Tanzania & Zanzibar Island: African Safari, School Construction & Education, and Swimming with Dolphins

In June 2018 I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Tanzania with GIVE. This trip completely changed my life and the people I met are friends that I will keep for life. This trip was incredibly humbling and opened my eyes to know true value and what’s really important in life. My experience with GIVE and the incredible people that I met in the village of Kairo led me to change my major so that I can impact people on a global level. It was so wonderful the way that we were welcomed into the village and how kind everyone was. One of my favorite memories of the trip was playing soccer and volleyball on the beach with the locals and laughing so hard that we were almost all in tears. I have never been so happy and so at peace before and everyday I wish I could go back. When going on this trip I didn’t really know what to expect I was just thrilled that I had the opportunity to travel abroad and volunteer. However, I can honestly say that I got so much more out of this experience than I ever thought I would. Everyone was so incredible from the GIVE staff to the locals to my fellow volunteers. If anyone is thinking about traveling abroad with GIVE I strongly recommend it!! This trip will change your and the people you meet will have a lasting impact on your life.

My expedition to Tanzania with GIVE, was a truly rewarding experience due to the takeaway from the experience as well as the positive impact that is let on the village of Kairo! My entire life I have been dreaming of the chance to travel to Tanzania and immerse myself within their beautiful culture. Choosing GIVE was the best choice I made, as there advocacy for education and sustainable infrastructure is no more apparent than within the village of Cairo. As you work alongside locals to build schools, wells, or living quarters, you will find yourself connecting very deeply with people on the other side of the world. Being able to see the improvements in English literacy is very rewarding, as these lingual skills allow them to communicate in a new world of commerce. Traveling to Tanzania with GIVE was the best experience of my life and has allowed me to pursue my passion for worldwide education for all.

Going on this trip is the best decision anyone of any age can make. Whether you have a knack for travel, being social, teaching, construction GIVE will make any location feel like home. GIVE guides are knowledgeable, fun and downright inspiring. On this trip I was able to give a bit and gain a lot. I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.

I walked onto a plane, knowing no one. At 19 years old I was pretty dang nervous. In less than a day I would be on the opposite side of the world. Once we landed the fear slowly turned into excitement, which later turned into motivation. The trip helped me find myself in a way (cliché I know, but it’s true). My timid, shy self exploded out of my shell and found a true passion for teaching.

Since the trip I have been nonstop thinking about teaching abroad once I finish college. My GIVE guides even gave me recommendations on the trip to continue teaching and even volunteering abroad. In the fall I plan to take my TEFL course and become certified to teach English as a second language abroad.

If you are considering this trip, just do it. Pack a bag and do it. Go open up, transform into and better version of yourself and hep others in the process!

This was by far the experience of a lifetime. My time in Tanzania completely changed my life for the better and I can easily say that I have never been happier than when I was volunteering with GIVE Volunteers. The structure and purpose of the organization is so pure and genuine that it truly makes you feel like you are making a difference. Us volunteers were able to make the most beautiful connections not only with one another, but with our local host community as well. But hands down the best part about this experience was witnessing your hard work, working side by side with passionate community members, come to life when we finished building the school and performed our final tests with our students to see all the progress they have made.

This was my most recent trip with GIVE. Again, it was nothing short of amazing. Truly the people on this trip have impacted my life on ways I cannot describe. I had peers from every part of the world. I was a little worried before this trip, not knowing their language and if I'd be able to bond/communicate with the locals, but some of them are fluent in English, and we even had the opportunity to take Swahili lessons directly from our students (which was SO beneficial).

I actually had the fortunate opportunity of having the opening ceremony for Skuli Ya Kairo GIVE (which is the school we've been working on for over 4 years). It was pretty touching to see the community involvement and support throughout the process of this. Everyone gathered for the opening day ceremony, speeches and ribbon cutting. And to actually see how excited students were to be in a classroom for the first time, to pick up a book, to learn English, count numbers...I can't really put into words the satisfaction their smiles bring to someone like me. It really makes all the sweaty work days worth it.
I also participated in the Mount Kilimanjaro add-on. Definitely worth the money and the time. You climb and summit with THE MOST supportive team I've ever met (these porters are literally super heroes without capes). I really don't know if I could have done it with any other group or friends beside me. An experience of a lifetime and very, very glad I chose to spend the extra dollar to take part in this.

Thankful for the friends I've made on this trip, the relationships that came through it, and the memories I've created. Forever grateful.

Once in a lifetime experience! Zanzibar island is heaven. The locals in Cairo are so welcoming and were so happy to see us. We worked alongside them in a partnership to help build their school as well as teaching English to kids and adults alike!
In between the hard days of work, we did trips to local islands to see dolphins, go diving, monkey forests!
At the end of the trip, we went back to mainland Tanzania for a safari which was breathtaking. We saw the infamous tree-climbing lions, giraffes, and elephants!

I met incredible people from all over the world and we particularly got to know each other during our hike up Kilimanjaro. We were accompanied by fantastic guides who looked after us from top to bottom!