Volunteer in Tanzania
FCO Travel Advice currently advises against all but essential travel at the moment due to Coronavirus. As a result, we are not currently recruiting volunteers to go to Tanzania. However, If you would be like to talk to us about the potential to volunteer in 2023, then please contact us or submit an application below.
Ethical. Impactful. Sustainable.
We wanted to create a volunteer opportunity like no other. We’ve spent 6 years researching and thinking about how to do this so that we keep our strong values and ethics.
We didn’t want to fall into the same ‘voluntourism’ organisations out there which recycle the same type of volunteer that is more interested in selfies for their Instagram and tokenistic work.
We want volunteers who actually want to make a change and empower the children and communities we work with. We want volunteers who hold international development close to their hearts and believe we must end poverty.
We want volunteers who are committed and who are ready to put in the hard work required to be able to actually make a lasting change, which is so much more satisfying than just going on a standard volunteer holiday. If we don’t find the right volunteers any given year, we won’t send any. And that’s okay.
Laura with participants of a community workshop at Maweni school
“My trip to Tanzania as Made With Hope’s first international project assistant was an incredible journey. Being a volunteer on the ground in Tanzania is a very humbling, and rewarding experience.
Whilst there, I was able to learn even more about the amazing projects MWH are running, as well as being a big part of the planning for future projects.
One of my favourite parts was being part of workshops at our new partner schools where we spoke to the local community to understand their needs, everybody was so loving and accepting.”
About the volunteer opportunity
We have a competitive opportunity for a small number of people (each year) to volunteer at Made With Hope projects in Arusha, Tanzania. This is a unusual opportunity to make an impact on our work supporting quality education in rural deprived communities and have a unique and unforgettable experience in Tanzania.
Our programme will only allow a select few ‘Representatives’ to work in our projects each year and applications will be selected based on your alignment with our values and your skill-set. Representatives must be in line with Made With Hope’s mission, be willing to completely respect the culture and avoid a culture of “western saviourism”. Being small and selective allows us tailor the role to you and our current projects, ensuring that your volunteering is helpful, worthwhile and productive.
Purposeful volunteering that is genuinely helpful for Made With Hope and our partner
Understand what it’s like first hand, to be a student in a rural school where there may not be any toilets, windows or clean water
Collaborate with the local communities we partner with and celebrate our progress to better education for their children, together!
Work alongside our friendly and dedicated team on the ground
An opportunity to travel before and after
Your role as a volunteer in Tanzania
The role you will have in Tanzania is as a Project Assistant. This role can be hard to define! This is because you will be mucking in to help Made With Hope to deliver the projects that are happening whilst you are in Tanzania, monitor and evaluate projects that have recently finished, and investigate, plan and prepare the projects that are yet to come!
We know that the fact that the role adapts to meet the needs of Made With Hope and our partner schools is one of the best things about it! Whilst it can make it had to envisage exactly what you will be doing on a given day, it does mean that the volunteering you are doing is more impactful because it is responding to the present needs of our partner schools.
Day to day, being a Project Assistant means assisting our Community Development Worker, Hussein, and supporting the Made With Hope team. Previous volunteers have:
Helped facilitate a community workshop
Visited local library projects to gain inspiration for our own library project
Written reports of a finished project
Taken over our Instagram account to tell our followers what you’re doing
Designed a hand washing workshop from scratch
Taken photographs for us to use on our website
Before you go to Tanzania your Representative Manager will work with you to create a plan of tasks for you to complete whilst you are in Arusha, and make sure you understand how to do them.
You will also be required to attend 8 x 2 hours volunteer sessions before you go to Tanzania to integrate with our team, learn about our projects and meet other volunteers. We believe this will give you the best start to understanding the work you will go on to do in Tanzania. You’re welcome to come into our office in Manchester or work remotely via video call.
Assisting with projects
Hussein is our Community Development Worker which means that his role is to help our partner schools to help themselves. In practice, being a Project Assistant to Hussein might involve: supporting a Community Engagement Workshop, Project Workshop, scoping potential new projects and delivery partners creating and monitoring budgets, checking in on projects as they are delivered, working with suppliers and making sure that progress is documented and photographed.
Reporting back to us
Once a project is finished, we want to reflect on it’s effectiveness and learn how future projects can be even better. To do this, we might need to conduct interviews or surveys with teachers and students, test water quality or collect enrolment data and exam results. Whilst some of the data collection will be done in Swahili by Teachers and Hussein, you might be involved in coordination and report authoring.
Fundraising
We ask all of our volunteers to fundraise £1,000 for Made With Hope.
You can read about how some of our Project Assistants raised money here.
Storytelling
Social media and other communications is an important tool for Made With Hope to communicate our work to funders and donors. Transparency is one of our core values, and so being able to share photos and videos directly from Arusha is powerful! You’ll help to create content for the Made With Hope Instagram, Facebook and blogs.
Who we’re looking for
This is a role for someone who really wants to make a difference and understands that change and progress can take time. We are looking for people who are:
Self-motivated, adaptable and ready to get stuck in. You’ll have limited supervision and we won’t be holding your hand.
