerships Department about adding exclusive dates to the schedule. Please email any inquiries to groups@globalvolunteers.org.

Arrival & Departure

Leave the details to us!

Most international flights to Tanzania arrive in Dar es Salaam (DAR). We suggest you plan to arrive in DAR the Friday before your service program begins, overnight at a local hotel and then depart DAR for Iringa (IRI) on the first Saturday of your service program. There are several hotels around the DAR airport, but we suggest the Hotel Blue Sapphire: https://hotelbluesapphire.co.tz\.

For your flight from DAR to IRI, the flight options are limited. Most volunteers utilize Auric Air Services: https://www.auricair.com/en. We suggest you book your domestic Tanzania air reservations as soon as you know your team is a ‘go.’

Plan your flight to arrive at the Iringa, Tanzania airport, around 5:00 pm on the first Saturday of your service program. You will return to Iringa airport at the conclusion of your service on Saturday. A Global Volunteers staff person will meet you at the Iringa airport for the two-hour drive to the villages.

You must confirm your flight itinerary with us at least two weeks before the service program arrival date to confirm your team airport transfer.

Food and Lodging

Rest and comfort for a productive program.

You’ll stay in a comfortable Global Volunteers-built and owned in the beautiful rural highlands at the top of the mountain and end of the road. Additional features:

Western-style private bathrooms and showers
Hot and cold running water
Electricity and bed nets
Onsite traditional meals
Single rooms available for an extra fee

Delicious meals are prepared by our trained staff cooks and include local cuisine and American favorites. Fresh fruits and vegetables, drinking water, coffee and tea are always available. Vegetarian diets can generally be accommodated.

Health & Safety

Your Safety is Our Priority.

Your lodging, food and transportation are provided always with a mind to protect your health and security. Your team leader is trained in CPR and first aid to handle most emergencies. Global Volunteers includes emergency medical evacuation insurance in your service program fee. Read more about health and safety here.

We strongly recommend you consult your own physician, public health clinic and/or travel clinic for detailed travel health information. For general recommendations, consult the following sources:

Centers for Disease Control | Health Canada Online | Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

We also recommend health insurance that covers you while you are outside your home country, and trip cancellation insurance in the event you must cancel your participation on the service program. Your travel agent can refer you to travel insurance providers. Click here to read risks associated with international travel.

Global Volunteers’ Respiratory Viruses Policy for Service Programs in the U.S. and Abroad

Team Leader

Expert team leading throughout your service program.

Global Volunteers Tanzania Team Leader Fatna Mbugi directs your daily work assignments and all local volunteer logistics. In cooperation with our community partners, Fatna facilitates your team’s orientation, assists you in being fully engaged in your assigned work project(s), and manages all project-related logistical issues. She was born in Iringa and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Dodoma.

She was first hired as an RCP Caregiver and worked directly with families to ensure their children’s health and development in the first 1,000 days of life. Fatna will introduce you to the community, help acclimate you to the local culture, invite you to community events, and engage you in the day-to-day life of the community.

“Fatna is bright, kind, intelligent, supportive, and honest. whenever I had a problem she would be quick to address it. She made me feel welcomed and needed. She’s very well connected to the community she knows and respects them and they know and respect her. I felt safe and confident under her guidance.” ~ Sofia Holmqvist, Tanzania Volunteer

“Fatna facilitated a welcoming and positive learning environment she was readily available to address any needs volunteers had.” ~ Kimberly Langenmayr, Tanzania Volunteer

“Fatna is a great communicator, incredibly bright and caring. She was always on top of everything. I would 100% recommend the program due to her leadership and the environment she creates for volunteers.” ~ Juleen Veneziano, Tanzania Volunteer

“Clear, responsible, knowledgeable, supportive, open, fun, dedicated, experienced. I particularly appreciate that Fatna was sharing aspects of her personal life and culture whenever I asked.” ~ Donna McNamara, Tanzania Volunteer

“Fatna is hard working and devoted to her job and community she tries to make everyone feel included and seen.” ~ Anne Matthew, Tanzania Volunteer

“Warm, welcoming, kind, always willing to help and accommodate.” ~ Adriana Sevilla, Tanzania Volunteer

Free Time

Oh, what sights there are to see!

Evenings and weekends are free time for Tanzania volunteers. This is when you can spend time with local families and enjoy community events, or simply “kick back” and savor the slower pace that is East Africa.

Many volunteers take a weekend Safari in Ruaha National Park and Game Reserve, East Africa’s largest park and game reserve, about 40 miles from Iringa. It is home to 10,000 elephants and over 500 species of birds, plus giraffes, lions, buffalo, cheetahs, leopards, hippos, baboons, zebras and antelope. Safari companies will pick you up in Ipalamwa on Friday afternoon and are scheduled to have you back before sunset on Sunday. Additional activities after the volunteer work day in Tanzania include exploring the local market, listening to music at community churches and cultural events, and playing board games with your teammates.

“When I applied, you didn’t tell me how much fun I was going to have!”
– Jim Colburn, Tanzania Volunteer

Family Opportunities

Share the gift of service with your family.

