Volunteer in Tanzania

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	“The trip was amazing I was placed with three other volunteers two from South Korea and one from Tanzania. I already miss the kids we worked with and taught English to. I laughed every day with my new volunteer friends and I will never forget them! It was all girl volunteers and we stayed in a simple cement house with beds. I am a vegetarian and the food was great with great variety everyday. The program staff were very professional and fun, I would recommend Uvikiuta to anyone, it is a great organization.” Andrea Hidalgo ~ 2009
	“As a teacher, this trip allowed me to actually LIVE Africa, as opposed to simply reading about it or teaching about it on a surface level. I have pictures, and more importantly, memories that I can share with my students so maybe they have a more accurate view of what life is like in Africa. They have tremendous problems but then again they have some things down that I think we can take a page from, and perhaps in the West we are not quite as civilized and sophisticated as we think we are. We haven’t mastered problems like greed, corruption, pollution, homelessness, and the ever-present, “what’s in it for me,” or “I have this and this and this…I want more.” In Africa people are happy to be alive…what a concept! I want to thank you for the scholarship and the opportunity to travel to a place I never thought I would. It’s ignited something in me; I want to do this again if I can, and begin to take my small daughters when they are a bit older so they can grow up understanding the world around them more like I have been able to. I’m not sure I would have taken the plunge and really gone if I hadn’t gotten “the sign” in the form of financial assistance from Volunteers for Peace. Thanks again and I hope to work with you/through you again.” Brett Heinemann ~ 2009
	“despite the difficulty of living in conditions that left much to be desired I loved every second of my time in Tanzania. I met incredible people who changed the way I see the world and made lasting friendships that have changed the person I am. I felt for the first time in my life like I was contributing to something worthwhile and that the work I was doing, as difficult as it was, was really going to make a difference. I had gone to Tanzania to make a difference in the world and affect change but what struck me the most was the difference that the other volunteers made in my world and the way I was changed by the experience.” Angela Mitiguy ~ 2009
	“I just returned from a three week stay in the village of Tabata-Kimanga in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. I was quite pleased with my trip as it turned out to be a very surreal and eye opening experience. While Living with Richard (the head of the Good Samaritan Centre) and his family, my days consisted of going to his center at 8 am each morning with his 3 year old son and two Danish volunteers (the Danish volunteers had come through a separate program as I was the only volunteer representing VFP, despite being told there were 9 others in the group)." Hamed Hafizi / Tanzania ~ 2008
	Volunteers helped children and young people with special needs to learn English during their school holidays. Crystal Steinmueller / Tanzania ~ 2008
	Volunteer, Crystal Steinmueller participated in two VFP projects, one in Peru in 2007 and one in Tanzania in 2008. Here, Crystal is learning Tanzanian culinary methods. Crystal Steinmueller / Tanzania ~ 2008
	Volunteer, Burgan Shealy in traditional Tanzanian dress. Burgan Shealy / Zanzibar, Tanzania ~ 2008
	Getting water from the village well Burgan Shealy / Zanzibar, Tanzania ~ 2008
	Mwanga kids Gabriel Rincon-Mora / Tanzania ~ 2005
	"I will say that it was one of my best travel experiences I've had. (believe me, I've had my share.) I stayed with a wonderful family on the slopes of Kilimanjaro and helped a local secondary school teaching English for two weeks. I followed it up with a safari to the Serengeti area. I can not say enough about the rich experience I had in Tanzania and the organization of VFP" Larry Jensen / Tanzania ~ 2004
	Pulling weeds. "The best aspect of my trip to Tanzania was the learning about and exchanging with the Tanzanian community. I learned how rich the African culture is. I came to appreciate the value of spending time by myself without the stimulus of television, the computer I adore and shopping. My most cherished mementos are memories of new friends made and valuable lessons learned." Esther Londono / Tanzania ~ 2003
	Local and international volunteers participated in a community outreach program to provide AIDS education and create public awareness in public schools. Julie Becker / Tanzania ~ 2002

“This whole experience made a big impact on me. We are from all over the world, and we came to the same place for the same reason: to give, to help and to make a difference. I felt really lucky that I met and worked with great and respectful people. We did not know each other before and we did take care of and help each other during the camp. The local people were friendly and warm. We were very well taken care of by the UVIKIUTA staff. We learned a lot, and we formed a strong bond and developed new friendships. All the volunteers are friends on Facebook now. The work was hard but I am sure we gained way more than we lost. I hope we did make an impact to the local community, at least to bring them joy and something new to experience.” Rachel Tan ~ 2009

“Accommodation was really great. From my first night till my last, I had nothing to complain about - from Uvikiuta to the YWCA hostel in Dar Es Salaam the night before our flights home. There was never a time that I felt uncomfortable or felt the need to ask for something. And in reiteration, the people employed were most hospitable and made myself and the other volunteers (to my knowledge) feel quite comfortable…. I loved every single one of the volunteers. Being one who loves to travel, I found interaction with them very enriching (with the culture nights being the most enriching). In general, even just walking up and down the mountain and talking as we went, found me quite happy and glad to be amongst such a diverse group.”