In order to be successful you’ll need to use your initiative and skills to identify where you can add value get stuck in.
Poverty is an upsetting reality, and real progress can be frustratingly slow. Volunteering and living in a new country may also but you outside your comfort zone. You’ll need to to be resilient to overcome these challenges, flourish and make an impact.
Ready and excited for cultural immersion. Living and working in a different culture is a personal challenge!
You will need patience, good listening skills, self awareness and practice to develop your cultural competence.
This may seem daunting, and it will be hard at times, but we believe that the opportunity to live, work and socialise with Tanzanians is a special part of this opportunity. We are looking for people who are excited to be the only Western person on the team and want to put in the effort to make yourself at home in Arusha.
Although you may have travelled, this is not a ‘backpacker vibe’ trip.
Good written English, competent on social media and have basic IT skills. Reports, social media, Google Drive and Slack are the tools of your work.
You’ll need to be able to use IT in order to collaborate remotely with the team in Manchester.
Our values and volunteering
#nowhitesaviors #novoluntourism
These hashtags are about the many potential negative consequences of Western volunteers, despite their best intentions, trying to help in places like rural Arusha. Tanzanians and the community members of our partner schools are the capable owners of Made With Hope projects. We try to reflect our #nowhitesaviors values in both our actions and words. It drives what projects we decide to do and how these projects operate on the ground.
In practice, this means that projects are heavily dependent on the input of the communities that we work in. At all stages we seek to empower communities by taking their lead in choosing the areas to focus on right through to deciding how a completed project will be maintained and operated. We don’t allow our volunteers to do construction because we employ people locally to do project work. This supports the local economy and respects the skills and qualifications of local workers. Words are powerful, and we try to be mindful of #nowesternsaviors in the stories we tell about our projects, in discussing our role in them, and in how we talk about our partners and students.
It’s too common for “western people” to be the focus of international development work but we try to remain behind the scenes and let our partner schools be the focus of our projects. We are looking for volunteers who are mindful of the potential pitfalls of their volunteering, open to self-reflection and willing to question and modify their behaviour to embody these values. This opportunity is not for you if you’re interested in taking selfies with Africans for your Instagram.
How to apply
Please complete this application form to express your interest. If you are successful at this stage, we’ll be in touch to discuss the opportunity with you.
FAQs
Are applications competitive?
Yes! We are selective about who volunteers with us because it takes a lot of work by Made With Hope and CHETI to train, supervise and support volunteers so we are keen to make sure that you are a good fit, will be able to contribute and will enjoy yourself.
How long do I need to volunteer for?
In order for you to make an impact, we usually ask that our volunteers to spend 6 weeks volunteering. This is so you have enough time to settle in and get stuck in. In special circumstances, we may consider a shorter placement.
Can I volunteer with a friend or partner?
You’ll both need to apply separately, but this is certainly possible. Please mention them by name when you apply. Two people is usually the maximum number of volunteers we would have at one time.
Can I travel before/after and at the weekend?
Yes, although we ask that you still do 6 weeks volunteering (eg. your overall trip might be 8 weeks including other travel). Tanzania is full of fantastic and fascinating places to visit, such as Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro and safari in the Serengeti or Ngorogoro crater.
How much does it cost?
You will need to cover your own costs of travel to Tanzania, your accommodation and your food. Costs associated with your volunteering, such as travel to our partner schools can be paid as an expense by Made With Hope, so long as these are agreed in advance.
We will ask you to pay a £250 deposit which covers the cost of your DBS, Health Screening, some in country travel to projects and training.
Where will I stay?
That’s up to you, but we can recommend several options within a short distance from CHETI’s office in Arusha at a range of price points.
What are you looking for?
There is no perfect CV for a Tanzania volunteer. To be successful in this role, you need to be flexible, motivated and open-minded. Specific skills and experience are a bonus (so please do tell us) but the only certain requirement is that you have a real interest in international development and have basic IT skills so that you can collaborate effectively with the UK team from Tanzania.
How will I make an impact?
You won’t be building or teaching classes as we employ people locally to do this skilled work.
Instead you’ll be acting as a project assistant to make our projects more successful, better tailored to each school and better understood. Through these projects, you’ll be contributing to the improved education of hundreds of children.
Additionally, your fundraising, reporting, research and donor communications have a multiplied effect. By helping us to develop new projects and secure funding, your volunteering enables new projects and for us to grow to reach more children in the future.
Is Tanzania safe?
We have been working in Tanzania with no problem since 2013. You will be responsible for managing your own health and safety, and we will support you to get ready to do this through our training programme.
You’ll be joining the Made With Hope team in Tanzania. Whilst their day job isn’t to ‘look after you’, they are friendly and supportive and will offer you advice and the benefit of their local expertise. The team in Manchester will be available at the end of a phone/whatsapp and will check in with you regularly.
Can anyone volunteer?
We’ll ask you to complete a DBS check through Salford CVS and a Health Screening with Thrive Worldwide in order to confirm that this role is for you.
We may ask for two references from an employer and character reference.
Please contact us If you have any other questions!
Our previous international volunteers and team on the ground
