"Our welcome by the local people was so warm and genuine. I realised immediately that these people were going to inspire me despite their poverty and hardship. " - Jenny
98% of PoD volunteers rate their experience as good or very good!
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Other Roles - Tanzania
| Location | Villages of Yamba and Milingano |
| Start dates | Selected start dates throughout the year, see below for dates Applications should be received at least 4 months before the chosen start date to allow time to apply for visas |
| Duration | 2 - 12 weeks (can be extended up to a year) |
| Availability |
Spaces available |
| Cost |
2 weeks: £795 Extra weeks: £80 per week |
| Discounts | £50 per person for friends / partners |
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Use your specific skills to help support the community
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Experience life in a beautiful rural village
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Support the ongoing work of the charity 'Village Africa'
Project details
Introduction
The charity we work with in Tanzania, Village Africa, is constantly evolving and there many other roles available, especially for those with professional or specialist skills. Roles include:
Office, research, media & marketing
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Admin
- Researcher
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Journalism
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Photography
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Marketing
Environment
- Conservation & environment
- Environmental consultant
Crafts
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Chef
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Knitting and crafts
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Pottery teacher
Other
- Surveyor
- Advanced driving instructor
The roles are described in more detail below. Please contact us if there are other roles (not listed above) that you are interested in or skills that you can provide.
Read what past volunteers have said about this project in our Tanzania other roles reviews.
The location
The villages are located in the Usambaras, in the North East of Tanzania and form part of the Eastern Arc Mountains. Each village is quite different even though they are located nearby. Milingano is perhaps how most people imagine an African village, fairly dry and hot with the classic African red earth. Yamba, being located much higher up is colder, lush and green, with stunning views of the surrounding area.
A huge part of the adventure of Tanzania is the environment you will live and work in. The villages are in an extremely beautiful area with a mixture of forest and farmland. There is a lot of wildlife including dikdiks, rabbits, chameleons and birds. The people who live here are subsistence farmers but despite the land being fertile, they are incredibly poor.
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world and as such the standard of living appears very low to us. The Tanzanian way of life is extremely laid back, relaxed and friendly. Society is generally not driven by money and provides a very different view on how to live. This can lead to a degree of culture shock for people visiting, but more often leads to culture shock on the return home after spending an extended period of time living in a local environment. Longer term this can help to produce a much deeper and more mature understanding of our own society and a more tolerant and caring view of other people and societies.
How you can make a difference
The specific benefits of your volunteering will depend on what role you undertake. All volunteers will be helping some of the poorest people in the world and supporting the amazing work that Village Africa is doing.
What's included
- A comprehensive information booklet and pre-departure support
- Travel advice and assistance
- Pick up and drop off at Tanga
- Transfer to the village
- Orientation training
- Use of laptop and generator (if required for role)
- Use of a translator (if required)
- Accommodation (shared with other volunteers)
- Transport for alternate weekends away from the project site
- Ongoing support, help and advice from our local team
What else to budget for
The following items are not included and estimates are given as a guide for your budgeting: flights to Dar es Salaam (£450-£600), volunteer visa (£388), travel insurance, personal spending (£55-£60 per week).
Admin
Village Africa is looking for enthusiastic people with administration and spreadsheet skills to:
- Design spreadsheets (MS Excel)
- Input data
- Help to analyse data
Village Africa needs to capture data for a number of areas including the health post (patient attendance and treatment information), building projects (estimates vs actuals) and the charity's accounts.
Once the data has been entered into spreadsheets it can then be analysed. The results of this will provide an important source of information to help with decisions on health policy, building projects, fundraising etc.
Village Africa is a growing charity with very limited resources. By helping with their admin you are providing a vital support role and helping to generate information the charity can use to improve its decision making.
No formal qualifications are required but volunteers need to be proficient in MS Excel spreadsheets and have some experience of data analysis.
Researcher
Village Africa is looking for people with research skills to design a comprehensive survey including:
- Finding out what records are already available
- Planning how to collect the information
- Designing questionnaires / data gathering methods
- Planning how to collate and use the information
If volunteers are able to stay for a longer period (2-3 months) they could conduct the survey as well which would be even better.
The survey is intended to cover three areas:
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Demographic - population breakdown, locations etc.
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Health - common illnesses, visits to doctors, health facilities etc.
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Education - schools, school attendance etc.
The results of the survey will help Village Africa to set its objectives and priorities and consequently will directly shape the projects and initiatives that are implemented.
The information that the survey will provide is going to be a vital step in informing Village Africa's work in the future and will help ensure that assistance is given where it is really needed.
Volunteers should have at least 2 years of relevant research experience.
