Projects Abroad Volunteer Programs in Tanzania

The human rights team at projects abroad Tanzania were more than accommodating and the work you do is actively beneficial to the women in the community. Remember to bring a laptop as this is crucial to the work. Irene makes it easy for you to get settled in and there is a wealth of information provided to you on arrival to learn about Tanzanian law. Salma house, the host family I stayed with were lovely and very welcoming. The organisation have social dinners every Thursday which is a good way to meet people that you may not necessarily be working with. All people from all projects come together on this day and the community day. The community day is a great way to try something new and experience a different project. This takes part the last Friday of every month. Arusha is a lovely town with lots of cafes and restaurants and day trips.

I joined the building project in Tanzanie, Arusha this year from March to June and those were the best three months in my life. I learned more from the people there than I could have ever imagined. building a dinning hall for maasai children was as challenging and beautiful as it was. to see those children everyday being happy, smiling at you, playing with you warmed my heart in a way I can't even describe. i learned what physical work means there and I even learned some things and I am pretty confident that I could now renovate a house myself with the things I learned. i would recommend everyone to go volunteer with project abroad because not only to they guide you every step of the way, they also ensure your safety and that you have a good time. you get intergrated into that community immediately and feel like you belong. i could write a whole book about all the things that I experienced but thanks to my volunteering experience I found out what I want to do in my future and am now a student and sadly don't have time yet to write my whole experience down. but if anyone wants to go volunteer and doesn't know with which organisation I can only recommend projects abroad and I checked every organisation before I chose them and I have never regretted my decision. not only is it an eye opening experience, where you learn and laugh like never before, you also meet some of the most amazing people in this world from all around the world!

Hi everyone!
I would like to share all my adventures I experienced in Arusha, but this would take me to long.
I was lucky to meet great woman groups, they were very interested in the trainings we have. Our project leader Elisabeth is doing a great job! As volunteer I felt instantly welcome at the office of projects abroad in Arusha. They showed me everything around the city, which made me feel very safe. The organisation was well-arranged and my hostfamily was great (they are a second family for me) I met a very nice project partner with whom I’m still in touch with... She’s going back this year, I couldn’t go back this year, but will try to make it next year for sure. To all who are still hesitating to go to Arusha: I would like to advice STOP HESITATING AND LET YOURSELF GO 🇹🇿

Tanzania is full of culture and excitement. The teaching project with projects abroad was truly an amazing and heart warming experience. You can always leave Africa, but Africa will never leave you. Forever engrained in my heart!

School commences with prepping the classrooms, washing the children’s hands and assembly. The assembly was a personal favourite moment of mine. Listening to the kids sing their school song, national anthem and another song that makes you want to become a kid again. The children are all standing in their class lines, designated by baby class, middle class and upper class. Which is assigned to them depending on their level of progression within the school.

Numbers, ABC’s, Animals, Colours and Shapes are the go-to’s for the first session. Walking the children through a variety of fun and engaging activities. There are a few class clowns that keep everyone entertained, but we avoid any playtime to occur in the classroom. Having the kids practice what we teach them, is essential to the success of the class. Repetition, repetition, repetition…

After my first year of medical school, I knew I wanted to do a volunteer project abroad but wasn’t sure where or how I would go about it. Then, at my school, one of our faculty advisors told us about Projects Abroad and how they had a program in Tanzania that aligned directly with my goals for a volunteer project: working at a local hospital, leading local outreach medical clinics, and getting to experience culture and learn about diseases endemic to the region.
Our hospital assignment was St. Joseph Hospital in Moshi, a government-owned hospital located about 5 minutes’ drive from our lodge. We were able to assist the doctors with simple procedures, observe surgeries, take blood pressure and vital signs, and go on rounds with physicians in the different wards. I got to watch 2 C-sections on the very first day at the hospital! During our time there, we saw the male and female wards, the labor ward, the pediatric ward, as well as the laboratories, pharmacy, and outpatient rooms.
In the afternoons, we would either go back to the hospital or have a culture class back at the Projects Abroad office. Over the 3 weeks I was there, we received lecturers on HIV and AIDS in Tanzania, a Swahili lesson, discussion of healthcare in Tanzania, maternal-fetal health in Africa, and we got a chance to meet with Tanzanian medical students and learn about their experiences. On our last night, we even had a cooking class in the office kitchen!
On the days we weren’t in the hospital, we led small outreach programs in the local communities. The community outreaches were a chance for us to really work one-on-one with patients. Because we weren’t in a hospital shadowing a doctor, it was up to us as medical students to organize patients, take blood pressure and vital signs, and even do finger sticks for rapid HIV and malaria tests. I thoroughly enjoyed these outreaches because they allowed us to have hands-on experience examining patients with a little more autonomy than at the hospital.
On the weekends we got to travel around Tanzania and see the beautiful countryside as well as other nearby cities. We toured local markets, hiked to a waterfall in Materuni village, got to make fresh coffee from coffee plants, hike around the base of Mt Kilimanjaro, go to craft shops and markets, and go on a day-long safari at Tarangire National Park. I wasn’t expecting to make as great of friends as I did while in Moshi, and the experience was so positive that I am planning to take a trip back for more medical volunteering in the future. I couldn’t have had a better experience volunteering with Projects Abroad!

