What position do you hold at GapGuru? What led you to join their team?
I am the GapGuru country manager in Tanzania. My affiliation with Tanzania, having spent my childhood here, coupled with my love of working with and for people to inspire change and development are what inspired me to join the programme as a member of in country staff.
I believe in the impact of volunteering and like to be someone who advises to support this. My knowledge of the country and development issues of the region allow me to do this in a way which has positive impact for our local partners.
GapGuru offers meaningful placements which are customised to meet volunteers and partners needs. This is something which I am proud of and happy to be a part of.
What makes GapGuru's programs special?
I enjoy the role because it is so varied. But the best aspect for me is designing placements which tick all the boxes from both a volunteer and partner perspective. If I match a volunteer with a project well it makes me very happy.
Furthermore, if the volunteer and members of the project feel engaged with the work and can see the benefits than you know it’s right. While I am a believer in the positive impacts of volunteering I do think that a placement needs guidance and structure to ensure the highest levels of impact.
What's your favourite story of a student's experiences on a GapGuru program?
I am always so impressed by the drive and focus of volunteers on the GapGuru programme considering they are often very young and come here with little or no work experience. In June 2013 I had a school leaver called Jeremy who joined us for 6 weeks on the GapGuru Tanzania Encompassed programme.
He worked at a small community school in a teaching capacity and really got stuck into his work and even teaching his own classes without any support from teachers. He was an exceptional GapGuru volunteer, so hard working and so flexible.
I think why I remember him so much as that when he returned home after his experience he sent us the most lovely email exclaiming that he had had the best time of his life! I think the experience had surpassed all his expectations which was really nice to hear.
What do you think is the most common misconception about gap year travel?
A good think to know when travelling in Tanzania is that people are very friendly; what may seem intrusive or overt to someone from the West is perfectly acceptable here. One of my favourite things about living here is the openness, the directness of the people.
I have never and will never feel as supported by people as I have done throughout my experiences of living in Tanzania. People will go out of their way to make you feel welcome and often it purely altruistic.
What tips do you have for students if a gap year trip would be their first time abroad?
The great thing about the GapGuru programme is its location. In Arusha we have good access and transport links to the North of Tanzania as well as affordable internal flights to other regions of the country. From climbing mountains to safaris, beaches to cultural village tours, Tanzania has such a variety of things to offer and they are all so insightful and beautiful. It really is an interesting place to travel and during the last 10 years the service industry has become so much more facilitated make it much more comfortable to travel.