Journalism
Village Africa would like a self-starting journalist to write stories and features, and then and try to place them into the media. This would include:
- Researching the project before coming out to Tanzania
- Visiting the villages of Yamba and Milingano, seeing the projects and meeting the people
- Identifying stories / features
- Interviewing people
- Writing stories / features
- On return, trying to place stories into newspapers, magazines, TV, websites etc.
- Sending cuttings, tapes etc. to Village Africa.
Village Africa is a small charity in a remote location trying to alleviate poverty. Media coverage is essential in order to generate donations and volunteers.
Village Africa is looking for a professional journalist with at least 2 year's work experience.
Photography
An experienced photographer is needed to create a portfolio of photographs for Village Africa including images of staff at work, local people, the health post, volunteers, the location and the local lifestyle.
Photos are needed for promotional purposes including the website, child sponsorship, talks in the UK, volunteer briefings, fundraising and other literature.
You could also make a video if you have your own equipment.
Village Africa is a small charity in a remote location so quality photographs are an essential means to communicate with parties in the UK.
Village Africa is looking for a well qualified and / or experienced photographer.
Marketing
Village Africa would like someone with marketing expertise to act as a consultant, working with them to help create a pragmatic marketing plan and resources. This would include:
- Reviewing their marketing presence before coming out to Tanzania and comparing this to other charities/competitors
- Visiting the villages of Yamba and Milingano, seeing the projects and meeting the people
- Developing a marketing approach to target donors and volunteers
- Identifying key / unique selling points
- Writing text, collecting case studies, advising on photos needed
- On return home, writing a report with recommendations for the Directors.
Village Africa is a small charity in a remote location trying to alleviate poverty. Marketing is essential in order to generate funding and volunteers.
Village Africa is looking for someone with strong marketing expertise and experience (not a student).
Conservation & environment
Village Africa is looking for volunteers to help in a 'hands on' way with a number of environmental initiatives including:
- Tree nursery and tree planting
- Water harvesting
- Toilets
- Soakaways
- Composting
- Rubbish pits
- Firewalls
- Trail management
- Education materials e.g. posters
Whilst health and education are the chief areas of work for the charity, they understand that the project is already having an environmental impact. The charity also recognises that environmental matters directly link into health issues and can help with education.
By helping with the environment you will be helping look after villages and people barely touched by modern life.
There is no need for previous experience just a strong interest in conservation and the environment. Volunteers need to be in reasonable health and some of the projects are quite physical.
Environmental Consultant
Village Africa is looking for volunteers who can consult on the environmental impact of the project, especially sewage, energy and deforestation, to:
- Visit the villages to study the impact the project is having
- Make recommendations for how to have a positive environmental impact and reduce negative impact
- Give seminars to local people on specific subjects e.g. deforestation
- Write a report to the charity Directors in the UK with findings and practical steps
- Advise on possible sources of funding and further information
- Advise on possible roles for environmental volunteers
Whilst health and education are the chief areas of work for the charity, they understand that the project is already having an environmental impact. For example, many villagers have built toilets as a result of the project. The charity also recognises that environmental matters directly link into health issues and can help with education.
By helping to manage the environmental impact of the project you will be helping look after villages and people barely touched by modern life.
Volunteers should have a degree in environmental matters and at least 2 years experience.
Chef
Village Africa is looking for enthusiastic people with cooking skills to:
- Create a 2 week menu that Village Africa's cooks can follow when preparing food for volunteers
- Research and consider available food supplies, local dishes, storage and energy sources
- Help the local cooks to provide a balanced diet and teach them new dishes
- Teach food hygiene to the cooks and to local women
There is a small range of foodstuffs available in the village of Yamba, a slightly bigger range in Milingano, and a wide variety in the town of Tanga, including spices. Vegetables and fruits are seasonal. Most cooks use firewood or charcoal stoves and there is no traditional oven in Tanzania. Charcoal stoves would be provided for volunteers.
You will be helping to educate and improve the skills of the local cooks, in particular helping them prepare food for volunteers.
Volunteers should have relevant qualifications and at least 2 year's experience. Experience of teaching/training is useful but not essential.
Knitting and Crafts
Village Africa is looking for enthusiastic people with knitting and crafts skills to:
- Teach beginners to knit squares which can be made into blankets
- Teach an intermediate group to knit simple items e.g. sweaters, hats, socks
- Teach an advanced group to follow a knitting pattern and make more complex items
- Teach primary school pupils after school hours
- Teach darning and clothes repair / alteration skills
Volunteers can also help with other activities such as making posters for the health post, mending clothes for the old and disabled etc.
Having warm clothing is essential for the villagers as the weather in this area can get extremely cold. Pneumonia and colds are very common and can cause the death of babies in the villages.
By learning these skills it also enables people to get paid work by providing repair services for other members of the villages.
