The answer is very simple. The more I thought about participating in a volunteering program, the more I wanted to give it a shot. One day in class, I was talking to a friend about our summer plans. She told me that she had just booked a volunteering experience in Tanzania. I asked her to send me the link, and the next day I simply said: 'Anna, I'm going with you'. It didn't take much convincing.
Alumni Spotlight: Ewa Ostapczuk
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Ewa is a final year student in Human Nutrition and Dietetics. She tends to do things in the wrong order, or the opposite to everyone else. After her Leaving Certificate exams, instead of joining her friends on a party holiday, she flew to volunteer in Tanzania.
Why did you choose this program?
What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?
Camps International is the agency that organized the trip. They took care of a lot of things - transport, accommodation, food, activities, projects for us to get involved in. They also provided us with very useful information about what to expect, culture differences, what to bring, recommended vaccines etc.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
Use your weekends wisely. Do something every single weekend. Save up as much money as possible so you can spend your weekends doing extra activities like climbing Kilimanjaro, scuba diving, snorkeling, going on a safari etc.
What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?
An average weekday (Monday-Friday) we would have breakfast at 8am. By the time everybody was ready to leave, it was about 9am. We walked to the local school where all of the projects we were doing were - building the mama's house, making toilets for the school, refurbishing classrooms and the walls of the school. We got to work at 9:30-10am.
Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?
Honestly, I was more excited than scared. I have a lot of trust in people so I don't usually get scared, other than the fear of getting scammed as a new fresh-off-the-plane tourist.
I think my biggest shock was the first day. We got into our truck at the airport, and the driver kept saying 'one dollar, one dollar' so we would tip him for helping us with our bags. Important to note: tipping is expected. When we drove to the hotel where we would be spending the first night. We drove through villages and saw extreme poverty all around us. The culture and scenery was VERY different to western Europe. On top of that, we (the volunteers) didn't know each other yet and everybody was a little scared.
Do you have any last tips for future volunteers going to Tanzania?
Why of course I do.
- 1. Bring enough sunscreen. It is quite expensive there as tourists are the only ones who buy and use it.
- 2. If you like to travel, stay for more than a month - your time will fly by. I have to say, I was not at all home sick. I just occasionally missed my friends and family.
- 3. Book return flights for a later date so you have time to travel a little more after the end of the program.
- 4. Get used to Tanzanian time - 6 am can mean 6:05 am or 9 am.
- 5. When entering someone's property, it is considered rude if you don't greet every single person there.
- 6. Write a travel journal - write down the funny stories, the little details that you want to keep with you forever, and people's names and contact information!! You'd be surprised how easy it is to forget someone's name after just a few years.
- 7. For more details about housing, food, extra activities and my thoughts on how we really impacted the community...check out my review 'So good I would go back' https://www.gooverseas.com/organization/camps-international-reviews