PoD - Primary Teaching

Primary Teaching - Tanzania

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

Start date	2010: 11 April, 5 September
Duration	12 weeks (can be extended)
Price	£1395
Number of volunteers	Normally 2-8

About the schools

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

A typical week

A normal week will have around 15 hours of English lessons. You will normally have your own class and your role is to focus on improving speaking and listening skills and building the children's confidence to communicate. This means lots of fun and interaction, including games, songs, art, sports, dressing up, and any 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.

Click here for more information about the charity Village Africa.

Lifestyle 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, 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.

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.

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.

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
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 the Village Africa team

What's not included

The following estimates are given as a guide for your budgeting: flights (£450-£600), travel insurance, visa (£38), food and general living costs (£250 per month).

Benefit

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.

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 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.

Requirements

You don't need to have any previous experience, just energy, enthusiasm and a love of working with children.

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.