James Laflin ~ 2009

“I just returned from a three week stay in the village of Tabata-Kimanga in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. I was quite pleased with my trip as it turned out to be a very surreal and eye opening experience. While Living with Richard (the head of the Good Samaritan Centre) and his family, my days consisted of going to his center at 8 am each morning with his 3 year old son and two Danish volunteers (the Danish volunteers had come through a separate program as I was the only volunteer representing VFP, despite being told there were 9 others in the group). We would help teach the orphans and local children at the center English until noon, after which I would spend my time in the main office balancing the center's check books and organizing their finances. The interactions I had with the children, elders and locals were very pleasant, as the people there went out of their way to ensure I was having a good time. I would highly recommend Dar Es Salaam and the Good Samaritan Centre as a location to send more volunteers, as it is a developing city in need of much help (they could definitely use some more teachers, civil engineers and some up to date medical care), but also beautiful and rich with humble and generous people. During my last week spent in Dar, the two Danish volunteers and I began painting/remodeling the school in order to make the rooms into better learning environments for the children. In doing so we added a fence, swing, paintings and plenty of color and life into the center. Apart from teaching at the center I also taught in a seperate school in the village during the afternoons, and also spent some time spreading aids/hiv awareness through a local organization. The experiences I had in the country of Tanzania were all amazing, I can’t say enough about how caring the people and international volunteers I met there were.” Hamed Hafizi / Tanzania ~ 2008

My experience with UVIKIUTA in Tanzania during the month of October was almost indescribable.  I literally have struggled at times to convey the experience to people, because its such a departure from what most people associate with a "vacation."  The coolest part was just being in a village for 2 weeks.  It was so nice to stay in one place and not have to worry about traveling and logistics and everything that takes so much time on a normal trip.  I got such a good feel for what its like to live in Africa (eating, showering, laundry, mosquitos, crowded public transport)...it was a real immersion experience.  Also, the international volunteer experience was awesome.  We had 10 other volunteers from 5 countries (US, Japan, Italy, Ireland, Tanzania), and I got very close with a couple of them.  It was a really neat experience to sit at a meal and hear Swahili at one end of the table, Japanese at another, and learning Italian while speaking English.  I correspond regularly with a friend from Seattle, one from Dublin and one from Pisa, Italy.  I also became very good friends with one of our Tanzanian facilitators who I have been in consistent contact with and will be helping with his CV and application fees for University.
 
In terms of work, we planted about 200 trees while I was there.  I had originally signed up for an education related project, which was initially a disappointing change, but the flexibility that required was a wonderful lesson about Africa to learn even prior to leaving.  As an office worker in Chicago, it was nice to do manual labor and be outside so much.  However, the actual work is really an afterthought, just something to facilitate the interaction.  We'd work in the mornings and then go into town to sightsee, run errands, or hang out in the afternoons.  We also had cultural nights where the volunteers from each country would present.  We ate 3 meals a day together, which were cooked by people in the village, along with one of us who would assist each day.  Ask me about my recipe for Ugali!  On the weekends I went to the beach twice, staying in a tent a mere 50m from the ocean for about $12 and went on safari one weekend...elephant, giraffe, water buffalo, hippo, crocodile, impala, baboon, warthog, zebra....it was sick.

The UVIKIUTA organization itself was exceptional.  It is very well-run and has some amazing people associated with it.  All the residents of our village (approximately 50) were members of the organization and they lived almost communal style, with each member having the same status and same size house, even the Executive Director of the organization. 

As time has passed and the experience has set in further, I realize how unique the trip was.  I learned so much about a region of the world that I was very ignorant about, met a ton of really interesting, diverse people, and felt like I left Chamazi, Tanzania a bit better than I found it.  Worthwhile indeed.” Allen Penn / Tanzania ~ 2008

"Good Samaritan was more an African urban experience and Richard is quite wonderful person . Dar is a City of 4,000,000 and still growing.We completedthe foundation on the School which is in Temeke District-- one of the poor of poor areas of Dar.I think theSchoolwas surprised we completed as much as we did! Wow the African Sun becomes hot around 10:00 AMand you definitely slow down. The schoolserves a fairly large Islamic Community and I had very rich discussions with some of the Islamic faculty. The public transport is a Toyota Van called a Dodola andits an experience. During rush hour people jump through the windows andrush the door. Overall as you can guess it was and extraordinary experience andone worth repeating. Both programs seem to have problems marketingtheirvolunteer program --since I was the only Non- African in the camps. This is unfortunateand anything VFP can do in this area would probably be most helpful. In closingI became involved in several activities from charitable work to funding micro-enterprises. In the spirit of Ernest Hemingway and William Holden I'm just another white guy who has fallen in love with Eastern Africa." JC Smyth / Tanzania - 2004

"The students had no textbooks. (In fact I saw very few books in all of Tanzania) The teachers have well worn, soft cover textbooks, which they would copy on the blackboard, actually a wall painted black. The students would then copy that into a notebook, which they would study for their exams. Textbooks were one of the many things of which they were severely lacking. There was one very poor quality copy machine for all the school and only one computer that was donated by a Korean group. My "handler" for the time I was at the school taught geography. The problem was the only map he had was a beat up world map. Imagine teaching geography without a map! Remember, the students have no textbooks. Before I left I gave him my map of Tanzania, my pocket world atlas and my compass. In spite of this the teachers and students do very well. I looked at some of the economics and calculus work done by the upper level students. They could hold their own with college bound American high school graduates. It would be interesting to have them take the American SAT exams. It was a real testament to the quality of the teachers and dedication of the students." Larry Jensen / Tanzania - 2004

"…I think that in order to understand other cultures of the world, we must actively participate in them. Only then can we expect to bring peace to everyone. Sometimes it is uncomfortable. Change is never easy, and when you are exposed to a new culture you are bound to change. But the end results are worth it all. I am so satisfied with my experience and sincerely grateful to both VFP and IYS for the unique and rewarding opportunity." Laura Minnich / Tanzania - 2003

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