I have always had a passion for science. As a high school student, I decided to use my Semester Break to discover whether medicine was what I wanted to do I my future. I found the Projects Abroad program online and after a lot of research, found the perfect program for me: spend two weeks in Tanzania where I would learn about the basics of medicine while engaging with the culture of the place and doing volunteer work. Gaining support from the Projects Abroad staff from the moment I signed up until the moment I came back home, I couldn't be in better hands. With the help of their websites, calls with my supervisors and advise sessions with past volunteers, I felt secure and confident about the trip - even though it was the first time I was travelling internationally by myself.

I stayed at The Haus accommodation, where the staff was exceptionally kind and helpful, and where I could meet volunteers like me from all over the world. For two weeks, we became like a family, which helped us all with the culture shock. Today I still have contact with all of them and also with our amazing supervisor, Daniella, who I could not be more grateful for having on this trip.

This program actually overcame my expectations. It made me not only discover that medicine is what I want to do in the future, but also allowed me to seriously engage with the country's culture and live memorable experiences. We would have workshops about medicine and visits to hospitals to experience what we learned in first hand, as well as workshops about the Tanzanian culture, cuisine and art, which were all really interesting. There were even trips to the Tarangire National Park (my first safari ever!) and the Mount Meru Waterfalls on the weekend. The most unique experience for me was to visit the Maasai Village, where I had the amazing opportunity to see their traditional celebrations (jumping ceremony and drinking goat's blood -
yes you read it right : goat's blood ) and to engage with such a culturally rich African tribe. That is one of the reasons why I say this program made me more of a risk - taker and open minded person, which are benefits for a lifetime.

I am not the same person I was before participating in the High School Special Medical Program in Tanzania. It was the best experience I have ever had so far, and my regret was not living this experience for longer - I just wish I had chosen the four weeks program instead of the two weeks one. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to become more culturally rich, knowledgeable and open - minded, and to who wishes to gain new perspectives about the world we live in while helping others.

I volunteered in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. My time in Dar was the best experience of my life. I think back on my time there every single day of my life. My host mother was the sweetest woman I've ever met. I actually called her "Mama", because that's what she was to me. Her housekeeper was lovely as well. Our meals were fresh and unique every day. The relationship I formed with them truly touched my heart and I plan on visiting them again.

The staff in Dar were constantly working hard to ensure we got the most out of our experiences. Anytime, day or night, they were available. If we had any issues with anything, they were immediately there to help. They also encouraged us to get to know the culture and we were invited to participate in several events at the office to help us do this.

My roommate is now one my dearest friends. She and I bonded instantly. We did everything together when we were not at work. The other volunteers were also incredible. We had our own little family on an entire different continent! We have all kept in touch and plan on getting together at some point in the near future.

My project was the perfect combination of volunteer work, cultural immersion, and travel. Living with a host family created an environment where I was truly allowed to live the local life--I ate African food for every meal, practiced Swahili with my host family, and gossiped with the house girl while she would braid my hair. I lived with another volunteer, my new Japanese sister, who I would ride the daladala (Tanzanian public transportation) with to work, the Maasai Market, and the office. The staff at the Projects Abroad office in Tanzania was always incredibly helpful and welcoming to all of us. On the weekends, the other volunteers and I viewed amazing animals on safaris, laid on the beaches of Zanzibar, hiked Mount Meru, and swam in the Hot Springs. I made connections with people I’ll consider friends and family for the rest of my life.

Next, I couldn’t imagine how much I would fall in love with my work placement. At the orphanage, there were about 60 children with ages ranging from three to nine and only two teachers. Projects Abroad also has a child database so that volunteers are able to monitor and track benchmarks for the children at the orphanages. This allows for consistency despite volunteer turnover. I was placed in the middle classroom with the older students and immediately worked to adapt to their daily routine. We always began the classroom with ten minutes of song and dance and despite seeing it almost every day for a month, it never stopped being cute. The teacher would write the lesson on the board and I would help the children who were struggling and grade their work when they were finished. We would then have break where all the students would play together and I never once found myself alone. Whether I was getting my hair braided by the older kids, holding a younger one on my hip, or playing “Muziki” and dancing with them all, I kept busy. Everything about my placement I fell in love with; the children, teachers, cook, chickens, all of it.