Join a team to run a 2 week charity development camp in villages in a beautiful rural location, working with a small charity called Village Africa.

About the Camp

The 2 week summer development camp is a very focused effort to deliver a lot of benefit to communities over a short space of time, and have an amazing experience while doing it!

You will be working with a charity called Village Africa - click here for more information.

For the 2 weeks you can choose to get involved in one or more of the following areas:

• English camps at the primary schools
  
• Building projects
• Other roles 

How you will spend the 2 weeks

After a night of initial acclimatisation, you will be transported to the village of Yamba, where you will be based.  During your first couple of days in Yamba you will receive introductions, tours and training for the roles you will be involved with.

English camps at primary schools

For those who want to get involved at the schools, you will have a day of specific teaching training and then start the process of preparing for the camps. Guidance, ideas and basic resources will be provided, and the group will run and manage the camps.

The camps involve as much fun and interaction as possible including games, sports, songs, art and other creative activities to use English and help motivate the students. There is also an opportunity to explore different cultures. 

We work with two primary schools, in the villages of Yamba and Milingano.  The facilities are very basic and although there is a shortage of teachers, the schools are incredibly welcoming. A camp will be run at each school for 2-3 days each.

Education is highly valued by families and some children walk for up to 3 hours to attend school each day. Orphans and children from one parent families also attend school, rather than being kept at home for chores.

Building

For the builders, there are a number of building projects that are being undertaken with the assistance of Village Africa. These are all 'local' projects so volunteers will work closely with local builders, carpenters and labour.

The project you will do depends on what is in progress at the time but ongoing work includes the building and renovation of classrooms, health posts, accommodation and toilets.

By providing new and renovated buildings there is great benefit to the local community, schools, healthcare and the running of the charity.

Other roles

There are also other valuable roles you can get involved with such as helping with the administration of the charity's office, computer training for staff, knitting & crafts, and health education.

Environment and accommodation

A huge part of the adventure of Tanzania is the environment you will live and work in. The villages are in an extremely beautiful area with a mixture of forest and farmland. There is lots of wildlife including dikdiks, rabbits, chameleons and birds. The people who live here are subsistence farmers and, despite it being fertile, are incredibly poor.

Volunteers live together in simple houses in the village. A housegirl is employed to fetch water, shop, cook and clean and a watchman is employed to oversee the houses at night.

Lifestyle

You will soon adapt to the Tanzanian way of life that is dictated by the hours of daylight. With the absence of electricity, waking hours become fairly similar to daylight hours.

During the 2 weeks you will have plenty of time to get to know the local communities and also a couple of days off to explore the local area.  There are some great local hiking opportunities including viewpoints of Kilimanjaro and the Tanzania/Kenya border, waterfalls and historical caves.

If possible, we highly recommend adding an extra week on to your stay to go on safari in some of the most outstanding national parks in the world, or explore the stunning spice island of Zanzibar.

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world and as such the standard of living appears very low to us. The Tanzanian way of life is extremely laid back, relaxed and friendly. Society is generally not money driven and provides a very different view on how to live. This can lead to a degree of culture shock for people visiting, but more often leads to culture shock on the return home. Longer term this can help to produce a much deeper and more mature understanding of our own society and a more tolerant and caring view of other peoples and societies.

What our volunteers say

"I've dreamed of coming to Africa for about 10 years, but never thought it would live up to my expectations. I can't imagine having a better experience than Yamba, what a fantastic place and what an honour to have been so accepted into their community so warmly. I'd also like to say that volunteering with PoD/Village Africa was the best thing I ever did and I'd recommend you to anyone, thanks a lot guys!!!" - Jo

For more views from past volunteers please see our testimonials.

What's included

• Travel advice and assistance
• A comprehensive information booklet
• Being met on arrival at Dar es Salaam airport
• 1 night acclimatisation and orientation (by the beach near Dar)
• Transfers to the village
• Local introductions and training
  
• Accommodation in a house shared with other volunteers (shared rooms)
• Food (all main meals)
  
• Ongoing support, help and advice from the Village Africa team

What's not included

The following estimates are given as a guide for your budgeting: flights (£500-£600), travel insurance, visa (£38), general living costs (£35 per week).

Benefits

You will be helping some of the poorest people in the world through a variety of different projects and supporting the work that Village Africa is doing.  The programme benefits you, the work of Village Africa and importantly the local communities.

Challenges

This is a remote and challenging environment with no running water and electricity so if you are looking for a luxurious 2 weeks this may not be for you!

As this is a 2 week project we pack a lot in to a short period of time so be prepared to work hard and have a lot of fun! You should be willing to work within a team and be adaptable to living and working in a group.

Requirements

You don't need to have any previous experience, just lots of energy and enthusiasm.

Volunteers must be at least 18 years old.

Next steps and how to apply

Please contact us if you would like to discuss the placement, or go to the how to apply section where you can apply online or download an application form.

You might also be interested in....

Our other related placements in Tanzania and around the world:

* Teaching in Tanzania

* Building projects in Tanzania

* Other roles in Tanzania

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