Children are the future of Africa – help them grow and thrive. In the land of the Serengeti Plain, the Great Ruaha Rift and the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzanian children are the link to civilization’s past and future. Sadly, the social realities within this ancient African region are startling: High infant mortality, poor health care, under-nutrition, stunting, and low literacy rates stemming from extreme poverty. As a Tanzania volunteer, you make a significant impact in children’s lives in only a few weeks. Teach English, science, math and other classroom subjects, assist with public health and nutrition education, and care for children in daycare programs – a helping hand African children need to succeed in life. When you volunteer in Tanzania, you invest in the future of Africa!
Tanzania volunteer program fees are tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers when you follow our itinerary. Select Tanzania volunteer service dates and hold your place on a team with a $350 deposit. Call a volunteer coordinator at (800) 487-1074 for help if needed. If you prefer, you may print a text application and submit it by mail or fax. Minors – under age 18 – must complete a minor application and travel with a parent or adult legal guardian.
Most Tanzania volunteer lodging is double-occupancy, with a single room option for an additional fee. Click for single room fees in countries where this option is available.
*If choosing the one-week option, you are responsible for your own airfare from Iringa to Dar es Salaam – daily flights depart from Iringa for Dar in the morning. Global Volunteers staff will transport you to Iringa the night before your departure.
Global Volunteers’ Tanzania Country Manager is Edward Mgeni. Edward was born in Iringa, and attended primary school in Iringa and secondary school in Morogoro. He completed teacher training in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania and Kenya Evangelical University in Kericho. Following university, he returned to Tanzania and moved to Pommern to take a high school position in 1989. Since then, he’s served in a number of capacities including academic master and second master. He became our full-time in-country team leader in 2009, and continues to consult with Pommern and Ipalamwa secondary schools.
“Edward not only involved us in service work, but many cultural experiences as well. He is full of energy and represents the community and Global Volunteers well.”
Alaina Bean, Tanzania Volunteer
“Edward is a perfect gentleman, and it was obvious from day one that his main priority was our safety and wellbeing!”
Austin Talalla, Tanzania Volunteer
“Edward is an outstanding team leader. He is very smart, a wealth of knowledge about both Tanzania and the local community of which he is a resident. We immediately liked and respected Edward and considered him a friend.”
Eric Noyes, Tanzania Volunteer
“If you wanted a team leader who was caring both for his community and Global Volunteers Edward is your man. He enjoys humor and a good laugh. Available for all of your questions plus will assist in helping you answer a topic of interest for students. Assistant Team Leader Mohammed was my ‘gentle giant’– giving me advice and discussing sensitive issues. Edward & Mohammed are a strong team – the hardest working pair that we have encountered on Global Volunteers programs. You should be very pleased with their efforts in Tanzania.”
Helen and John Blythe
Plan your flight to arrive at the Dar es Salaam, Tanzania airport (airport code DAR), anytime on the first Saturday of your service program. You will return to Dar es Salaam at the conclusion of your service, and you may depart any time on or after that Saturday. Meet your team at the airport or Slipway Hotel in Dar if you travel in Tanzania before the program. This coordinated schedule assists us in assembling the team for the two days of van transportation to the host community. Global Volunteers’ Tanzania volunteering program officially commences with the evening meal on the first Saturday. If your flight is delayed, please contact us as soon as you confirm your new flight to Tanzania, so your team leader can offer you alternative transportation to the host community.
For help with your flight arrangements, please visit Janbala, our travel partner’s website.
Your health, safety and security in Tanzania is our top priority. Your lodging, food and transportation are provided always with a mind to help you ensure your health, safety and security while volunteering in Tanzania at the work site and in your lodging facilities. Also, your Tanzanian team leader is trained in CPR and first aid. Read more about health and safety here.
While there are risks travelling anywhere, you will not be in danger in Tanzania if you are cautious and follow good health and safety protocols. Roadway accidents are a serious safety risk, especially when crossing a road – remember that vehicles are driven on the left-hand side in Tanzania. HIV/AIDs and malaria are prevalent throughout Africa. Both can be prevented by taking appropriate precautions. Mosquito bed-nets are provided in your Tanzania volunteer accommodations. We urge you to pack sunscreen, insect repellent, a wide-brimmed hat and a water bottle for outside work. And we strongly recommend you consult your physician, public health clinic and/or travel clinic for detailed travel health information for Tanzania, and to ensure your vaccinations are up to date. For general Tanzania health recommendations, consult the following sources:
Centers for Disease Control | Health Canada Online | Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade | Travel Health Online
Infectious tropical diseases can be largely prevented by vaccination. Proof of immunization against yellow fever is required to enter Tanzania if you are traveling through or coming from a country infected with yellow fever. Travelers diarrhea is common among foreign visitors. Ask your physician about a prescription for Cipro or another antibiotic. Other potential Tanzania travel risks are poisonous snakes, bees and wild animals – all of which can be avoided with caution, preparation and common sense.
Global Volunteers includes emergency medical evacuation insurance in your volunteer in Tanzania program fee. We also recommend health insurance that covers you while in Tanzania, 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.