Families of various compositions serve with us in Tanzania nearly every month school is not in session: parents and teens, grandparents and grandchildren, aunts, uncles and nephews and nieces. Please visit here to see the minimum age requirements. The contrast of life in a Tanzanian village with your teen’s own lives comes up time and again as the greatest lesson for all. And, despite material poverty, village life is full and joy-filled. The following are just a few of the many parents’ reflections on why their family volunteering in Tanzania was so meaningful:

“I know why we brought the kids to Tanzania, although at first I was skeptical. When you put a face on poverty, it changes you forever. Our kids are teenagers, and this was the last chance to do it while they’re young, before college and their own families, a last push for social responsibility to the world, their community, their neighbors. They learned more than I could ever have imagined.”
Jamie Ford, volunteering with wife Leesha and their seven children

The need is so great – and your reward so vast – that volunteering as a family will be an experience you’ll remember forever. Read more about family volunteering here.

“My children came to feel as though they became “kin,” and still do after all this time. I can assure you that every team member feels the same. You’re in the best hands, as you’ll see from the responsiveness of Global Volunteers, and for every moment you’re on the ground with the team. Global Volunteers has created a unique, loyal, and lasting legacy in their projects, especially in Tanzania.”
Amy Kleissler, three-time Tanzania volunteer with her sons

Parents and guardians are expected to supervise their teenage volunteers, and collaborate with our staff and local partners to maximize the service experience for everyone. Teens are invited to offer their own perspectives in team meetings and fully participate in free-time activities.

To ensure a positive experience for everyone, you must comply with Global Volunteers’ minor supervision policy.

Minimum Ages for Family Service Projects

Parents and legal guardians of minors – under age 18 – must complete a Minor Registration and travel with their children. Children 15 and under must work closely with their parent or legal guardian on family service projects.

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Country	Community	Min Age	Notes
Cook Islands	Rarotonga	8
Cuba	Havana	12
Greece	Maleviziou, Island of Crete	12
Italy	Castelvetrano, Sicily	12
Italy	Castelvetrano, Sicily	10
Malaysia	Johor Bahru	7
Montana	Blackfeet Reservation	8
Nepal	Kathmandu	10
Peru	Lima	7
Poland	Reymontowka - School Year Program	6
Poland	Reymontowka - Language Camp Led by Ukrainian Team Leader	6
Poland	Siedlce - Polish-Ukrainian Summer Program	6
Puerto Rico	Aguada	10
St. Lucia	Anse La Raye	8
Tanzania	Ipalamwa Area	10	(July through Nov)
Tanzania	Ipalamwa Area	13
Texas	San Juan	12
Vietnam	Hanoi	15

Group Opportunities

Maximize the capability of your group.

Student, professional, faith-based, corporate, and community groups are warmly engaged by the open-hearted Tanzanian people. Global Volunteers Tanzania RCP Demonstration Program offers an extraordinary opportunity for students from virtually every discipline and individuals from every profession to be of service while learning from villagers how live day-by-day. Because of the wide variety of community service projects, every member of your group can apply their unique skills and interests in meaningful service to Tanzanian children and families. Learn about each other in a non-traditional way as an intact volunteer team, and know that your specific contributions to genuine community development projects advance the futures of Tanzanian children and families.

Tanzania service-learning for academic groups

Educators and health care professionals of all specialties are needed to contribute their skills to helping deliver the 12 Essential Services to village families and children of all ages. Its in the village where a coordinated effort makes an enormous positive impact. We work with your group to develop a lasting relationship with students and families – and to enable you to continue to support them after you leave Tanzania. Health care professionals offer patient care at the new clinic, provide public health education, conduct interactive parent workshops, accompany our staff on home visits, assist with well-baby clinics and administer blood pressure checks, diabetes screenings, eye exams, malaria and dengue fever prevention, and de-worming programs. Students and teachers practice conversational English and tutor primary and secondary school students in math, geography, and science. Social workers, physical therapists, nutritionists and dietitians share their expertise during parent workshops, meal preparation classes, home visits, and in clinics and community centers. Masons, carpenters, plumbers, and painters – anyone who can work with their hands – are needed to help repair and maintain classrooms and community buildings. Everyone can help plant and maintain household and school gardens to improve nutrition. Best of all – comparing notes with your teammates as the red Tanzanian sun sets, you reflect on the contributions you’ve made and the remarkable culture you’re experiencing together.

Read details on group volunteering:

“I’ve never met happier, more welcoming people. The children run up to us, hold our hands and walk wherever we’re going. People invite us for tea and generously share what little food they have.”

Kathryn BertolozziTanzania Volunteer

“Every child in my class smiled, listened intently and responded with their own thanks, and came up for hugs. It was the most memorable event of the week.”

Adam VavrekTanzania Volunteer

“I was surprised by how appreciative and eager the students are to learn. I learned so much from them about their lives and the village. I have a great deal of respect for Tanzanians.”

Jake RothTanzania Volunteer

“The experience allowed me to re-assess what’s truly important. These people may not have material wealth, but they have a cultural richness and a closeness that could never be bought or owned.”

Dana Starace-NastasiTanzania Volunteer

“The music at the church service left me speechless. It was a beautiful experience… I will be forever grateful.”

Katheryn CoyTanzania Volunteer

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