Project summary

Teach English to local Tanzanian children from 4-14 years old in rural villages in a remote and poor, but very friendly and beautiful location, working with a small charity called Village Africa.

We work with two primary schools, in the villages of Yamba and Milingano in the West Usambara Mountains. 

Click here for more information about the charity Village Africa.

A typical week

A normal week will have around 15 hours of English lessons. You will usually have your own class and your role is to focus on improving core English skills - speaking, listening, reading and writing - and building the children's confidence to communicate. You will follow the Tanzanian curriculum but we also encourage lots of fun and interaction, including games, songs, art, dressing up, and other creative activities that get the kids using English.

There are also roles in the kindergarten where the children are normally between the ages of 4-7. There is a great opportunity for someone who loves playing with and entertaining children as well as teaching them basic English. The kindergarten is a less daunting environment but equally challenging and rewarding.

The location

The villages are located in the the Usambaras, in the North East of Tanzania and form part of the Eastern Arc Mountains.  Each village is quite different even though they are located nearby.  Milingano is perhaps how most people imagine an African village, fairly dry and hot with the classic African red earth.  Yamba, being located much higher up is colder, lush and green, with stunnng views of the surrounding area. 

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.

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 at the end of an extended period of time living in a local environment. 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.

How you can make a difference

English is very important to the Tanzanians and those with a good command of the language will have much better opportunities. The number one request from local teachers and parents is that we help the children to improve their English language skills.

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

What's included

• A comprehensive information booklet and pre-departure support
• Being met on arrival at Dar es Salaam airport
• 2 nights acclimatisation and orientation (by the beach near Dar)
• Transfers to the village
• Local introductions and tours
• 1 week teacher training course (TEFL)
• Accommodation in a house shared with other volunteers (your own room)
• Transport for 5 weekends away from the project site (including Tanga)
• Ongoing support, help and advice from our local team

What else to budget for

The following items are not included and estimates are given as a guide for your budgeting: flights (£450-£600), visa ($50), travel insurance, personal spending / living costs (£250 per month).

Other projects you might also be interested in....

* Secondary school teaching in Tanzania (for qualified teachers)

* Summer Camp in Tanzania

* Building projects in Tanzania

* Other roles in Tanzania

* Teaching in Nepal

* Teaching in Thailand

______________________________________________________

More details

Background information about the project

Yamba Primary School has about 240 students in class sizes of 25-35 students. Milingano Primary School is much larger and some of the classes have over 100 students (volunteers teach the smaller classes)! Both schools also have a kindergarten class. Although the facilities are very basic and there is a shortage of teachers, the schools are incredibly welcoming.

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.

Volunteers will be placed in either Yamba or Milingano school, after the teacher training, according to the greatest needs at that time.

Volunteer accommodation and food

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

Freetime and travel opportunities

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. You will have plenty of free time to relax, enjoy Africa, get to know local people and learn more about yourself. It is important that you come equipped to entertain yourself with books, musical instruments, paints, walking shoes and a host of ideas that can be swapped with other volunteers. There are also some great hiking opportunities in the area including viewpoints of Kilimanjaro and the Tanzania/Kenya border, waterfalls and historical caves.

On alternate weekends Village Africa organises transport to allow you to do some travel and exploration and have a change of pace and scene. A popular choice is the ancient trading port and beaches of Tanga, offering good facilities, including email, bars and restaurants.

Challenges

This is a remote and rural village environment with no running water and electricity.

Teaching is very challenging and rewarding. It takes a lot of hard work but the results can change the lives of the children that you are working with, as well as your view of yourself.

The idea of teaching students in Africa can be a daunting one, but we provide TEFL training as well as continuous support and monitoring to ensure that you enjoy your work and do it well.

You should be adaptable to living and working in a group.

Where does your money go

PoD is run as a non-profit organisation and does not receive any external funding. We charge a fee for all our placements to cover the overseas costs of volunteering and the costs of running our organisation in the UK. 

For this project approximately 55% of the fee you pay is passed directly to the project, an important source of funding for their work.

Volunteer reviews

Click here to read volunteer reviews for our teaching in Tanzania volunteer project.