| TANZANIA | THE PROJECT | SUPPORT | ACCOMMODATION | PRICES |
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This project is located in the small village of Mlangarini, a rural community in the northern highlands of Tanzania whose inhabitants depend largely on small scale subsistence agriculture.
Towering over the village is the majestic Mt Meru (4566m) & the flat plains of Masaai-land are a stones throw away. These can be seen from the hills surrounding the village.
Nearby Arusha sits in lush countryside near the foot of Mt Meru & is the main gateway to the famous northern parks circuit, as such it is the safari capital of Tanzania.
For the more adventurous, it offers the ideal starting point for climbing neighbouring Mt Meru & nearby Mt Kilimanjaro.
Project Age Limit: Minimum age of 18 years with no specific maximum age limit.
Tanzania
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Tanzania, with its magnificent world famous National parks, tropical beaches, warm hearted friendly people & rich culture is an extremely popular holiday destination for travellers from across the globe.
While Tanzanians in general are well nourished, most live on very low incomes & the infrastructure is very poor indeed.
Despite primary education being compulsory & widespread, education facilities are very limited or non existent in many cases.
The volunteer project will focus on one of three primary schools or the secondary school all of which are located in or around Mlangarini village.
Volunteer activities will include teaching English as a foreign language to students of varying ages (7 – 14 years for Primary students & 14 – 18 years for secondary students) & optionally, teaching physical education & sports lessons in the afternoons for those who may opt to do so. The sports lessons could consist of football, netball or volleyball.
n.b. Participants are not required to have TEFL qualifications.
Given that Tanzania, like the rest of Africa is heavily affected by HIV/AIDS, volunteers who are willing, can be provided with the opportunity to teach sex education & HIV/AIDS awareness education through the program.
Volunteer activities are by no means limited to those listed above, & arrangements can be made for almost any activity as requested.
There will be Swahili lessons available to volunteers 3 afternoons a week.
A substantial donation will be provided to the school as part of the cost of participating & each volunteer will decide to a large extent how such donation will be utilized. Typical examples are: construction of classrooms, teachers housing, desks etc or purchase of books & other teaching aids.
By participating in the project, volunteers will soon realize that what may seem a small effort on their part can make such a significant improvement to the community as a whole.
School Holidays
Since the project will focus on school work, it is important to schedule the project dates to coincide with the school terms.
It should be noted that volunteers can still participate in numerous out of school activities during school holidays.
In Tanzania there are 2 school terms each year, the dates of which vary from year to year. A general guideline for school holidays would be:
During mid term holidays there are always activities that can be pursued around Arusha & surrounding areas.
A typical day in the program
A typical weekday (Mon – Fri) in the village would be:
06:00 - Wake up, eat breakfast and prepare for the day ahead.
06:45 - Begin 5 minute walk to the school.
07:00 - Prepare for various lessons of the day.
08:00 - Start teaching.
12:30 - Take a break for lunch.
13:30 - Start afternoon lessons & activities.
16:00 - End of school day.
19:00 - Dinner at your accommodation.
Weekends & public holidays can be spent however participants would prefer.
There will be project coordinators and a support team, all of whom reside within the area that the project is located, who will provide any support or assistance you may require during your stay in Tanzania. You will be provided with their contact details together with a 24 hour emergency contact number for one of our project representatives in the UK before you depart for Tanzania.
Project Orientation
One of our project coordinators will provide you with an orientation upon arrival in Arusha, this will include:
You will be living in a 3 bedroom house located a convenient walking distance from your workplace, which you will be sharing with other volunteers. The house has a reliable supply of running water but it must be noted that Mlangarini is a rural community & electricity is non existent. Although basic by western standards your accommodation can be considered luxurious compared to the rest of the area. The house will afford security & privacy for the volunteers & is a great opportunity to meet some of the local villagers who regularly come to collect water from a stand pipe next to the house.
Laundry & housekeeping will be organized by the support team but volunteers will be expected to assist in keeping the house generally tidy.
All meals will be provided while you are in the village. Breakfast & dinner will be served at the house, while lunches during the week will be served at your workplace. However during weekends & public holidays lunch will be served at the house. You will be required to inform the cook if you intend to spend any time away from the village, in which case you will be expected to provide your own meals.
Communications
There will be a mobile telephone available at the house for which top-up credit is easily available locally. You will however, be required to travel to Arusha in order to access internet & e-mail facilities from any of the numerous internet cafes available there.
Free Time
Mainly consisting of weekends & public holidays, your free time can be spent either relaxing & soaking up the local village atmosphere. Alternatively, you can take the 40 minute bus ride to Arusha & enjoy everything it has to offer. Arusha is the tourist capital of Tanzania & there are numerous activities available. These include restaurants, bars, night-clubs, visits to markets, sightseeing & walking safaris etc. You may also choose to take a day or weekend safari to one the national parks literally on the doorstep of Arusha. Most of these activities can be easily arranged through your project coordinator.
Tanzania, being the magnificent tourist destination it is, has numerous opportunities to offer including safaris of longer duration (4 – 14 days), mountain expeditions, visits to Dar, the Indian Ocean coastline & Zanzibar etc. While all these activities can be arranged while in Tanzania, our project staff can organize any of these activities in advance. Additionally, we can provide more information on any of these activities to enable you to organize them yourself in advance.
Getting There
You will be required to arrange your own flights to Kilimanjaro International Airport, where you will be met, upon arrival, by your project coordinator who will arrange transfers to Arusha & subsequently to your project location.
Alternatively, you may arrange flights to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. However, your project coordinator will be unable to meet you at the airport. We will arrange alternative transfer to Arusha where you will be met by your project coordinator
n.b. Check with your travel agent as flights into Nairobi can sometimes be more economical.
4 weeks - £ 799
6 weeks - £1049
8 weeks - £1199
12 weeks - £1499
16 weeks - £1799
Project cost includes:
A substantial percentage of the project cost will include a donation to the school at which you volunteer.
Project cost does not include:
[1] Check with your nearest Tanzania High Commission for travel requirements to Tanzania.
[2] It is recommended that your insurance should cover medical evacuation.
For further information or to book a place on this project, e-mail us at info@mountmerumagic.org