Evenings and weekends are free time for Tanzania volunteers. Many team member spend time with local families and enjoying community events. Additional activities after the volunteer work day in Tanzania are exploring the local markets and countryside, listening to music at community churches and cultural centers, participating in Tanzanian sports, and Simply “kicking back” and enjoy the slower pace that is Africa. Day trips to nearby Tanzanian wildlife preserves can also be arranged. The last two days of the program are reserved for travel from the host community to Dar es Salaam, and departure from Tanzania.
“When I applied, you didn’t tell me how much fun I was going to have!”
– Jim Colburn, Tanzania Volunteer
While our non-profit status prohibits us from planning your Tanzania free-time activities, our Tanzanian staff will advise you of some options such as booking a safari before or after the service program in Ruaha National Park. If you arrive in Dar es Salaam early, there are many distractions before dinner on the first Saturday of your program. Visit Tanzanian handcraft markets, the Makonde Carvers, or swim and hike on Bongoyo Island, accessible by boat cruises departing from the pier near the Slipway hotel. The ground travel between Dar and Iringa offers breathtaking landscapes crossing a wildlife preserve that invariably provides sightings of elephants, giraffes, baboons, zebras and other wild animals.
Families of various compositions serve with us every month in Tanzania: Parents and children, Grandparents and grandchildren, Aunts, Uncles and nephews and nieces. The contrast of life in a Tanzanian village with their own lives comes up time and again as the greatest lesson for children. But more, that despite material poverty, their lives are full and joy-filled. The following is a sample of the reports sent to us:
“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
“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 Volunteer has created a unique, loyal, and lasting legacy in their projects, especially in Pommern, Tanzania.”
Amy Kleissler, three-time Tanzania volunteer with her sons
“While we were teaching the Tanzanians, they were teaching us – about community, joy under extremely difficult living conditions, hope amidst poverty, and disease and the crushing reality of AIDS – and how they are going to overcome it. The beauty of the land and the people combined into another world which is unforgettable. We can’t stop thinking about the experience – all of us. What I think was unique for me as a parent was volunteering as a family, to be part of a larger group with a purpose, especially when the boys are teenagers and could relate easily with other kids as other teenagers just in a different part of the world.”
Shauna Doyle de Brun, Tanzania volunteer with her sons
Parents and guardians are expected to supervise their child volunteers, and collaborate with our team leader and local partners to maximize the service experience for everyone. Youth are invited to offer their own perspectives in team meetings and fully participate in free-time activities. In this way, your child gains a personal understanding of the Tanzanian culture as well as the role and responsibilities of a team member. They likely also will create life-long friendships with Tanzanian youth who share their interests and experiences – and make a permanent impression on all who serve.
Student, professional and community groups are warmly engaged by the open-hearted Tanzanian people. Because of the wide variety of volunteer 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 unique contributions on genuine development projects advance the futures of Tanzanian youth and families.
Tanzania service-learning for high school and college groups
For instance, educators and health care professionals of all specialties are needed to contribute their skills to projects providing the 12 Essential Services to Tanzanian children of all ages. Its in Iringa, Tanzania 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 assist with non-invasive procedures such blood pressure checks, diabetes screening, eye exams, malaria and dengue fever prevention and de-worming programs. Students and teachers practice conversational English and tutor Tanzanian students in math and science, and help with homework. Social workers, physical therapists, nutritionists and dietitians share their expertise in clinics and community centers. Everyone can help plant and maintain community gardens to improve family 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 culture you’ve experienced together.
Our development commitment in Africa began in 1987. Every year since, volunteering students, groups and families have helped Tanzanian leaders provide essential services so urgently needed to transform the Iringa District. Your help is needed too! Share your skills in preschool, elementary and secondary classrooms, on a university campus, in an orphanage and daycare center, and throughout the community in health and nutrition campaigns. Invest in resourceful young Africans. Review a standard volunteer in Tanzania program schedule here.
1, 2, 3 weeks year-round
Fees From:
$2,595.00
Projects Include:
Teaching, Childcare, Labor, Health Care
Local time:
In Dar es Salaam: You spend the first and last nights of the program at a comfortable oceanside hotel with four restaurants, a juice bar, an ice cream shop, and an internet cafe.
In Iringa: You’re lodged at a comfortable guesthouse in double-occupancy rooms, with private bathrooms, showers and hot and cold running water.
Meals in the community, prepared by experienced cooks, are based on rice, pasta, potatoes and beans. Added to that are fresh vegetables, eggs, chicken and savory sauces. Seasonal fruit is also available during season. Bottled and filtered water is provided daily. Vegetarian diets can generally be accommodated.
Be The Change.
Through important, full-day volunteer assignments, cultural activities and time for personal adventures, you’ll learn about Tanzania and remain forever invested. Our time-tested and proven philosophy of service ensures your efforts help advance the host community’s development vision and goals. You contribute to genuine development projects, and in doing so, you‘re accepted as family. Our commitment to work in partnership on long-term community projects enables you, in just a short time, to serve as a critical link in a chain of volunteer support spanning three decades in Africa.
Read more about volunteering in Tanzania though the prospective of Tanzania volunteers here or on our Tanzania program blog.