By transferring these skills you can help enable the villagers to have warm clothing and the opportunity to earn an income.
No formal qualifications are required but volunteers need to be self-starting and able to make all the items well. Volunteers are asked to bring knitting and darning needles and patterns.
Pottery Teacher
Village Africa is looking for enthusiastic people with pottery skills to:
- Teach local people to make and decorate pots and other earthenware
- Teach local people how to make and use a kiln, and any alternative methods of firing pots
It would also be very helpful if volunteers are able to teach simple business skills.
A few villagers are currently able to make simple un-decorated pots (suitable clay is available). These are used for cooking and to store food and water. Some pots are sold in the weekly village market.
The aim is to improve the quality of the pots, including variety and decoration, and to increase the number of local craftspeople. The pots can be used by the local people and their families or sold to help provide an income. Small versions that could be transported easily could also be sold to visitors and other volunteers as souvenirs.
By transferring these skills you can help more villagers to learn and improve a craft which is very useful for their day to day living and also as a potential income.
Volunteers should have relevant qualifications and at least 2 years experience. A teaching certificate is desirable.
Surveyor
Village Africa is looking for a Surveyor or Civil engineer to advise on extending the current road up to the health post in Yamba.
The villagers have identified the road extension as their greatest need. They need to get seriously ill patients to hospital as soon as possible. They have spent two years digging and removing boulders but now need professional help to proceed. A surveyor is urgently needed to advise on the best route round a mountain pass.
Volunteers should have relevant qualifications and experience and be able to bring all necessary equipment.
Advanced Driving Instructor
Village Africa is looking for advanced driving instructors (including off road) to:
- Teach the drivers and mechanics advanced driving techniques; both theory and practical
- Draw up simple safety guidelines for the organisation
- Advise on road conditions in the area
Volunteers can also help with other activities if they are able to stay for longer periods.
Village Africa has a 4x4 Toyota Landcruiser which can carry up to 13 passengers. The vehicle is used to transport charity staff, volunteers, visitors and supplies and also in emergencies to take patients to hospital.
Drivers drive on tarmac roads and very rough roads in all conditions. This can include at night and in muddy and wet conditions on dirt roads around the villages.
By advancing the skills of local drivers you will be helping to improve the safety of local people, charity staff and volunteers.
Volunteers should have relevant qualifications and at least two years experience.
More details
About the charity Village Africa
Village Africa is a UK registered Charity committed to the alleviation of poverty, focussing on education and healthcare in Tanzania. In the local dialect its name is 'Vyaadahikana' which means 'it can be done'!
Click here to visit Village Africa's own website and learn more about the charity and the amazing work it is doing.
Support and induction
Andy is the volunteer coordinator; he is the first point of call for volunteers and he and the local team will be there to support you throughout your time at the project.
During your first couple of days you will receive introductions, tours and training for your role.
Other volunteers
There are usually between 3 and 12 volunteers at the project at any one time. Volunteers vary in age from 18 to 75 years old.
Volunteer accommodation and food
Volunteers live together in simple but comfortable houses in the village, with a short walk to the building site. A house-girl is employed to fetch water, shop, cook and clean and a watchman is employed to oversee the houses at night.
Free time and travel opportunities
You will soon adapt to the Tanzanian way of life that is dictated by the hours of daylight. With the absence of electricity, waking hours become fairly similar to daylight hours.
Volunteers normally work 4 days per week so during your stay you will have plenty of time to get to know the local communities and you can use your days off to explore the local area. There are some great local hiking opportunities including viewpoints of Kilimanjaro and the Tanzania/Kenya border, waterfalls and historical caves.
If possible, we highly recommend adding an extra week on to your stay to go on safari in some of the most outstanding national parks in the world, or explore the stunning spice island of Zanzibar.
Challenges
This is a remote and rural village environment with no running water and electricity. You should be adaptable to living and working in a group.
Where your money goes and the PoD Charity
PoD is run as a non-profit organisation and does not receive any external funding. We charge a fee for all our placements to cover the overseas costs of volunteering and the costs of running our organisation in the UK. Fee levels are set to match costs (on a non-profit basis) and any surplus monies are distributed to the overseas organisations and charities we work with via the PoD Charity.
For over 10 years PoD has been providing volunteers to help charitable projects around the world. The PoD Charity was established in 2010 to build on this success by also providing financial assistance. Find out more and get involved in fundraising for this project through the PoD Charity.
Start dates
2012
- Jan 13
- Feb 10
- Mar 9
- Apr 13
- May 11
- Jun 8
- Aug 3
- Sep 7
- Oct 5
2013
- Jan 11
- April 5
- May 31
- July 26
- Sept 6
PoD UK Manager
Gemma in the PoD UK team looks after this project so if you apply you will hear from her soon!
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What our volunteers say...
