Project summary

The charity Village Africa is looking for qualified teachers to teach a range of subjects at a new secondary school in a rural village in a remote and poor, but very friendly and beautiful location.

The school is called Mibukwe Secondary School. This combines the names of the 3 villages in the area including Milingano. It is based just outside Milingano, a 30 minute walk from the village centre where volunteers live.

Click here for more information about the charity Village Africa.

A typical week

A normal week will have around 15 hours of lessons from Monday-Thursday allowing weekends free to relax, explore the local area and have weekends away.

All classes are taught in English so depending on your teaching specialisation you can get involved in a variety of subjects and lessons.

The location

The village is located in the the Usambaras, in the North East of Tanzania and form part of the Eastern Arc Mountains.  Milingano is perhaps how most people imagine an African village, fairly dry and hot with the classic African red earth. It is a lively village and has a weekly market.

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

Education is extremely important to the Tanzanians and those who can be educated to Secondary level will have much better opportunities in life.

All lessons are taught in English so a qualified teacher who is a native English speaker is incredibly valuable.

The school is still young and growing, so it is a very exciting opportunity to be part of a school in its infancy. Volunteers have the opportunity to help establish a strong culture in the school, by setting a good example and through discussions with the Headmaster and the other teachers.

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
• Pick up and drop off at Tanga
• Transfers to the village
• Local introductions and tours
• Orientation to the Tanzanian education system
  
• Accommodation in a house shared with other volunteers (your own room)
• 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 including weekend trips away from the project (£250 per month).

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

* Primary teaching in Tanzania

* Summer Camp in Tanzania

* Building projects in Tanzania

* Other roles in Tanzania

* Teaching in Nepal

* Teaching in Thailand

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More details

Background information about the project

The school is a government school and opened officially in May 2007. The school was built by the government and villagers together in partnership as there was no other secondary school in the area with many students unable to continue on into secondary education.

It is an English medium school so all classes are taught in English although the level of English is low. The school follows the national syllabus and take national exams. They need particular help with science, maths and English teaching.

Each year the school is growing as they will have a new intake, building up to full secondary status. There are currently 4 teachers including the Headmaster, who speaks good English.

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.

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.

The idea of teaching students in Africa can be a daunting one, but we provide introductions and support and monitoring to ensure that you enjoy your work.

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.